[vox] Home automation/Physical security

[bob maccione]

I don't have the budget for the Axis cameras so I use cheap security
cameras (from Costco and < 100 bucks) that I hook up to an Aviosys 9100A
video converters (http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html) which has a lot of
support on the net for hacks, etc (http://www.aviosys.com/9100.html).

The whole cost was actually cheaper than an Axis camera for my 3 camera
setup.

Now this was done years ago and if I was to do it today I would probably
look some of the wired network cameras.  The biggest issue is getting power
to the camera,  I'm also using a POE (power over ethernet) camera which has
been working pretty well.

To tie all this together I use SecuritySpy on a Mac Mini and have it email
me on movement.  I also can get a web view of all the cameras from my phone
if needed.

I have played with a Foscam network camera (http://foscam.us/) and it was
nice but I had it outside and it wasn't waterproof.

All of this only gets me an alert that something may be going on but
doesn't address the security aspect,  I'm looking at a security panel and
haven't really narrowed down a choice yet.

My next task is to get a camera that I can put at face level so I can get a
higher resolution of the person approaching the door,  this would be really
nice to have but needs a better quality camera (1M pixel probably) and
better light control.

X10 -  I've been an X10 user for over 30 years and am so happy to be away
from that mess,  it worked well as a way to turn on and off lights but the
security modules were pretty bad.   I'm now using a z-wave system and am
much happier, it's more of a hassle to configure but I'm on year 2 with
simple lights usage and it's been pretty solid.

Watering --  I have been looking at Open Sprinkler kit (
http://rayshobby.net/?page_id=160) and it seems pretty neat.  It's
expandable and would replace my existing Rain Bird sprinkler with something
I could control remotely.  It's on the budget but I probably won't be able
to get to it till next spring.

I would really like to have a way to tape my dog barking and then when
someone knocks on the door have it playback when I'm not home.   The dog
has a really deep house shaking bark that causes people to back up a couple
steps when she barks.  :-)

That's it for me,  good luck and let me know what you end up with.

bobm

On Fri, Jul 12, 2013 at 6:27 PM, Bill Broadley <bill at broadley.org> wrote:

>
> Greetings all,
>
> After the great responses to my UAV related queries I figured I'd try
> again with another somewhat linux related area.
>
> What are people doing for home automation/physical security?
>
> I've done some research, but haven't actually built anything yet.  I
> dislike X10 because it's unreliable and not particularly secure.  I
> wouldn't for instance want to control my front door or garage door with it.
>
> The number of home thefts in Davis has been pretty high as well, it was
> 1-2 a day for a few months starting till they nabbed on guy.  I've had 2
> homes and a car broken into within a 100 yards of my house in the last 6
> months or so.
>
> One cool product I found was an Axis M1054, seems ideal for a front
> door.  Allows video + 2 way audio so you can answer the door from
> anywhere with a network connection.  I do need a metal box to protect,
> I'm trying to track down a source for:
>
> http://eholovision.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=226&Itemid=264
>
> The axis cameras aren't cheap, but they do seem to have better video
> quality, tons of functionality, stream well, and many cool features like
> motion detection, knock detection etc.  They run linux and *gasp* allow
> user customizations.
>
> I also wanted to:
> * monitor temperature sensors for inside, outside, and attic.  Maybe
>    even soil moisture.
> * control a few relays for attic->outside fan, house -> attic fan,
>    and maybe a watering system.
> * monitor the state of a few door/window sensors to know when the
>    garage door is open and the like
> * Have a small tablet/old phone/small 2x20 display with a speaker/buzzer
>    for messages like "warning garage door has been open for more than
>    10 minutes", "Someone is walking towards your front door", "the mail
>    is here".
>
> Products that would enable the above:
>
> Cool arm, arduino, and wifi widget (available sept or so) good for
> monitoring analog sensors (like temp/moisture) and digital (like doors).
>   Even allows updating the arduino over the network.  I definitely don't
> want to be crawling around in my attic or crawlspace to update software.
>
> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sparkdevices/spark-core-wi-fi-for-everything-arduino-compatible
> http://www.sparkdevices.com/
>
> Similar but more expensive SBC, MANY sensors available:
> http://www.phidgets.com/products.php?category=21&product_id=1073_0
>
> Nice magnetic switch:
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009SUF08
>
> Soil moisture sensor:
>
> http://dx.com/p/fc-28-d-soil-hygrometer-detection-module-soil-moisture-sensor-blue-184234
>
> Nice relays:
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0057OC5O8
>
> The raspberry Pi didn't seem to be a particularly good fit.  Wifi
> requires a dongle, no build in analog pins.  I wanted to keep the
> hardware hacking to a minimum.
>
> With all of the above I was hoping to enable things like:
> * sounding a buzzer if a door is open too long or when it shouldn't
>    be.
> * in cool mode turn on attic fan as soon as outside air is cooler
>    than attic.  Turn on house -> attic fan as soon as outside cooler
>    than inside
> * turn on water only when the soil is too dry.
> * Open the garage door when I'm home.
>
> Anyone doing something interesting in this space?
>
>
>
>
>
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