Exterior Motion Detectors
- Thread starter liftn
- Start date
We standardized on Optex 15 years ago or so.
Love them.
I personally use the LX-402's on my house. In fact, I was installing one last night!
ddennerline
Active Member
I have had Rokonet Watchout installed for over a year. I do have trees in front yard along with extreme weather occasionally. This motion sensor is quite expensive (>$150), but the mounting options and feature set are worth the price IMHO.
[font="Arial]Watchout caught an uinvited visitor walking up my sidewalk at 11PM. I had a 10 second advanced warning to prep/move family upstairs. I am pretty certain he was looking for houses to break in. We managed to get upstairs before he knocked on door and was able yell from upstairs window that I was planning on calling police if he didn't leave property immediately. [/font]
[font="Arial]Moral of story is I have found outside motion more useful than I thought. On the positive side, it tellsme when my expected Amazon package has arrived. [/font]
[font="Arial]Watchout caught an uinvited visitor walking up my sidewalk at 11PM. I had a 10 second advanced warning to prep/move family upstairs. I am pretty certain he was looking for houses to break in. We managed to get upstairs before he knocked on door and was able yell from upstairs window that I was planning on calling police if he didn't leave property immediately. [/font]
[font="Arial]Moral of story is I have found outside motion more useful than I thought. On the positive side, it tellsme when my expected Amazon package has arrived. [/font]
I installed two this week. Wish I had found this post before I did all the research and came to the same conclusion. You can also get the CA-1W wall bracket for the LX-402 which might be useful.
I have a GE Caddx wireless one, and some Bosch Blueline indoor sensors that I use outside. I took them apart and put silicone around the edges of the window, and then used some outdoor tape around the seam on the edge of them to seal them up. They've been outside for 2+ years and work perfectly still. It cost a whole lot less money than buying sensors made for outdoor use. I was going to put a packet of silica gel in each one to absorb any moisture, but it's worked fine without.
Desert_AIP
Senior Member
I use a DIY solution.
I wanted to be able to turn on security lights manually, with the Omni and with motion.
When I turn them on manually I didn't want the motion sensor to shut them off after it stopped sensing motion.
I wanted to be able to inhibit them from coming on due to motion in case I had a party or something else going on.
I wanted to be able to inhibit them from coming on if they tripped too many times in a short period due to wind moving trees.
I wanteed to turn on banks of lights when a single motion sensor tripped.
I wanted to be able to use the motion sensors for other automation functions.
I started with the dual brite motion lights available at Lowe's. It was about $29 for two light fixtures and the motion sensor.
The motion sensor is weatherproof, has a 100'+ range, a photo cell, 240 degree FOV and a second bottom sensor to cover motion directly under it.
I disassembled the fixture and separated the lights from the sensor.
I wired the lights to a UPB switch. I placed a SA 240 in the attic without a rocker switch since they are all remotely controlled by Links.
tracking the Links is vital to the automation routines.
I have button panels around the house that send links to activate the lights, also the Omni can control them.
I wired the sensor so that its output (red wire) energizes an outlet with a 5V wall wart plugged into it.
The 5VDC is wired into one of the voltage input zones of a SA IO module plugged into an always on outlet so it can communicate over the UPB network.
The 5VDC is also wired in series with the NC side of a relay wired to one of the Omni 12VDC outputs.
So the motion sensor does not directly interface with the lights.
When it's dark outside and the sensor senses motion, it energizes the outlet, which sends 5VDC to the IO module.
The IO module sends a Link activate signal when it detects 5VDC and a Link deactivate signal when the 5VDC is removed. These turn the associated lights on and off.
The sensor is set to one minute, so it deenergizes the outlet 1 min adter it ceases sensing motion, and thereby removes the 5VDC signal from the IO module.
If I send a manual activate Link for the lights, the Omni turns the 12VDC output on, which opens the contacts on the relay.
This prevents the 5VDC signal from reaching the IO module. So regardless of what the motion sensor sees, it is taken out of the mix.
When I send a manual deactivate Link the 12VDC output is turned off and the signal path of the motuion sensor out put is restored.
I have a counter that tracks the number of motion sensor sent Activate Links.
If there are more than 5 activate Links sent in 15 minutes, the Omni turns on the 12VDC output for 2 hours, blocking further motion activations.
That same output is turned on when a button "Party" is activated.
When there is an alarm all the lights in the house come on, including the exterior security lights. Since they are turned on manually, the 12VDC out put is activated to bypass the motion sensor the same as above.
I have the security lights broken up into 5 zones with associated sensors covering different approaches to the house and buildings.
It's been working well for over a year now.
I wanted to be able to turn on security lights manually, with the Omni and with motion.
When I turn them on manually I didn't want the motion sensor to shut them off after it stopped sensing motion.
I wanted to be able to inhibit them from coming on due to motion in case I had a party or something else going on.
I wanted to be able to inhibit them from coming on if they tripped too many times in a short period due to wind moving trees.
I wanteed to turn on banks of lights when a single motion sensor tripped.
I wanted to be able to use the motion sensors for other automation functions.
I started with the dual brite motion lights available at Lowe's. It was about $29 for two light fixtures and the motion sensor.
The motion sensor is weatherproof, has a 100'+ range, a photo cell, 240 degree FOV and a second bottom sensor to cover motion directly under it.
I disassembled the fixture and separated the lights from the sensor.
I wired the lights to a UPB switch. I placed a SA 240 in the attic without a rocker switch since they are all remotely controlled by Links.
tracking the Links is vital to the automation routines.
I have button panels around the house that send links to activate the lights, also the Omni can control them.
I wired the sensor so that its output (red wire) energizes an outlet with a 5V wall wart plugged into it.
The 5VDC is wired into one of the voltage input zones of a SA IO module plugged into an always on outlet so it can communicate over the UPB network.
The 5VDC is also wired in series with the NC side of a relay wired to one of the Omni 12VDC outputs.
So the motion sensor does not directly interface with the lights.
When it's dark outside and the sensor senses motion, it energizes the outlet, which sends 5VDC to the IO module.
The IO module sends a Link activate signal when it detects 5VDC and a Link deactivate signal when the 5VDC is removed. These turn the associated lights on and off.
The sensor is set to one minute, so it deenergizes the outlet 1 min adter it ceases sensing motion, and thereby removes the 5VDC signal from the IO module.
If I send a manual activate Link for the lights, the Omni turns the 12VDC output on, which opens the contacts on the relay.
This prevents the 5VDC signal from reaching the IO module. So regardless of what the motion sensor sees, it is taken out of the mix.
When I send a manual deactivate Link the 12VDC output is turned off and the signal path of the motuion sensor out put is restored.
I have a counter that tracks the number of motion sensor sent Activate Links.
If there are more than 5 activate Links sent in 15 minutes, the Omni turns on the 12VDC output for 2 hours, blocking further motion activations.
That same output is turned on when a button "Party" is activated.
When there is an alarm all the lights in the house come on, including the exterior security lights. Since they are turned on manually, the 12VDC out put is activated to bypass the motion sensor the same as above.
I have the security lights broken up into 5 zones with associated sensors covering different approaches to the house and buildings.
It's been working well for over a year now.
ProfessorZ
New Member
I have a related question, and thought it would be best to post in this thread instead of starting a new one. My apologies if it seems I'm hijacking 
I purchased a house which had 5 motion activated lights already installed on various corners, each with its own power switch. They are cheap "Home Depot specials" - Heathco SL-5512-WH with two 150W halogen bulbs. You can still find them for sale online at places like Amazon and Newegg, retailing for about $30-35 each.
All but maybe one are no longer working. Some seem completely dead. Others will cycle on/off. The motion sensor has a test button which is supposed to active them, even in daylight - but that doesn't work on most.
Not surprisingly, every review I can find online has the same complaint. I think they have a 10 year warranty, but I don't know if its worth the hassle to re-install their low-quality equipment.
I'd like to replace just the motion sensor, since essentially its independent of the bulb housings. From reading threads on CT and other places, it seems like this should be doable. Anyone have experience in the area?
Electrical engineering is my day job, so no matter what the solution I will be opening the failing detectors to see what went wrong. My guess is the AC switching circuit (triac maybe?) was undersized and burned up over time.
Thanks for any comments!
I purchased a house which had 5 motion activated lights already installed on various corners, each with its own power switch. They are cheap "Home Depot specials" - Heathco SL-5512-WH with two 150W halogen bulbs. You can still find them for sale online at places like Amazon and Newegg, retailing for about $30-35 each.
All but maybe one are no longer working. Some seem completely dead. Others will cycle on/off. The motion sensor has a test button which is supposed to active them, even in daylight - but that doesn't work on most.
Not surprisingly, every review I can find online has the same complaint. I think they have a 10 year warranty, but I don't know if its worth the hassle to re-install their low-quality equipment.
I'd like to replace just the motion sensor, since essentially its independent of the bulb housings. From reading threads on CT and other places, it seems like this should be doable. Anyone have experience in the area?
Electrical engineering is my day job, so no matter what the solution I will be opening the failing detectors to see what went wrong. My guess is the AC switching circuit (triac maybe?) was undersized and burned up over time.
Thanks for any comments!
My experience is it probably an internal fault in the pic chip due to voltage transients. It won't be repairable. Please update us on what you find out though.