cnutco Posted October 16, 2009 Posted October 16, 2009 How should I say this...? Is there a product that can be attached to my car/ truck and the receiver in the garage that can be recognized by ISY when I am in range of my house? I have read about someone’s system, which I believe he has HAL, which can recognize when he arrives at home. Then it runs different programs based on what cars are in the garage. Lee
Steve Sullivan Posted October 16, 2009 Posted October 16, 2009 I guess an RF ID tag would be ideal here. I think the insteon version might have too short a distance to work though, I haven't looked into it much. http://www.smarthome.com/24950A9/I-O-Linc-INSTEON-RF-Proximity-Reader-Kit/p.aspx If you don't need to run different programs based on different cars, then motion sensors and trigger lincs could work.
Steve Sullivan Posted October 18, 2009 Posted October 18, 2009 How should I say this...? Is there a product that can be attached to my car/ truck and the receiver in the garage that can be recognized by ISY when I am in range of my house? I have read about someone’s system, which I believe he has HAL, which can recognize when he arrives at home. Then it runs different programs based on what cars are in the garage. Lee Really strange my post wasn't showing when I used the url button. I guess an RF ID tag would be ideal here. I think the insteon version might have too short a distance to work though, I haven't looked into it much. http://www.smarthome.com/24950A9/I-O-Li ... Kit/p.aspx If you don't need to run different programs based on different cars, then motion sensors and trigger lincs could work.
Brian H Posted October 18, 2009 Posted October 18, 2009 The range on the Proximity Reader is about 2-4 inches. I also found an error in the Kits Manual. The white wire from the Proximity Reader Module should be insulated and not connected to the +T trigger terminal of the Elk Relay board. If it is connected; the relay stays on all the time. Dakota Alert makes some driveway and motion sensors that maybe could be used. The receiver has some relay contacts that could be connected to an I/OLinc to trigger things. http://www.dakotaalert.com/index.html I know that Simplehomenet makes a Dakota Alert receiver. EZSnsRF but I believe it does not work with the ISY99i.
oberkc Posted October 18, 2009 Posted October 18, 2009 While not quite as elegant, I have one of those X-10 key fobs that would work well. Unfortunately, it would require a manual press of the button. I would imagine that those are still available and pretty inexpensive.
brad77 Posted October 19, 2009 Posted October 19, 2009 While I don't know of a device that is compatible with the ISY, you may have some options with Bluetooth to determine presence. We use it at our office to determine when (certain) people are in the building. When they're not, our PBX (phone system) doesn't allow their extensions to ring as long before attempting to ring a home office extension, mobile number, or just sending the call the voicemail. To accomplish this, we use a Linux command line tool called hcitool. It queries individual devices by their Bluetooth MAC addresses on a periodic basis. If those devices aren't in range, then a script sets a flag in a file, which designates the person as "out-of the office." See Nerd Vittles articles here and here for details. This works best with devices that are always on one's person when in the office, such as a phone or laptop computer. A Bluetooth equipped vehicle wouldn't work so well since the signal is probably cut off when the engine is shut off. Digging around, I found a couple programs that may work for other systems. Mac users can check out this LifeHacker article. Windows users can probably use a simple program called BtProx. Both could conceivably be used to fire off an ISY program using the ISY's REST interface. You could write a couple scripts that fire off ISY programs based on proximity events. For the Windows side, I'm thinking in terms of a VB Script that calls an ISY REST URL via the XmlHttp object. Unfortunately, it's not native to the ISY, so you'd need a computer to be on and looking for Bluetooth devices to fire off these "events." It would be GREAT if the ISY supported variables, because such a thing would be a perfect place to store proximity info. Ideally, it could then be used as a condition for proximity-oriented programs.
cnutco Posted October 19, 2009 Author Posted October 19, 2009 brad77 BlueKey is the closest thing I know of for Bluetooth control. I am not ready to spend this much for what I am looking for yet. http://www.smarthome.com/43210/BlueKey- ... V01/p.aspx Bluetooth is growing and know that WiFi is coming out with WiFi Direct... there is no telling of what types of programs will be next. I just thought there was something simple. I will keep searching to find what I am lookng for. Thanks! Lee
brad77 Posted October 19, 2009 Posted October 19, 2009 That's an interesting piece of tech. It looks like it does quite a bit more than proximity detection! The INSTEON support could be handy, but I would imagine that multiple PLM's in your INSTEON network could cause you a headache or two. If you've got a computer running 24/7, you could implement a software based proximity solution that wouldn't require any additional hardware (or at the least, a Bluetooth USB fob if your machine isn't already equipped). You'd just need to work out the scripting side of things. To your point, though, it's not simple but it's a far cry from dropping $500 on another device. It'd be nice if they offered something simple with just a relay or two but without the PLM control for a bit less coin. You could hook it up to an I/O Linc or two and be on done with it.
cnutco Posted October 20, 2009 Author Posted October 20, 2009 I here you! Sounds like it is time to get creative...
Nicole Posted October 29, 2009 Posted October 29, 2009 Hello Lee, I was looking for the same thing, something that would detect if the cars are in the garage. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of 'elegant' solutions available right now. You could use the I/O Linc which you can either connect to something like the Radar Parking assistant http://www.smarthome.com/9580/Radar-Par ... les/p.aspx or to a photobeam set or use a weight resistor circuit etc. etc. When using the Radar parking assistant, you can use the I/O Linc with the light/LED detector kit http://www.smarthome.com/24950A2/I-O-Li ... Kit/p.aspx and attach the sensor to the red LED on the Parking assistant. Or use this I/O Linc kit http://www.smarthome.com/70414/I-O-Linc ... Kit/p.aspx to detect a car. I also really hope, that there will be more and better analog and digital Insteon I/O devices soon. This is not an ideal solution, but for now this is work-around for me. Hope that gives you at least some ideas. Good luck, Nicole
garybixler Posted October 29, 2009 Posted October 29, 2009 Hi I have also been looking for a way to detect the prescience or not of automobiles and other things. I have found this long range reader that works with a variety of id tags. The range can be up to 600'. http://www.iautomate.com/r500ha.html Also I think this would be needed for lan access to the reader/s. http://www.iautomate.com/miracle_5104.html I do believe with this controller it could be possible for developers of the ISY to access it for statuses. Just future thinking on my part. Gary
TJF1960 Posted April 25, 2011 Posted April 25, 2011 It has been a while for this thread and I was wondering if anyone has taken the rfid or Bluetooth ideas any further and have actually integrated one or the other into their systems? Thanks, Tim
Goose66 Posted April 27, 2011 Posted April 27, 2011 I don't know if you are like me, but I always have my iPhone in my pocket. Why not write a program that runs on an always-on PC in your network that periodically checks the DHCP server to see if your phones preferred IP address is active on the Wi-Fi, and, if so, send a REST command to the ISY to changes a status program to true if you are active, and false if you are not.
TJF1960 Posted April 27, 2011 Posted April 27, 2011 That is a very good idea. Thanks for the suggestion kingwr. Looks like I have some studying to do!
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