Okay as I’m up for trying anything that would give me an affordable fix please explain exactly how you did this. I’d rather spend another $100 rigging a few of these then completely giving up on the $800 I very carefully selected (it was months of back and forth before an actual buy). I’ve been thinking of places to put them and so far I’ve come up with five spots under stairs and under porches that would give my cameras a good shot to get the few seconds that matter to me. It will help get them out of sun, not completely expose them to the elements and be hidden from anyone who doesn’t know they are there. TIA!
Making them rain resistant is pretty easy; I use a bead of this:
GE Silicone II around the lens to seal the gap between the case and lens; also spread a thin layer to cover the tiny reset button on the side. It’s easy to peel it off if you over apply after it dries. You could use it to cover the seams of the battery cover as well; but I’ve found that a bit of Scotch Magic tape works well enough (though it can be a little challenging to peel away when its time to change the battery since its hard to see and really adheres).
To fix the sensor in place, first take a look at the way the sensor is made; it has beveled sides which allow you to choose one of a couple different the angles to aim the sensor (you could also use the bevels to fix the sensor in a corner of a wall, using the double sided adhesive tabs that come with it). By flipping it upside down you can also change the mounting angle; its pretty cleverly designed.
Assuming you have a smooth surface to attach them to, you could use what I use: Cut a couple of pieces of this plastic velcro-like stuff (make the piece small enough to fit on the bevel side):
Scotch Extreme Fasteners That allows you to remove/replace the sensor when its time to change the batteries.
The trickier part of this job may be getting the sensors communicating with your network; having the signal propagate outside with just the SmartThings hub may not work depending on where you put them. You’ll probably need something that repeats the signal close by indoors (an AC powered Zigbee device, preferably something with a good Zigbee radio; I’ve found the Iris Smart Plugs seem to act as good Zigbee repeaters). I use an Osram Lightify bulb in my front door exterior light fixture and it takes care of the front entry motion sensor and contact sensor in the mailbox which is about 60 feet from the house; however I think the radios in those bulbs aren’t the greatest. One of those indoors probably would not work to connect to a device outdoors (at least for my house, which has aluminum siding). I have my deck and driveway sensors routing through an Iris Smart Plug and a SmartThings plug inside the house, plugged into outlets in rooms fairly close to the outdoor sensors (one of which is mounted under an eave over the deck; the other under an overhanging section of the house aimed at the driveway).
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Thank you so much! It’s not what I had originally hoped to find but it seems as though this might work best for me. Can not wait to get these ordered and see how it turns out. The fact that you stated your in the northeast gives me hope as I’m in Ohio and mother nature is quite bipolar around here. Again, thank you so much!
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I wanted to come back and update, so far all is doing great. One is positioned out of the elements somewhat and the other most likely gets all of the elements but both are still going strong. When I first bought these I could not believe how small they were compared to my Bosch motion sensors. As it turns out, size doesn’t matter. My Iris motion detectors work far better then my Bosch motion detectors. I was so close to returning my Arlo Pro cameras and now that I have these outdoor’s I’m certainly keeping them. I no longer have lags as long as somebody catches a sensor. It starts recording the second they touch my first stair instead of once they’re already on my porch. Those few seconds might not matter to some but they certainly matter to me. I gave these a couple weeks to see how they would withstand Nature’s bipolar tendencies and they bypassed what I thought they’d be able to handle. I plan on buying some more and fixing them up to go outside. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, it has helped me tremendously.
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Glad they are working out for you. They are very quick to respond and reset very quickly. I think the only knock against these is the possibility of getting one that eats batteries as has been occasionally reported (I have had one do that as well; although when I moved it to another location that behavior didn’t seem to persist) but they are warranted for a year if you get them from Lowe’s. By the way, expect the battery indicator to drop quickly to 78% or so; I’ve never seen them stay at 100% with a fresh battery for more than a day or two. I don’t think you’ll have an issue with weather if you’ve done the rainproofing; mine are doing great after two winters including the recent back-to-back nor’easters and the coldest temps we’ve seen out here in years.
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