Using wireless contact sensor as car sensor

[MStan]

Just curious if anyone has successfully used a wireless alarm sensor, being a door contact or such that has a transmitter, that would talk to a receiver connected to a panel, (elk hai or homeseer).


The trick would be that the sensor would have to send a different code if it was coming in range or out of range, and the sensor could some how be powered from the car 12 system.

Then you could wire two different zones to determine if the sensor was in or out of range.


Any thoughts?

Mark

[Steve Q]

I use the Cheaper RFID system to determine if the car is present or nearby. http://www.cheapertronics.com/

Your post however, gave me an idea! My wife is not very good about parking in the same spot in the garage. Since we have a tight garage this makes it sometimes very difficult for me to get into my car. So I installed a "Rube Goldberg" kind of alignment system to make it easier for her to pull the van into the right spot every time. Your idea made me think about using a DS10a magnet security switch and attaching the magnet to the roof rack on the van and suspending the switch from the ceiling over the van. Then I could put a big LED sign in front of the van that would light up and say"Congratulations" when she gets the van to the right spot!!!

Steve Q

[Bill Brower]

If you are running an ACRF plugin I guess you could use a DS10A and when it goes 'troubled' you can trigger an event the car is gone and so on.

But I second the Cheapertronics studd, been running for a couple of years (I think...)

[MStan]

I use the Cheaper RFID system to determine if the car is present or nearby. http://www.cheapertronics.com/

Your post however, gave me an idea! My wife is not very good about parking in the same spot in the garage. Since we have a tight garage this makes it sometimes very difficult for me to get into my car. So I installed a "Rube Goldberg" kind of alignment system to make it easier for her to pull the van into the right spot every time. Your idea made me think about using a DS10a magnet security switch and attaching the magnet to the roof rack on the van and suspending the switch from the ceiling over the van. Then I could put a big LED sign in front of the van that would light up and say"Congratulations" when she gets the van to the right spot!!!

Steve Q

I was thinking of trying that setup, but seems some of the devices are no longer available on the web site, and posts saying that they were getting intermittent results.

What equip do you have?

I was looking at the prebuilt plugin to car 12v setup.

Mark

[BobSpen]

Here's a simple idea that might work in your system to tell when your "away". I posted it before, in another thread, and got zero comments, so maybe it a crazy idea. It assumes you have good RF reception to a WGL800 or RFXCom antenna and the ACRF2 plugin:

1) Install a DS10A in your car using a relay, to provide a contact closure for the DS10A, that is activated by the ignition being on and/or the car running. It would send ALERT to HS when you start the car.

2) In HS, set a virtual device called AWAY when the DS10A "changes to" ALERT so that the act of starting the car will set AWAY to ON.

3) If HS(thru ACRF2) gets a "Comm Failure" (2 heartbeat missing after ~3 hours) on the DS10A device in the car -AND- AWAY is ON, just ignore the Comm Failure(the DS10A is out of range). When you arrive back home and turn the car off the DS10A will send a NORMAL signal where an event detects the "change to" NORMAL and turns AWAY to OFF.

5) If HS(thru ACRF) gets a Comm Failure (heartbeat missing after 3 hours), on the DS10A in the car, and AWAY is OFF, DO NOT ignore the Comm Failure, there is a real failure.

6) Too simple???

Caution: Never park your car too far from your ACRF antenna or the system will think you are always "away".

Bob

[Steve Q]

Mark,

I am quite happy with the Cheapertronics RFID transmitter and receiver. I have 2 - 8 meter transmitters, one in each car. I tried the 40 meter transmitter but it was too powerful and it would swamp the receiver when the car was in the garage. The only problem I have is low temperature drop outs (30 degrees or less) during the winter. I have several scripts that run when the car returns, things like disarm the security system, wake up the house, etc, I really like that.

It is well worth the price!

Steve Q

[jackpod]

Here's a simple idea that might work in your system to tell when your "away". I posted it before, in another thread, and got zero comments, so maybe it a crazy idea. It assumes you have good RF reception to a WGL800 or RFXCom antenna and the ACRF2 plugin:

1) Install a DS10A in your car using a relay, to provide a contact closure for the DS10A, that is activated by the ignition being on and/or the car running. It would send ALERT to HS when you start the car.

2) In HS, set a virtual device called AWAY when the DS10A "changes to" ALERT so that the act of starting the car will set AWAY to ON.

3) If HS(thru ACRF2) gets a "Comm Failure" (2 heartbeat missing after ~3 hours) on the DS10A device in the car -AND- AWAY is ON, just ignore the Comm Failure(the DS10A is out of range). When you arrive back home and turn the car off the DS10A will send a NORMAL signal where an event detects the "change to" NORMAL and turns AWAY to OFF.

5) If HS(thru ACRF) gets a Comm Failure (heartbeat missing after 3 hours), on the DS10A in the car, and AWAY is OFF, DO NOT ignore the Comm Failure, there is a real failure.

6) Too simple???

Caution: Never park your car too far from your ACRF antenna or the system will think you are always "away".

Bob

Bob, As always you have good ideas, I need to think that one over as that might be an addition I can utilize in conjunction with my IAutomate RFID. I don't know how many times I walk out to the car and realize I forgot to open my gate (the RFID closes it) but the DS10a on the ignition could be a trigger... Humm Thanks for the "brain food"

[jackpod]

Bob, you are a genius. My RFID can be really flakey at times, but your ds10 on a relay is a great idea. Many times if one car moves or if someone comes over and parks close to one of my vehicles the tags drop out and the gate will close or cycle, but with the DS10 acting as a variable and unless a car is running it can be used as a condition...

Looks like you have solved a problem I have been having for the last 3 years. If your ever in the Flagstaff area, you got a dinner coming your way

Thanks for the great idea

Jack

[BobSpen]

Jack,
Before I check the mileage to Flagstaff, dinner where?
Good luck and let us know how it works out.......
BobSpen

[jackpod]

Where abouts in no cal, I was born and raised there (53 years worth) SF Bay area

[MStan]

Bob, you are a genius. My RFID can be really flakey at times, but your ds10 on a relay is a great idea. Many times if one car moves or if someone comes over and parks close to one of my vehicles the tags drop out and the gate will close or cycle, but with the DS10 acting as a variable and unless a car is running it can be used as a condition...

Looks like you have solved a problem I have been having for the last 3 years. If your ever in the Flagstaff area, you got a dinner coming your way

Thanks for the great idea

Jack

What about the guy that started the thread? Can he come to dinner?

Mark

[BobSpen]

What about Dinner?

Where abouts in no cal, I was born and raised there (53 years worth) SF Bay area

Bit south of San Jose-SilverCreek Valley. But I notice you changed topic from dinner for MStan &me?
BobSpen

[jackpod]

Just let me know when you are in Flagstaff (remember Flagstaff is small, but there is a couple nice places) and you can drag Mstan along if you want

[bpm32]

A little more direction?

Here's a simple idea that might work in your system to tell when your "away". I posted it before, in another thread, and got zero comments, so maybe it a crazy idea. It assumes you have good RF reception to a WGL800 or RFXCom antenna and the ACRF2 plugin:

1) Install a DS10A in your car using a relay, to provide a contact closure for the DS10A, that is activated by the ignition being on and/or the car running. It would send ALERT to HS when you start the car.

2) In HS, set a virtual device called AWAY when the DS10A "changes to" ALERT so that the act of starting the car will set AWAY to ON.

3) If HS(thru ACRF2) gets a "Comm Failure" (2 heartbeat missing after ~3 hours) on the DS10A device in the car -AND- AWAY is ON, just ignore the Comm Failure(the DS10A is out of range). When you arrive back home and turn the car off the DS10A will send a NORMAL signal where an event detects the "change to" NORMAL and turns AWAY to OFF.

5) If HS(thru ACRF) gets a Comm Failure (heartbeat missing after 3 hours), on the DS10A in the car, and AWAY is OFF, DO NOT ignore the Comm Failure, there is a real failure.

6) Too simple???

Caution: Never park your car too far from your ACRF antenna or the system will think you are always "away".

Bob

Reviving an old thread here... I can do everything but item #1 here. Can anyone share any guidance on how (and where) to wire a relay into a car? I did a quick search on Radio Shack for 12v relays, but they didn't look all that simple (to me) to install.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[nightwalker]

Years ago in a garage in another house, I had a ping pong ball tied to a string hanging from the ceiling that just touched the windshield when you were in position, so you didn't ram into the wall. I wired a standard magnetic window sensor to that ping pong ball and stuck a magnet to the inside of the windshield behind the rear view mirror to trigger it. It worked really well as long as you were positioned not too far to one side or the other so the magnet was close to the sensor in the ball.

I've since switched over to RFID but it worked pretty well.