Before discovering Arduino’s world, I found a nice ethernet relay board from a french manufacturer : the IPX800 v2. It is a bit expensive (~125€) but works out of the box : no programmation needed. Power it, connect through a brower, and it works !
It comes with (not an exhautive list, see here for more details.)
- 8 outputs relays (250V / 10A)
- 4 digital inputs that can be associated to the output (i.e. you can open / close the relays)
- an ethernet port
- an embedded tcp and web servers for remote control
What I did with it is a powerstrip for my audio/video system so that I can individually switch things on and off when needed with my smartphone and not leave them in standby mode.
I first used the build in web site (with a bit of customization for switch names) and the started using OpenRemote software to build a nicer interface for my smartphone. From there I can individually switch on and of the 8 outlets.
But remote control is not always as handy as physical button. If you don’t have your phone around, or have not battery left… it is usefull to have a way of manually switching you amp & projector on when you want to watch your film ! So I added 4 buttons connected to the 4 digital inputs available…
… and then configured the IPX to toggle the relays.
And here I go : I now have an IP remote controlled power strip !
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