Considering NFC, Questions...

[waynehead99]

I have some confusion about NFC that I am hoping can get cleared up. Currently we only use iPhones, so the phone NFC is not usable.

Use Case that I want to consider doing if possible:
- Have an NFC "reader" at the garage door that can read different NFC chips and send this data back to HS (Differentiate who is who)
- Possibly have an NFC chip on our keys that we can use
- If one of these chips is used, unlock the door and run some events

I just recently added a door lock to my system and really want to make sure that the wife doesn't have to interact with it as much as possible, but still keep it secure. The above I think is the best way to go, but I don't know much about NFC and if what I am asking is possible or even the right direction to go.

Also what about RFID??? Is that a better way to go?

Thanks.

[waynehead99]

Ok, so I have been doing some research on this and think I will try this approach. I already use the mysensors plugin for other things, so I hope this will be an easy add:

http://www.mysensors.org/build/rfid

Basically build an arduino with the RFID shield... For 20 bucks, worth a test.

[rmasonjr]

Hi Wayne. I'd be very interested in your project. Please post back with your experience.

[Pete]

Also what about RFID??? Is that a better way to go?

I am still using the old CheaperRFID stuff here. Only use it for the automobiles.

Use 12VDC RFID tags in the automobile headliners and 3 readers...only really only need one though.

Main RFID reader is in the attic (2nd one is in the garage and 3rd one in the basement).

These are all serially connected to Homeseer via the Digi Edgeport.

The range on the cheaper rfid in the attic will open my garage door as I enter our small subdivision here (which I do not like to do anyways). I tested this last year and this year.

Note that this is totally different than using the NFC tags.

There are no dependencies on the internet or smartphones using the above mentioned stuff.

Here are posts relating to testing out the cheaperRFID stuff.

The 12VDC tag doesn't eat the car battery as long as you use the car every day. I put trickle chargers on the cars that I do not utilize every day.

[waynehead99]

Will do, it will be a bit though. I just ordered it from China... usually takes a couple weeks to get to Denver.

The more I am reading about it, it might fit what I am trying to do.

I like the idea of RFID in the cars to tell who is home, but I don't see it being secure enough because of the potential on distance to have it controlling locks on my house.

[Pete]

Yes; I do not do security related stuff with the one's in the cars. That said though with long range and short range antennas you can write events using either or both for stuff.

You can also use the small RFID keychain tags and RFID receiver with the short range stuff for locks.

The prices from China for the cheaper rfid stuff have gone up over the years.

[waynehead99]

I received my stuff last night. I am currently working thru the sketch for mysensors as it seems once its loaded the arduino does nothing.

I tested with the PN532 sketch (RFID Module), and tested with the supplied cards that I see the keys, so at least i know the hardware is connected right and working.

I am going to try and spend some time on this tonight and see what I can get working.

Funny thing is I saw the NFC off my iPhone and got a little excited for a second that I might be able to hack something together with that, except I noticed, the key changes each time

[happnatious1]

I've considered doing this as well but NFC is a bit of a mystery to me. I have a windows phone that supposedly has a NFC chip in it, but I'll be damned if I know what good it is. Looking forward to following this thread.

[waynehead99]

I got the sketch working. I found that it was missing Serial.begin(115200); at the beginning to output in serial monitor. From there I could see the keys being sent each time (range is roughly a couple inches which is perfect for my needs). I copied 1 of the 3 keys i had into the sketch and could tell that it would only trigger off the one and not the others.

It added to the mysensors gateway without issue (had to refresh the device page a couple times to completely show).

It shows lock and unlock. And each time the tag is read it toggles this. I am not sure how I feel about this yet and might change the sketch a bit (if i figure out how ) to only send a trigger vs the toggle.

Right now for testing, I have two events setup, when RFID goes to lock, set door to lock, and unlock to unlock.

So far on the bench it seems to be working well. I am going to work to move the setup out to the garage next to the door and see how it works in real life.

I have been using the mysensors setup since it was created starting with Vera, and can't say enough good things about it. I have a few wireless homemade sensors where looks do not matter and they have always just worked.

[Raptor]

i have a few NFC readers for the arduino,

shouldnt be too hard to integrate them into homeseer.

[waynehead99]

Quick video of it in action. I added an led that only comes on when an active chip is near it.

https://vimeo.com/145207092

[kideon]

This is pretty close to what I'd want to do but since I do t want to lock or unlock rather trigger events based on tag presence it would be better to just send the tag number or a designation back to home seer then I could have event logic handle it. Or I suppose I could just use the lock / unlock and consider that present vs not present but I'd want to then be able to change that from home seer i.e. If I scan one room as present the go to another room and scan as present it would make the first room not present?

[waynehead99]

This is pretty close to what I'd want to do but since I do t want to lock or unlock rather trigger events based on tag presence it would be better to just send the tag number or a designation back to home seer then I could have event logic handle it. Or I suppose I could just use the lock / unlock and consider that present vs not present but I'd want to then be able to change that from home seer i.e. If I scan one room as present the go to another room and scan as present it would make the first room not present?

I am sure with the event engine and some thought, you could do what you are wanting. I ended up just setting it to unlock the door only no matter the status, just that it changed. I was getting things out of sync when trying to do the lock/unlock and it was mainly the door lock itself causing the issues. Just seemed easier this way, and didn't see a need ever to lock the door this way. I only installed it to make the wife happier about an automatic door. It has been working solid. I have other arduinos connected to mysensors as well. Multisensors that have motion temp and humidity, and also one that looks at all my wired door and window sensors from my alarm.

The downside of this setup is you have to manually add in the tag ID into the sketch (I have two listed for me and my wife). I am sure there is a way to update OTA, but I am not that good at coding, so work with what I have. Below is what the device looks like in HS and the event I am using to unlock the door.