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[Puck]

There was a post about a guy worried about working under his vehicle in the garage when his motion sensor could send an OFF signal... thus leaving him in the dark.

Thinking about this situation and TakeTheActive's [TTA TIP] 1½-Way Status Reporting [Positive LOAD Feedback Loop!] idea, I tested a simple set of macros that solve this situation.

My set up is this:

• My garage light is controlled by a WS467 switch
• I use an ActiveEye (MS16A) motion sensor
• The MS16A is set to transmit "UnitCode + 1", detect motion at all times, and send an OFF after 2 minutes
• The MS16A is positioned to NOT detect motion at the house entrance door where the light switch is

The set up works like this:

1) If I walk or drive into the garage, the motion detector will turn ON the light and 2 minutes after all motion has stopped, the light will turn OFF.

2) If I need to work in the garage, I enter through the house entrance and turn the WS467 switch on manually. This causes the UnitCode+1 to send an OFF signal to trigger a macro that sets a Flag. This Flag will no longer allow the motion sensor's UnitCode macros to execute... thus, lack of motion (while under a vehicle) will not turn the light off after 2 minutes. When I leave the garage, I manually turn the light OFF and the UnitCode+1 sends an ON signal that triggers another macro to clear that Flag.

The only downfall with this is it requires 2 Flags. The macros I use are as follows.

Motion Macro ON:



Motion Macro OFF:



Unit Code + 1 Macro ON:



Unit Code + 1 Macro OFF:



Due to geocities free Site closing I attached images below, Dave_x10_L

[Brian H]

Good solution. Thank you for the time to test it and share with all.

[David Mark]

Better yet, program the motion sensor to stay on longer than two minutes.  You can set them to stay on for over an hour.  Position the sensor where there will be periodic motion.  In a garage you may be better off with a timed switch.  I recently got a couple of those for bathroom lights.  Push it once, it stays on for fifteen minutes, push again for thirty, etc.

Or use software that has true predictive lighting capabilities (based on occupancy, not motion.)  Misterhouse has had that for a long time and (like a lot of its features), it was recently debugged and pronounced stable.  Lights go off when you cross from one room to the next, not based on a timeout.

[Puck]

Or use software that has true predictive lighting capabilities (based on occupancy, not motion.)  Misterhouse has...

David Mark: In case you missed the point of the example... it's for Active Home Pro 

Did you notice the category that this thread was posted under  It wasn't an example for people who use Misterhouse.... if it were, I would have posted on their forum.

AHP is not perfect, but there are lots of ways to make it work very reliable for the average user.

$50
Not a bad price for what you get   

You come across as a smart person David Mark, but your posts give the impression of immaturity and tends to overshadow your knowledge. You really should use your knowledge to HELP people with problems and save your rants and complains for the appropriate categories on the forum.

Merry Christmas

[-Bill- (of wgjohns.com)]

Puck:  Forgive me for going off-topic on your thread, but since you already did...

David Mark:  I fully agree with Puck.  I have read ALL of your posts on this forum.  I understand your frustration with the "geeks" involved in "Mr House" and that kind of situation is what has soured me toward collaberating on programming projects unless I can maintain the final say.  While I do feel your pain, you might want to come down from your MH "soap box" if you want to continue participating in this forum.  We all know AHP has been broken in many ways right from the beginning.  However, we're still here trying to help each other work around those limitations and give input to X10 to push them toward a better product.  If you want to spout about your version of MH, there is a "Third-party software" thread for that.  What I'm trying to say is, your HELP is appreciated, but if all you want to do is RANT, please find somewhere else to do it.

[Duck69]

My garage isn't attached and there is an automated gate which automatically closer after 30 seconds to enter my yard.
What I have done is this:
I have HomeLink in my PU, in my wife's car I have a 2 button remote.
The gate & garage doors are controlled by UM506's.
A motion sensor turns on a light when you enter the garage and turns that light off in 2 minutes.
So, if you're just parking in the garage that's enough time to leave.
On the front & back walls of the garage are PalmPads, which controls the gate, garage door, 4 double overhead shop lights, work bench light & office light.
If you enter through the man door a motion sensor turns the office light on.
On the wall by the man door there is another PalmPad which controlls the above mentioned lights.
The house has 2 doors that open to the yard, they each have a KR22A next to them.
This makes what software you're using MOOT. No need for Macros.

P.S.
If you're having a problem locating your motion sensor.
Keep in mind that you can mount it sideways for a narrower field.

[waterstom]

Duck69-
THANKS, I clicked you a helpful.  Since recently joining this forum (although a user for many years) I read many topics because of what's hidden in them.  Your post is a perfect example.
I had NO IDEA you could do what you describe below, and that has solved a problem I have and since the sensors are such a pain to get "just right" I was hesitant to move one particular one I have because it does it's job perfect but has a slightly larger area than I need.  This will work grand!

P.S.
If you're having a problem locating your motion sensor.
Keep in mind that you can mount it sideways for a narrower field."

[robster]

I've just added the Security software to my AHP and I happen to have some extra door/window sensors.  I'm thinking an easy version of this would be to put a door/window sensor on each garage door, so when it goes up you trigger the garage lights to come on.  When it closes, trigger a "shut-off" macro to leave the lights on for 2 minutes and then turn them off.  I already have several motion sensors in the house and try not to over-use them if I can think of a good alternative like this.

Of course, then there's the issue of triggering the security system when the door goes up.  I've been thinking about initializing all of my sensors, clearing the security system, and then just registering the items I want to have monitored by Security, and use the others for AHP functions.  What do you think?

Rob

[Puck]

I'm thinking an easy version of this would be to put a door/window sensor on each garage door, so when it goes up you trigger the garage lights to come on.  When it closes, trigger a "shut-off" macro to leave the lights on for 2 minutes and then turn them off.

I have a DS10A attached to my garage door, but I just use it for security purposes. When the door opens or closes, the opener's light comes on & has a delay off anyways.... and it's faster than AHP. 

The example above was for motion activated lights when you enter a dark garage (from the house door) and to the ability to manually turn the garage light on and not have it go off automatically (in case you have to work underneath your vehicle).

I've been thinking about initializing all of my sensors, clearing the security system, and then just registering the items I want to have monitored by Security, and use the others for AHP functions.  What do you think?

My take on that is make sure you have ALL possible break-in entry points protected and registered with the PS561. OnAlert is a nice add on for doing the extra things with door/window & motion sensors, but I wouldn't leave any security sensor 100% under AHP / OnAlert control... I don't trust Microsoft enough to protect my home. 

[robster]

Hi Duck,

For a while I considered starting a company to do landscape lighting, home theater setups, home automation and security, and I bought some X10 goodies to play with and see if they would be reliable enough to include as something I would install and maintain.  Hence, I have some extra door/window sensors as well as motion sensors.  When the CM15A first came on the market, there were lots of problems with the system stalling, and the common thought was that too many motion sensors would overwhelm it.  I'm not sure what the final outcome was (X10 never said), but my replacement CM15A works like a champ. 

At any rate, I currently only use three motion sensors:
    One is in my office where the light switch was tucked in the back of a bookshelf, making it hard to reach.  The motion sensor turns on the light whenever anyone walks into the office, and the light stays on until they leave.
     One is in our powder room, so when a guest walks in our lit-from-below onyx sink lights up and a small fountain turns on, making a helpful "tinkling" noise.
     The last one is in the windowless media room.  Walk in and a small light goes on so you can find your seat, and then after a minute it goes off.

Right now I don't use macros, as my impression is they take longer to fire a light on.  What are your thoughts re: the pros and cons?

Thanks,

Rob

[Don N]

robster  This may be off topic a little bit ... but I'm curious.  You say

At any rate, I currently only use three motion sensors:
 One is in my office where the light switch was tucked in the back of a bookshelf, making it hard to reach. The motion sensor turns on the light whenever anyone walks into the office, and the light stays on until they leave.
 One is in our powder room, so when a guest walks in our lit-from-below onyx sink lights up and a small fountain turns on, making a helpful "tinkling" noise.
 The last one is in the windowless media room. Walk in and a small light goes on so you can find your seat, and then after a minute it goes off.

What motion senors are you using?  When you say your office light stays on until they leave, do you mean as long as there is movement in the room the light will stay on?  What is your motion sensor delay setting for this?  And when you say the light goes off after a minute in your windowless media room, do you mean you have the motion sensor delay set at 1 minute?  Or do you have a timer setup?  What happens if there is movement again in the media room, does the light come on again?  Sorry about all the questions, but I'm just trying to understand your setup.

[robster]

Trying to remember the details...   

In the home office, the delay is set to 10-15 minutes (whatever that increment is).  The light comes on as soon as I walk into the office, and the sensor is aimed at the desk, so whatever minor motions I make as I work are enough to keep the light on.  Very handy.  All of my motion sensors are MS16A, or Eagle Eyes, whichever you prefer to call them.

In the media room I have the sensor set on the shortest setting, one minute.  Walking into the pitch-dark room turns on a light, and a minute later it goes off.  I set it up as a temporary test several months ago, and am going to improve it soon.  It works great, but our cat has learned to trigger the light, which she loves to do.   

Eventually (soon?) I will mount the sensor higher on the wall by the door, and set up some light strips along the raised seating area (two rows of seating).  I might set up a macro to light an overhead light, then dim it before turning it off.  It's fun to think through different options.

Let me know if you have other questions.

Rob

[Walt2]

My garage door openers, use an internal relay to turn 'on'/'off' the attached light bulb.  It is a low voltage relay, that switches the bulb's 120v.  What I did, was to attach a wire to the low voltage control side, and run that wire out to a PowerFlash.  The PowerFlash is set to the same house/unit code as the X10 Wall Switch controlling the garage's ceiling lights.  This way, the garage door openers control all the garage lights too.

For open/close, I also have one of the old Stanley Lightmaker Garage Door sensor, and around my house the Stanley Open/Close LED status modules.   The Stanley stuff uses all X10 extended codes, and Lightmaker is roughly the same product line/design as HomeLink.