advice needed

[curlywol]

Hi
I have recently bought a usb receiver and transmitter (433MHz)from rfxcom and am using the trial version of Homeseer with the rfxcom plugin to form the basis of a home security system.
For test purposes I have a couple of HomeEasy devices - door sensor and pir -
and an X10 ms13E pir.
Now the homeeasy products seem to be a bit fussy but it may be because the batteries are the ones they were supplied with.
The ms13e seems to be reliable. Now before i commit to buying all the devices I need, can anyone give me advice as to which type to go for? The most important factor is reliability. I want a secure intruder alarm system using the alarm panel of the rfxcom plugin.
thanks
John

[Moskus]

I'd go for HomeEasy with fresh batteries. I had more problems with the MS13 not being reliable.

[b_weijenberg]

John,

Motion sensors for lighting are not the best for a security system. It is better to use real security sensors and the best results I have is with the Visonic 868.95MHz (or BT VP1000) sensors. You can add a slave 868.95MHz RFXCOM receiver to the RFXCOM interface.
-battery life is very long (> 4 years)
-sensors have a unique code that does not change with a battery change (like X10)
-the transmission protocol is very good and no sensor signal is lost
http://www.rfxcom.com/receivers.htm#40079

On the other hand the Visonic motion sensors cannot be used for lighting control because the no-motion command is send with a large delay.

MS13 is working OK for me but sometimes the motion command is disturbed by another RF sensor and not seen in Homeseer.
HomeEasy sensors transmit for about 3 to 5 seconds a lot of RF data packets and there is a high risk that this will disturb other sensor transmissions.They work perfect in a stand-alone situation but IMO not to be used in a Home Automation environment.

Bert

[Moskus]

On the other hand the Visonic motion sensors cannot be used for lighting control because the no-motion command is send with a large delay.

But that could be fixed with some fairly easy Events, couldn't it?

[b_weijenberg]

Each motion does not send a motion command until the the sensor has transmitted a no-motion. So events is not a solution. :-(

[Moskus]

Aha... is it the same for HomeEasy/Nexa motion sensors?

[curlywol]

Thanks for the replies.
Moskus, in what way did you find the ms13 unreliable?
Has anyone used the ms90 motion detector?
HomeEasy products are relatively cheap and readily available in B&Q.
John

[Moskus]

Moskus, in what way did you find the ms13 unreliable?

I was experiencing some noise on the 433 MHz band, I got dropouts from temperature sensors in the vicinity of two specific MS13's. They worked fine directly after installing fresh batteries, but then rather quickly returned being unreliable.

The ON signal the sensors sent weren't picked up by HomeSeer/RFXCOM either.


I replaced them, on Berts advice, with Nexa motion sensors. The signal is now only lost when my neighbour is using one of her wireless phones...

[curlywol]

Bert
how does the visonic slave attach to the 80002 receiver?

[b_weijenberg]

open the box (2 screws at the bottom),
push the 40079 slave receiver in the connector J5,
close the box, that's all.

[mikeysoft2]

NEXA
-----
1. What are the advantages for these over MS13? (for lighting control)
2. Where is the most cost effective place to buy them, for UK? They seem to have a nice outdoor motion sensor with a very narrow beam (MDT-507 at http://www.nexa.se/Saendare-passiva.htm)

VISONIC/VP1000 PIR
--------------------
What exactly do these transmit and how often, with regards movement sensing? Motion on, motion off? If so, what is the gap between the two? I'm assuming they transmit regardless of the state of the control panel (ie. alarm armed and alarm not armed)?

Thanks