SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Photon Experiment Guide

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Contributors:

Joel_E_B,

b_e_n,

HelloTechie,

Knutson,

jimblom,

RBERLIA

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Experiment 9: Home Security

Introduction

Home security and automation are hot topics for IoT (Internet of Things). In this experiment, you will learn how to detect if someone is entering a room. There are a lot of different ways you can detect motion in your home. For this kit, we included both the PIR motion sensor and the Magnetic Door Switch Set. PIR motion sensor is great for when you need to detect motion farther away within a room. The Magnetic Door Switch Set is a small reed switch assembly specifically designed to alert you when doors, drawers, or any other aperture opens.

We are going to show you two different circuits. One for the PIR motion sensor and the other for the Magnetic Door Switch. The code and hook-up for both circuits are fairly similar, so we decided to put both of them in one big experiment about home security.

If you want to have an alarm, add piezo speaker to the experiments below. For the sake of your ears, we are using the onboard LED (D7) to show when motion is detected instead of the piezo speaker. You will thank us later.

Alright, time to learn how to catch anyone who steals cookies out of your cookie jar!

PIR Motion Sensor

PIR (passive infrared) sensor is a simple to use motion sensor. We are going to power it up and wait 1-2 seconds for the sensor to get a snapshot of the still room. If anything moves after that period, the ‘alarm’ pin will go low.

Parts Needed

You will need the following parts:

Photon RedBoard, Breadboard, and Base Plate
1x PIR Sensor
1x JST Right Angle Connector - Through-Hole 3-Pin
3x Jumper Wires

Using a Photon by Particle instead or you don't have the kit? No worries! You can still have fun and follow along with this experiment. We suggest using the parts below:

Jumper Wires - Connected 6" (M/M, 20 pack)

PRT-12795

$2.10

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PIR Motion Sensor (JST)

SEN-13285

$10.95

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JST Right Angle Connector - Through-Hole 3-Pin

PRT-09750

$1.05

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PIR Motion Sensor Hardware Hookup

To make it easier to breadboard the PIR motion sensor, you will want to add the JST Right Angle Connector - Through-Hole 3-Pin.

Connecting the JST connector to the PIR Sensor cable

Make sure to push the PIR motion sensor's JST female connector into the JST right angle connector as much as you can. After you do that, now you are ready to breadboard.

Having a hard time seeing the circuit? Click on the Fritzing diagram to see a bigger image.

Photon Code

language:c
/*  SparkFun Inventor's Kit for Photon
    Experiment 9 - Part 1: Home Security with PIR
    This sketch was written by SparkFun Electronics
    August 31, 2015
    https://github.com/sparkfun/Inventors_Kit_For_Photon_Experiments

    This application uses a PIR motion sensor to detect motion
    Development environment specifics:
    Particle Build environment (https://www.particle.io/build)
    Particle Photon RedBoard
    Released under the MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)
*/

int pirPin = D0; // PIR is connected to D3
int led = D7;    // Onboard LED is D7

void setup()
{
  pinMode(pirPin, INPUT_PULLUP); // Initialize D3 pin as input with an internal pull-up resistor
  pinMode(led, OUTPUT);          // Initialize D7 pin as output
}


void loop()
{
  int pirValState;

  pirValState = digitalRead(pirPin);

  if(pirValState == LOW){      // Was motion detected
    digitalWrite(led, HIGH);   // Turn ON the LED
    delay(2000); // Wait 1-2 seconds for the sensor to get a snapshot of the still room
  }
  else
  {
    digitalWrite(led, LOW);  // Turn the LED off
  }

}

What You Should See

When you wave your hand over the PIR motion sensor, the onboard LED (D7) will light up!

Get creative and add a piezo speaker! You can be far away and hear an alarm go off if someone sneaks in! Maybe useful in a zombie apocalypse to give you enough time to escape. Might attract attention of more zombies too. We haven't decided yet.

Piezo speaker and PIR motion sensor hookup Photon RedBoard

Code to Note

if(pirValState == LOW){ // Was motion detected

When motion is detected, the ‘alarm’ pin will go low.

Troubleshooting

If nothing happens, double check your connections. It is easy to swap the jumper wires for the PIR motion sensor. The white wire on the PIR motion sensor is connected to the GND. Lots of time when we see a black wire, we think it automatically is GND. It is always important to check the datasheets and hook-up guides. Wire colors varies from different manufacturers and don't always follow the same standards.

Magnetic Door Switch Set

These types of switches are primarily used in home security systems. One half of the assembly set on a window or door frame and the other attached to the window or door itself. When the switch set is separated from each other the contact is broken and triggers an alarm. You can use this set in non-security applications too. For example to trigger a music box to play a song when you open the box.

When each piece comes within 20mm of each other they complete the circuit with the internal reed switches.