We have
officially declared August GSM month! Why? Because we can, and because we want
to share with you some of the cool things that you can do with a GSM module,
that you probably never even thought was possible! We’re generous like that.
Just in case
there’s any doubt as to how absolutely, positively fantastic this technology
is, let’s take a moment to reflect on the fact that all of the things mentioned
in this article can be done using your phone! Yes, you heard that right, it
turns out it’s good for more than playing Angry Birds on while pretending to be
hard at work.
1.
Open your
gate
Okay, we cheated
a little with this first one since most of you probably knew that you can use a
GSM module for this. But still, no more bulky remotes that can be lost or
stolen you say? Count us in!
2. Switch on a fridge
Fridges are
notoriously heavy on electricity and, if it’s one that you only use
occasionally – say, a fridge aboard your boat or in your “man cave” - it’s
probably rather impractical (not to mention expensive) to keep the thing
running year-round until it has run up a utility bill that looks like a
teenager’s phone bill. So what do you do? Just hook that puppy up to a GSM
module, missed call or SMS the unit an hour or two before the big game – and
enjoy your ice cold brewskies right on cue. Now that’s a bro move.
3. Arm an alarm
Allow us to
posit the following bone-chilling scenario: You’re on your way to the dam armed
with your rods and your cooler box, the sun has just started to creep over the
horizon painting the sky in majestic shades of ochre. Today, you fish. And
nothing is going to stop you. Suddenly you realise, much to your chagrin, that
you forgot to arm the house alarm and there has been a spate of burglaries in
your neighbourhood. Do you turn the car around and miss out on the opportunity
to show the bass who’s boss (see what we did there?)? Not if you have a GSM
module installed!
4. Warm up your bed
It’s an icy July
evening, you’re working late, and the only thing you want right now is to go
home and get into bed with Volume III of A
Game of Thrones. If only there was some way of switching your electric
blanket on remotely and letting it warm up your bed (which is presently as cold
as Dracula’s sarcophagus) while you’re driving home. Oh wait, that’s right,
there is. GSM!
5. Irrigation
The MyGSM onlineuser portal allows you to set up your module to perform automatic activations,
for example activating your sprinkler system at 4 o’ clock every afternoon.
Even when you forget, your GSM module won’t – this is automation working for you.
6. Keep tabs
Up until this
point we’ve mostly been focussing on our GSM products’ switching capabilities,
but did you know that you can use them for monitoring as well? Receive SMS
notifications on your phone when your alarm is activated, mains power has
failed or even when someone is blocking the infrared gate safety beams in front
of your gate!
7. Time and attendance
If you have
people working for you, whether it be a single domestic worker or you head up a
slightly larger undertaking, CENTURION’s GSM modules and accompanying web
interfaces allow you to keep tabs on when they report for work and when they
knock off. Both G-WEB and MyGSM.co.za store transaction logs containing the
date and time of the transaction, the access number used, the name of the
person assigned to that number, and the output triggered. These can then be
viewed at the administrator or employer’s leisure and used for tallying the
hours worked, calculating salaries and overtime, etc.
8. Control the aircon
“But Charl,” I
hear you saying, “air conditioners have remotes! Why would you want to control
them with your phone?” That’s a fair point, but what if you’re not in the
physical vicinity of the aircon unit? Say, for example, that you’re the proprietor
of a bed and breakfast and you’d like guests to be greeted by a nice, cool room
upon arrival but you don’t necessarily have the time and resources to go to
each and every room and switch on the aircon (or to switch it off once the
ambient temperature has been sufficiently cooled down). Then, kemo sabe, you simply whip out your cell
phone and issue the command, as it were.
9. Lock down your entrance electronically
So the fishing
trip you went on in point number 3 didn’t work out exactly as planned, and you
ended up catching no more than a bad cold. You have now set your sites on going
down to the coast, but that means leaving your home unattended for at least a
week and you worry that your domestic staff, all of whom have remotes to your
property, will use this opportunity to help themselves to your stuff. Well, you
probably already know where this is going...
All CENTURION
operators offer a unique little feature known as Holiday Lockout that, when
activated, causes your gate motor to ignore inputs from all devices except the
one that invoked it. Connect the GSM module to your gate motor’s Holiday
Lockout input and ensure that “there ain’t no one gettin’ in ‘cept you”.
10.
Monitor
fluid level
Whether you want
to know when your Koi pond is full, or you’d like to be notified when a diesel
generator needs refilling, you can’t go wrong with a GSM module acting as
sentry. Since the module will notify you via text alert once the fluid reaches
a certain level, there’s no need to check on it manually and thus you’ll have
time for life’s more important things (read: fishing and watching rugby).
In what creative
way have you used your GSM module? Let us know in the comments!
