How to trick HAI Omni IIe re Trouble?

[jc508]

Hi,
Short version: I am moving my house automation off the HAI Omni IIe (in expectation that the unit will continue to degrade - its been in service for about 13 years )
BUT I am trying to leave the alarm functionality on the OMNI.

I expected to be able to continue to use the PIRs already in the house as inputs but have hit an issue.
They were wired as per the attached with my new additions shown in red.
On testing I noticed the PIR zones did not switch cleanly - I was expecting 0V and then 12V across the terminals
After fiddling around I discovered I could get this by using the (previously unused) 2nd contact from the alarm (Yellow in Diagram).

So far so good; then I wired it in for real and the OMNI is signaling 'Trouble'
What I can see for Loop Values is
WithOUT the new connection for Home Assistant on Zone+
Normal Not triggered (Closed) 148 Secure
Triggered (Open) 251 Not Ready
With the new connection for Home Assistant on Zone+
Normal Not triggered (Closed) 148 Secure
Triggered (Open) 170 Trouble
and measured current to the 12V-to-3.3V converter is 2ma
R=V/I 12/.002 = 6000OHM

Does anybody have any idea how to alter this circuit so that I can have the best of both worlds ?
We live in the country and now reside here permanently - the handfull of sensors are inside and I cant see anyway anybody could get in and tamper with them without setting the alarm off.
So I am happy to lose the 'tamper' concept but I dont understand the nuances of 'Trouble' vs 'Not Ready' when it comes to the EOL Resistor.

Thanks for listening
JC

 

[dwalt]

JC,
At first look I expect that circuit you added to be a problem.
You are loading down the circuit that should only have the 1k resistor terminating it. This causes your 148 secure reading to move to 170 which is in the trouble range.
If you are trying to send the motion detector status to 2 places..... I would suggest leave the motion detector wiring as it was.
Instead program an output to toggle when the motion detector zone changes state. You can put your DFR0913 on the relay output without loading down your zone input.
dwalt

 

[dwalt]

"I dont understand the nuances of 'Trouble' vs 'Not Ready' when it comes to the EOL Resistor.

So I am happy to lose the 'tamper' concept but I dont understand the nuances of 'Trouble' vs 'Not Ready' when it comes to the EOL Resistor.

Thanks for listening
JC

I found this post from ANO explaining the zone values.

"So the number you see there represents the voltage the Omni is seeing across the zone. If a zone is open, the voltage across a zone is high. If the zone is shorted, the number will be near zero. If you using the correct 1K resister the number should be around 146 to 152. HAI allows an extra 150 ohms resistance so the total should be under 1150 ohms total."


So, near zero is a short or closed
146-152 is the secure state with a 1k resistor
a high value up to 255 is an open

The remaining ranges >near zero to 145 and 153 to <near 255 is a Trouble that means there is a wiring issue of some type or bad device.
dwalt

 

[jc508]

dwalt - thanks. Seems so simple when you say it like that!
I think it never occured to me because until all the other stuff was removed there were no outputs left
(there are only 8 to start with)
Even now when I count them up there are not enough outputs.
I really dont want to go back to multiplexing them (3 binary outputs will give 8 values) that was such a pain
But I suppose I might have to if I cant work out an electrical solution
I did not expect an 'input' to the converter like that to put any load on.
JC

 

[dwalt]

You can add an RS232 controlled relay board if you have an open serial port. There are a bunch on the market.
Amazon has them in the $16 range other companies go up to a few hundred dollars.

Here is one from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chanel-Remote-Control-Serial-Switch/dp/B07KTXC8CJ
Folks on this board may have experience with other vendors.
dwalt

 

[jc508]

dwalt,
In the end I took your first advice. Just added 'automations' to the OMNI to reflect the state of inputs.
To overcome the issue with the number of outputs I just used the last output as a 'block-select'. 4 sensors set this as 0 and 4 as 1.
It is pretty simple decoding them in the new hardware. I think this works because I am really looking for the transition from off-to-on (secured-to-triggered) rather than a constant setting. Otherwise I would have to manage any number of combinations of the 8 inputs to the 4 outputs.
I couldn't see how to use the relays you suggested - they dont come with any doco according to the user comments. AND the OMNI supports only its own (now defunct and undocumented) protocols.

JC