AD2SmartThings

@kevin_nutech @ritchierich
I think I killed the alarm decoder when trying to update the sketch.

I’ve since put the regular sketch back on without the additional code at line 136.
I’m getting nothing from the alarm on the arduino console.
When I remove and add power back to the arduino/thingshield/AD I get the steady ~twice a second blinking light on the AD like normal. As soon as I try to send a command in ST via a tile in the AD2SmartThings v4.4.6 device, the light on AD goes to blinking 3 times. (Just sending a disarm command will do it, as well as trying to update the ADDRESS).
The status in that tile just says communication trouble.

Did I corrupt the EEPROM by trying to write to it too much?
Is there a way to reset, or fix it?

Thanks

Suggest hooking to alarmdecoder directly through serial console and seeing if you can communicate with it directly without the arduino sketch

You can try to reflash the firmware on the alarmdecoder if necessary.

Sorry I don’t understand, do you mean doing something in the Arduino IDE? Or disconnecting the Arduino and using a PC?

Eric, sorry to hear you are having issues with your AD2Pi. I would suggest contacting Alarm Decoder/Nutech through their support site/email for ideas. I have uploaded countless updates to my Arduino and fortunately haven’t had an issue with my AD2Pi.

I’d like to share the solution I found for getting the AD2Pi working again.
I loaded this sketch on the Arduino

 void setup ()
    {
      
      Serial.begin ( 9600 ); 
     
      Serial1.begin ( 115200 );
     
    } // setup

    void loop ()
    {
      
      while ( Serial1.available () )
      { 
        Serial.write ( Serial1.read () );   
      }
       
      while ( Serial.available () )         
      {
        Serial1.write ( Serial.read () );  
      }
      
    } // loop

With that I was able to reflash the firmware on the AD2Pi using a windows machine and the console firmware updater found here: http://www.alarmdecoder.com/wiki/index.php/Firmware

Everything started working immediately after that.

I then added Michael’s code to the AD2SmartThings sketch

I haven’t had time to extensively test it, but everything seems to be working as expected with no “flapping”.

Thanks everyone.

1 Like

@ritchierich @d8adrvn

Now that I have my alarm integrated with ST, I’m addicted and would have a hard time only using the keypad (likewise my irrigation system). Which would seem to be the case if I ever lose a ThingShield.

Any thoughts on how to survive the death of a ThingShield? For reference, I saw:
https://community.smartthings.com/t/announcing-the-st-anything-arduino-thingshield-project/9087/538?u=cal7

My timing is not good, as I would definitely like to implement this project, but it does not seem possible to obtain the ThingShield for the Arduino board any more.

Are there any options for me to pursue via the Arduino ethernet shield? or…?

After reading through this thread it is clear that a lot of work went into developing this project. It is a shame that more people will not be able to try it out.

This project was built around the Arduino combined with a Thing Shield. It’s unfortunate that the Thing Shield has been discontinued. I haven’t pursued other options given I have several working shields.

There are other Honeywell Ademco integration projects on this community that I would advise you to pursue. Alarm Decoder also has a Raspberry Pi appliance they sell that also integrates with SmartThings similar to this project.

Edit: here are a few alternatives:

2 Likes

would this work with envisalink 4?

This project no as mentioned it was built for an Arduino and Thing Shield. However see the first link I posted as that is designed with an Envisalink.

I’m sorry if u can send me that link I’m goin nuts tryin to figure this out. I think I know what I’m doin lol just need little direction. Thanks

Same link from post above:

You can also search the community for “envisalink” and find several hits. Post your question there.

I think Michael’s last reference to you was to his project links in the post immediately before yours (look at #525). The Envisakink project is the first one of the two he gave.

EDIT: Oops… too late. @ritchierich beat me to it.

1 Like

@CAL7 and others wanting to move forward in this project, please see this thread and voice the need for ThingShields:

2 Likes

Sad to see the ThingShield go, this project is very good and we are very supportive of it over here at AlarmDecoder.

Do you think there is anything we at Nu Tech/AlarmDecoder can do to try and get them to continue production?

I would really hate for this project to die because of a simple piece of hardware going out of production.

Yes, we have an official and fully open source implementation of our own - but as a small team with no outside contributors and A LOT of other things to focus on we certainly aren’t able to keep up the progress that this project has - this is probably one of the best alarm integrations into ST that I have seen. Would be very sad indeed.

2 Likes

Hello!

I can’t tell if this project is compatible with my current ADT panel (existed in the house before I moved in and I don’t have a subscription to it). I simply want to use the sensors it already has paired with it (3 door sensors and a motion sensor and 2 fire alarms).

It is a Safewatch QuickConnect Plus. It has no wiring except for power and a disconnected standard telephone line. I use it simply for the door notifications right now but would love to use it with smarthings for arming and disarming when I’m gone to use the siren to deter thieves.

I’ve contacted alarmdecoder.com and they suggest that I replace this ‘panel’ with a real panel like a vista 20p but I don’t see how that would be a better option or cheaper than say pulling the whole thing out and buying three door sensors + a motion sensor…

Main question: can I use the Safewatch QuickConnect Plus with this project?

If you’re not looking for a home security system along with your motion sensors, then it doesn’t make sense to use a security system.

No, you cannot use the Safewatch QuickConnect plus with this project, the alarmdecoder device requires things that the SafeWatch does not provide (access to the keypad bus).

Thanks for the reply Kevin.

It’s hard for me to say if I don’t want a home security system along with the motion sensors since I’ve never actually had one activated! What I do know is that the wife likes that the Safewatch QuickConnect announces when doors are opened and closed out loud, and I like the thought of a siren going off if someone opened the doors while we were gone. I can accomplish those, however, with a couple few sensors along with Sonos integrations (for announcing) and some rules in CoRE/ SmartThings.

The point I’m making is that there are probably more things that I could enjoy with a security system that I’m not even considering that would make it worth the investment. One that I think is big, is the ability to disarm the system with a keypad upon entering the house. Also, I take it you can fully use one of these security systems without a subscription by using the equipment and this software. I wouldn’t consider it at all if it actually required a subscription to ADT or something similar.

The email I got from AlarmDecoder indicated I could probably do this all for ~200 USD which is pretty doable - especially when you compare it to the cost of an actual ADT subscription!!

@josharmour,

Before you make your decision, did you already purchase a SmartThings ThingShield? If not, you will not be able to complete this project until an alternative is available. SmartThings discontinued the ThingShields.

Technically if you didn’t want to use it as a home security system you could use a 20p + 6160RF keypad along with your existing sensors for proximity/motion sensing without even having to program your panel but use your existing alarm sensors - you wouldn’t even have to remove your existing alarm system if you were just using the 20p+radio as a listener.

No, you don’t need a subscription, it is easy to self-monitor based on events - though as @d8adrvn said the ThingShields are no longer produced so implementing this specific project will be nigh impossible until something else is released. That said, there are other implementations that rely on the raspberry pi rather than arduino. This project however is definitely the most full featured and well supported currently.