Cross Zoning?

[wdeertz]

I'm trying to understand the cross zoning and how to configure it on my OP2.  I have a wireless receiver on my garage door which will occasionally give a false alarm if someone drives by with a loud exhaust or explodes fireworks.  My idea is to cross zone the garage door zone with a motion sensor and have a cross zone time of about 15 seconds.  If I understand correctly if the garage door sensor gets triggered it will not cause an alarm unless the motion sensor is also triggered within 15 seconds, is my understanding correct?
 
In the zone setup screen I can configure to enable or disable cross zoning.  Are all zones "enabled" on this screen a single subset?  In other words its not possible to group different zones together for cross zoning?
 
Also, I have my garage door zone configured as a X2 entry delay zone so I can park my car and disarm the system when arriving home.  This area has an entry delay of 60 seconds so with a X2 zone it will not trigger until 120 seconds has elapsed, if the cross zoning setting is set for 15 seconds am I correct to assume this will start at the end of the 120 seconds?
 
The HAI manual I have doesn't explain the cross zoning very well, or if it does I must not have found it.  Thanks

 

[ano]

Cross-zoning is a newer feature mandated to reduce false alarms.  It is not designed to replace good system design.  If your magnet sensor is tripping with "fireworks or loud exhaust" that should be fixed first. Also, if you are going to place an alarm motion detector in an unheated garage, make sure its rated for that. Most "alarm grade" motion detectors are designed for heated areas"  Outdoor ones are fine for outdoors, but they are usually designed to trigger lights, and they are not false-alarm resistant. So you can't take two "faulty" sensors, and use cross-zoning to make them OK.
 
So cross-zoning is quite simple. You can turn the feature on or off for a zone. All the zones with the feature on act together. You can't create "groups" for different cross-zone areas. Its part of the group, or not.  Typically the "time" value is at least 1 or 2 minutes.  Zones should VERY RARLY false, so the odds of two of them falsing within 2 minutes of each-other should be exceedingly rare. Typically this feature is only used with motion detectors, which can occasionally false. Spiders, glare from the sun, etc. So the normal case is inside motion detectors. I have all of mine set for cross-zoning. All the magnet switches on door or window sensors should never false, so they are not cross-zoned.
 
You will need to experiment on the exact timing for an entry delay zone. That isn't what cross-zoning was really designed for, but my guess would be that the time delay doesn't start for each sensor until the second sensor is triggered. At that point, each sensor triggers according to its type.  

 

[LarrylLix]

I have one Insteon MS outside. Not designed for outdoor and not good enough quality for any serious security. We use it mostly to direct packages dropped off on our porch. From regular outdoor motion sensitive lights, they false 20 times per night when they see driving snow but fed through my ISY I am developing algorithms to make that less annoying. I haven't experienced winter yet with this new install.
 
Cross zoning always sounded like a great idea but with my cheapie cams, pointing outside they constantly record larger birds flying through the zone. I doubt there is a way to stop that with cross-zoning.

OTOH. Cams mostly detect visible light motion, whereas iR MSes detect iR at certain temps. Birds are small but run about 104F body temperature.

 

[wdeertz]

Cross-zoning is a newer feature mandated to reduce false alarms.  It is not designed to replace good system design.  If your magnet sensor is tripping with "fireworks or loud exhaust" that should be fixed first. Also, if you are going to place an alarm motion detector in an unheated garage, make sure its rated for that. Most "alarm grade" motion detectors are designed for heated areas"  Outdoor ones are fine for outdoors, but they are usually designed to trigger lights, and they are not false-alarm resistant. So you can't take two "faulty" sensors, and use cross-zoning to make them OK.
 
So cross-zoning is quite simple. You can turn the feature on or off for a zone. All the zones with the feature on act together. You can't create "groups" for different cross-zone areas. Its part of the group, or not.  Typically the "time" value is at least 1 or 2 minutes.  Zones should VERY RARLY false, so the odds of two of them falsing within 2 minutes of each-other should be exceedingly rare. Typically this feature is only used with motion detectors, which can occasionally false. Spiders, glare from the sun, etc. So the normal case is inside motion detectors. I have all of mine set for cross-zoning. All the magnet switches on door or window sensors should never false, so they are not cross-zoned.
 
You will need to experiment on the exact timing for an entry delay zone. That isn't what cross-zoning was really designed for, but my guess would be that the time delay doesn't start for each sensor until the second sensor is triggered. At that point, each sensor triggers according to its type.  

 
Ano, thanks for the explanation, this is most helpful.  I agree cross zoning on this zone is probably not the way to go.  The wireless sensor is a LV46A001 which I went back to the documentation and see that I can set a 1 minute delay for triggering the sensor.  This would probably get rid of the occasional false alarms but then I wouldn't know when the garage door is opened until a minute has elapsed.  I also found in the documentation that I can add 2 wired zones to this wireless sensor.  I have the same wireless sensor on the door to the garage that never triggers a false alarm so I am thinking of adding a wired sensor to the garage door from this wireless sensor.  It seems that the mercury tilt switch in this sensor is to sensitive to vibrations.