motion sensor question

[sleighbor]

Hey guys,

I do not have any motion sensors at home and would like to add some but I am not sure which one to buy because I am not sure exactly how the sensors work with HomeSeer. I have x10 and zWave running so either is fine.

Does the motion sensor send a signal back to HomeSeer? Or do I need additional hardware to interface between the sensor and HomeSeer?

Sorry about the basic question but I don't want to buy the wrong thing.

Thank you,
Kevin

[rmasonjr]

I have a lot of the X10 eagleeye/hawkeye sensors. I use a WGL800 receiver and the ACRF2 plug-in to process those signals. HS receives the signals via the plug-in. Another software layer I use is DooMotion to control lighting based on those motion sensors firing/not-firing.

So, the way my install works with motion:

motion detector -> WGL800 (receiver) -> ACRF2 (plug-in) -> DooMotion (plug-in) -> HS

I have z-wave lighting only, so I cant comment on the z-wave motion sensors.

[sleighbor]

Hi Rob,

This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I have an ACT HomePro TI103 x10 interface to send x10 signals from HomeSeer. Will that be able to receive the x10 signals like the WGL800?

thanks!
Kevin

[Dave W]

Hi Rob,

I have an ACT HomePro TI103 x10 interface to send x10 signals from HomeSeer. Will that be able to receive the x10 signals like the WGL800?

thanks!
Kevin

No the TI103 can not pickup RF signals from the X10 motion detectors.
Besides the WGL800 which receives the X10 RF commands and couples them directly to the computer via the USB port, you could also use a TM751 or RR501 tranceiver from X10 which picks up the RF command from the X10 motion sensor and couples it on to the homes powerlines so the TI103 can pick it up.

[sleighbor]

Hey.

I have a TM751! So the TM751 will pick up the wireless signals sent our from the motion sensors and and then the TI103 will see it? that is fantastic!

Thank you both so much for the info. Time to buy an x10 motion sensor!

Kevin

[heatvent]

Hey.

I have a TM751! So the TM751 will pick up the wireless signals sent our from the motion sensors and and then the TI103 will see it? that is fantastic!

Thank you both so much for the info. Time to buy an x10 motion sensor!

Kevin

Kevin, FYI, the TM751 only picks up the normal X10 RF signals (i.e. Hawkeye type motion detectors using House Code and Device Code). X10 also has security motion detectors which are encrypted. You need the 310mhz W800RF or the RFXCom for these. Also, if you are going to make this a permanent part of your setup, the W800/RFXCom will probably give you better range and performance since the signal goes straight for the antenna to HS rather than going through the powerline...but depends on your needs. There are also Zwave motion/temperature sensors (HSM100 sold by HS) that I believe may work with your Zwave setup?

[rmasonjr]

Just to echo what the guys have already said:

Your tm751 will hear the X10 motion sensors (not the security sensors) and put them on the powerline. Your TI103 will only transmit X10 commands. You will likely need either the WGL800 or the RFXCOM along with the appropriate plug-in (software) to allow HS to be notified.

You also have the route of Z-Wave motion sensors which work with the Z-Wave controllers that HS supports and no plug-in would be required for this.

Hope that helps - you're embarking on one of the cooler aspects of HA!

[sleighbor]

Hello,

The range might be a problem for this x10 setup with the TM751. I think I would rather not get involved with the WGL800. Maybe I should spend some money on the more expensive. zwave sensors. They cost more but it sounds like they will be more easier to setup and more reliable.

Thank you,
Kevin

[sleighbor]

Very cool. I'll let you know what I decide on and how it works out.

thanks Rob and everyone.

Kevin

[langenet]

Can an event be created when there is no motion?

I have a Hawkeye and wanted to turn off a light which is triggered by a ds10 when the door opens. When the door closes, it will turn off the light. But, should someone leave the door open and walk out of the room for a period of time, I'd like to turn off the light.

So the action would be no motion for n period of time.

Robert

[joegrace13]

I use a system exactly like rmasonjr as well as using a bunch of HSM100s.

IMHO the HSM100s are great. Aside from the extra data they give you (temp, light level) they also report their battery level so I have a script that looks at all the battery levels of all my devices and emails me when they are getting low, so no surprise dead devices.

You can also control the sensitivity of the HSM100s which has been great with my cats\dog.

They are a lot more expensive but my advice would be to pick up a few of the Hawkeyes and at least one HSM100 and play with them all.

[joegrace13]

Can an event be created when there is no motion?

I have a Hawkeye and wanted to turn off a light which is triggered by a ds10 when the door opens. When the door closes, it will turn off the light. But, should someone leave the door open and walk out of the room for a period of time, I'd like to turn off the light.

So the action would be no motion for n period of time.

Robert

You should have no problems fireing off an event when the motion sensor sends a no-motion signal.

[TeleFragger]

You should have no problems fireing off an event when the motion sensor sends a no-motion signal.

i too do the same thing...

garage open door :
concord4 alarm door sensor open = lights on and motion tripped
close door - do nothing.....
motion off - lights off


I did that because if you open door and light on.... then close door behind you and light off... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr so fixed with motion tripping...

then i have the motion set for 10 or so minutes of no motion to send an off...


i have this on my garage door, utility room, crawl space, foyer, hallway, laundry room (second floor), master closet

works like a champ...

i however have to replace my motion sensors... i have purchased 19 ms13a (they are white so i think that is the model)...

so if you need motions... i will be selling ms14a's and ms16a's...

or new i could get you a link on x10.com but private messages seem to be disabled....and that is where i had all that stored....

[rmasonjr]

Can an event be created when there is no motion?

I have a Hawkeye and wanted to turn off a light which is triggered by a ds10 when the door opens. When the door closes, it will turn off the light. But, should someone leave the door open and walk out of the room for a period of time, I'd like to turn off the light.

So the action would be no motion for n period of time.

Robert

You can definitely do this with homeseer events, but I am very partial to DooMotion - it is easily done within this plugin and you can tailor it to prevent multiple firings.

But, the biggest reason to do this in DooMotion is that the plug-in will guarantee that your OFF will be executed without relying on the OFF being sent by the motion detector. This is handy because some of the motion detectors OFFs can be delay-configured or sometimes the OFF is never received. DooMotion really does guarantee that you can turn a light off once it has been turned on.

[rmasonjr]

Hello,

The range might be a problem for this x10 setup with the TM751. I think I would rather not get involved with the WGL800. Maybe I should spend some money on the more expensive. zwave sensors. They cost more but it sounds like they will be more easier to setup and more reliable.

Thank you,
Kevin

I think with the Z-Wave detectors, you get temperature and light level detection as well, so you wont go wrong with that decision.

Let us know how you get along!