Halloween Automation? (2013)

OK…Halloween is fast approaching. I’m looking for cool things to do with my SmartThings. I suggest a new challenge for the community to develop awesome Halloween stuff with SmartThings.

Who’s got ideas?

Scott

I’m surprised you didn’t get more of a response. Given the billions of dollars people spend on halloween this seems a no-brainer.

Here are some things I’m exploring:

  1. Motion sensor trigger of music (via Sonos?)
  2. Motion sensor trigger of lights

OK…I have an idea without the skills to execute.
@megapixel
@csader

I want to use a SmartThings motion sensor to play a spooky sound on a spare smartphone (wifi) using the smartthings app and tasker. The recent “endpoints” do not address motion sensors?

I would like to use this as kids approach my house on Halloween.

Cheers,
Scott

After much thinking about how to solve this Halloween audio problem using a spare cell phone or tablet…I have a solution!
I decided to use a secondary google account and google voice. Then setup the notification on google voice to play the Halloween sound I want.
I have a ST motion sensor at the front door. As you approach the door the “Notify me when” app will send a text to my secondary google voice number triggering the Halloween notification.
I plan to use my Bose Sound Link speaker to really scare the little ones as they approach. Also, I plan to use the “Flasher” app to flash the 20 or so zwave lights in my house and a couple of strobe lights on zwave outlets, too.
Cheers,
Scott

Sorry @av8rdude, this one seems to have slipped by me. I think you’ve probably found the best solution for now, as I have yet to figure out how to make calls to endpoints and have them return their status. Even then, I’m assuming this wouldn’t really help with the motion sensors, as the endpoints as I understand them are inbound to the hub, not the other way around, i.e., your motion sensor would have to send the signal to tasker, rather than tasker hitting an endpoint.

If anyone has thoughts about whether I’m missing something here, I’m happy to be proven wrong. :slight_smile:

Not sure if you should really be using the “Flasher” app on the kids approaching your front door…

@gray, I see what you did there.

Hi All,

It’s almost time for HALLOWEEN.

Lets get back to Scary HA ideas. Anyone have any kind of Creepy ideas?

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Since it is that time of year:

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Got this Sweet Light projector for Halloween on Amazon: (1 X OUTDOOR LIGHTSHOW-FIRE AND ICE)

It’s a lot cheaper at Home Depot - $20!
http://www.homedepot.com/p/LightShow-Fire-and-Ice-Red-Orange-Spotlight-56777/205832727

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Wow thanks! I will see if I can get that one instead.

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Here is my idea…Please tell me if I’m loosing it.

Motion sensor under the overhang.
FortrezZ Siren hidden in the pumpkins on the grass(in a light plastic for water proofing.)
The LightShow-Fire-and-Ice-Red-Orange-Spotlight.
Drive Way Cree bulb light.

Have the LightShow-Fire-and-Ice-Red-Orange-Spotlight., be turn on at a preset time via a Zwave outlet.
And when the people come to the door (Motion sensor), the Drive Way light and the Siren go off for about 5 seconds.

Presto Chango…You have people drop-one.

Hi @av8rdude, You can use your smartphone to play the sound directly with smartthings, you dont need google voice or tasker.

You could add The mediarenderer device type and use upnp monkey app and you convert any android to smartthings speaker, upnp monkey is too a dlna server, you can select the sound from you phone and trigger from smartthings, control volume, trigger hours, etc

free sound have a good background sound to halloween

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I have done something similar with the the Fire-and-Ice spotlight; I turn it on using a motion sensor.

I also plan on turning the porch and driveway lights off when the motion senor is triggered. In addition, I just ordered an Aeon Labs doorbell; I will keep the speaker module of the doorbell outside my house initially and trigger some spooky sounds when the doorbell is pressed :smile:

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Glad to see I’m not the only one looking to do something this weekend :smile:

My initial idea, just not sure how to do it yet:

Motion sensor on front porch.
Hue light above front door
Interior light dimmer just inside front door (has windows)
Hue light in neighboring room and upstairs
Kindle fire phone (spare phone, no service, wifi only)
Large creepy pumpkin with green light

On motion, light turns off outside along with interior lights.
Flash hue light bright white very briefly
Turn on room hue lights red while triggering creepy notification sound on fire phone
Slowly dim UP the porch light in erie green to match the pumpkin. Phone is in the pumpkin, maybe saying something creepy.

All of this then ends as soon as I open the front door. That’s the plan so far, I just don’t know what all I need to execute it. If I can side load the ST app then I can get the front door motion to trigger and thus the notification sound.

How to flash the lights briefly, and then dim UP to a color I’m not sure on.

Opening door could just do a hello-home with the standard settings, upon closing the door it returns to “halloween” hello home.

Thoughts?

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So I was able to get it set up using the above mentioned Flasher app and some standard apps.

Upon stepping into the entry way, the interior light turns off and the exterior lights around the porch turn a deep purple and flash randomly. At the same time is an audio clip of Vincent Price laughing plays through my Amazon echo, which is connected via bluetooth to a phone that receives the motion notifications.

When I open the door it all resets.

How do you trigger Echo to play this?

I just set the phones notification sound to the audio clip, and I have the motion sensor notify on trigger which causes the notification to play on the Echo (paired via bluetooth).

Any bluetooth speaker would work, which I don’t have because I’ve never needed one until now.

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Most of my store-bought animations have a 1/8" port for a “Step Here” mat. These mats are ugly and cheaply made and an get destroyed by a twig or other pointy yard object getting pushed into them.

I want a DIY project that uses a ST control chip, maybe out of a simple light bulb, that simply makes the connection instead of the mat. I envision a case with chip, small power source (probably 3-4.5 volts DC) and a 1/8" port on the side for the mono audio cable (three-conductor stereo, if need be). So, it would work kind of like this:

(1) ST sensor (Motion Sensor, probably) detects movement near the prop and signals the hub
(2) Hub sends signal to the trigger to momentarily make contact (1 second?).
(3) Animation is triggered, then resets automatically (like it’s supposed to).

Any ideas?

Howard