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HOMEAUTOMATION

CarProximity

MAY5,2012|BITHEAD942|5COMMENTS
May,2012

ThisissomethingIvebeenworkingonformonthslotsoffailedattempts,butthisoneappears
tobeworking.Itsacarproximitysensorformysmarthouse.Whenthehouseisunoccupied,
WatchdogturnsofftheAC/heatertosaveenergy.Whenwegethome,Watchdogautomatically
kickstheairbackon,butsometimesitistoohot/cold.WhatIneededwasawayforWatchdogto
anticipatemyreturnwhenIwasaway.

Ievaluatedseveralwirelessnetworkdevicesthatclaimedtobelongrange,butfellfarshortof
myneedsforthisproject.Intheend,IchoseapairofDigiXbeeProXCSradioswithaU.FL
antennaformaximumrange.Justgettingtheseradiostocommunicatewitheachotherprovedto
beachallenge.TheXCSlineisverydifferentthantheotherXbeeProlineandmanyofthe
registriesandconfigurationparametersdonoexist.Theonlinedocumentationwasdizzyingand
thecommunitywasnotalotofhelpbecausetheyweremostlydiscussingotherXbeeProlines.

Mynextchallengewiththisprojectwasgettingenoughpowertotheseradiostogettherangethat
Ineeded.ForthePCconnectedXbee,IchosetheParallaxXbeeUSBAdapter
(http://www.parallax.com/tabid/768/ProductID/643/Default.aspx)board.Nomodificationtothis
circuitwasnecessary.ForthecarmountedXbee,IchosetheSparkfunXbeeshield
(https://www.sparkfun.com/products/9976)tositontopofanArduinoUno.Thisshieldhad
majorproblemsandIendedupmakingmajormodifications.Ihadtobypassadiodeonthe
boardjusttogetittotransmitproperly.Also,Ireplacethe3.3Vvoltageregulatorwithonethat
allowedmorecurrent(500mA).

IalreadyhadaPCmountedtothewallofmyupstairscornerbedroomrunningtheSARAH
interfaceandnotdoingmuchelse,soItaskedittoalsorunthenewWDCarProximitymodulefor
Watchdog.TheappqueriestheWatchdogdatabasetowaituntilthehousebecomesUnoccupied.
Oncethathappens,itstartstransmittingpingsevery1second.The5minutedelayIusedto
detectthatthehousewasunoccupiedisenoughtimeforthecartodepartandgetoutofrange,so
Irarelygetfalsetriggers.Oncearesponseisreceived,themodulenotifiesWatchdog,and
Watchdogautomaticallyadjuststhethermostatinanticipationofmyreturn.

Ifoundanice,slimprojectboxforthePCconnectedXbeeatFrysElectronics.Iusedthe
SparkfunArduinoprojectbox(https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10088?)whichgivesme
Ifoundanice,slimprojectboxforthePCconnectedXbeeatFrysElectronics.Iusedthe
SparkfunArduinoprojectbox(https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10088?)whichgivesme
plentyofroomfortheXbeeShield,androomtomounttheantenna.Irana25footUSBcable
fromthePCinmyupstairsbedroomaroundtheroomandtothelargewindow.Imountedthe
Xbeeprojectboxinsidethewindowsillsothatitwasprotectedfromtheelements,andthesignal
hasonlyglasstopassthroughtogetoutside.Havingitmountedinahighlocationgaveme
betterrangeduetofewerobstructions.Forthecarmountedmodule,Ijustusedahookandloop
fastenerandmountedontheinsideofthecenterconsoleofmywifescar.thatworkedfinefora
whileuntilitgotnailedbyanArduinoseekingpurse,soImovedituptothedashboard(which
actuallyhelpedwiththerange).Ipoweredthecarmountedmoduledirectlyfromthecigarette
lighterconnectorinthecar(nicethattheArduinocanhandlethe12V).Thecarautomatically
turnsoffthepowertothisportwhentheignitionisoff,soIdonthavetoworryaboutitdraining
thebattery.

Mygoalwastohavetheradiocommunicateatarangeofatleast1mile(about23minutesof
traveltime),althoughalongerrangewouldgivetheWatchdogmoretimetoadjustthe
temperaturebeforeIarrivedhome.Aftermonthsoftesting,itwasclearthattherearecertainhot
spotsanddarkspotswherethetransmitterscouldcommunicateasthecarapproachesthe
house.IlearnedthatthefrequencyusedbytheXbeemodulesisnotimpactedbyweather,soonly
hadtodealwithobstructions.ThemaximumdistanceIsuccessfullyreceivedapingwasabout4.1
miles.Icanconsistentlygetpingsat1.25mileoutregardlessoftherouteItakehome.

Finally,IupdatedWatchdogtochangethewelcomehomegreetingwhenitdetectscarproximity.
Nowwhenweenterthehouseitsays,Welcomehome,Ivebeenexpectingyourreturn.While
youweregoneyoumissed2phonecalls,1visitorandthemailwasdelivered.

Dec,2013Update:Seethislink(https://bithead942.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/carproximity
v2/)foranew,smallercartransceiver.

Pictures:

(https://bithead942.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/292686_466271653400064_1062331060_n.jpg)On
theleftisthecarmountedmodule.OntherightisthePCconnectedmodule.
(https://bithead942.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/398864_466271763400053_1999662982_n.jpg)The
PCconnectedmoduleincludingtheParallaxXbeeUSBAdapter.

(https://bithead942.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/551774_466271730066723_135957001_n.jpg)The
carmountedmoduleincludinganArduinowiththeSparkfunXbeeshield.

Initialmountinglocationinsidethecar.(Itsnot

usuallythisclean)
 (https://bithead942.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/capture.gif)A

screenshotofthethenewWDCarProximitymodulethatinterfaceswiththeWatchdogdatabase
andXbeeradio

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