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    Hidden Door Sensor and IOLinc Garage

    Greetings,

    I have to confess I'm pretty new to Insteon so I have much to learn which is why I'm here.

    I installed the IOLinc for my garage door over the weekend and am disturbed by the fact that it only supports one sensor. Currently my app (and my OpenHab setup) can only confirm when the garage door is closed, but it assumes that once the door moves 1.5 inches from the contact that the door is open. If I could be certain that the door fully opens when triggered that would be OK, but for the last 2 mornings when the door opens it opens about 18 inches and then stops, I have to trigger it again which causes it to close and then open again. I'm also using Alexa with this for voice commands.

    I'd really like to have positive report that the door opens fully, so I'd like to use a hidden door sensor which the door will hit when fully open.

    Has anyone tried this? Further has anyone tried this with OpenHab and Alexa? I'd like to setup an OpenHab rule that will watch the sensors and if I call for an open it will retry if within a specified period of time the sensor doesn't trigger. Same on close.

    I look forward for your responses.

    Thanks
    -Bob

    #2
    Won't OpenHab indicate that the Hidden Door sensor was activated (i.e., not fully closed)? It that's all you need/want, then connect that to the I/O Linc sensor instead of the included sensor.

    BTW, a garage door open even an inch or two is enough for a thief to pry the garage door open enough to gain access.
    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

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      #3
      I guess I didn't make myself very clear.

      Sometimes when I trigger the door with the IOLink the door will either partially open or partially close. I've tried changing the relay close times but it seems like short times make it worse. The behavior is almost like the relay is triggering twice, but I don't seem to be seeing that in my OpenHab event logs.

      The IOLink only has 1 sensor, which means that I can only signal 2 states on my door, either closed or not closed. Not closed is not the same thing as open, it only means that the magnet is at least 1.5 inches away from the sensor. What I want is 2 unambiguous states, open or closed. If the door doesn't transition between 1 state and the other in a reasonable period of time I want to be able to take a corrective action. If there's a way to get the IOLinc to recognize 2 sensors I'd love that, but I don't see it in the documentation.

      Comment


        #4
        You were very clear in your objective, but didn't answer my question at all. Yes, more than one sensor can be used, either in parallel ( any one sensor closed is a trigger) or in series (any one sensor opened is a trigger).

        But, why not use the Hidden Door sensor as the only sensor. There's no requirement that the included senor be used at all.
        Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
        Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

        Comment


          #5
          Because that leaves me in the same boat I"m in now. The Hidden door sensor alone would only detect open and not open states, it wouldn't detect a closed state. Again, my problem is that the IOLinc often leaves the door in a partially open state. At least right now I can determine when the door is closed.

          I guess another question I could ask is why does the IOLinc leave the door in a partial state and how to correct it, because that's ultimately the goal, but since my confidence in it's ability to insure a fully closed or fully open state has been shattered, I'm looking for the certainty hence adding a sensor.

          Comment


            #6
            You may have it configured wrong in your system. How do you have it set?

            Comment


              #7
              My GDO is a Sears Craftsman which triggers when the contacts are shorted. I have the Insteon set to momentary with a 2 second duration. I tried reducing the duration to 1/2 second, the lower time seemed to not work as well. In a way it kind of acts like the relay is bouncing.

              Comment


                #8
                My older Genie GDOs also need a longer momentary duration. Anything less than 2 seconds didn't work. But why not use both sensors independently? One wired to the I/O Linc and the other just to deliver a message or turn on a light.
                Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I think that's what I'm going to do. I was hoping someone had done it and might have some advice.

                  Thanks
                  -Bob

                  Comment


                    #10
                    If a garage door is not fully closed, then it's simply not secure. If you're at all concerned about someone opening your garage door, then it must be fully closed. Anything short of that allows easy entry. The garage door is either secure or it is not. There's no middle ground.

                    That's why no one is concerned about anything else.
                    Message from Forum Admin: stusviews passed away in April 2018. Stu was a huge fan of Insteon and a huge presence on both the Smarthome and Insteon forums, helping thousands of us along the way (he had nearly 20,000 posts to his name). We thank him for his contributions, dedication, and passion for making the Smart Home a reality. He will truly be missed.
                    Saving energy is not always free. Be a world saver.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by stusviews View Post
                      If a garage door is not fully closed, then it's simply not secure. If you're at all concerned about someone opening your garage door, then it must be fully closed. Anything short of that allows easy entry. The garage door is either secure or it is not. There's no middle ground.

                      That's why no one is concerned about anything else.
                      You're very clearly misunderstanding what I've posted, there is no middle ground. You're also clearly more interested in being smug an sanctimonious than helping me find a solution. I thought there were smart thoughtful people here. I was wrong.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        First I would like to comment that I thought Stusviews comments were helpful. Based on your comments your are asking about adding a hidden door sensor to your garage door to be notified when it fully opens. Sure you can do that. That may not be the best form factor though. An open close sensor or second I/O Linc with contact may be a better application fit. What you are not going to get is any logic behind this like notify me if the door is not closed but also not fully opened. This would require a more advanced controller like the ISY.

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