DIY Home Security System

[Roy]

I've decided to make myself a home security system.

So I picked up an Arduino. Its' a board with an ATMega328 microchip and some other cool s**t. It has 14 digital input/output pins (of which 6 can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs (which can also be used as digital outputs), and a 16 MHz crystal oscillator. You can do all kinds of cool things with it like control a UAV, make a security system, or almost anything else imaginable.

There are stackable 'shields' that you can buy for it which add on extra hardware like ethernet, wifi, bluetooth, etc.. I bought the ethernet shield so I could communicate with it over the internet.

The plan for now is to have it monitor all doors/windows in the house as well as have a few PIR (passive infrared) motion detectors in/outside the house. When the system is armed and a sensor is tripped it will sound an alarm as well as notify me via phone/internet. I might add in a bluetooth module so I can disarm it without entering a code. I'll also be able to open/close the garage door and lock/unlock doors from my cellphone or a web page.

Once this project is done I'm going to wire another one of these up to my xbox 360 controller to convert USB keyboard/mouse input into xbox 360 controller output. So I can own people on Call of Duty 4. I think I could kick some serious a** if I was using a keyboard/mouse instead of a controller.







Magnetic reed switches I picked up from eBay:

[YuppieTrash]

that... is really cool.

How about a dishwasher ?

[The Poopsmith]

That is astounding. I am astounded.

[Roy]

The rest of my sensors finally arrived from China this week, so I've got every door in the house/garage monitored. I still need to purchase the infrared motion sensors and Cameras in-case someone were to come in through a window. I figure it isn't worth putting sensor on the windows when you can just smash the window to gain entry.

The house already had an old Ademco alarm system installed. So there were switches and wiring on the main doors to the house which I was able to re-use. I've got everything running into the basement to a CAT-5 patch-panel. This will allow me to have the control box plugged into an Ethernet jack anywhere in the house.

Theres still a lot of coding to be done. For now its got 3 modes, disarmed, armed, and a chime mode where it just chimes when a door is opened rather than sound an alarm. All events still send a notification to my phone and SQL database.


But somehow I managed to misplace my camera so I can't take any new pictures...

[Tron]

Roy, you should look into this: http://www.control4.com/

TJ has it in many parts of his house, it is quite awesome.

[Roy]

I picked up an HTC Hero yesterday because I couldn't stand the BlackBerry Curve anymore.

Last night I started writing an App to manage the security system in my house. I can see the status of the alarm sensors, set different alarm modes, and open/close the garage door. I might also add video camera support in the future.

I'm also thinking about making an App to access the forum chatroom without a browser.

[Psycho Gizmo]

now that is f*** cool... wish i knew how to do half of that s**t.

[Tard Man]

you should write an app for the chatroom, because im thinking about getting that phone in the very near future.

[Psycho Gizmo]

i'm thinking about throwing mine in the ocean. I f*** hate this phone. Don't get me wrong, the android platform is awesome, just the home that rests on sucks. I've had so many problems with mine so far its getting annoying. I've been thinking of checking out sprint down here in florida to see if I can't get a new one cuz its sucking so much cawk.

But yes make an app for the chat room cuz i'll be staying on the android systems now any how.

[lord berticus]

That new HTC Evo that spring is bringing out has been getting good reviews... Ty do you have the Hero?