alanchow

1 hour ago, ERDrPC said:

@alanchow How does this compare to the Aqara FP2? https://youtu.be/YPLpBSzpjVk?si=oEfMTuxQhyKCVHE9

Can the Athom handle multiple zone detection? 

 

No it is single zone only.  Also significantly cheaper than the Aqara.

We have a few Aqara devices and unfortunately we haven't been able to integrate them directly through Control4.

4 hours ago, markc said:

Hi,

No, I have been keeping an eye on it but I am still yet to see the new firmware release. I reached out to HikVision directly around a month ago and they had no idea what I was even talking about.

Maybe @alanchow can shed a little more light on a release date?

Cheers! 

Still a work in progress.  Please hold off on ordering hardware until we announce a release as it is pending work from Hikvisions end.  No changes to the driver.

3 hours ago, C4Enthusiast said:

Hi Alan, I have a 32 channel Luma NVR system that displays all cameras on all my tv’s via C4. I now purchased a new 32 channel Hikvision NVR for another house, and want to have all the cameras on all the tv’s using C4 as at that location. Will this driver still work in allowing C4 remote functionality of the Hikvision NVR, just like the LUMA, or is the driver no longer functioning? I heard there may be now be a problem using other NVR’s to display on tv’s through C4. Thanks for your help!

Depends on the NVR.  Hikvision did build a custom firmware for models a few years ago that allowed us to provide onscreen navigation of the HDMI output on the NVR.  They did discontinue the firmware though so current models are not supported.

Having said that it is just the HDMI output navigation that is effected.  The driver will still provide integration of attached cameras on all NVRs into Control4 for live view, ptz, smart events and more.  Works on all firmwares.

On 4/7/2024 at 11:22 PM, Alex Bate said:

Is there anything new on this topic?

I'm interested in UK outlets, rather than plugs that can be managed with C4. 

For UK (and EU) outlets check out Lightwave RF.  Note that you will need their Link Plus hub as well.

They make a wide range of colours / finishes.  See below for two examples.

https://shop.lightwaverf.com/collections/all/category-power

Driver here

https://chowmain.software/drivers/control4-lightwave-link-plus

Overview

The Athom Human Presence Sensor is a multifaceted device designed to enhance smart home automation systems by detecting human presence with high precision. It incorporates mmWave and PIR (Passive Infrared) technologies for detecting human presence, micro-motions, and overall human motion within a specified area. Furthermore the device incorporates a luminance sensor for lux level feedback. Combined this allows for a more nuanced and responsive approach to lighting automation, adjusting lighting conditions not just based on motion, but on the actual presence of individuals in a space and based on current lighting conditions.

Driver Features

• IP Control
• Auto install / Binding of official Control4 Motion Sensor driver for following sensors
  • PIR
  • mmWave
  • Occupancy
• Light/Lux Level feedback
• Events for
  • Lux below minimum specified value
  • Lux above maximum specified value
  • mmWave Sensor Sense Motion
  • mmWave Sensor Stops Sense Motion
  • Occupancy Sensor Sense Motion
  • Occupancy Sensor Stops Sense Motion
  • PIR Sensor Sense Motion
  • PIR Sensor Stops Sense Motion
• Automated lighting through driver
• Selection of 1 or more lights through driver
  • Ability to set brightness and fade times
• Ability to select which sensors to utilise for automated lighting
  • If any of the monitored sensor is detecting it will turn on lights
    • If all of the monitored sensors are not detecting it will turn the lights off after a designed period of time.
    • Ability to automate lighting based on lux level
    • Ability to enable / disable through programming

FAQ

Why is this product so exciting?

Traditionally you would utilise a PIR based motion sensor. This is not effective when monitoring spaces with stationary individuals, such as those seated for extended periods. With the athom Human Presence Sensor you combine multiple sensors for occupancy. The PIR sensor will trigger fast and the mmWave sensor will determine presence even when stationary. Combined this provides an speedy, yet accurate method of determining if a room is occupied. Add to this a lux level sensor and we have everything we need for automating lighting and shades in a single device.

What hardware will this work on?

This driver is designed for the Athom Human Presence Sensor (model PS01) with ESPHome firmware.

It is a USB-C powered Wi-Fi device which can be purchased from US, Germany, Sydney or China with US, UK, EU or A power adapters. Please make sure you order the model with the ESP Home firmware.

Are there any installation precautions?

athom recommends the following.

1. Choose a suitable installation location away from air conditioners, curtains, fans, plants, etc. to avoid interference.
2. Avoid direct beam irradiation on the ground, walls or doors to minimize reflections and indirect detections.
3. Configure appropriate detection distance, sensitivity and delay time to reduce interference from objects.
4. Keep the sensor surface clean and free from dust and obstacles.
5. Ensure the sensor has enough space around it for proper air circulation.

Also note that mmWave radar will travel through walls. As such you will need to be aware of placement and also sensitivity settings.

What are the lux events and LUX_LEVEL variable used for?

• You can set the minimum and maximum lux events in programming
• If the current lux level goes below the value set in 'Lux Minimum' it will fire the 'Lux below minimum specified value'
• If the current lux level goes above the value set in 'Lux Maximum' it will fire the 'Lux above maximum specified value'
• The LUX_LEVEL variable is exposed so you can program against the current lux level detected in that location.
• This is useful for programming shading, lighting and other automation tasks that require light level feedback.

How does automated lighting work?

• The driver has built in automated lighting functionality. This can be set up in the driver's programming without any custom programming.
• You can choose which sensors to utilise in the logic. If you choose more than one then the automated lighting will trigger if any one of the sensors is triggered. We recommend leaving it on the default of 'Occupancy and PIR'
• If you wish to take lux levels (eg light from windows) into account then set the 'Automated Lights Rules'. You can choose between the Lux Minimum and Lux Maximum. For both it will trigger if the levels are below the values
• You can choose which lights to trigger using the 'Lights Triggered' selection.
• Fade Time and Brightness will set the fade time for on and off and the brightness for on.
• Auto Off After (Seconds) is used to set the period the driver turns the lights off after all sensors selected in the 'Automated Lighting Sensors' are not detecting simultaneously. If any one of the sensors triggers during this period it will cancel.

Do you offer any other cool drivers?

Control4 is a major part of our business. We develop new drivers all the time. You can see all of our drivers on our website (https://chowmain.software). Sign up to our newsletter to get notified when new drivers are released.

I want to try this driver out before buying it?

All Chowmain drivers for Control4 come with a 90 day trial.

Where can i find out more?

You can find out more about the driver from the following link.

Driver Product Page

30 minutes ago, WhyPhy said:

This latest update with the closing delay is working perfectly. It addressed my safety/car damage concerns. Thank you Alan!

If you don't already have one install a obstruction beam as well

Overview

Viewsonic provides a universal API for their range of projectors for RS232 based controls.

The Chowmain Viewsonic universal projector driver for Control4 provides seamless integration of all Viewsonic projectors via this API and allows you to control all the standard features you would expect with a projector and more.

Driver Features

• Bi-directional RS232 control and feedback
• Power management
• Audio Controls (Volume Up, Volume Down and Mute)
• Navigation / Transport controls for Menu and Smart System interfaces
• Lamp hour feedback
• Source Selection
  • HDMI 1
  • HDMI 2
  • HDMI 3
  • VGA 1
  • VGA 2
  • Composite
  • S-Video
  • DVI
  • Component
  • HDBaseT
  • USB 1
  • USB 2
  • USB C
  • USB Display
  • LAN Display
  • Smart System
• Commands
  • Set Blank
  • Set Lamp Mode
  • Set 3D Sync
  • Set Aspect Ratio
  • Set Color Temperature
  • Set Color Mode
  • Set ISF
  • Set HDR
  • Set Freeze
  • Set Brilliant Color
  • Set HDR Picture Mode
  • Set Audio Mode

FAQ

 Why is my projector not responding?

• Some projectors require a NULL modem cable. Do not use a gender-bender adapter if it requires NULL modem. You can also try, "Enable Null-Modem Serial Port" which is in the Advanced Properties of the Controler
• Some projectors also require you to enable RS232 Control. This is usually under the Advance Settings menu.

Do you support IP control

• From our tests Viewsonic's API only provides 1 way IP control. It is however compatible with PJLINK protocol though for bi-directional control. We have opted to recommend our PJLINK driver rather than implement Viewsonic's IP protocol. Our PJlink driver has been tested to work with Viewsonic projectors for bi-directional control and feedback.
• Note that IP control will not work with wifi and must be ethernet. Some projectors have two ethernet ports. One for control. You must use the control port.
• You must enable Standby LAN Control on the projector
• You may need to visit the LAN Control's webserver to set it up. It will prompt you to enter a username and password to set up. You must go through this. You can disable the username and password later if not required.

I want to buy a projector can you recommend a distributor?

We worked closely with Synergy Audio Visual who are the Australian Distributor for Viewsonic Home Cinema projectors. If you are an integrator within Australia we highly recommend reaching out to Synergy Audio Visual to purchase Viewsonic projectors.

What hardware will this work on?

This driver utilises Viewsonic's universal API. It is standard across most models for serial communications (Note it does not support the Pro 9 series).

Do you offer any other cool drivers?

Control4 is a major part of our business. We develop new drivers all the time. You can see all of our drivers on our website (https://chowmain.software). Sign up to our newsletter to get notified when new drivers are released.

I want to try this driver out before buying it?

All Chowmain drivers for Control4 come with a 90 day trial.

Where can i find out more?

You can find out more about the driver from the following link.

Driver Product Page

We also have a driver for an alternative product by Sensibo.  However Sensibo doesn't do Radon which is big in the states.

I think with these two drivers we can now safely say that Chowmain is done with air quality monitoring and automation.  Time to move on to the next problem.

https://sensibo.com/products/sensibo-elements

New version released to assist with UL 325 compliance.

Version 20240320 - 20-MAR-2024

• Added functionality to comply with UL 325 safety standard compliance
• Adjustable pre-movement event timer
• Fires event before movement for custom programming
• Automatically flashes light before movement
• Automatically fires announcement before movement

On 3/18/2024 at 10:59 AM, WhyPhy said:

That would be perfect. 

Ok. Beta test went well.  Update has now been released.

There is now an option to enable a pre movement event in the driver.  You just need to enable it, set the time you want and if you have speakers in the area connected to Control4 select the announcement you want.  A event is also fired if you do not have speakers and want to trigger the audible alarm in some other fashion.

Overview

Chowmain releases Airthings driver for Control4. Established in 2008, Airthings is a global tech company led by a team of experienced scientists, engineers, developers and visionaries, with a common goal: to educate on the prevalence of radon, as well as other indoor air contaminants, and develop accessible technology solutions to help people stay healthy.

The Airthings driver for Control4 provides integration to Airthings View Plus, Wave Mini and Wave Radon products to allow monitoring and automation of air quality in a home.

Monitored measurements include

• Radon
• PM 2.5
• CO2
• Humidity
• Temperature
• TVOC
• Pressure
• Mold

Note measurements are model specific so please verify the model selected monitors the measurements you are interested in. These measurements can be viewed on Control4's touchscreens and mobile applications via a custom web view. A link on the web view will take you through to the Airthings dashboard for historical and other data.

On top of this integrators can add additional automation via built-in push and email notifications along with program automation macros when measurements reach specified levels. This ensures that a home owner is informed when unhealthy air is detected and the home is purified/ventilated via Control4.

Driver Features

• View Plus
  • Radon
  • PM 2.5
  • CO2
  • Humidity
  • Temperature
  • TVOC
  • Pressure
• Wave Mini
  • Humidity
  • Temperature
  • TVOC
  • Mold
• Wave Radon
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Radon
• Graphical UI for viewing live device data on Control4 touchscreens and mobile applications with description of health risks
• Temperature and Humidity bindings available for the Control4 Temperature Display (OS 2.10+) driver
• Ability to login to the Airthings Dashboard to view history from the Control4 app / Touchscreens via the driver's Webview
• Variables for all available data from each device
• Events for various levels allow automation of air purification and ventilation.
• Automatic Push and Email Notifications for all available measurements (requires 4sight) warns customers of potentially hazardous health risks.

FAQ

Why is this product so exciting?

This product allows a home owner to monitor and automate air quality in their home including radon, PM2.5, CO2, Humidity, Temperature, TVOC, Mold and Pressure.

Measurements are exposed to Control4 and allow Control4 to automate purification and ventilation of the home.

What hardware will this work on?

The following devices are currently supported:

• View Plus
• Wave Mini
• Wave Radon

Why do I need to login to the Airthings Dashboard every time I open the webview?

The Airthings Dashboard requires a login to access the data. This is a security feature of the Airthings Dashboard. Control4's UI doesn't keep a history of browsing activity for webview drivers. As a result any authentication data is lost when the webview is closed.

What is Radon?

Radon is an invisible gas formed in the Earth’s crust. It surrounds every one of us as part of the air we breathe.

High levels over long periods of time are the issue. By monitoring radon long term, you can be alerted when levels are high and make small changes to improve the air you breathe.

What are VOCs?

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) are a combination of gases and odors emitted from many different toxins and chemicals found in everyday products such as, candles, fragrances, cooking fumes, new furniture, cleaning products, paints and varnishes.

What is PM2.5?

PM2.5 refers to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) that have a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% the diameter of a human hair. Commonly found in smoke and haze, these particles can be inhaled and cause serious health issues.

What is CO2?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a colorless, odorless gas that is a by-product of combustion. It is a natural component of air, but when levels are too high, it can cause health problems.

What is Mold?

Mold is a microscopic fungus that helps nature decompose dead organic material. Both mold and mildew are different types of fungus, but mold is usually shades of black, blue, red, and green, whereas mildew is white.

What is Pressure?

Atmospheric pressure is commonly measured with a barometer and is an indicator of weather. In a barometer, a column of mercury in a glass tube rises or falls as the weight of the atmosphere changes. Meteorologists describe the atmospheric pressure by how high the mercury rises. When a low-pressure system moves into an area, it usually leads to cloudiness, wind, and precipitation. High-pressure systems usually lead to fair, calm weather.

Do you offer any other cool drivers?

Control4 is a major part of our business. We develop new drivers all the time. You can see all of our drivers on our website (http://www.chowmainsoft.com). Sign up to our newsletter to get notified when new drivers out.

I want to try this driver out before buying it?

All Chowmain drivers for Control4 come with a 90 day trial.

Where can i find out more?

You can find out more about the driver from the following link.

Driver Product Page

10 hours ago, WhyPhy said:

Th

It’s disappointing this problem isn’t easier to solve. Having to have the delay for opening the door outweighs the safety benefit for when closing the door. I frequently use the voice assist on my phone to open the door when walking up to it. Standing there and waiting for 15 seconds for the door to start moving so you can go inside isn’t a great experience. 
 

There is a ratgdo feature request to add a configurable parameter to delay closing the door. This is to allow time for automations to complete and would occur for closing only. If that ever gets implemented then it might ultimately solve the closing notification problem without impacting opening events. 

Actually there is a way i can do it if it is fully closed since we get state / position.  A toggle command when it is fully closed will always perform an open.

This means that opening will not be effected.  Only when it is partially or fully open will the delay happen.

4 hours ago, WhyPhy said:

Is it possible to add a logic test after receiving the C4 toggle command to check the currently reported open/close position from ratgdo and infer close vs. open actions? The ratgdo log file seems to indicate it continuously reports the current open/close state. 

The toggle command that chamberlain will issue open stop close stop depending on what the garage door is doing.  It's not something we have control over.  Although we could take over and create our own logic it's not something I want to do as it interferes too much with native functionality.

55 minutes ago, Greck1982 said:

Is that possible to add events like "Going up", or "Going down"? I programmed lights to automatically on/off based on Door status, if it is evening I would like to turn lights instantly if the door is moving up. currently, I only can use "When the garage door is opened/closed" and I have to wait for the garage door to fully open before the light turns on. Thank you.

There are evens for opening and closing in the ratgdo driver.

49 minutes ago, WhyPhy said:

This is fantastic news! 
 

Can you add the option for the delay to be for closing only? Or add discrete delays/announcements for opening and closing?

For garage doors, opening warnings are not required for UL235 (but opening warnings are required for gate opening events.)

We can't different closing when using it with Control4s native garage door opener driver.  Control4 sends us a trigger / toggle command.  The best I can do is determine if it is or is not in motion before executing a toggle.

Just now, neil12011 said:

I’ve seen this. It seems to be a bug on the built in push notification side of the driver. My fix was manually programming my own push notifications when the door opens or closes. @alanchow have you seen this? It’s been on several of my driver deployments sir.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have heard some feedback from a few users.  It may be due to rebooting of controllers but hard to say as i haven't experienced it myself.  I've made some improvements to the way i'm handling controller reboots and the way we are sending feedback so the next version should resolve this problem.

1 hour ago, WhyPhy said:

Ratgdo does not intrinsically meet the UL325 requirement and LiftMaster/MyQ does not expose their UL325 capability to third parties. Ratgdo hardware would have to add a beeper, or at least a relay to control one. Any integrator who uses the driver without meeting UL325 is taking on some amount of liability. 
 

Hiding the garage door and using a proxy device is a bit more complicated. To get the ratgdo driver to work with HomeBridge Manager, it has to bound to the “Relay Garage Door Controller (OS2.9+)”driver, which limits direct binding to other devices. So custom programming would have to be used to link the devices. Given that this is a safety function, it would be preferable to handle it within the driver itself  

Given the additional liability on the integrator for bypassing UL325, it would be better to directly address this within the driver and perhaps add the option to flash the garage door light as a warning, and a prompt them to trigger additional alerts.

This actually isn't that hard to implement.  In fact i've just done it.

I'll run it in beta for a few days and if it works well will release.  Delays any movement by x seconds.  Flashes the built in garage door light and automates firing of an announcement before any movement (pulls in the annoucements and allows you to select the announcement).  Also has an event if someone wants to do something custom like hook up a buzzer or something via a relay.

For reference my shelly h&t eink display has only dropped 25% battery after 9 months of usage.  Not bad for a wifi battery device which is control4 integrable.

38 minutes ago, Shoe said:

@alanchow If you are persisting a ws from the devices for your driver a custom event from the device would be sent over the websocket due to the way this works on a Shelly. Shelly delivers an emitted event to all active persistent RPC channels. Even if I create my own it would still go to yours or the one(s) you create for the driver. I guess since I'm asking and discovering how this works I'm also pointing out that you may need to handle unknown events on sockets.

Your TCP driver would be a webhook vs a persistent websocket, correct?

Our Generic TCP driver is for webhooks.

7 minutes ago, Shoe said:

Ok, cool. What do you think about supporting custom events for a device? If a person did a Shelly.emitEvent() and it showed up on your websocket how would/could be it be handled? I'm probably in a very small group of people wanting this kind of thing, but it could potentially be useful to have some ability to handle a custom event.

If you want any sort of custom http event utilise our generic tcp driver.

https://chowmain.software/drivers/control4-generic-tcp-command

6 minutes ago, cnicholson said:

I just installed three of these (and ordered five more) and use with the Chowmain driver.   Just follow the directions to flash the firmware (easy) and wire it up (easy) and it works like a charm.  I was pleasantly surprised that the driver suite auto-installed supporting drivers to expose the garage opener light, motion sensor and IR-beam stuff and makes them available in C4.  Nice bonus (although I haven’t tried those extras— I assume support varies by model of opener).   Basic garage door control “just works.”   I already pointed my old (broken) MyQ based programming to the new drivers and restored ability to control doors from DS2, navigators, etc.

Good stuff!

IR beam requires IR beam installed, motion sensor requires keypad with motion sensor installed.  It can be added if you don't have it but not requried for operation.

It is fast becoming one of our top selling drivers.

Easy to setup, no cloud required and no internet required.  Means it is a solid installation that won't be effected by ISP or MyQ service disruptions.  Just works and will work forever.

2 hours ago, neil12011 said:

@alanchow

I have a question sir.  When running multiple doors, is there a way to have an icon that's a "master" that reflects the state and controls all the doors?

Basically, if I have 3 doors, and 3 drivers, is there a way to have a "Garage Door All" Icon that when pressed opens or closes all the doors, something like that.  I could do a custom button, but I'd really like a Garage Door driver type scenario where you can press it and all the doors track.  I'm hitting a wall as I don't have enough bindings to really get this functionality.  Thanks sir!

Unfortunately you can't have a single driver that tracks and controls multiple doors 

@ILoveC4 i sent you this in response to your PM but thought that this should information should be a public in case anyone reads this thread in the future.

DriverCentral and the majority of driver marketplaces are tied closely into the dealer model that the industry is based off of.  It is history that stems all the way back to the Extra Vegetables days.  These marketplaces are not designed to be B2C for one off purchases as support for end users does not scale and any profit is essentially wiped out (or worse).  It is designed around a B2B model which involve dealer partnerships leading to skilling up dealers through repeat installations, usage and sales.

Note that whoever you purchased the 'licence' off of has you tied into their account. I am assuming that your 'licence' is the driverCentral project token.  This token enables the cloud driver to connect the project to a bundle of licences administrated in the driverCentral portal.  So my advice is to keep working with them as migration to another dealer is something that only driverCentral can do in their databases.  You cannot purchase from multiple dealers essentaily unless driverCentral migrate your project to their account.

Hope that helps clear things up.

2 hours ago, ILoveC4 said:

Can someone please send me that DriverCentral.io cloud driver?

Apparently you have to be logged in to download it (which seems asinine considering it doesn't do anything you need to protect) and I can't log in right now. I just want someone to please send me the driver.

I have the RATGDO driver installed and license key but need the dumb free cloud driver. Thanks in advance.

The licence key is assigned in the driverCentral website.  What licence key are you talking about?

Marvin also have a really good product video linked below.