Does anyone know of a way to connect the vera lite directly to hard wired door/window sensors? I know lots of people us an alarm but I’m wondering if there is a serial device or something similar that then someone could build a plugin for?
Mimolite will do this for you.
There is already a plug in, but only supports one channel.
If you were considering doing multiple hard wired channels, the best bang-for-your-buck option is definitely an alarm system. Supporting 1 channel on MimoLite is +/-$80
Supporting 16 channels with a basic DSC/EVL-3 combo is +/- $240
Thanks Vodden…
This is the type of stuff I was thinking… I’d have no knowledge of writing the plugin though 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12-CH-12V-Relay-Module-RS232-RS485-ModbusRTU-For-Arduino-AVR-DSP-PLC-PIC-ARM-/330795762738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d04f6c432
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ethernet-Relay-controller-module-WEB-server-IP-Temperature-sensor-LM35DZ-/180987710428?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2a23b54bdc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Web-Internet-Ethernet-Relay-Board-RS485-1Wire-USB-Arduino-compatible-Opto-In-/161264252565?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258c193695
Looks like this plugin might be along the right lines…
That’s just 12 relays not contact closure sensors. If all you want is relays GlobalCache makes what you’re looking for and there is already a plugin.
Or, you could look into the MySensors plugin and Arduino.
Very cost effective, and works with multiple relays/inputs (as in your photo) but it i wireless.
Yeah sorry, that first one is just a relay board… 
Other two seem to have inputs too though.
I use the arduino way. I have one nano running 6 sensors. Works very well. Reliable and responsive. Setup was cheap too.
Did you go the MySensors route? It looks pretty cool… I like the idea of a pressure sensor to tell when I’m in bed or not!!! Perfect for making sure I get up in the morning…
I did. I already had the sensors installed and my alarm panel doesn’t work with Vera. I just tapped off of them from the alarm. I don’t know coding very well but Hek and team have done a great job creating this and with some beers and a few nights I got it up and running. Very happy with the results.
Did you go the MySensors route? It looks pretty cool… I like the idea of a pressure sensor to tell when I’m in bed or not!!! Perfect for making sure I get up in the morning…[/quote]
Just for the record, after quite a bit of tinkering with a bed sensor I don’t think the pressure sensor on the my sensors site will work for a bed. Too small.
Thanks for that S-F… The pressure sensor was just something that piqued my interest
So you just piggybacked the inputs off of your current alarm sensors?
How did you wire this?
Did you utilize both door and motion sensors?
What inputs are usable for this type of application on the Arduino board?
What does your Arduino sketch look like?
This would definitely be the most cost effective route for hardwired sensors. I currently have a compatible alarm system but am thinking about future applications.
Yes, this is interesting. I had not thought of this. I have one question/concern though. With the arduino plugin, is each device a new instance of the plugin? I ask because with an alarm panel there is a parent device and the sensors are children so the overhead is lower. If each arduino device is a new instance I’d worry about running short on resources.
It works the same way, with child devices, with the gateway as the parent. Been looking into Arduino for a few solutions as well and it is an extremely cost effective approach to connecting to the Vera. I just ordered all the parts for the gateway and an LED dimming setup and 2 natural gas sensors. I bought enough parts for probably 10 different individual projects and I think everything cost me $100.
I still can’t program the time on my vintage 1995 VCR, so I will be relying heavily on the community for the sketch programming support. Luckily @hek has created a very extensive library of ‘plug-and-play’ sketches to make the Arduino projects much easier on us programming impaired types. I’m excited to get started on this!
Vodden I haven’t forgotten. I will get the sketch posted for you. I am traveling for work and will get this to you over the weekend.
Vodden,
Apologize, I have been traveling for work and didn’t get to this until now. To answer some of your questions, My house has all the doors and windows with sensors from the alarm. They are all hardwired. I also have some hardwired motion sensors from the alarm as well. The reason I went the arduino route is that my alarm is a 2gig and this doesn’t play nice with Vera. So the hardwired sensors are going into a unit that converts them to wireless to talk to the 2gig panel. From there I just connected each “zone/sensor” into an unused pin on an arduino. Aside from the pins being used for the wireless, I was able to 7 sensors to the ardunio, 1 pin per sensor. I also had to put a pull down resistor in place for each connection. If memory is correct its a 10k. The window/door sensors don’t need power outside of the arduino, but motions do. For my application these are being powered by the unit that the 2 gig is using.
The sketch i used was the reed one the Hek supplied, I hacked it up for my needs. Basically take the sketch and add a child node for each sensor you want on the arduino. It worked very well and I have a device showing for each sensor. It has been working flawlessly for for about 4 months now and I use it to control my heater/ac since we like to have the doors open during the day and don’t want to be bothered messing with the thermostat.
I certainly am not one that programs and without the help of this forum or Hek and team on the dedication they have had with the arduino project, none of what I did would be possible with my skill. It was very easy to put together though and aside from light switches, I try to do nothing with z wave anymore and feel the arduino network is a lot more reliable on the vera than Z wave.
If you would like pics, or the actual sketch, I can supply it later this weekend, or ask more questions. I have received a lot of help from this forum, and I will return where I can.
Thanks for the reply. I really like this approach for piggybacking on to an incompatible alarm system. If I happen to need any of this info in the future, I’m gunna look you up!
V
[quote=“waynehead99, post:17, topic:180757”]Vodden,
Apologize, I have been traveling for work and didn’t get to this until now. To answer some of your questions, My house has all the doors and windows with sensors from the alarm. They are all hardwired. I also have some hardwired motion sensors from the alarm as well. The reason I went the arduino route is that my alarm is a 2gig and this doesn’t play nice with Vera. So the hardwired sensors are going into a unit that converts them to wireless to talk to the 2gig panel. From there I just connected each “zone/sensor” into an unused pin on an arduino. Aside from the pins being used for the wireless, I was able to 7 sensors to the ardunio, 1 pin per sensor. I also had to put a pull down resistor in place for each connection. If memory is correct its a 10k. The window/door sensors don’t need power outside of the arduino, but motions do. For my application these are being powered by the unit that the 2 gig is using.
The sketch i used was the reed one the Hek supplied, I hacked it up for my needs. Basically take the sketch and add a child node for each sensor you want on the arduino. It worked very well and I have a device showing for each sensor. It has been working flawlessly for for about 4 months now and I use it to control my heater/ac since we like to have the doors open during the day and don’t want to be bothered messing with the thermostat.
I certainly am not one that programs and without the help of this forum or Hek and team on the dedication they have had with the arduino project, none of what I did would be possible with my skill. It was very easy to put together though and aside from light switches, I try to do nothing with z wave anymore and feel the arduino network is a lot more reliable on the vera than Z wave.
If you would like pics, or the actual sketch, I can supply it later this weekend, or ask more questions. I have received a lot of help from this forum, and I will return where I can.[/quote]
I would love to see some pics and sketch if possible. I realize this thread is old but i have all of the partsnecessary possiblyto make this happen. Exactly what i need.
Found this thread while googling. It’s exactly what I want to setup instead of using expensive battery powered Multisensors.
Any chance you could post pics and the sketch?
Thanks