Hi everyone,
Described below is something I've wanted to achieve with Homeseer since I first started with it:
Have an external keypad, weatherproof, wall mounted beside my front door. The keypad does not rely on batteries, it is wired to a power supply through the wall.
When the right security code is entered, an electronic strike on the door is released/opened. The strike also does not rely on batteries, it is mains powered.
Multiple codes can co-exist for different family members. Logging of which code was used when achievale through device history.
HomeSeer is the heart of the operation, the decision on whether or not to release the strike based on correct code happens in homeseer.
The strike/door part is simple enough. EnigmaTheatre's excellent Arduino plugin makes this possible through use of an Arduino output wired to a relay, which is inline to the strike power supply.
The logic behind whether to open the door also seems achievable enough with homeseer events. Entered keypad codes should write to a virtual device, when the virtual device's value changes, this triggers a branching event that checks the new device value against multiple codes to find a match.
What I can't see how to achieve, and what I need peoples advice on, is how to interface the keypad and get it writing values into HomeSeer.
Initially I saw the Popp Z-wave keypad. But it was European frequency only (I use a US frequency SmartStick). Popp was bought by Aeotec but there has been no news from either company in quite some time.
DanaLock also looked promising with their DanaPad accessory. Initially the company assured me via email that the DanaPad would be releasing with a Z-wave interface option. But it has been on the market ~6 months now and Bluetooth remains the only option.
Further, after living with an increasing amount of z-wave and zigbee devices over the last year, I've come to deeply dislike anything battery powered. I would like to stick with hardwired/mains powered where ever possible and "always on/always listening" devices.
Plenty of affordable outdoor keypads exist with a "standard" Wiegand output, you can buy such things on eBay for ~$20-$35. But how to interface the Wiegand output of the keypad into HomeSeer? I don't know of any plugin that would facilitate this.
Converters exist that can convert Wiegand to USB/RS232 or TCP/IP. The RS232/USB converters are the cheaper option at around $15-$20 each. But as I understand it, their output would be received as ASCII characters on a COM port. Which plugin could listen for this signalling and write it into a device value? Hash/pound key could be used for EOL signalling maybe?
An excessive solution might be to buy one of the many home security panels for which plugins already exist, and maybe pull entered keypad codes from that communication? But I suspect that would be a fairly expensive solution to achieve a single desired result.
So, genius members of the HomeSeer community, please lend me your suggestions!
Described below is something I've wanted to achieve with Homeseer since I first started with it:
Have an external keypad, weatherproof, wall mounted beside my front door. The keypad does not rely on batteries, it is wired to a power supply through the wall.
When the right security code is entered, an electronic strike on the door is released/opened. The strike also does not rely on batteries, it is mains powered.
Multiple codes can co-exist for different family members. Logging of which code was used when achievale through device history.
HomeSeer is the heart of the operation, the decision on whether or not to release the strike based on correct code happens in homeseer.
The strike/door part is simple enough. EnigmaTheatre's excellent Arduino plugin makes this possible through use of an Arduino output wired to a relay, which is inline to the strike power supply.
The logic behind whether to open the door also seems achievable enough with homeseer events. Entered keypad codes should write to a virtual device, when the virtual device's value changes, this triggers a branching event that checks the new device value against multiple codes to find a match.
What I can't see how to achieve, and what I need peoples advice on, is how to interface the keypad and get it writing values into HomeSeer.
Initially I saw the Popp Z-wave keypad. But it was European frequency only (I use a US frequency SmartStick). Popp was bought by Aeotec but there has been no news from either company in quite some time.
DanaLock also looked promising with their DanaPad accessory. Initially the company assured me via email that the DanaPad would be releasing with a Z-wave interface option. But it has been on the market ~6 months now and Bluetooth remains the only option.
Further, after living with an increasing amount of z-wave and zigbee devices over the last year, I've come to deeply dislike anything battery powered. I would like to stick with hardwired/mains powered where ever possible and "always on/always listening" devices.
Plenty of affordable outdoor keypads exist with a "standard" Wiegand output, you can buy such things on eBay for ~$20-$35. But how to interface the Wiegand output of the keypad into HomeSeer? I don't know of any plugin that would facilitate this.
Converters exist that can convert Wiegand to USB/RS232 or TCP/IP. The RS232/USB converters are the cheaper option at around $15-$20 each. But as I understand it, their output would be received as ASCII characters on a COM port. Which plugin could listen for this signalling and write it into a device value? Hash/pound key could be used for EOL signalling maybe?
An excessive solution might be to buy one of the many home security panels for which plugins already exist, and maybe pull entered keypad codes from that communication? But I suspect that would be a fairly expensive solution to achieve a single desired result.
So, genius members of the HomeSeer community, please lend me your suggestions!
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