I’m in the process of taking over my home security/automation now that I can get the doors and things monitored by Scout, but I need a proof of concept to show my wife before we cancel our current security plan. I got a couple of the Ecolink door sensors and wired them into the security panel, but the security system wont register the doors closed. It has to be something to do with the panel, because if I connect both wires without the panel, it appears to function correctly. Is there any way to hook these up in such a way that ST and my security provider can both use the sensors?
On a side note, while I was googling around, I came across the Arduino shield. That looks like it would solve several problems, but they are out of stock…
I tried that with my vista 20p panel and I was never able to make anything work, and I even tried using a Mimolite. No luck. I’m sure there’s some smart people that know how to do that, perhaps with an Arduino. I think (I use that term loosely) it has to do with the Ecolink sensors requiring dry contacts, not ones with voltage running through the wires like the panel does?
I threw in the towel and went with Iris sensors everywhere, and then added an EnvisaLink EVL-3. My wife actually liked still having the hardwired system and ST and the capability of keeping systems separate and still being able to access them remotely.
I’ll have to check out the EnvisaLink. I was thinking something along the lines of connecting the Ecolink in parallel with a diode on one terminal. Maybe that would isolate it from the system and prevent it from getting voltage from the panel to one of the terminals. But I don’t know enough about what the panel or the ecolink want to know if that would work.
As I submitted that last message, I realized I had my multimeter sitting on the desk in front of me. The top terminal, farthest from the battery, on the ecolink its the + and it puts out ~2v. The panel puts out ~13v from its + terminal, but there are resistors at the end of each zone loop that drop the voltage to .02v. If all these are looking for is 0v to trigger, then my suggestion above may actually work.
I don’t have a diode handy, but I just tried it without. I think its going to work. I hooked both + terminals together and connected the - terminal of the Ecolink before the resistor. The security panel registers the doors correctly and the Ecolink sees that the doors are closed, but it doesn’t register when one opens. I wonder if its finding a ground somewhere in the panel since its voltage is higher. I’m thinking now that Ill put a diode each from the + terminals to keep the voltage flowing in the proper direction. Then, when the door opens and breaks the circuit, an open is detected. I’ll get back in a day or two and let people know how it went.
It possible that I did it incorrectly, but my idea didn’t work. I’m going to throw in the towel on this one and look at other solutions like the Envisalink and the Arduino.
If you are using SmartThings, perhaps you should throw the idea of using security panel after all, link the sensors to your SmartThings and monitor from there.
One thing for note, ST is not 100% proven in term of stability.