X10 Community Forum
🔌General Home Automation => Automating Your House => Topic started by: hpservertech on August 05, 2009, 03:11:58 AM
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First post, but long time lurker. Have a question that has had me stuck for a bit.
Have a detached shed. It is going to have 2 floodlight motion sensors going back to AHP that is going to have several outlet & switch modules.
For the shed I would like to have a way to turn on a chime, or light switch when either the side door or the garage door is opened. My first thought was to use an MS16a. But that wont work cause of distance back to the CM15a. So I thought about the powerflash and using regular magnetic contact switches such as these: http://cgi.ebay.com/5-Set-Door-Or-Window-Contact-Magnetic-Reed-Switch-Alarm_W0QQitemZ230363899597QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a2c226cd&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Basically making the powerflash a sorta burglar alarm, but just turning on a light (or a chime module)
Question is, would this work?
And if so, do i just wire the sensor into the powerflash, 1 wire going to each terminal? Or do I need to have a dc power supply wired to one of the wires and the other wire going to the powerflash? This is the part that confuses me the most.
Would I need a normally open switch or a normally closed switch?
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The Powerflash can be triggered by a low voltage or a set of dry contacts. It has a switch to select the input type. So a simple switch will do. You need a switch that is closed when you want the powerflash to send the ON signal.
I use one with an ELK Doorbell sensor board and it works fine with no external voltage trigger on the terminals. It gives a dry switch contact that the Powerflash is happy with.
If you want to look at the instruction sheet. I know it is on the X10Pro web site in their manuals section. The PSC01 is their model that is basically the same as the X10 model. I believe I looked on the X10 site and could not find the manual there.
www.x10pro.com
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This is the set up that I use and it is very effective. http://www.x10-store.com/x10prowidose.html
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Thanks guys.
Do, do you just use the contacts for your setup?
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Yes, I just used the contacts from the X10 Pro Wireless Door/Window Sensor model PDS01. And then wired them to the Powerflash.
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I'm probably confused, but you only need the window/door magnetic switch from the "X10 Pro Wireless Door/Window Sensor model PDS01", correct? If so wouldn't it be cheaper to just source the switch?
http://www.meci.com/product_info.php/products_id/5401324
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/MS-14/STANDARD-MAGNETIC-PROXIMITY-SWITCH/-/1.html
I tried to find a N.O. / N.C. type mag switch but could not. That way you could have used the N.O. contacts so the PowerFlash would give you an ON signal when the door was opened as Brian suggested. These are N.C. mag switches which are the norm for closed loop security systems. You can use these but would need to write your macro to trigger the chime when the PowerFlash sent an OFF signal. This would also require two seperate PowerFlash. If you can find N.O. / N.C. magnetic switch locally, (any security store will probably have.) then you could use the N.O. contacts and one Powerflash would suffice (although you would not know which door had been opened).
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Perfect. I ordered a few of them, will run them in series for both doors.
now, once my Flood cam gets here I'll start the modification to go from RF to hardwired rca. ;D
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Sound good. Keep us in the loop as things fall in to place.
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I found some NO ones on evilbay. But I know my local electronics geek shop will have some, so I'll pick up a few there to just try some time.
I dont need to know which door opened, just that either one opened. From that trigger I should be able to then create a macro that can also make a chime, turn on a light in the house and turn the shed light on.
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I used the magnetic switch (reed switch) for my garage door announcement (macro) (http://forums.x10.com/index.php?topic=14721.msg81860#msg81860). I have a small decorative light that comes on when the door is open. I also use a voice announcement to tell me when the door opens or closes... and it reminds me every few minutes that the door is open. So we no longer forget and leave it open.
I is also in my X10-BVC YouTube Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apZF77tsZlI)