Wireless AD2XXX Server Appliance

[recurry]

Like many other I didn't want to install my Vera 3 (or upcoming Control4 HC-300) or computer in the same area as my alarm panel nor did I want to run a long USB or serial cable. So, I developed this small controller based on the Raspberry Pi board and the AD2PI kit. The RPi board is convenient to use for this purpose because it is inexpensive ($40) and has an OS with drivers for ethernet, WiFi, serial and USB interfaces built-in (Raspi Linux). I modified Ser2Sock so I could easily run two instances at the same time and added WiFi, ftp, watchdog timer, and web server support and the capability to configure it via the web. The RPi is way overkill for this purpose but it's cheap and makes a nice package.

The power supply is a tiny unit sold for use in minature drones and as such is very reliable. It accepts from 7 to 42 volts as input and outputs 5.2 volts at up to 20 amps. Again, overkill as far as current requirements but the size, reliability, and flexibility make it very attractive. It has the capability to power other devices that operate from 5v if needed as long as you don't exceed the capability of the panel it's attached to. To use it like I'm using it though the available current is fairly low since the panel is only spec'd to provide a max of 750ma at 13 volts. With the efficiency of this switching supply that means I can draw a maximum of about 1.5 amps at 5v. More than enough for the RPi but one must allow for panel keypads and such. On the safe side I'd limit it to about 0.5 amps given measurements I've taken on my panel

Features:

- Standalone and turn-key
- WiFi and ethernet interfaces
- Uses the AD2RPI interface
- Also provides a RS-232 interface to the serial port of my alarm panel (Vista 128BPT)
- Web interface for configuring WiFi and ethernet
- Watchdog time which automatically reboots the device if it locks up for any reason
- Once configured, automatically connects to WiFi or hard-wired network
- Can be accessed by any device compatible with Ser2Sock including Vera, the alarm decoder keypad, and other HA software
- Powered via a small switching power supply directly from the alarm panel which has enough current to also power another device limited by the current available from the alarm panel.
- Continues to run as long as the alarm panel battery lasts in the event of a power failure.

Here's a photo:

Decoder Appliance

IMG_2849.jpg (44.19 KiB) Viewed 10582 times

[Scott]

Cool stuff, Ron! Look forward to seeing what else you come up with for it. =)

[Dvbit]

Hello
I am exactly in the same situation:
Vera in the leaving room and alarm panel hidden/buried in the cellar.
I would like to implement the same solution as you did but the info you gave are, at least from my point of view, to synthetic.
Oils you elaborate a little bit more?

Thanks in advance!
Kind regards

[kevin]

It is my understanding that the Vera does not support a socket stream in this manner such as our ser2sock application - currently for supporting a Vera, you will need the AD2USB and preferably a long run of alarm wire to the AD2USB rather than making the AD2USB far away from the Vera.

I guess it may be possible with the built-in ser2net of the Vera - you would configure your serial port to talk to the AD2Pi network appliance's ser2sock port but I haven't seen much in the way of this.

[Dvbit]

Well i was describing my situation because in the first post it seemed very similar and, as far as I understood, Ron found a way to integrate the ad2pi

[recurry]

Hello
I am exactly in the same situation:
Vera in the leaving room and alarm panel hidden/buried in the cellar.
I would like to implement the same solution as you did but the info you gave are, at least from my point of view, to synthetic.
Oils you elaborate a little bit more?

Thanks in advance!
Kind regards

Not exactly sure what you are saying. I posted that as a proof of concept to let people know that it can be done fairly easily with the RPI and the AD2RPI with no custom programming whatsoever. I described the software used and anyone familiar with Linux could set it up in short order. I don't have time to write a detailed tutorial but if you have specific questions I'd be happy to answer them. In the meantime here are a few more details on what it's doing....

The RPI uses ser2sock (now I use ser2net because it's a bit more robust) and as a result the RPI behaves as a serial to TCP server. Vera supports such devices with no problem and it's absolutely trivial to make it work. If you give Vera an IP/port address it will establish a TCP raw connection to the device. I had to do a very minor tweak of the existing AD2USB Honeywell Alarm plugin so it wold accept an IP/port address - about 10 minutes of work and you can use the RS-232 version of the Honeywell plugin as an example.

All you need to do is install ser2sock/ser2net and configure it for 115200 baud on the port of your choice (I used 10000 per Matt's examples), get your wireless working properly as you normally would for the RPI, and make the tweak to the Vera plug-in and you are good to go. Works like a charm.

The alternative is to buy an off-the-shelve RS-232 to WIFI adapter for around $150 and use the AD2Serial alarmdecoder - same concept.

Regards,
Ron

[recurry]

Oh, I forgot to mention why it has the USB to RS-232 adapter... I have a 128BPT with serial port so I wanted to try out the RS-232 version of the Vera Honeywell plug-in. Technically it's superior to AD2XXX because you don't have to muck around with creating virtual zones and stuff and get instantaneous updates on zone/panel status whereas the ECP bus implementations do not and overall it's a lot cleaner. However, the RS-232 Honeywell plug-in is only being used by a very few people and it hasn't been updated in 3 years so consequently the AD2USB version has a nicer GUI.

Fact of the matter is I've now tried all three available Honeywell plug-ins on the Vera - AD2USB, RS-232, and the new one which uses the Envisalink EVL3. The EVL3 is the equivalent of the AD2USB except is has an ethernet port instead of USB. Works real well plus Eyez-on.com has a portal to control it and send events to your phone without the Vera as a alternative way of interfacing to your panel.

Lot's of options!!!

[Dvbit]

Thank You for your answer.
Anyway, stupid me, I am out of luck.
I was convinced my system was an Ademco but it is a Guardall: installed a few years ago and had long discussion on what was the best between the 2... so memory failed