Synaccess Power Switch / HTTP

Archives Devices and Codes
1

I just purchased a Synaccess NP-05B power strip that can be controlled via HTTP, Telnet or RS-232 in order to be able to use Roomie to switch on and off two power amps in my home theater that I currently have to manually switch on and off.

I configured the NP-05B and can control any of the 5 outlets from my iPhone and Mac using HTTP in Safari, but the NP-05B does not respond to commands sent from Roomie.

As an example, a command to power on outlet 1 is:

10.0.1.230/cmd.cgi?A3%201%201

What I think might be causing the problem is that the NP-05B does not allow anonymous users to issue commands via HTTP. When I first issued the command in Safari I got an authentication pop-up that asked me enter my user name and password. I didn’t see anything in the Roomie Development kit that explains how to handle HTTP authentication (or if it can be done).

As a workaround, I can use a Roomie action to open a URL but it only works if I set Roomie to open the URL in Safari, which of course takes me out of Roomie. If I use the “Silent” option or select the internal Roomie browser, the command fails.

Is there any way other than the workaround I described to get Roomie to send HTTP commands to the NP-05B (i.e., is there some way to automatically send a user name and password in response to an HTTP authentication request)? I think authentication would only need to be done once (or at least that’s how it appears to work with Safari).

Below is the RoomieCodes.plist as I currently have it defined for testing. Thanks for any help you can offer!

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> brand Synaccess cat NP-05B codes POWER OFF 1 /cmd.cgi?$A3%201%200 POWER ON 1 /cmd.cgi?$A3%201%201 method http type 21
2

If you just use a generic URL command (no custom codes required), then you would use standard URL format for authentication:

username:password@IPAddress/cmd

If you want to use custom codes, just insert two commands:

.AUTH 1 FORMAT, value = “Username”
.AUTH 2 FORMAT, value = “Password”

With an HTTP method, that will have the same affect as an authentication URL. You will need to type your username/password into the device when adding it.

3

Thank you! Both methods worked perfectly, but I ended up going with the custom codes since it was easier to program my system using them.

If anyone is interested in a power switching device that works with Roomie, Amazon currently has 3 of the Synaccess devices listed (a 2 outlet, a 5 outlet and an 8 outlet). All are sold by Synaccess (not Amazon), but my order was shipped very quickly (ordered on a Thursday and received it on a Saturday).

Below is the plist to control the 5 outlets on the RBP-05 that I purchased (plus an extra option for all-on / all-off).

Thank you again for the help – it is greatly appreciated!

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> brand Synaccess cat NP-05B codes .AUTH 1 FORMAT Username .AUTH 2 FORMAT Password POWER OFF 1 /cmd.cgi?$A3%201%200 POWER OFF 2 /cmd.cgi?$A3%202%200 POWER OFF 3 /cmd.cgi?$A3%203%200 POWER OFF 4 /cmd.cgi?$A3%204%200 POWER OFF 5 /cmd.cgi?$A3%205%200 POWER OFF ALL /cmd.cgi?$A7%200 POWER ON 1 /cmd.cgi?$A3%201%201 POWER ON 2 /cmd.cgi?$A3%202%201 POWER ON 3 /cmd.cgi?$A3%203%201 POWER ON 4 /cmd.cgi?$A3%204%201 POWER ON 5 /cmd.cgi?$A3%205%201 POWER ON ALL /cmd.cgi?$A7%201 method http type 21