Anthony A.
Active Member
that did the trick. all is working great now. thanks!
looking for GE / Elk wireless outdoor PIR
- Thread starter BaduFamily
- Start date
Anthony A.
Active Member
okay maybe i spoke to soon 
im experiencing a rather odd issue that i believe is the optex unit's "features." the optex has to trigger both top and bottom portion of sensor in order to signal a "not ready" status. thats a great feature as it reduces false alarms. however, oddly enough when only 1 of the sensors trigger, the status stays as "not ready" until something moves along and triggers both sensors again. once that happens, the optex clears itself and goes back to "ready". i have tried all settings including reducing the battery saving time of motion from 2mins all the way to 5s. still has the same odd behaviour. this really stinks as i purchased this unit to use as an exterior motion sensor in the backyard to trigger lighting at night. i have racoons that walk around all the time and the way the optex is now working, i would have a "not ready" signal all night long until a person walks in front of the motion and triggers both sensors. then it will reset to "ready.". anyone have experience with this issue?
edit: i tried both pulse count settings of 2 and 4, each with same result. the unit should only trigger if both sensors are tripped. as it does now, if only 1 sensor trips it stays as "not ready." tripping that same sensor again, stays "not ready." only after both sensors are re-tripped, will they display "ready" status. im confused by this operation as it should only display "not ready" if both sensors trip, NOT just 1 as it is doing. can it be related to the GE nx-650 wireless transmitter?
im experiencing a rather odd issue that i believe is the optex unit's "features." the optex has to trigger both top and bottom portion of sensor in order to signal a "not ready" status. thats a great feature as it reduces false alarms. however, oddly enough when only 1 of the sensors trigger, the status stays as "not ready" until something moves along and triggers both sensors again. once that happens, the optex clears itself and goes back to "ready". i have tried all settings including reducing the battery saving time of motion from 2mins all the way to 5s. still has the same odd behaviour. this really stinks as i purchased this unit to use as an exterior motion sensor in the backyard to trigger lighting at night. i have racoons that walk around all the time and the way the optex is now working, i would have a "not ready" signal all night long until a person walks in front of the motion and triggers both sensors. then it will reset to "ready.". anyone have experience with this issue?
edit: i tried both pulse count settings of 2 and 4, each with same result. the unit should only trigger if both sensors are tripped. as it does now, if only 1 sensor trips it stays as "not ready." tripping that same sensor again, stays "not ready." only after both sensors are re-tripped, will they display "ready" status. im confused by this operation as it should only display "not ready" if both sensors trip, NOT just 1 as it is doing. can it be related to the GE nx-650 wireless transmitter?
BaduFamily
Active Member
just a quick thought - can you 'bench' it and monitor the connection to the GE via a multimeter. that would allow you to isolate the behavior to either side.
Anthony A.
Active Member
yes, i can do that. what if i just install the jumper on the nx-650 which allows it to act as a standard contact with magnet. if the behavior is normal, then i assume the transmitter is not the issue?
nooneknows
New Member
Anthony,
Were you able to figure this out, and get it working? I am having the same exact issue with the same motion sensor and wireless sensor.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks
Joe
Were you able to figure this out, and get it working? I am having the same exact issue with the same motion sensor and wireless sensor.
Any help would be much appreciated!
Thanks
Joe
Anthony A.
Active Member
sadly, no, i havent been able to "fix" this issue. it seems it may be part of the design, which if it is, is terrible imo. i realize the need to conserve battery power, but not resetting itself to ready status until it triggers again? thats not gonna work for secruity or automation purposes for me. i think i will email optex and see what they say. im surprised no one here has come across this issue?
does anyone here own and/or use this optex wireless sensor?
does anyone here own and/or use this optex wireless sensor?
BaduFamily
Active Member
I have one of the wireless one, and used the GE transmitter with the jumper set to behave as a contact switch.
I'm using some code I wrote in node.js to monitor the elk state, and then talking to my Vantage system to turn on the deck lights. I have an elk rule which speaks when the sensor has been violated and resets.
It's on a lower deck, and when I've walk tested it it seems to work fine. I haven't persuaded the cat to do a walk test ahead of me tho, so I haven't experimented with the sequence which is causing your problems. I'll try it with a basketball ( our racoons are basketball sized I think ) this weekend and see what I get. I'll have to start in the dead zone on the centerline of the unit and travel to an edge.
What I'm not following from your description is why the sensor, once back in the Ready state due to both sensors being tripped, isn't then reporting the _next_ motion.
Our neighbor's rugby-ball-sized cat does trigger the 'regular' PIRs out there. I think he does this to bully the raccoons.
I'm using some code I wrote in node.js to monitor the elk state, and then talking to my Vantage system to turn on the deck lights. I have an elk rule which speaks when the sensor has been violated and resets.
It's on a lower deck, and when I've walk tested it it seems to work fine. I haven't persuaded the cat to do a walk test ahead of me tho, so I haven't experimented with the sequence which is causing your problems. I'll try it with a basketball ( our racoons are basketball sized I think ) this weekend and see what I get. I'll have to start in the dead zone on the centerline of the unit and travel to an edge.
What I'm not following from your description is why the sensor, once back in the Ready state due to both sensors being tripped, isn't then reporting the _next_ motion.
Our neighbor's rugby-ball-sized cat does trigger the 'regular' PIRs out there. I think he does this to bully the raccoons.
