One of the descriptions I found for this product states: “Customizable alerts using 5 different tones (if advanced settings are supported by your controller)” I have no idea if SmartThings supports these tones and after some reading suspect I many need a device handler to achieve this? All I’m looking for is the “siren” for home security when I’m away and a simple “chime” when doors open if I’m home.
If anyone is presently doing this let me know. I hate to waste $50 for a product that does not suit my needs.
You can, but you will need a custom device type handler. The following is probably the most popular, and you can ask any follow-up questions in that thread as those are the people using the device,
That said, unless you need a loud siren, a lot of people prefer the similar Aeotec Doorbell, which allows you to upload up to 99 custom sound files, so just gives you a lot more flexibility. Again you need custom code for it. It gets lower reviews at Amazon because it can be quite fiddly to pair, but once you get through that step it’s a very nice device.
Some users have problems getting the device to pair securely which was a huge issue with old versions of my DTH, but with the latest version there’s no benefit to having it paired securely unless you plan on using it as a doorbell and to play notifications.
The device makes a horrible doorbell so I don’t recommend purchasing it for that, but it works great for notifications as long as you follow the recommendations I mention in that forum topic.
Received the device this Sunday, it paired amazingly fast despite everything I read. Was also able to install the device handler created by “krlaframboise” with no problems. I still would like to see some sample code using this device, my goal is to have different tone for different events (doors opening). I found an example on this forum created by SmartThings in 2014 that does not compile properly, should be fixed or taken down.
If anyone has something like this that works and wants to share it, I’d really appreciate it. Would be a big help to get a “jump start” rather then start from scratch.
Finally figured out how to control this siren using code, you need to look at the capabilities listed in the device handler. You can then use those in your code and get this to work. If you search hard enough on the forum you will also find a way to control the Siren via the SmartThings App. I’m planning on documenting this entire process and creating a new post that consolidates everything you need to know.
You can use my Aeon Labs Multifunction Siren DTH to do the same thing and a lot of other things. All you have to do is use the “Audio Notifications” section of Smart Home Monitor, select “Custom Message” for the Notification, and type one of the commands into the “Play this Message” field.
The commands are fully documented in this post, but some examples are “beep” which uses the beep options configured in the settings and “custombeep1”, “custombeep2”,… “customBeep6”.
I’ve looked at your device handler for both the iPhone and the Aeon Siren, very nice work! You took two products and made them usable for people who like to code their own applications
I have the siren set to play when a door opens, I used the “Home Solution” options as suggested. “Play this message” is set up as follows; customBeep 5,1,1,0,1200 and I’m expecting to hear one cycle of BeepLowPitch, BeepHighPitch, BeepLowPitch but get mixed results. Sometimes it works perfect and other times I get only part of the cycle as if the Siren had data left in a buffer. Do you have any idea why this would be or how to correct it?
SmartThings timing isn’t exact so you can’t make the beep length match the repeating tone exactly and the next time it plays it starts from where it left off instead of starting at the beginning which is why you’re seeing mixed results.
Nothing can be done about it which is why I recommend only using sound #3 for beeping. Sound #3 is a constant tone so that issue doesn’t affect it.
Did you install the Device Handler for the Gen 5 Siren, without that your dead in the water. I no longer have access to my Smart Things system but I’m looking for all my code. If I find it I’ll be glad to share and help you. Note that I never quite got this to work they way I wanted. Turns out the Gen 5 Siren does not reset the sound file after each use. What was happening with me, was every time it chimed, it would be slightly different. I finally gave up and learned to live with it
In general, I was happy with my system and would purchase it again.
No, I haven’t as I don’t know what to do to download and install that. Any guidance would be appreciated. Simple stuff - like where do I get the device handle and how do I install it?
If I remember correctly, once the device handler is installed you’ll be able to see it in the your Smart Phone App and actually be able to make it “beep”. I’m doing this all from memory so I apologize if I’m slightly off with what I’m saying, but it’s close.
Feeling out of my league - here is what I get when I hit create: multiple configuration errors startup failed - see screen shot showing error in code line 1208
Make sure you copied the code correctly and did not miss anything. I looked at the link I gave you and line 1208 is the last line, you could have missed something as silly as a “}”. You can also try coping the code again from the internet into notepad and then copy it to the smart-things site. Note this has to be exactly as written, any changes or additions (carriage return) will give you grief. Again, I don’t have access to my system and can’t even log into my account so this is all off the top of my head.
@BobWag is correct, you must have either copied something that’s not part of the code or didn’t copy all of the code.
Keep in mind that this device is a siren and it doesn’t have any type of built-in chime functionality. The handler simulates a chime by turning the siren on and off quickly which is reliable for some users, but for other users the siren frequently turns on for 2-3 seconds so they’re unable to use that feature.
Hi Kevin, I know this an old post but wondered if I could get your advice on your Aeon Labs Multifunction Siren DTH. Have been using it for more than a year and it has stopped working. I have fully removed and re-added to SmartThings but cannot get the DTH to talk to the Aeon Gen5 Siren. The live logging is showing a security error on line 1050 of the code. I believe this maybe something to do with secure inclusion but having no luck at all resolving. I have tried everything I know plus clicking the action button twice as part of adding. Any help appreciated
Hi Kevin. Thanks for the quick response. I have changed to your DTH via the IDE and it is when I update that I receive the error in live log. I have removed and re-added at least 10 times over the last 2 days and nothing works. I always get the error at line 1050 which is around security. I have performed exclusion first via the ST app and then used the device action button to fully reset by holding down for 20 secs
