Automatic lawn sprinkler systems make yard irrigation easy, because you don't have to remember to turn the water on and off. But programming these systems is notoriously difficult, requiring numerous complex button-presses while viewing a tiny LCD screen. By linking your sprinklers to your X10 system, you'll be able to program your watering schedule on your computer's monitor and start the sprinklers at the push of a button, just like any other X10 appliance. Best of all, since this system has a two-way feature, the Rain8 Sprinkler Controller for Mac will confirm any signals sent, so you'll receive verification that your on or off signal was received without going outside. To control your sprinkler system via your Mac computer, you'll need Mac-friendly home control software, such as the Indigo Mac Home Automation Software (sold separately). The Rain8 2-Way X10 Sprinkler Controller can be programmed with your Mac or over the Internet, controlled with standard X10 devices and home automation software packages. Setup is easy. All you have to do is connect the Rain8 to your Mac's serial port using the included cable to assign the X10 address and program cycle durations for each sprinkler zone. Once these have been set, the Rain8 can be disconnected from the Mac and will respond to X10 signals just like any other X10-connected device. The Rain8 does not have to be connected to a computer for everyday operation. Using a Mac and home automation software, all aspects of irrigation may be controlled over the Internet. Set run times, start time, and days of the week you wish your system to operate. Choose to water at sunrise or sunset and for how long. Since the system is accessible over the Internet, you'll be able reschedule programming from any location in the world! Designed for use with X10-compatible computer interfaces and other devices that can generate the X10 Status Request command, the two-way Rain8MB Sprinkler Controller for Mac gives you the power to poll irrigation zones to determine their on/off status. Your computer can send a command to the module and then check to see if the command was carried out; if it was not, the computer can automatically send the command again. This expandable system includes an eight-zone X10 Irrigation Controller, but by networking additional controllers together, you can create up to 256 zones. In this way, you can choose which areas of your yard are watered and for how long, so that sunnier areas can receive more moisture than shaded areas, if you so desire. With five separate programs you can fine-tune your irrigation to conserve valuable water. You can even make seasonal adjustments in 5-percent increments on all run times to avoid spending the time to set each zone individually. The Rain8 is designed for installation in a water-protected location or in a weatherproof enclosure. The sprinkler wiring termination block easily separates from the main Rain8 controller, allowing you to modify Rain8 programming without tedious rewiring. Multiple Rain8 modules can be networked together, requiring only one AC transformer and PLC interface. Newer Macs do not have serial ports, which makes setting the default house code for the standard Rain8 difficult since you have to purchase a USB-to-serial adapter. The Rain8MB allows you to program the house code easily by sending a sequence of X10 commands, letting you use the Rain8MB without a serial port (in manual computer controlled mode only). Rain8 sprinkler systems for PC control are available separately.