Please help me not return ST, how can I integrate with my DSC alarm?

Hi everyone, long time automation guy here, used to use the ISY994 then HomeSeer for while. Tried ST for fun the other day and really love it but I can’t seem to find any solid info on how to integrate with my DSC alarm/Envisalink 3. I’m open to indirect integration if that helps, but basically what I want is just to have my ST modes, sync with my DSC alarm as my alarm is how I do presence. If it’s armed away, then obviously no one is home so therefore HomeSeer runs certain events that way. I want to be able to put ST into Armed Away, Armed Home, Disarmed etc mode, and have that do it on the alarm. Then vice versa, if I disarm the alarm, have it change ST to Disarmed and so on.

I’m totally fine with something like a Pi in the middle for integration, or even HomeSeer or the ISY. I’m just not sure how to make this work. The alarm fully integrates with HomeSeer but not sure how HomeSeer can send something to ST other than maybe JSON or something and vice versa. I know I can arm and disarm it via HomeSeer using REST or JSON but I didn’t see that as being built into ST.

Any suggestions? Really loving ST but if I can’t integrate with my alarm then I can’t really justify throwing out HS. Help!

Sure. There’s a search button in the upper right corner. :wink:

I tried, it’s not helpful at all. All the posts for Envisalink are from 2015 or older, doesn’t sound like anyone integrates with their alarm. I guess it’s because ST is sort of a quasi-alarm so no need to, but I’d never use ST as an actual alarm over a hard wired DSC lol. Thanks for the reply, made my decision easier, back she goes!

Here is a newer one. And it works.

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@NomadTech gave you a much better answer than mine, so I’ve deleted my post. :sunglasses:

I did just want to say that you can use the quick browse lists in the community – created wiki to search for project reports on security, and that should be a faster way to find relevant topics. The link that he gave you, for example, is on the “security” list there.

http://thingsthataresmart.wiki/index.php?title=How_to_Quick_Browse_the_Community-Created_SmartApps_Forum_Section#Quick_Browse_Links_for_Project_Reports.2FQuestions

Also, you may already know this, but you can communicate easily between homeseer and smartthings by using their IFTTT services/channels. Just have a Homeseer “if” turn on a virtual switch in the SmartThings channel as the “that”, and then have that switch coming on do other things on the SmartThings side. But that may add additional lag, so it won’t fit every use case. And the link that @NomadTech gave you is for a LAN solution, so better yet. But the IFTTT option is useful for some situations.

K I was replying to you then got a phone call and came back and thought I was losing my mind because I couldn’t remember what I was replying to haha. So IFTTT is an option but I didn’t see any way to trigger things based on ST modes? For HomeSeer IFTTT is only device turns on or off, so I’d have to create a few quick virtual devices so when the alarm is armed away, that virtual device turns on, so that’s easy. But when I look at IFTTT actions for ST I didn’t see anything that said “Change house mode to” or run routine, so not sure how to change modes with it.

The other thread looks helpful. This forum interface is just really confusing, seems like 99% of forums all use the same interface but this makes it hard to tell how old something is as when you search it will show a post saying 2014, but doesn’t really make it obvious that there might be 200 replies in there as recent as yesterday lol.

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That’s why I mentioned a virtual switch. :sunglasses: It’s The same way you use Amazon echo or Google home to change a mode.

You create a virtual switch.

there is already a smart app in the marketplace section of the SmartThings mobile app that is “switch changes mode”

You can also just have a routine start because the switch turns on, and that lets you change the SHM alarm state that way. Just remember to turn the switch off again in the routine so it’s ready for the next time. :sunglasses:

Also, just because there’s a lot of confusion about this, “mode” and “SHM armed state” are two different things.

If you want to change the SHM armed state, you have to use a routine. Or core.