Gate open/closed

[aLf]

I have a driveway gate which would be nice to monitor and maybe switch lights on/off. It unfortunately is 400' from the house. It does have 110, but is switched from the house (Insteon and ISY) for lights and outlets. I'd like to see when the gate is open or closed. Any ideas without major re-engineering? I think the big issue is having an access point to recieve a simple window/door sensor, but the lack of unswitched power for the AP and trying to keep the AP dry would be a problem. I appreciate the design options you all will come up with.

[LeeG]

That distance may work for a wired Insteon device. I have a good 300 wire feet to my detached garage and have good Insteon control of lights and garage doors at that distance.

 

I'm thinking changing the power to unswitched (or at least leave it On) and use some Insteon device at the gate to switch On/Off rather than at the house. That might also allow an I/O Linc to function to signal gate Open/Closed.

 

The Dakota Alert devices have an advertized range of 600' for the wireless RF devices. Not sure about the total distance but 400' would seem to be well within range. The Dakota Alert line has a WR3000 receiver that works very well. I have used their buried magnetic wireless sensors around my mailbox and at the head of the driveway for vehicle and mail announcements. Has worked well for many years. The Dakota Alert receiver distinguishes four unique channels with corresponding relays which are connected to the four opto-isolated Inputs on an EZIO6I to get Insteon messages for the four different Dakota Alert channels. The buried magnetic sensors are battery powered with 100' of cable so the transmitter could be positioned closer to the house.

 

Dakota Alert is expensive but I have found it rock solid.

[aLf]

Lee:

 

Thanks. I allready use the Dakota driveway alarm. I have a buried metal sensor near the road which will pick up any car, and as a backup I have motion sensors around the yard, including one nearer the house on the drive to sense someone (or animal) (or someone who is an animal) that gets by the metal sensor. They work great as intended, when they work. I have had MORE than my share of reliability issues with both the probe and the motion sensors. Maybe the bitter cold and moisture of Northern Wisconsin.

 

That said, Is there a way to tie into the Dakota? As far as I know they dont have a prox sensor that would transmit to the Dakota base-do they? I presently don't use the base wit and IO linc, but could easily do that. I also could rig up some sort of NEMA box in a nearby woodshed to house an AP which could recieve the Insteon window prox? Would one AP be enough? And would the AP recieve it OK and then transmit back into the house (same circuit)? As stated earlier, I am open to ANY design ideas here. Using the Dakota would be nice if there was a way.

 

On an unrelated subjetct. My PLM is ancient. One of the original Insteon releases. Would it be good insurance to replace it with a new and if so what model? I alos have two KPL's which are original and would it be as simple as new ones-replace and re-program ISY to be able to dim the bright buttons?

 

Thanks,

 

Tim

[LeeG]

Sorry to hear the Dakota Alert has been a problem. The only issue I had was the magnetic sensor at the mailbox was too sensitive. Picked up passing cars in addition to the mail carrier. Finally moved the sensor further away from the mailbox so only a vehicle passing very near the mailbox would trip it. Still get a false trip from very large trucks but they don't enter the subdivision very often and I ignore the trip when not around mail delivery time. North Carolina weather is much less harsh than a winter I spent in Rochester Minnesota decades ago. The 9v batteries would likely be a problem in an environment that drops to 30 below.

 

Not sure what Dakota Alert devices you are using. All of mine, the magnetic sensors, the universal remotes at the dock for high water level and power loss detection all transmit back to the wr3000 receiver.

 

The only serial PLM that Smarthome now sells is the 2413S Dual Band PLM. Command wise it is a functional equivalent to the 2412S. The 2413 has a slightly faster processor and supports approx 1000 links rather than the 2000 links supported by the 2412 PLM. The 2413 does not provide 12v power as the 2412 did so a small external power supply is needed for the ISY.

 

Most of the Insteon devices now shipping including KeypadLinc Dimmers are I2CS devices which require the Official 3.2.6 or Beta 3.3.3. Theoretically the new KPLs should replace existing KPLs with the same number of buttons. I ran into a problem two weeks ago when replacing a KPL. Most of my devices in the main house are early I1 Insteon ICON devices and old I1 KPLs. The old devices do not understand or repeat the extended I2/I2CS commands. This created a problem building the link database in the new KPL because the extended commands did not reach the new KPL which is at the end of a long circuit with many I1 ICON and old KPLs on it. Finally had to add a Dual Band SwitchLinc along side the new KPL Dimmer to get I2 communications to work. This type problem would not exist for most users. I happen to start with Insteon almost from the day the products were announced and I have been lucky to have had very reliable devices for all that time. Most users have more modern versions which do understand and repeat I2 commands.

 

As far as the I/O Linc is concerned, it is not a Dual Band device so the AP in the shed would only be useful to perhaps get the Insteon signal over RF to the house if the power line distance was an issue. If the Access Point helps only one is needed. I would try the I/O Linc at the gate without the additional AP to start with. If it turns out to be unreliable due to power line length then try adding the AP in the shed

[aLf]

Thanks again Lee.

 

Just so I'm straight. The IO Linc would really not interact with the Dakota. It simply would be hooked to very basic window sensors and would activate when the prox showed open/closed. Then vis the Insteon network (and ISY) would trigger whatever I wanted, i.e. an email or turn on a light?

 

How waterproof/moisture proof do you think the IO would be? The moisture, i.e. humidty is always high in the north woods.

 

Does Dakota make any kind of prox that could be mounted on the gate and send a signal to the Dakota base?

 

Regards,

 

Tim

[LeeG]

If you know the specific model number of the Dakota Alert device on the gate now I will take a look.

 

The Dakota Alert Universal Remote UT-3000 has terminals for connecting any kind of external switch such as a magnetic switch similar to what is used in garage door application. For the high water detection I used a marine bulge pump switch. They are about as water proof a switch as one can get. The UT-3000 itself is mounted under the roof of one of the boat slips so it is not directly exposed to the elements but sitting over water. I used another UT-3000 mounted in a similar location connected to a simple 120v relay from Radio Shack. If power to the dock is lost, usually a trip of the GFCI breaker, the relay opens and sets off the power detection UT-3000. The only down side is the batteries in the UI-3000's have to be replaced about once a year. I normally do that in late fall so they are fresh during the winter.

 

The WPA-3000 contains the sensor and WR-3000 receiver. Each can be purchased separately. There is also a passive motion sensor WMT-3000. All the xxx-3000 devices work together on the same RF frequency. I mounted the transmitters on the outside of a storage shed. They are water proof. Have been using them for many years with no problems being mounted outside. The box has a rubber seal on the hinged cover. I might have looked into a good 9v supply to replace the batteries in the transmitters if I lived where you do. Would depend on how well a 9v battery holds up in very low temps.

 

I don't know if the I/O Linc could interface with the Dakota device directly. Need the model number of the Dakota device. The I/O Linc would have to be mounted in a weather proof box of some kind. A magnetic switch on the gate itself is a good choice because they are inherently water proof. Depending on how far the shed is from the gate itself a run of direct burial irrigation cable could be run from the gate switch to the shed with the I/O Linc in the shed. Gets the I/O Linc out of the weather and closer to the house. I used a flat blade shovel to open a small slot to bury the cable from the Dakota Alert buried sensor to the transmitter location.