Motion and darkness

[little66085]

What is going on?  I have used motion detectors to open an automatic door for our large dogs (via I/OLinc).  During sunny days, it works flawless, but during cloudy days, dusk, and night, the exterior sensor gives false signals.  No it is not flying bug issues as this is within a screened area.  I see on ISY there is a "darkness sensitivity" and is defaulted to 128.  Is this the issue or am I missing something?  thanks.  

Program is attached.  Interior is same except for motion call out.

 

[paulbates]

One possibility is sensitivity. Screens, even glass, don't matter, the MS sees heat. Any cooler conditions... cloudy, night,  makes heat signatures more visible to the MS.

 

I added jumper 1 to my  MS which reduces its sensitivity 33%. That has got rid of my false triggers and is pretty easy to do. You can also try mounting it higher and pointing it lower.

 

Paul

[oberkc]

I can tell you that there are different configuration settings where one can specify that the sensor send signals only during periods of darkness, and settings that can set darkness level. I can think of no settings that would cause "false" readings or make them more likely.

[larryllix]

I tried the sensitivity lowering jumper for a while on one ofmine but it eemed like it delayed longer before sending the On signal too. I figured they may have just damped the response to be less sensitive to light change "blips" and took it out again.

 

Very hard to tell when you test it, approaching. Was it just delayed or really didn't see you until you were closer?

[paulbates]

I tried the sensitivity lowering jumper for a while on one ofmine but it eemed like it delayed longer before sending the On signal too. I figured they may have just damped the response to be less sensitive to light change "blips" and took it out again.

 

Very hard to tell when you test it, approaching. Was it just delayed or really didn't see you until you were closer?

 

It did what it said for me, shorter range and no delay. Mine is on the corner of the house... half of it covers the back , half of it covers the front yard and driveway. The problem with no jumper is that people walking by on the sidewalk, or some cars on the street would set it off and I didn't want that.

 

 They jumper simply "brought in" the detection field. It works great now.

[little66085]

I have reduced the field with jumper 1.  Today it ws sunny until about 3 pm.  Once the clouds hit, the false opening occurred.  to reduce the dark sensitivity, do I lower the number or raise?

[oberkc]

I dont believe raising or lowering the number has any affect on sensitivity of the motion sensor. This number only affects the level of light needed for the dark sensor to trigger.

[stusviews]

Other than the jumper, you cannot alter the sensitivity of the MS. Lower numbers means that the MS will respond to motion only under darker conditions, higher numbers will allow the MS to respond when it's less dark.

[larryllix]

I have reduced the field with jumper 1.  Today it ws sunny until about 3 pm.  Once the clouds hit, the false opening occurred.  to reduce the dark sensitivity, do I lower the number or raise?

To find out the easier way do this.

 

Adjust the light level number in the MS.

Point the MS into a space for the light sensor to test for at least 3 seconds.

Tap the link button seven times quickly.

Watch the MS device page in admin console.

 

This method eliminates the 3-5 minute delay on the sensor for calibrating/proving the adjustment.