GoControl Sensors/Siren?

Excellent - many thanks!

I opened one of mine up and cut the 2 yellow wires going to the speaker so that it no longer makes any noise at all. If the siren is removed, you can have the red light strobe like usual, but you can also turn it on solid. I’ve had no problems with mine, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t so I’m not recommending that you do this.

I also own these (and new to ST) and wanted to know your thoughts, before installing, do you believe this could replace an alarm system? In other words, do you believe the functionality would be at least similar?

I’ve never had an alarm system and had no intentions of ever getting one, so for me, ST works great as an alarm system.

If safety and security is a real concern for you and you already have an alarm system or you’re trying to decide which alarm system to get, I don’t recommend SmartThings.

There are a bunch of topics discussing this, but here are a couple of reasons why it can’t compete with a real alarm system:

  • It relies on internet so even if you’re paying for the monitoring portion, if you lose internet, they won’t get notified.

  • If you’re using custom DTH for the siren, door/window sensors, and motion sensors and you lose power or internet, someone could break in and you wouldn’t even know it.

I am willing to take the risk that someone isn’t going to cut off power and then break in to avoid the alarm going off but fair warning :slight_smile:

What I am hoping the GoControl sensors and ST integration will allow for is

  1. Door/window chiming when opened
  2. Ability to alarm and disarm from a phone
  3. Easy interface for the wife to use
  4. Notification to the phone when the alarm goes off
  5. Use the motion detectors / door sensors to do things like if backdoor opens past 9 PM then turn on back lights for 60 seconds regardless if the alarm is set
  6. Use geolocation to detect when I am in my drive way to disarm the alarm if set

I understand some of this will require some custom programming but do you believe it is doable with ST and the GoControl sensors?

None of it will require custom program, @ady624 created a powerful new SmartApp called CoRE and it will allow you to do everything that you mentioned.

My DTH for the GoControl Siren does have a chiming/beep feature, but the device’s response time isn’t reliable so sometimes it does a quick beep like it’s supposed to and other times the siren turns on for 2-3 seconds.

The GoControl door/window sensors work great for turning on and off lights as you enter/exit rooms, but the GoControl motion sensors can be a little bit slow to react. They still work, but it may take a few seconds for the light to turn on. Also be aware that once they detect motion, they won’t report no motion until there’s been at least 1 minute without activity. Default is 3 minutes, but the DTH allows you to change it.

I originally tried using the geolocation feature, but I found that if I closed out of the SmartApp it wouldn’t detect that I’ve left or arrived and even when it was open it didn’t always work right.

I ended up getting the Arrival Sensor which costs about $30 and I haven’t had any problems with it. If you get this, be aware that the battery level will rapidly drop for the first few weeks, but my battery has been bouncing between 30% and 50% for several months so it’s not as bad as it seems.

WAF is always a concern, but if you don’t try to automate everything at once, don’t eliminate the manual way of doing things, and show her how to manually turn off the siren if it ever gets stuck on, she should be fine.

Mine went off in the middle of the night once when ST was having state variable issues and the other day the bride came home, Smartthings was having issues, alarm was not disabled and she was unable to turn it off. When it’s screaming 101db at you it’s hard to figure out how batteries come out. She didn’t take a hammer to it but she wanted to. I found it buried in pillows in another room when I got home. Needless to say, no more alarms in my home. I Just turn on all the lights and text the phones if a sensor is tripped. Another alarm issue would cause my WAF to drop considerably. I thinking of using the alarm, muffled, in the garage when the doors are operated unattended.

Steve

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If WAF is a concern, but you still want a siren, I recommend going with the Aeon Labs Siren because there’s a button on the bottom of the device that allows you to manually turn it off.

Thanks Kevin. I opened the siren and could really solder a switch real easy. My fear is another middle of the night false alarm. She is VERY TOLERANT of my hobby (even when lights go on/off randomly) but seems to draw the line at the siren. Been here 26 years and no issues. That’s not to say we may not have one someday but our “neck of the woods” is pretty safe. I only installed it because Amazon sent me one by accident.

Steve

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Exact reason why I haven’t hooked up sirens. The smartThings platform isnt stable enough for security devices, if an alarm went off in the middle of the night and woke the kids…

I have been considering wiring in a switch as well and leaving the sound turned off.

If you open the siren there are 2 yellow wires that go to the siren itself. Just clip one. I’ve seen where other community members do this.

DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility if you ruin your siren.

I’ve packed mine with cotton trying to quiet it down for use as the garage door unattended alarm but it still seems loud. Will probably have to see if reducing voltage to the siren works. If not, I guess you would want it loud so someone would know the door was going to move?

Steve

I ended up clipping both wires and removing the speaker from one of mine so now I can use it as a strobe or a solid red light.

I ended up taping a bunch of cloth over the speaker of another one and it reduced the volume a little bit, but the sound still comes out from the other sides.

I’ve also been thinking about reducing the voltage or swapping out the speaker for a smaller one, but I’ll have to do some research before attempting it.

Did you have the device set to only strobe the light when the problem occurred?

No. I was using it as a siren. In my humble opinion, a strobing red light would not deter a thief. I actually had the light completely off and the siren hidden on top of a kitchen cabinet. Didn’t want a thief to find it and the light would draw his attention. A light only alarm might be good for a water leak or some other “notification.” I might reinstall it to notify me of water leaks, supplemental alarm for smoke alarms or my garage door idea. I might just pull the batteries and toss it on the shelf too. It really isn’t at the top of my priority list. I finished all my door/window sensors this week (really nice to have the HVAC turn off when you open a window and turn back on when you close them all) as well as being able to quickly see what windows are currently open. My next job is to set up the motion sensors in the garage to get the very best coverage. I have my normal honey do list too. Not enough time in a day.

Steve

Understood - I’m actually using it as a general sensor and not as a siren/deterrent.

Since I have “both” set to only strobe, I’m hoping if it goes off by accident it will not start the siren. :scream:

I have played with this handler and it seems solid. As long as you have it set up for light or strobe and no siren, it shouldn’t go off.

General Disclaimer: this is Smartthings so do anything can happen :wink:

Steve

The only exception to this is if you open the back cover of the device.

I just bought the premium kit from the op’s post, and I have the siren working with my smartthings hub and door sensor.

I had previously purchased two of the bundles that include the sirens. I let them sit for a while since I only needed the contact and motion sensors. I finally decided to set them up today but I just noticed that they are different models. The one on the left is ZM1601US uses a battery pack and the one on the right is WA105DBZ-1 but seems to include a rechargeable power source. Is the WA model supposed to include a power adapter?

I know one of them can be plugged in, but I’m not sure if it’s supposed to come with a cable. I thought all the ones that came in those kits were the cheap battery only models…