FireCracker Home Control Kit
 
X10 offers a free home remote-control kit--but there's a catch. 

By Jay Munro — December 29, 1999

Move over, Clapper. A company named X10.COM is bringing remote control to the twenty-first century with the FireCracker home control kit. The FireCracker kit is a fast and inexpensive way to control your lights, TV, or almost any appliance in your home. The kit comes with the PalmPad Remote (a hand-held transceiver), a plug-in receiver module that works as an appliance controller, a lamp-control module, and a computer interface module. The FireCracker kit is part of a vast system of home-automation products offered by X10, which is virtually giving this $73 product away (it's now free if you're willing to plunk down $5.90 for shipping and handling) in order to get customers hooked on home automation and as an incentive to get you to come back for more.

To start using the FireCracker system, choose codes for each module and plug in your lights or appliances. Add four triple-A batteries to the PalmPad controller and you're done. The X10 system can address up to 16 groups or "houses" of 16 modules at a time. The modules are controlled by the PalmPad controller or by using the FireCracker computer interface module on your PC.

The FireCracker wireless computer interface is an amazing little box measuring 1 by 1.5 by 0.5 inches (HWD). The interface plugs into your nine-pin RS232 port and lets your PC control anything the PalmPad does through free downloadable software. The software also lets you label the buttons and print out a template that can be trimmed to fit the PalmPad button descriptions. If you need audible feedback from your computer, the sound option adds click sounds to the buttons. You can even change the look of the interface to match two other controllers in the X10 line, the DigiPad or the SlimFIRE.

The X10 system works with a combination of radio frequency signals and signals transmitted over the AC power lines in your home. The PalmPad and computer interface module send signals to the receiver module, which is plugged into an AC outlet in your home. The module then relays the signals to other modules on the same house code.

The special offer is limited to one kit per household. According to the rules and conditions of this offer, however, you must consent to being placed on an e-mailing list for promotional and other materials--a small price to pay to get started. You can buy FireCracker at X10's home page by clicking on the button labeled "First Time Guests" or by calling the company's toll-free number. If you've ever thought of trying remote control for all your home appliances, now is the time.

FireCracker Home Control Kit. Price: Free (shipping and handling, $5.90). X10.COM, Seattle, WA; 800-675-3044.