[How-To] Keychain detector

[ver0776]

Does you wife have her own car? Tracking whether the car is home or not is simple and you back that up with a keyFOB, press the Im home button and put the keys where ever...

This is a nice idea and has many uses and could be "another" factor in determining if she is home, but I think some other methods should be used in conjunction. Awesome DIY project though.

Vaughn

 

[electron]

Frank,

I haven't had any false triggers yet. The DS10A simply sets a variable, which is then used by other rules (versus triggering a rule directly based on the DS10A commands), so I don't think false positives will become an issue. Also, keep in in mind that you could modify any X10-RF equipment to transmit this signal, there are plenty of articles showing how to hook up a reed switch to a Hawk Eye motion sensor, PalmPad, etc., hopefully those are cheaper to get.

I must say that your solution looks incredibly professional (but then again, based on your previous work, I am not surprised). Very nicely done!


Vaughn,

She has her own car, but as most multi-car families can attest, it doesn't mean she will always drive it. I wanted something that was as transparent as possible, so this is what I came up with. I do have a car detector in place as well, and could be used in conjuction with this method, but I haven't seen a need to combine this data yet.

 

[Paul]

Vaughn,

She has her own car, but as most multi-car families can attest, it doesn't mean she will always drive it. I wanted something that was as transparent as possible, so this is what I came up with. I do have a car detector in place as well, and could be used in conjuction with this method, but I haven't seen a need to combine this data yet.

What he's trying to say here is that they've got so many cars that it's hard to figure out which one is being driven by who

 

[drozwood90]

Hi Dan

Thats a nice easy solution esp as you guys can get ds10,s very cheap in the U.S......Have you had any false triggers..??? One thing i like with your solution is that the hooks carry the weight of the keys quite easily.....

I build a keyrack system for a Homevision user in the UK....Heres his review if your interested ..

http://www.automatedhome.co.uk/Hardware/Th...ce-Project.html

Nice Work

Frank

Wow! A fellow cocooner!! Frank, I was inspired by your project!!

That's amazing!! I was referring to Frank's project when I mentioned the audio plugs!!

Thank you for that inspiring idea from...well, I think I read about it a few years ago! I've bookmarked it awaiting a decision from my wife in reference to HOW she wants me to track keys.

--Dan

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Frank;

You can easily create a timer rule in an Ocelot or Elk to take care of any possibility of false triggers if you are concerned about this. Just don't perform any variable status update until the "away" condition has been unchanged for X amount of time.

The board you made is great, I'm just wondering if the plug would be used on a regular basis vs just hanging your keys on a keyring.

 

[FrankMc]

Hi Dan (Electron)

Yeah my thoughts were that you were triggering actions based on messages from the ds10 unit ..
So you,ve obviously have some sort of debounce timers build into your logic....

Yes some of the other items are cheaper to get ...Currently im tinkering with a moisture sensor and would love to interface it to a ds10 sensor so i dont have to run wires..;-) but the 433mhz version cost a lot more here in Oz...........

Thank you for your kind words

Frank

 

[FrankMc]

Hi Dan (drozwood90) too many Dans ;-) Actually my eldest lad is called Dan


>Wow! A fellow cocooner!! Frank, I was inspired by your project!

Thats nice to hear...Actually i cant take credit for the Keyrack Project as one of your fellow U.S chaps was responsible for the concept ...Shawn Boyle a Homevision User....

>Thank you for that inspiring idea from...well, I think I read about it a few years ago! I've >bookmarked it awaiting a decision from my wife in reference to HOW she wants me to track >keys.

If you want one of my pcbs (blank) let me know i have quite a few gathering dust .....Cant supply the housing....Had 2 made @$150 AUS each but i must say they looked great....

Frank
PS...Components to populate the pcb would cost around10 to 15 bucks......

 

[FrankMc]

Hi BSR

>You can easily create a timer rule in an Ocelot or Elk to take care of any possibility of false >triggers if you are concerned about this. Just don't perform any variable status update until the >"away" condition has been unchanged for X amount of time.

As i mentioned in reply to Dan (Electron) i was thinking about actions in response to ds10 messages but as you both state it thats taken care of by using Variables and timers.......


>The board you made is great, I'm just wondering if the plug would be used on a regular basis vs >just hanging your keys on a keyring.

I had two made one for the UK guy and one for myself.....Mine is gathering dust on the shelf ...Was going to install it but in my current household i would be the only person using it.......

Dans hooks is a much more practical solution ....Now im thinking of incorporating the hooks with my display ???? ;-)

Frank

PS........Im always misplacing my keys ...really need to implement something ;-)

 

[Dave X10]

Great job Dan. I know this is an old thread... but I've just got to the point with my setup where I can do this. The key holder inspired me.

 

[electron]

Thanks! It's probably still one of my favorite ideas, it works really well. BTW, welcome to CT!

 

[Dave X10]

Thanks! It's probably still one of my favorite ideas, it works really well. BTW, welcome to CT!

I built my own Key Holder for use with occupancy sensing and posted a link to your idea/post at the X10 forum (where I normally hang). I even posted pictures on my Web Site (where I also credited you for your idea).

I got another idea for car detection from a fellow X10 forum member. I am using a regular (old timey) IR light projector that bounces the light off a reflector. The light [and reflector] are set so as to pass where the parked car would block the light beam (and then the contacts to a powerflash module).

I've found so many great ideas, and so much useful information, in so many various places, is can be difficult to give mention to the creators. But I make efforts to thank those I can.

 

[electron]

Do you have a link to your website? Would love to see your implementation.

 

[drozwood90]

Seconded!

--Dan (not Electron)

 

[Dave X10]

Do you have a link to your website? Would love to see your implementation.

I can't seen to add any links. But it's.... DavesDomainOnline and its a dot com site

 

[electron]

You should be able to post links now.