Bosch Tritech Sensor mod

Why Hubitat Elevation Here's a cool thing I did!
#1

Well, not a cool thing I did but what I'm hoping to achieve. All comments welcome. Edit: mod completed! See post #4

Currently using a Hue Outdoor sensor pointed at my driveway to trigger external lights. However every time summer rolls around I get a ton a false triggers at night which I suspect is due to heat radiated off the driveway.

So my plan is to get a standard wired Bosch tritech and simply hook up the NC relay output to a xiaomi window sensor (although these are getting harder to come by these days). I have a few still and they are ideal given their tiny PCB once the case is removed, and should hopefully fit in the Bosch case. They will require at least 9V power which fortunately I'm able to provide at that location. Although the case isn't IP rated I figure sealing the edges of the sensor plate and duct tape for the main joins should be sufficient given that it will be under cover and away from direct rain and sun.

What do you guys think? The basic wired tritechs are fairly cheap whereas the zigbee versions are pricey and hard to get hold of over here.

#2

might work.

Did you try masking the driveway off? Or bugs, deer, spiders might be falsing your existing setup and maybe the tri-tech. Cameras would answer that.

You may need to trigger with 2 sensors.

#3

I know it's a violation of smart home protocol but I use these and they work great!

Sengled Motion Sensor Outdoor Light Dusk to Dawn Light Bulbs, LED Flood Lights Outdoor, Security Light E26 PAR38 Motion Activated 5000K Daylight, 1050LM, Waterproof, 4 Pack 4rd Gen

71AGZ4SSIfL.AC_SL1500
71AGZ4SSIfL.AC_SL15001500×1500 105 KB

Amazon.com

#4

I need the lights to come on when I'm coming up the driveway. The other hue sensor is pointed at grass and rarely false triggers.

The area is quite clear. Unfortunately this only happens in warm weather. Turning the sensitivity way down doesn't help much and severely reduces the detection range.

Anyway, the modded tritech is finished and it works like a charm on the bench. I could/maybe modify the driver to report motion rather than contact but as it's only to turn on lights it's not a big deal. There's not a lot of empty space within the case (its a slider so part of the space isn't usable) to work with but the tiny xiaomi board will fit in there. I also made a tripod screw base for it, a dedicated mount bracket is available but that's just an extra expense and new holes to drill in the wall.

One thing I will say about these sensors is that they look incredibly well designed. It comes in 2 parts, the rear bracket gets wired in and the front plate with all the electronics simply slides into the wiring connector. Being microwave as well as PIR should pretty much eliminate false triggering.

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