Alarm outputs and Sonoff Mini

SAguy

SAguy

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I know very little about alarm setups, something I haven't wanted to mess with really - especially with all kinds of integrations.

What I'm wondering though, would it be possible to use an alarm output (I'm assuming an output is a pair of wires?) to connect to S1 and S2 of a sonoff mini. Similar to the LED light in the front of my house which I would assume uses an output and is set to be on/off depending on the alarm state.

If I connected that pair of wires to a sonoff mini, and then just powered the sonoff mini I would be able to flip the sonoff on/off when the alarm is armed/disarmed, and use that for other automations.

I have a texecom system which has it's own mobile interface, so integrations with something like HA directly are not going to be possible - hence the more "mechanical" option of using a mini.
 
@SAguy

Yes it will work. You will need to route some wires though.

A Basic would be easier and cheaper. No extra wiring, you just find the power going to the light and pop the Basic inline. Very simple. Then turn on "Push notification" in the settings. You will be notified when power is supplied to the Basic, i.e. when the light is turned on.

With the Mini it will be powered all the time, whereas the Basic will only be powered when the alarm is on.
 
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Dairyfarmer said:
@SAguy

Yes it will work. You will need to route some wires though.

A Basic would be easier and cheaper. No extra wiring, you just find the power going to the light and pop the Basic inline. Very simple. Then turn on "Push notification" in the settings. You will be notified when power is supplied to the Basic, i.e. when the light is turned on.

With the Mini it will be powered all the time, whereas the Basic will only be powered when the alarm is on.
Click to expand...
That's pretty cool... didn't know it was possible to use a basic like that.

Only thing is that I assume the outputs on the alarm are 12v and not 220v. Would a basic still work in this case or is there a 12v alternative that will fulfill the same function?
 
SAguy said:
That's pretty cool... didn't know it was possible to use a basic like that.

Only thing is that I assume the outputs on the alarm are 12v and not 220v. Would a basic still work in this case or is there a 12v alternative that will fulfill the same function?
Click to expand...

That’s why it won’t work, the alarm is definitely not outputting 220v or even 12v.

A specific LED channel would be 3v maybe 5v at best possibly even 1.5v.

It’s also unlikely the “state” will be output so simply otherwise. In my case the board has a relay output I had to specially program to N/O, N/C state to input to an SV which is made for this job as it can be powered from the 12v output of the alarm or its attached battery.
 
I am able to see alarm status in a similar way. I am using the A0 pin on a D1 mini to measure the voltage on the output of the alarm panel. When it measures 1v the alarm is armed.
 
SauRoNZA said:
That’s why it won’t work, the alarm is definitely not outputting 220v or even 12v.

A specific LED channel would be 3v maybe 5v at best possibly even 1.5v.

It’s also unlikely the “state” will be output so simply otherwise. In my case the board has a relay output I had to specially program to N/O, N/C state to input to an SV which is made for this job as it can be powered from the 12v output of the alarm or its attached battery.
Click to expand...
Could you share some more details of how you did this? I am already using a SV to arm and disarm the alarm, but have a second SV which I would love to use to show the status. The programmable outputs on the alarm side push out 12v to the LED which indicates if it's armed or not, so was planning to use a second programmable output to push the 12v through the SV to then share that info with Home Assistant. Any help here would be most appreciated... Still trying to figure all this stuff out... :)
 
SAguy said:
I know very little about alarm setups, something I haven't wanted to mess with really - especially with all kinds of integrations.

What I'm wondering though, would it be possible to use an alarm output (I'm assuming an output is a pair of wires?) to connect to S1 and S2 of a sonoff mini. Similar to the LED light in the front of my house which I would assume uses an output and is set to be on/off depending on the alarm state.

If I connected that pair of wires to a sonoff mini, and then just powered the sonoff mini I would be able to flip the sonoff on/off when the alarm is armed/disarmed, and use that for other automations.

I have a texecom system which has it's own mobile interface, so integrations with something like HA directly are not going to be possible - hence the more "mechanical" option of using a mini.
Click to expand...
does your led indicator flash when alarm is triggered ?most do and only go from pulse when the alarm is reset again .
 
neilh said:
No, the LED is simply used as an indicator that the alarm is armed or not. The state is either on or off, there's no flashing.
Click to expand...
most dont even know the feature exists and have never looked but plenty of units flash as well as the strobe output stays on .untill physically turned off and resett via remote .the siren turns off but strobe output stays on untill unit is resett.that can maybe be changed on the texeco programming .ive never seen that ability on an ids though .some have a 3 wire output to the indicator box for the pretty blue led but not sure if that is pulsed or constant .virtually all alarms use the external led as a violation indicator
 
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from 1 of the products installer books yours may differ but i dont think so .arm your alarm go outside and let someone trigger it and watch the leds .20220926_140917.jpg
PS i didnt post the pic to be misluk .but some my broadband member will ask for positive irrefutable scientific proof.
 
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neilh said:
No, the LED is simply used as an indicator that the alarm is armed or not. The state is either on or off, there's no flashing.
Click to expand...
have you got a strobe output that may also work .may work better .higher mah on circuit
 
neilh said:
Could you share some more details of how you did this? I am already using a SV to arm and disarm the alarm, but have a second SV which I would love to use to show the status. The programmable outputs on the alarm side push out 12v to the LED which indicates if it's armed or not, so was planning to use a second programmable output to push the 12v through the SV to then share that info with Home Assistant. Any help here would be most appreciated... Still trying to figure all this stuff out... :)
Click to expand...

Why would you want to add a second SV and not just use the GPIO pins?

Mine is imply hooked up to GPIO with a state switch and then the relay from the Alarm panel is either open or closed when armed/disarmed.

What alarm?

****

I mean thinking about it again if it's really outputting 12V when armed it could power the SV...so you could technically say when SV = Online then Alarm = Armed.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Why would you want to add a second SV and not just use the GPIO pins?

Mine is imply hooked up to GPIO with a state switch and then the relay from the Alarm panel is either open or closed when armed/disarmed.

What alarm?

****

I mean thinking about it again if it's really outputting 12V when armed it could power the SV...so you could technically say when SV = Online then Alarm = Armed.
Click to expand...
That’s a very good point. Use the output to switch it on and off. I will give that a try. I measured the voltage on the terminals that power the led indicator and it’s definitely 12v. It powers a cluster of 4 leds, hence the “high” voltage.
 
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