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LOR as a security system


schristi69

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I have been thinking of putting together a security system for my displays this year due to some Halloween vandalism. It looks to me I can use some of my existing LOR hardware to do this. All of my controllers are CTB16PCs. I was looking at a couple of approaches. I want to trigger off of motion detectors in the yard and have floods come on and play a stern warning that the perpetrators are being filmed. Possibly an audible alarm inside the house to let me know things have been tripped in the middle of the night.

I was looking at the CTB16 input header and it looks like I can trigger with motion detectors. What actually happens when the trigger goes off since the CTB16PC does not operate in stand alone mode? Does it just turn on all outputs? How long does the on state stay on? I could hook up an external MP3 player card I have to do the message and the internal alarm should not be a problem.

I also looked at the show directors that run in stand alone mode, but they seem to run the loaded sequence continuously until powered off.

I would like the system to trigger all functions and then shut off after 5-10 minutes. Any suggestions?

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The triggers interact with the show PC, or director. The mini director runs as long as it is powered. The MP3 director card has an internal clock, and will play different shows as scheduled.

With any of the three systems, you could have the trigger interrupt whatever is currently playing, and play your alarm response sequence. It would then go on to the next sequence in the show. Of course, false alerts would be rather annoying...

With the mini director, you would not be able to have your normal show scheduled during it's run time, and the motion sensing show the rest of the time, so it is not as good a candidate as the PC based, or MP3 director based solution.

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I guess I do not understand how the triggers work. So, you have a normal show running controlled either by a PC or a director card. If a trigger event occurs, the S2 software detects this and plays a diffenent sequence? Once that sequence plays, it goes on to the next sequence?

Not really what was I was looking for. I was wanting to build something that pretty much stayed inactive until triggered. Is there a something you can wire into say a standard security light with a motion detector that would then do other things besides turn on the lights?

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That is one of the ways triggers can be used. To borrow an idea someone else had, during the show, the motion sensor trigger could cause all the lights to go dark, and play an announcement that motion has been detected within the display, and that the show has been turned off for safety, and so that the video cameras will work better. You could also turn on some flood lights as well. Then, when that dark/announcement sequence is done, it would then go to the next sequence in your regularly scheduled show.

Then after the show is over, you could have a blank sequence be the scheduled show, that when the trigger is detected, goes to the alarm style behavior.

I actually have a fairly simple animation at the house that runs the LED elements all night long. Sort of a static display that casts some light on the yard, but runs through the elements, dimming them in turn. Sort of a negative space animation.

If you wanted to keep it separate from the show, you could probably set up a mini director and one controller, such that the mini director is normally playing a blank sequence, and when triggered, it turns all the channels on, and plays the announcement. That way, the announcement would be on their own 1/8th inch jack that you can run to speakers, separate from the show transmitter (and speakers, if you are using any)


ETA, I have not verified if PC style triggers actuall work with the director and mini director. But both have trigger inputs on them, and I have used the mini director triggers to handle similar events.

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Ok, so you can run a sequence that basically has noting in it and then the trigger would run the ON sequence. That could work. I was looking at a system separate from my normal show so using a director card could work like that. I found a hack to a normal security light that could also work and several build it yourself solutions. I just don't have the electronics background. Thanks for the ideas.

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If you are running your show from a PC then the security thing will be pretty simple.

You would have your regular show scheduled to run when you want it to run. You would have a security show that was scheduled to run after the regular show. The security show would do nothing until a trigger was hit. You could for example, have a couple of motion detectors and if the motion detector next to the Pumpkins was triggered you could kick off a sequence that told them to get away from the pumpkins, turn on some lights in that area and tell them the are being filmed.

Now if you need security while the regular show was playing, it would be a little more difficult but it could be done.

Dan

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Thanks Dan. That sounds like what I need. Any recomendations on an outdoor sensor comparable to the PIR you sell?

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schristi69 wrote:

Thanks Dan. That sounds like what I need. Any recomendations on an outdoor sensor comparable to the PIR you sell?


Do not have any sensors to recommend but the motion sensor that we sell, while really an indoor sensor, works pretty good outside with a small hood over it to keep direct rain off it.

Dan
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