Cheap Z-Wave / Zigbee doorbell sensor

TechBill

TechBill

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I been looking for doorbell sensor to tie in my doorbell chime so I can set up a light flashing when doorbell button is pressed. During my search, I discovered a cheap way to set one up if you use Zigbee in your home automation so I wanted to share it on here.

The sensor is a SAGE Zigbee doorbell sensor / Hughes Sage doorbell sensor which is no longer manufactured but there are many available left on Ebay between 5 to 14 dollars per sensor that uses zigbee and connects to your doorbell chime. Read more about it at SAGE Zigbee Doorbell Sensor Impressions & SmartThings Device Handler - DarwinsDen.com

I ordered one but my home setup is a Z-Wave so I am going to have to swap out my transmitter over to a Z-Wave / Zigbee combo transmitter for this and see if Home Assistance will be able to detect it so I don't know yet if it will work or not.

One other sensor I read up which folks using are a window or door Z-Wave contact sensor which have a reed switch that are sensitive enough to make a contact when the magnet field that make a chime sound is generated next to it. Read more about it at Integrate "old fashioned" doorbell into HA with Xiaomi

If Sage sensor didn't work out for me, I am going to try the reed switch sensor.
 
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TechBill said:
I been looking for doorbell sensor to tie in my doorbell chime so I can set up a light flashing when doorbell button is pressed. During my search, I discovered a cheap way to set one up if you use Zigbee in your home automation so I wanted to share it on here.

The sensor is a SAGE Zigbee doorbell sensor / Hughes Sage doorbell sensor which is no longer manufactured but there are many available left on Ebay between 5 to 14 dollars per sensor that uses zigbee and connects to your doorbell chime. Read more about it at SAGE Zigbee Doorbell Sensor Impressions & SmartThings Device Handler - DarwinsDen.com

I ordered one but my home setup is a Z-Wave so I am going to have to swap out my transmitter over to a Z-Wave / Zigbee combo transmitter for this and see if Home Assistance will be able to detect it so I don't know yet if it will work or not.

One other sensor I read up which folks using are a window or door Z-Wave contact sensor which have a reed switch that are sensitive enough to make a contact when the magnet field that make a chime sound is generated next to it. Read more about it at Integrate "old fashioned" doorbell into HA with Xiaomi

If Sage sensor didn't work out for me, I am going to try the reed switch sensor.
Click to expand...
Wonder if this will work with SmartThings...
 
David L said:
Wonder if this will work with SmartThings...
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a driver handler for SmartThing hub.

Device driver for SmartThing -
github.com

SmartThingsPublic/devicetypes/darwinsden/sage-doorbell-sensor.src/sage-doorbell-sensor.groovy at master · DarwinsDen/SmartThingsPublic

Misc SmartThings Groovy SmartApps and Device Handlers. - DarwinsDen/SmartThingsPublic
github.com github.com

And someone recently wrote a driver handler for Home Assistance hub however it was pasted in the HA chat room so I am not sure if it available on git.

Edited : added link to Smartthing device driver
 
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TechBill said:
Yes, there is a driver handler for SmartThing hub.

And someone recently wrote a driver handler for Home Assistance hub however it was pasted in the HA chat room so I am not sure if it available on git.
Click to expand...
I just got further in the DarwinsDen article and saw the SmartThings write up, probably about the time you replied to my premature question. I think I will order one or two of these sensors myself. Thanks.
 
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David L said:
I just got further in the DarwinsDen article and saw the SmartThings write up, probably about the time you replied to my premature question. I think I will order one or two of these sensors myself. Thanks.
Click to expand...

Those sensor are so cheap on Ebay .. I am planning on getting 1 or 2 more for a different experiment that have nothing to do with doorbell. :)
 
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TechBill said:
Those sensor are so cheap on Ebay .. I am planning on getting 1 or 2 more for a different experiment that have nothing to do with doorbell. :)
Click to expand...
So another premature/stupid question; Do you think they could be used on other things like a Garage Door, Sprinkler System, etc.? I am the type that don't like the idea of a hackable WiFi Garage Door system.
 
I would be interested in garage door options as well. So far, leaning towards a simple reed switch. But more options, the better. Granted I have a DSC alarm system with Enviso and Blue Irs
 
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David L said:
So another premature/stupid question; Do you think they could be used on other things like a Garage Door, Sprinkler System, etc.? I am the type that don't like the idea of a hackable WiFi Garage Door system.
Click to expand...
Holbs said:
I would be interested in garage door options as well. So far, leaning towards a simple reed switch. But more options, the better. Granted I have a DSC alarm system with Enviso and Blue Irs
Click to expand...

To operate the garage door? It would be best to get a kit that is made for garage door operation because it comes with a tilt sensor which is used to determine if your garage door is open or shut.

Fot sprinkler system, you probably need a relay switch something like this FortrezZ so your sprinkler system still can be operated by the system itself or by your hub

I would recommend asking this question in Home automation category here or google for a forum that covers your hub to ask more about it. There will be folks that have already a system in place which could share their experiences with you
 
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TechBill said:
To operate the garage door? It would be best to get a kit that is made for garage door operation because it comes with a tilt sensor which is used to determine if your garage door is open or shut.

Fot sprinkler system, you probably need a relay switch something like this FortrezZ so your sprinkler system still can be operated by the system itself or by your hub

I would recommend asking this question in Home automation category here or google for a forum that covers your hub to ask more about it. There will be folks that have already a system in place which could share their experiences with you
Click to expand...
Will do, thanks. I was just thinking like a Doorbell Button press, it would notify us if our garage door opened/closed, but the tilt sensor makes more sense, will have to look into one, hopefully there is one for ZigBee/Z-Wave.
 
Holbs said:
I would be interested in garage door options as well. So far, leaning towards a simple reed switch. But more options, the better. Granted I have a DSC alarm system with Enviso and Blue Irs
Click to expand...
Have you looked at Konnected?

Sorry, I know this is off topic.
 
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David L said:
Have you looked at Konnected?

Sorry, I know this is off topic.
Click to expand...


Yes, I have looked at this. It seems to be designed to replaced existing wired alarm system. I am thinking about going with Ring Alarm for two reasons, it's wireless stand alone alarm system and I can use its sensor for other automation purposes when not armed.
 
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joshwah said:
Sorry I meant specifically with the SAGE addon?
Click to expand...


Same as above to connect it to chime but you will need to use the Power Kit to connect with Sage Sensor

Green - Front doorbell
Yellow - Rear doorbell
White - Common

Connect
powerkit white wire with sage white wire
powerkit black wire with sage green wire

There is a discussion about it over at

New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

Wow, I just logged into my hub and click the Zigbee then bam it found my doorbell sensor and saved it. The embedded driver of HE didn't work reliably for me, I had to revert to a user provided driver found here: trunzoc/Hubitat If you have issues, you can try it. Now you can use the SAGE by...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com

and

New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

Oh ... maybe a finger print smear on the len? You uploaded it to YouTube in 720p resolution so I couldn't tell you if it the camera or Youtube downgrading it. When I view the Youtube video, it shows as 1440p. Video quality looks fine to me.
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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Thanks heaps!!

Just want to confirm before I plunge and buy one.... will this allow me when someone presses the chime to alert my alexa speaker devices in the home to play a sound i.e. ding dong?
 
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joshwah said:
Thanks heaps!!

Just want to confirm before I plunge and buy one.... will this allow me when someone presses the chime to alert my alexa speaker devices in the home to play a sound i.e. ding dong?
Click to expand...


Yes ... the other poster I quoted in previous poster @alexdelprete have his set up this way if I remember correctly. However I am not sure if he is using a hub in between or how it is connected to alexa speaker. He would be best suited to answer this question for you.
 
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TechBill said:
Yes, I have looked at this. It seems to be designed to replaced existing wired alarm system. I am thinking about going with Ring Alarm for two reasons, it's wireless stand alone alarm system and I can use its sensor for other automation purposes when not armed.
Click to expand...
They have a module where you use your existing alarm, it just makes it Smart.

Konnected Alarm Panel INTERFACE Module

I beta tested the version 1 of this module, it worked great, you just jumper from the module to your existing alarm panel, I use SmartThings to manage it.
With Konnected, through SmartThings, my wife and I can leave our house and our Alarm arms itself automatically, also disarms when we return.
 
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