Wiring an EZEye photocell to HAI OmniProII

M

madas

Member
Hello All,

I'm hoping someone can help me. I'm trying to wire an EZEye photocell to an HAI OmniProII security zone. I'm using the digital output from the device but the alarm is always showing the zone as not ready.

The board won't let me post a link to the manual but if you go to google and search for "smarthome ezeye" it'll be the first link.

I have Red/Black to VCC and Ground respectively. I have VCC to my Zone(+) and the white cable to Zone(-).

No matter what I do it shows the zone as open.

I know the device is working as I can use the analog cable (Green) and see the voltage changing as I cover the device with my hand.

Do I need a resistor in parallel or something like that to get this to work? I've spent several hours messing with this and I think i'm out of things to try.

Please help!

Thank you

M

BSR Edit: Here are some links to this unit:

http://www.smarthome.com/manuals/31284-qsg.pdf

http://www.smarthome.com/31284/SimpleHomeNet-EZEye-Ambient-Light-Sensor/p.aspx
 
Did you adjust the sensitivity via the potentiometer? Does the Omni have an option NOT to use an EOL Resistor for a security zone (and is that checked)?

Can you measure DC voltage between the white wire and VCC and see if that is changing (I imagine that should go from near zero volts and snap to 12 volts while you adjust the sensitivity).
 
Thank you for all the responses!

I get 12v between the white wire and VCC (red wire). This never changes as I adjust the pot and/or move/cover the device.

If I put the white wire on zone(+) what should I put on zone(-) ?

Thanks again gents

M
 
Most likely you do not have enough ambient light to trigger the sensor. Try a flashlight. If you wish to connect something to Zone-, connect it to ground.
 
OK, i'm getting closer.

i disconnected the yellow from zone(-) and now when I check the voltage between VCC and White I see it go from 0V to 12V based on the POT setting.

so i connected the White cable to Zone(+) as per jpmargis. The zone still always shows not ready but the loop number is now either 254 or 11 based on the pot setting. Obviously the panel is now seeing a difference, but how do I get the zone to show Ready based on one of those settings?

Zone(-) is empty.

Thanks

M
 
"Yellow" wire? Where did that come from? :D A schematic would go a long way here on exactly how you have this connected.

Anyway, IMO, if you are getting a difference of 0-12 based on reading the voltage between VCC and the white wire, this shows that the white wire is giving a ground reference when the unit trips.

I don't have an Omni, but you have this setup as a 'digital' input and not analog correct?

Also, does the Omni have an EOL defeat setting on its digital inputs? Do these inputs have a 'pull up' resistor?
 
Oops sorry..Yellow=White...

I believe all of the zone inputs on the Omni are set as digital (i don't think you have a choice). You can configure internal zone resistors (I have this turned off).

It looks like I need to have the loop number at around 128 for it to be considered as "secure". I'm not quite sure what those numbers are though.
 
That won't work the way you're trying to do it. The Omni zone input is a current loop; it does not expect the connected device to be applying voltage to the loop. What you need to do is wire a relay into the EZEye's output. Connect the white wire from the EZEye to one of the coil terminals on the relay; connect the other coil terminal to the ground side of the power supply. Connect one of the zone wires from the OPII to the normally-closed (NC) terminal on the relay; connect the other to the common terminal.
 
Let me start by saying I have never worked with an EZEye but after taking a quick look at the PDF file in the link above I think I might be able to help.

First the Omni zones are designed for security type contact closure or for input from specific devices like temperature sensors which provide a pulse stream. For ALL OTHER DEVICES the safest and usually the easiest thing is to make them into contact closures.

Second the use of EOL resistors is strongly recommended for all security zones to detect tamper and faults. This is often a heated discussion but whether you agree or disagree either setting can work, you just have to handle it slightly differently. If zone resistors is enabled then the Omni will consider a 1K Ohm loop to be secure. This way we can detect shorted or cut wires. If zone resistors are turned off then an open circuit is "not ready" and shorted is "secure".

Now looking at the EZEye it appears that it requires 8-20VDC @ 5ma from VCC to ground (black) to power the device. This could easily be provided from one of the Omni outputs or a separate supply. Furthermore it appears that the voltage from black - green varies in some proportion to the light level and the voltage between black - white switches from 0-12V as the light level crosses a threshold set by the POT.

We can work with this but we will need a relay. Get the cheapest 12VDC SPST relay from your local electronics part store like Radio Shack ($4-$5). You can get more poles or contacts but they are not necessary. What I really want is something that does not take much current to activate the coil. I didn't see a current rating on the white digital out but I bet it is not much so a small coil current would be best.

Hook the relay coil across black - white and adjust the POT to see if the relay engages. If it does we are in great shape. Just wire the relay contacts to the Omni zone. Since they are just contacts polarity is not a concern.

Finally back to the zone resistors. With zone resistors off and the contacts open you should see a zone reading around 253 or 354 which show as NOT READY. With the contacts closed the reading will go to about 128 and the zone will show as secure.

If zone resistors is enabled. You will need to add a zone resistor to the circuit. The easiest way is to just put one across the zone terminals right at the panel in parallel with the contacts. Now when the contacts are open the Omni sees the 1K Ohm resistor and reports the zone as SECURE with a reading around 147. When the contacts close they basically short the resistor and the zone will become "NOT READY" with a reading around 128.

Oh I almost forgot the zone type should be set to AUX.

It doesn't matter if the contacts close when it is bright or dark. You can control this in programming by using "WHEN SECURE" or "WHEN NOT READY" as appropriate.

This should work pretty well. The only thing I am not sure about is whether the digital output on the EZEye can provide enough current to energize the relay.

I hope this helps.
 
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