Controlling a Microwave Oven

[chris_j_hunter]

We're needing to buy some Microwave ovens ... and 'am keen to control them via Idratek ... mostly they'll be used for the same things, so having (say) four button modules on the wall by which to set each one going (one button for each thing, even combinations of buttons, if need more than four options) might be good ... so, has anyone done this, and which type of oven might be best (never having looked behind the control panel, I imagine some might be easier than others, depending on what sort of switches they use for control) ... latest Which? magazine rated some of the cheaper ones quite highly, so having more than one becomes a possibility, which might be quite handy !

any thoughts / experience ?

[Gumby]

errr ... sometimes I'm not sure whether you are a visionary or just barking mad

I'm just trying to think of some scenarios where integration would be easier than using the front panel on the microwave (especially if it had the capability for standard settings which seem to be what you are looking for).

So - umm - here goes ...

You put a cold cup of coffee in the mikey before retiring and it then gets heated up in the morning (or the middle of the night ) when Cortex detects you've got out of bed ...

You put some popcorn in the mikey and it gets cooked up when Cortex registers the TV being turned on for your habitual Friday night movie ...

You put some soup in the mikey and then phone Cortex from your cold winter walk with the dog to make sure it's ready and waiting when you get home ...

come on ... put us out of our suspense and explain yourself

[chris_j_hunter]

well ... it's late, and I was up early ... spending maybe twelve hours, in two tranches, trying to get our new & old Mac's working in-concert via a Time Capsule, with very mixed results (two hours ago the iMac froze, and has been refusing clean-ups & re-loads from disc, though at the moment it's looking like it just might not have to go back to the shop - ie: a total erase may have cleared the trouble, 'though that means a whole load of downloads & configuring will have to follow) ... and five hours doing plastering up at the house ... so 'may well be a little round the twist ... but, while I can see how to do some simple stuff with dishwasher & washing-machines (smart starts), it would be good to do more ... to-date, we've not had a microwave', but one or two would be handy when we get the room we're working-on ready to use ... so I thought, while was about it, we might choose a model that could be integrated, as an experiment ... MIL's is a pain to use, with umpteen button presses to set it going (incrementing power & time, essentially), and again when more time is needed, and again ... so ... beverages, vegetables, occasional ready-meals, hot-water bottles, etc ! Maybe the sort of scenarios you mentioned, but also quicker setting & iterative learning / updates ... ... in twenty minutes, I'll know if the re-load has worked ... then it's downloads & configuring networks, and getting Time Machine going, and ... if & once it's all working, next job will be the MiniITX & Cortex & trying-out modules in-situ, before we finalise the fit-out of the room ... thirteen minutes, it says now ... as I said, it's late !

PS: yippee ... music playing (Leopard intro', ie)

[Gumby]

On the multi-button presses, I've always bought microwaves with rotary time controls for that reason. We've got a small Neff one which has been very good and looks good built-in.

Your enthusiasm for integration is infectious. I spent half the night having half dreams about recognising the "done" beep with speech recognition