Author: aliencam (Cameron Kopas)
Product: Hawking HomeRemote Pro Starter Kit & Wireless Video Camera
Prices:
HomeRemote Pro Starter Kit: $219
Wireless Video Camera: $159
Additional Wall/Lamp Modules: $49
Links:
HomeRemote Pro Starter Kit
HomeRemote Pro Wireless Video Camera
Lamp Module
Hawking Homepage

The hawking home automation system is another option in the increasingly popular world of Internet-enabled home remote systems. One great thing about this system is that there is no required software to install. I did the entire setup process on a Linux computer with Firefox 3 and it worked great. This means that the Hawking HomeRemote Pro system will work with any computer, as long as it has a modern web browser and an Internet connection. There may possibly be issues with strongly firewalled home networks, or homes that do not have a router, but a conventional network setup will not cause any problems.

The HomeRemote Pro starter kit  includes the gateway, one door sensor, and one light sensor, so this is not enough to satisfy all of most people’s needs, however it does give you a great feel of how the system works. For this test, I was sent the kit including the control unit (they call it the Gateway), one outlet controller with dimmer (they refer to it as a lamp or wall module, an “appliance module” does not have dimming functionality while a lamp module does), one door or window sensor, and the HomeRemote Pro Wireless Video Camera (separate from the basic kit), which includes one wireless video camera. I was surprised at how physically large each piece of equipment is. The gateway and the camera are about the same size as a small wireless router, and the wall module is a little bit bigger than most DC wall adapters. One thing that I noticed was that the wall module did not have a ground plug, which I imagine is probably a good thing anyway (most things that have a ground likely shouldn’t be turned off at the outlet).

Setup

Setup was surprisingly easy. I was expecting there to be some difficulty or network configuration necessary to connect to the gateway, but all that it requires is going to their own website and entering the MAC address of the gateway (once it is plugged into a live Ethernet cable). One very small issue I ran into here was that the bottom of the main unit did not have a “product key” label, but only a “MAC address” label, the product key is the same as the MAC address though, so entering that number connects it with no problems. Once the unit is set up to connect with the web interface, you can begin setting up the individual modules. This is easily done through the web interface, and at this point a “connection test” told me that there were connectivity problems, but the unit still worked perfectly. Support assured me that this is not an issue, and it has not been so far.

The modules worked well for me, I had one about 50 ft away from the gateway, through very thick walls (even the wifi signal there is weak with a wifi router right next to the gateway box), but I did not test the maximum range for the wall module. The videocamera can also be set up wirelessly, but that does not connect through the gateway. The video camera needs (in addition to a power outlet) an independent connection to the Internet, either with an ethernet cable, or over a wireless home network. The directions for wireless setup are in the box for the video camera, and are quite straightforward.

Web Interface

The web interface is easy to use, you can choose from a small clip art gallery to visually describe each module (things like lamps) and you are able to name the modules themselves, and the rooms they belong in. This makes it easy to control the units that you intend to. You can enable schedules, and events such as when one light turns on, it can automatically turn on others, or it could be set up to turn on the lights when the door opens   There are also “scenes” you can create, which are setting preset scenarios for all the different settings. This can be something like “movie” (which I would set to turn off all lights in the house, and set very dim lights in the living room), or anything else.

Mobile Phone Interface

There is a phone interface available for many different phone models. I use a Samsung SCH-i760 (it was listed on their site as just the Samsumg I760, which runs Windows Mobile 6, and has a touch screen. The software worked to turn on and off lights, and adjust the dimming, but it could not connect to the camera when I was connected using my home wifi network. I did not have time to contact service about this, but It seems to me that it is a connectivity issue with my phone and not a problem with the HomeRemote software (I always have a connectivity error watching videos on youtube as well).

Subscription Choices

With the HomeRemote Pro Starter Kit, you get three months of free pro service. This allows you remote control from your phone and web browser, remote live video viewing, and email or SMS notifications. The cost for this is $9.99 per month, or $99 per year, the same as that World of Warcraft account that you really don’t have time to play anyway. This seems like it would be necessary if you want to get any real use out of the video camera, but otherwise I don’t see the point of turning on and off lights at will when you aren’t home (you can still use the schedules with the basic account).

Conclusion

Overall I liked the HomeRemote Pro system.  I do not think that I would subscribe for the pro-level service, as I would not have a need for turning on and off lights from other places, or watching a live video feed.  If I were to get an unmanned video camera,  I would be more interested in having the feed saved offsite than watch a live feed.

Tags: Hawking, HomeRemote, Security