Milestone Alarm Input / outputs - digital i/o

jpwade

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Q1) can essential+ be configured to use dry relay contact inputs for alarm inputs?

Q2) can dry relay contacts be used for alarm outputs?

(such as alarm/relay i/o on older cctv recorders)

i am looking for a way to incorporate parameter sensors (motion pir detectors) & security lighting. i have looked at products/modules such as:

ip Network I/O Relay - AXIS P8221 , AXIS A9188
IP lighting - Raytec's Vario products
ip parameter - Optex IP Sensors/Detectors

20131119- Optex integration Axis

ALL are way over my budget, AND it seems noting gets into or out of milestone WITHOUT going through "their" drivers.

I am hoping to find a means to integrate something like, "I/O Board, Ethernet, 55 Digital I/O" ---> Link: I/O Board, Ethernet, 55 Digital I/O, 7 Analog Inpu

Note that an input is sent as a TCP message from the camera to the milestone Recording Server (device driver) and relayed to the milestone Event server. Outputs are instructed by XProtect through the Recording server (device driver), but do not create any events. In some cases, wiring the output to an input will be helpful to get an Event for it.


any idea's? , Such the Blue Iris and Arduino for alarm input/output
 

adamg

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I'm a bit confused by your use case. These perimeter sensors & security lighting you mention.. presumably you want to receive these field devices to sense some condition, and then Milestone to become aware of that sense trigger in the form of a Milestone Input, right?
 

jpwade

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I'm a bit confused by your use case. These perimeter sensors & security lighting you mention.. presumably you want to receive these field devices to sense some condition, and then Milestone to become aware of that sense trigger in the form of a Milestone Input, right?
yes, for example, ir parameter fence breached , the ir sensor closes it's own dry contact that is normally open, the closed contact would be used as a input for milestone to initiate ptz camera presets (camera's goto preset view) and start recording. That closed contact is currently used as a input for my older recording system (Nuvico Analog DVR) inputs to do the same.

My 4 Nuvico Recorders already has about 8 motion detectors, and 4 outputs for lighting systems to turn on/off , along with 5 analog ptz's that pan to presets for alarms , in short i am trying to find a way to integrate that nuvico input/output with milestone and my ip ptz's.
 
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jpwade

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I'm a bit confused by your use case. These perimeter sensors & security lighting you mention.. presumably you want to receive these field devices to sense some condition, and then Milestone to become aware of that sense trigger in the form of a Milestone Input, right?
would this be the answer for using an arduino? ----> in the milestone administrator's manual pdf file at ---->

pg. 319
"Generic events (explained)"
Generic events allow you to trigger actions in the XProtect event server by sending simple strings via the IP network to your system. You can use any hard- or software, which can send strings via TCP or UDP, to trigger generic events. Your system can analyze received TCP or UDP data packages, and automatically trigger generic events when specific criteria are met.

This way, you may integrate your system with external sources, for example access control systems and alarm systems. The aim is to allow as many external sources as possible to interact with the system. With the concept of data sources, you avoid having to adapt third-party tools to meet the standards of your system. With data sources, you can communicate with a particular piece of hard- or software on a specific IP port and fine-tune how bytes arriving on that port are interpreted.

Each generic event type pairs up with a data source and makes up a language used for communication with a specific piece of hard- or software. Working with data sources requires general knowledge of IP networking and specific knowledge of the individual hard- or software you want to interface from. There are many parameters you can use and no ready-made solution on how to do this. Basically, your system provides the tools, but not the solution


headings:
* Add a generic event
* Generic event (properties)
* Generic event data source (properties)
 
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rsoxhater

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You'll see inputs when you add a camera, and then you can relate an event to that. I think @jpwade is right with using generic events. If that event is triggered, you create a rule that moves whatever camera(s) you want, starts recording, increases FPS, etc. Everything in Milestone is rule based, right down to the basic record on motion rule.

I do a ton of Milestone, but I so rarely use inputs, I always have to do a bit of trial and error myself when doing them. I've done panic buttons and such that are wired into a nearby camera, so if the button is pushed, the camera's input is triggered and sends an event which activates a speaker, makes cameras record,, etc. There are dedicated IP I/O devices, but I try to use a camera where I can so I don't need additional licensing. A little extra wire is much cheaper than another device and license.
 

adamg

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yes, for example, ir parameter fence breached , the ir sensor closes it's own dry contact that is normally open, the closed contact would be used as a input for milestone to initiate ptz camera presets (camera's goto preset view) and start recording.
Your explanation is missing a key step. The fence system closes a dry contact, but the missing link is: how does Milestone become aware of this dry contact closure?

Depending how it becomes aware of it, the process for configuring Milestone to activate a PTZ preset will vary.

As rsox recommends, the cleanest and easiest way inside of Milestone to a) become aware of this and b) activate a PTZ preset is to wire the dry contact to an online Milestone camera's Input point. Then in Milestone configuration you just have to enable that input point, and create a Rule. The rule will be triggered by camera's input point going High, and send a camera to a PTZ preset. This is the easy way to do it.

The more complicated way is to try to use some form of networked IO or communication method to get the message into Milestone, and then cause it to activate the PTZ preset. If you go this route you are in the realm of Generic Event Data Sources, which is not a good place to be.
 

jpwade

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how does Milestone become aware of this dry contact closure?
as per my last post that included the milestone administrator manual link, the input to milestone would come from an arduino (with Ethernet shield)

the closed or open contact (active / not active) would be input to arduino ----> arduino output to milestone would be IP - (TCP-port (1234) listener)

for example, 4 100' ir fences. milestone would

ir_contact_A_active
call preset# for cam1 & cam2 to zoom at different sections of fence A,
& enable tracking of movement for cams field of view, (lighting toggles on from ir contact)

ir_contact_B_active do the same for cam 3,4

ir_contact_C_active same as A
ir_contact_C_active same as B

in that manual , note the headings:
* Add a generic event
* Generic event (properties)
* Generic event data source (properties)
 

rsoxhater

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as per my last post that included the milestone administrator manual link, the input to milestone would come from an arduino (with Ethernet shield)

the closed or open contact (active / not active) would be input to arduino ----> arduino output to milestone would be IP - (TCP-port (1234) listener)

for example, 4 100' ir fences. milestone would

ir_contact_A_active
call preset# for cam1 & cam2 to zoom at different sections of fence A,
& enable tracking of movement for cams field of view, (lighting toggles on from ir contact)

ir_contact_B_active do the same for cam 3,4

ir_contact_C_active same as A
ir_contact_C_active same as B

in that manual , note the headings:
* Add a generic event
* Generic event (properties)
* Generic event data source (properties)
That does sound correct, and you'd just add a rule(s) to move cameras when that event is triggered. That part is easy, just getting the event there is the hard part. When you do that, the rules are easy to make it do whatever you want.
 
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