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    Using the security setting with triggers for home security

    So I've read up on a lot of forum posts, but I can't seem to find a common-sense explanation of how the security setting works. My original understanding is that when checked, the security checkbox adds or removes up to 30 minutes from the original value (this default can be changed globally in the settings). You can see this randomization happen immediately when you check the box... what I don't understand is why it never changes. Sure, it randomly selects a time, but how do I get that to change every day so my lights come on at different times?


    Any help would be amazing! Currently my lights appear to be turning on at the exact same "random" time despite the passage of time... so I'm sure I'm missing something here. There's no way the "random" trigger only applies to setup, and not function, right?

    My Goal:
    Set up two events each for three lights ("turn on" + "turn off"). Make each light turn on and off within a random time within an hour each day so my house looks lived-in when I'm away.

    #2
    Do you have the option checked to use the security randomize feature for that event? (Click on the 'Options' triangle in the lower left of the event.)
    Attached Files
    Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
    HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

    HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

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      #3
      Originally posted by Uncle Michael View Post
      Do you have the option checked to use the security randomize feature for that event? (Click on the 'Options' triangle in the lower left of the event.)

      Yes, I do. It randomizes the time immediately, but I've noticed the time doesn't randomize after the event has triggered... it just randomizes it ONE time. This makes the feature pretty useless, of course.

      Comment


        #4
        What Uncle Michael said and here is an example of what I use. The arrow indicates a time of +/- in minutes (in setup) either side of the time you pick to trigger from. see pic1. An example of an event for when I am away. see pic2. There is also a PI for doing this but I use this because it is more controllable for me.
        Attached Files

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by cowinger View Post
          What Uncle Michael said and here is an example of what I use. The arrow indicates a time of +/- in minutes (in setup) either side of the time you pick to trigger from. see pic1. An example of an event for when I am away. see pic2. There is also a PI for doing this but I use this because it is more controllable for me.

          Yes, as referenced in my original post, I have set all these things up and I understand the basics. The problem is that after the event triggers, the time is not randomized for the next use. So right now I have a porch light set to 7:00 PM, and it's reportedly going to trigger at 7:14PM. This would be great if it did this at random every day, but as it stands it's going to simply use 7:14PM as the trigger for every day in the week.

          Am I missing something? How do I get this to randomize each day? As it stands, all this feature is doing for me is randomly selecting a time. Hell... I can do that, I don't need a setting for something like that.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Lucid View Post
            Yes, as referenced in my original post, I have set all these things up and I understand the basics. The problem is that after the event triggers, the time is not randomized for the next use. So right now I have a porch light set to 7:00 PM, and it's reportedly going to trigger at 7:14PM. This would be great if it did this at random every day, but as it stands it's going to simply use 7:14PM as the trigger for every day in the week.

            Am I missing something? How do I get this to randomize each day? As it stands, all this feature is doing for me is randomly selecting a time. Hell... I can do that, I don't need a setting for something like that.
            The time you set in 'Setup' for minutes is either + the time you have set and it is - the time. If you have it set for 7:00pm and you have 10 set in the box in setup then it will randomly turn on the light anywhere from 6:50pm to 7:10pm. The time will be random and different each night. The 7:14pm is what it is telling you that it is going to trigger at the next time. This will change tomorrow.

            If it is not doing that then there is probably something in the event that is not correct. Is your event set up like mine? Maybe give us a pic of the event.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Lucid View Post
              Yes, as referenced in my original post, I have set all these things up and I understand the basics. The problem is that after the event triggers, the time is not randomized for the next use. So right now I have a porch light set to 7:00 PM, and it's reportedly going to trigger at 7:14PM. This would be great if it did this at random every day, but as it stands it's going to simply use 7:14PM as the trigger for every day in the week.

              Am I missing something? How do I get this to randomize each day? As it stands, all this feature is doing for me is randomly selecting a time. Hell... I can do that, I don't need a setting for something like that.
              As Larry (cowinger) suggests, I think the randomization is applied daily to the trigger time as it runs. I think the only way you will see the randomization of time is to let the trigger naturally occur. I don’t use security offsets, but I have setup a test that will run each day at 9:00pm randomized +-30 minutes. The first one will run at 9:17 this evening. It should set a new trigger time between 8:30 and 9:30 after it runs tonight. I will look at the log tomorrow and see what happened. I think I did this test in 2014 and it worked.
              Last edited by randy; June 29, 2018, 04:04 PM.
              HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

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                #8
                I just checked one of my events with a security offset. It is set to run at 10:32 tonight. The log indicates that it ran at 10:44 last night. If you do not see something similar, then there is clearly something wrong with your event.
                Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Uncle Michael View Post
                  I just checked one of my events with a security offset. It is set to run at 10:32 tonight. The log indicates that it ran at 10:44 last night. If you do not see something similar, then there is clearly something wrong with your event.

                  Ah, thank you very much for confirming this! I was wondering if something was wrong, or if perhaps I was missing something. I'll check my log - perhaps they are triggering at random, but the event itself doesn't visually show the same change.

                  Edit: To clarify, after refreshing the events page after the time triggered, it showed the same plan for the next day (7:14PM). I then refreshed again the day after and it still read "7:14PM". Assuming nothing is wrong with Homeseer, it should trigger at a different time. I just wasn't sure if I was missing something or doing something wrong (e.g. some variable that might have been required to make it random-refresh every day.)

                  If my theory is correct, nothing is wrong, and I just need to confirm in my logs that everything is going to plan, rather than rely on my events page's prediction.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    There is also a BL add-on that randomizes lights...

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Lucid View Post
                      To clarify, after refreshing the events page after the time triggered, it showed the same plan for the next day (7:14PM). I then refreshed again the day after and it still read "7:14PM".
                      The listed time should change each day. (I think HS does the calculation at midnight.) So tomorrow the time listed for the trigger should be different than it is now.

                      PS. I notice that if I do not expand the trigger, as shown in the attachment, the listed time does not reflect the security offset.



                      Is the time listed on your event followed by (Security)?
                      Attached Files
                      Last edited by Uncle Michael; June 28, 2018, 09:43 AM. Reason: added observation
                      Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
                      HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

                      HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Uncle Michael View Post
                        The listed time should change each day. (I think HS does the calculation at midnight.) So tomorrow the time listed for the trigger should be different than it is now.

                        PS. I notice that if I do not expand the trigger, as shown in the attachment, the listed time does not reflect the security offset.

                        Is the time listed on your event followed by (Security)?

                        Again, yes, everything is set up correctly. I hope it doesn't randomize at midnight, because these screenshots show that tonight my events are scheduled to run at the same time as they did last night. Perhaps it's midnight EST, though? Either way, tonight I will finally know since I'm done messing with my settings, and the events all ran last night. I will compare the logs and have definitive answers finally.
                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by Lucid; June 28, 2018, 10:51 AM. Reason: Fix for the wonky terrible forum image settings

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                          #13
                          I can say that my test event ran at 9:17PM (set for 9:00PM +-30min) last evening. It did not change when triggered or at midnight. It is still set for 9:17PM. I will look at when it triggers this evening and if the trigger time is adjusted. I will also look at it again tomorrow morning. I also set up two more events with the same 9:00PM security enabled trigger. They were both set at 9:17PM. This is not looking very random.
                          HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

                          Comment


                            #14
                            I never really saw any benefit to the security offset. Just get BLOccupied. It does exactly what you're looking for and it's free.
                            Originally posted by rprade
                            There is no rhyme or reason to the anarchy a defective Z-Wave device can cause

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by S-F View Post
                              I never really saw any benefit to the security offset. Just get BLOccupied. It does exactly what you're looking for and it's free.
                              I agree. I use BLOccupied and it works reliably. At this point I am just trying to see if the security offset is truly random.
                              HS4 Pro, 4.2.19.0 Windows 10 pro, Supermicro LP Xeon

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