Foscam 8910 w/ Elk M1G

[TheHoff]

 I posted how to do this with Vera Alerts in great detail somewhere on this forum

 
I've searched and can't find.  Was it this topic: http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/24194-how-do-i-send-text-over-tcp-from-elk/?
 
So, if I wanted to send the HTTP request "http://123.456.789.000/something.cgi?setting1=0", I would set a command center to "123.456.789.000", then a text string to "something.cgi?setting1=0"?
 
Unfortunately I'm not in front of my elk, so I can't tinker right now.

 

[Big517]

That is correct.  Here is the post giving the walkthrough.  Just replace the VeraAlerts info with your device.
 
http://forum.micasaverde.com/index.php/topic,15574.0.html
 
 

 

[TheHoff]

Cool.  Thanks.  I'll give that a shot.  If I can avoid having a computer run 24/7 with premise just for this functionality, that would be much preferred.

 

[vbdino]

I use a x10 module to turn on/off two foscam camera. That works well and it adds protection againts power outage during a thunderstorm, which happens mostly when at home.

 

[randytester]

@TheHoff
 
How did it go?  I was thinking about doing something similar, but havent even bought the camera yet.

 

[TheHoff]

@TheHoff
 
How did it go?  I was thinking about doing something similar, but havent even bought the camera yet.

 
I haven't had much time to tinker with doing this direct from the Elk.  My first attempt (only about 15 minutes of effort) didn't work.  I'm definitely an amateur at this stuff, so it'll take a lot of trial and error before I figure out how to make those IP commands work.
 
I did have the Premise thing working okay.  Everytime my computer rebooted, I'd have to open up Premise with admin privileges before it started working again, so it wasn't the best system.  I'm sure there's a way to automate that, but I'm not that excited about having an entire automation system running just to do one thing.
 
So, for now I just get alerts from my Elk for any alarm and I can quick open up the Foscam on my phone to see what's happening.  Eventually I'll try a little harder to get it working directly from the Elk.

 

[blmxm]

Okay I give. I am resurrecting this thread as it covers what I want to do. Trigger a string to a foscam 9821. I have been on a google binge of various threads many of which have the sprinkler example from the elk rs-232 protocol manual, av gear variations etc., but most threads end without anyone stating they actually were able to send a string from the elk to an IP address directly. I have tested the string from my browser, and the foscam responds. I the cut and pasted that string into the text section, prefixing it with 00AP1, and ending with cr lf. phone 1 setup for 6-ip reporting, xep cs1 setup with IP and port of the foscam. But I'm getting no love. I started the diagnostic for the xep, and when the text rule is triggered by arming the control, I see the string including the 00AP1 prefix, and no sign of the camera IP in the diagnostics. Now as I have proclaimed before I am no network guy, but someone please advise me on what I am missing. I know that it can take some tinkering to get the elk doing what you like, but from there mines been bulletproof, hence my absence for several years. Silly me, had to get a camera.
 
Other things I've noticed in my 48hrs of mind numbing searches. Elk protocol says up to 200 ascii characters, but RP say 79, and stops there. The ness site says that the string including the AP command is broadcast locally, (which would explain what I saw in the diagnostics) followed by a tcp with the ascii portion only, directed to the IP. So is there anyone who has been able to use the foscam cgi commands output directly from the M1 to control the camera directly? Additionally, as some of the strings for the foscam are a bit long, where do I get the 200 character option from.... ray:

 

[blmxm]

OK, so if I get any insight from Elk, I'll post back. It sure would be nice to use a set of rules to pan to the location a sensor became unsecure, and take a picture.

 

[wmcneil]

Any luck with getting m1xep to send out the http request?
 
I am getting a similiar result. I have the text string defined in Elk that I want, which in my case is 00AP1admin?profile=1^M^J
Using the M1XEP Diagnostic tool, I see the string in the trace window when I cause the Elk to be triggered to send the text:
 
14:34:40 TCP SendUnkPkt 19KC01150000000000000000011
14:34:40 TCP SendUnkPkt 17IC000000000000203010076
14:34:40 TCP SendUnkPkt 00AP1admin?profile=1
14:34:40 TCP SendUnkPkt 0ATC010000D7
 
But there is no http command being sent by the elk. I am running wireshark, and the only data on the network that has the string is the italk UDP message that is sent from the M1XEP to the M1XEP Diagnostic Tool.
 
I have tried removing the CRLF (^M^J) from the text definition, and that had no effect.
The only other thing I wonder about is that my IP address is usernameassword@numericip , I wonder if elk could be unhappy with that? In any case I haven't been able to find any other form of passing the username and password that the target server (Blue Iris) is happy with, so I don't have anything else to try.

 

[blmxm]

I posted where I ended up on Elk products support forum under a post titled "ascii to ip help". I would paste a link here, but for some reason I've yet to figure out, I can't paste anything into the forum.
The long short story is what you have already found. The Elk outputs tcp. I was going to convert the commands to http ready, but the Elk doesn't allow the string length required to do that. (the manual states 200 characters. It is incorrect as confirmed by Brad in the Elk forum post.) So I resurrected an old laptop and installed premise and used it's scripting. I have the camera go to a preset with IR and motion detection off, accept when the elk becomes armed away. At that point it goes on cruise, auto IR and all the motion triggers are set.
 
In the process of doing that, I ran across some problems with the ELK premise driver that were making me nuts, (short trip), and also found an issue with the Foscam that regardless of the snap interval settings, you get 1 second between PICs. I am trying to resolve that first with Foscam before spending time writing additional rules and scripts to create my own timing.
 
The Elk driver seems to work well with premise and is documented nicely too. What I bumped my head on was that the arming flag didn't match up the way I read the docs or expected. 0,1,2 being disarm, away, stay was actually away, disarm, stay. I beat my head against the wall for awhile when testing my script. That is from memory so if you decide to go this route I can confirm that for you, and I am also happy to share the scripting I am using if that helps.
 
Eventually after I get the snap interval issued addressed, I will be using scripting to move the camera to presets based on sensor violations. I figure I can cover far more with a few PT cameras, and not be as blind with them as when just running a cruise pattern.

 

[wmcneil]

Thanks for the update. I was able to confirm that changing the IP address value to contain just the numeric IP did cause ELK to send the text string to the desired target IP, but it was a TCP message by itself that wireshark labeled "TCP segment of a reassembled PDU". The TCP payload did contain exactly the string (minus the leading 00AP1 prefix). This does not work of course, as the target server (Blue Image) is looking for a http message. When I sent the command using the firefox web browser, it gets sent as a http GET message.
 
I am not familiar with premise.....I'll have to see what direction to head next....Thinking of beer and forgetting about this at the moment.
 
P.S. I can't seem to find your "ascii to ip help" thread

 

[FlyingDiver]

The M1EXP doesn't do http protocol.  It does telnet protocol.  You're not going to get it to generate a valid http request no matter what you do, so you probably ought to figure out what your Plan B is.

 

[blmxm]

I wasn't familiar with Premise either. However I had it up and doing what I wanted in the same amount, or maybe even less time than I put in trying to send a string from the Elk.
So far as the other post I referenced, it is at elkproducts.com M1 support forum, near the bottom of the second page.

 

[wmcneil]

Thanks for the pointer.
 
Because I already own an ISY994, I ended up configuring it to send the http command. This is straightforward to do, but does require the Network Module ($49). To get elk to "trigger" the ISY based on arm/disarm states, there are at least a couple of ways to do it: 1) Add the Elk Module ($99) to the ISY. This allows the ISY to directly take actions based on elk arm/disarm states (and adds a bunch of other elk/isy integration features). 2) Set up the elk to cause an event that can be seen by the ISY without requiring the Elk Module, such as switching a light on or off.