and would like to be able to"control" and “monitor” it.
specially mode changes (Night mode, vet mode)
and monitor the usage of it.
i tought a Fibaro Universal Sensor might able to do this … but i’d may need some help in getting it working.
the advantage is that the Cat Flap is beeing powered externally and there isenough space inside the casing to hide the case-less fibaro module.
so everything apears to be perfect.
but how can i accomplish that ?
i dont mind to do some soldering on the Pet-Door Electronics but i dont want to destroy it either.
i found another board where they managed to get the door talk to a computer, but for my needs thats way too much (i guess)
I’ve had the same thought but haven’t yet done anything with it (I have the same car flap at home)
Hacking into this thing blindly without any documentation seems too hard, but you could tack on some stuff and accomplish this in a way similar to “screen scraping” in computer terms.
Simplest way: solder a z wave controlled relay (like the Fibaro module) across the red button. Short toggle of the relay toggles night mode, long toggle sets vet mode.
Using a universal sensor: one connected to a reed relay taped to the unlocking solenoid, another connected to a reed relay set under the door’s magnet (the one that holds it shut against the wind). Solenoid being activated with door open = cat going out. Solenoid activated with door shut = cat coming in. Not 100% reliable but should be pretty good. Personally I also wanted to know which cat was coming or going, but poor Dolly passed away recently so I might go for this approach after all.
Slightly more sophisticated: add another sensor to the indicator LED. This way you can see which mode the door is in, though I am not sure if the flashing of Vet mode can be reliably detected in this setup, and an extra bit of electronics may be needed.
i have not yet installed the door … (just got it from Germany) … as here in Thailand such things are considered Witchcraft
your suggestion was my initial idea, just to use a reed-relays to have the fibaro simply do “press the button” for me.
i will need to make some “human tests” if the long pressing and the short pressing always works in all modes and situations.
but the motion detection (a cat actually use the door) turned out to be more complicated as there are 2 motors and they bi-stable (the motor is not powered on either state) … only if they do move.
so the cat may go out, and zero action is been taken by the electronics … (well i have to test that)
if the door anyway does trigger the motors (even if they are already open) then this might work and i can do some scripting on the vera side to have a virtual switch simply saying “cats are out”
in my case it may be even more simple, as i do not plan on letting the cats out trough this door on a regulary basis, (one of my beasts is not a really very smart one, and she never has seen the streets in her whole life, so that may be too dangerous) the door is “just to get in at all times”,
so its will be always in VET Mode anyway.
well thats the theory … never know whats really happen in the future
The door has a little magnet in it to keep it shut; you could use this to detect if the door is being opened. And in my experience, the cats will trigger the unlock mechanism every time (by passing under the RFID reader) when they exit, so you can use that to detect them going out as well as coming in.
yes that was my idea too … but the RFID cable does not deliver a binary information, its a serial connection streaming the ID of the chip the cat carry.
and the chip on the PCB inside the door decides if its a permitted ID or not … so its hard to interact there (i think) … or do i think the wrong way ?
if the info via the RFID Cable is digital then it would be alot more easy, but i doubt that, since its just a 2 pin wire going there.
Use a reed relay taped to the solenoid that unlocks the door instead. Or you may be able to wire a regular relay or even the Z-wave sensor in parallel to the solenoid. The unlocking solenoid is only activated when an authorized cat trips the RFID sensor.
i found out the catFlap has a Pin (in JP4) which is HIGH if the solenoid is beeing Triggered.
can i “just” connect IN1 to that pin (since both devices running on the Same power suply there should be no potential issue.)
the Universal sensor show somethings about a input voltage range, but in other threads it says its potential/voltage free … (its not so clear)
if thats possible the setup would be quite simple.
solder IN1 to JP4-3
solder OUT2 to the Red Mode Button
on the vera set IN1 to be a motion detector device and out 2 to be a switch.
i found out the Night mode can be always activated (regardless the mode the flap is in)
so on the luup side … it would be just to activate OUT2 2 times for 2 Sec … (this will put the flap either in normal or in night mode)
and then activate OUT2 again for 5sec. to enable the VET mode …
well i have to play with the modes alittle bit more.
but by this way it would save me another sensor.
nut of corse that only works if nobody uses the flap manually.
another idea would be to use OUT1 to cut the power (to accomplish a “reset” and force it back to normal mode) and OUT2 for the red Button. but then i meight need something else to detect the cats …as i understand IN and OUT are interacting (like on the other fibaro modules)
I hate to spoil your embryo design, @nullx8, but the OUT1 and OUT2 relays on the Fibaro Universal Sensor cannot be operated by Z-Wave commands. They only follow the state of IN1 and IN2.
IN1 and IN2 are supposed to be volt-free so you may have problems connecting a voltage source as an input. This can be fixed with a small relay or a simple transistor circuit. See attached.
@RexBeckett
you are become a Serious Crusher of little boy’s dreams
i was’nt aware that the OUT on the Universal Sensor can not be controlled via z-wave …
thanks alot for pointing that out.
i dont have 220Volts arround the Flap … and adding a Fibaro Relais as well makes the z-waving more expensive then the flap itself.
so i will just do the “motion sensing” … and add a bunch of DS18B20’s to give the modul a better reason to exist.
thanks for the drawing, thats exactly the aproach i had in mind after discovering the pin on the Flaps PCB with the digital information of the lock mechanism.
I’m loving every second of the arduino adventure, just hoping a secure communication method will be implemented so it can be used in more sensitive devices.
yes the arduino project is something i follow with great interest, but the vera is too far away for a connection, so this would be only a option if wifi connectivity becomes available.
currently i experimenting with a PI to produce a micro-controlled Digital I/O device for Vera
(but have to wait for some missing parts to arrive)
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