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    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
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    PIR sensor behind glass?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
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    • yo-lessY Offline
      yo-less Module Developer
      last edited by yo-less

      Alright, everyone. I said I would start experimenting with the PIR sensor and experiment I did.
      So first of all we started drilling a hole of diameter 8mm into one side of a piece of wood
      (we went 5mm deep as this corresponds with the height of the cylindrical sensor):

      0_1472843356492_sensor2.png

      This is not all we did, as you can see, we also drilled a hole of diameter 3mm on the other side,
      but this time we made sure it went all the way through:

      0_1472844079617_sensor4.png

      Next, we removed the Fresnel lens from the sensor:
      0_1472844126023_sensor3.png

      After that, we put the sensor in the bigger hole which perfectly houses the whole cylinder:
      0_1472844139302_sensor3.5.png

      Then we waited to see whether the mirror would turn itself on if we moved past the piece of wood.
      And, hooray, it did!

      Emboldened by this discovery, we started all over again, but this time with smaller holes on the other side,
      so we ended up with this setup:

      0_1472844320166_sensor1.png

      Simply ignore the rubber band, it’s there to hold the circuit board in place :)

      Anyway, here’s the good news: The mirror recognizes somebody walking by if the hole is as small as 2 millimeters in diameter.
      It did not work with a 1mm hole, but hey, are we living in a perfect world? :D

      Anyway, this solution is good enough for me, we will drill a 2mm hole in the bottom center area of the mirror frame and hide the sensor behind it.
      I’m thinking we might even be able to make the hole less apparent by choosing a piece of wood similar to the one above
      with some nice-looking wood grain and / or knots.

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 7
      • cowboysdudeC Offline
        cowboysdude Module Developer
        last edited by

        That is awesome!!! Great job and Thank you for the info!!!

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • D Offline
          dmcinnes Module Developer
          last edited by

          I got the microwave radar modules today!

          They work great, even behind my mirror, although they are very sensitive. It triggered on even small arm movements and didn’t require line of sight. Works for my needs though, I just want it to turn off the monitor when nobody is around.

          I haven’t tried powering them with my PI, but they worked fine with an external 5v power supply.

          yo-lessY 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 2
          • cowboysdudeC Offline
            cowboysdude Module Developer
            last edited by

            That’s another great way to do it! :) Where did you get them from?

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • yo-lessY Offline
              yo-less Module Developer @dmcinnes
              last edited by

              @dmcinnes It’s great to hear that they’re working on an external 5v power supply, this means it should be possible to use them on the Pi. It would be really nice if you could try hooking them up to the Pi to see if they’re acting up once attached to the Pi’s pins. I’ll probably try to get one as well if you can confirm they’re working on the Pi as well.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
              • yo-lessY Offline
                yo-less Module Developer @dmcinnes
                last edited by

                @cowboysdude: You’re welcome :)

                Also, have a look at this post:

                dmcinnes said in PIR sensor behind glass?:

                Another possibility: I ordered a couple of these $2 microwave radar motion detectors to see if they will work behind my glass. Still waiting to receive them though:

                http://m.ebay.com/itm/1pc-5-8GHZ-Microwave-Radar-Sensor-6-9M-Smart-Switch-for-Home-Control-/131864712562?txnId=1245760396003

                More details:
                http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/04/04/tiny-microwave-radar-module-detects-movements-up-to-9-meters-away-for-2/amp/

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • D Offline
                  dmcinnes Module Developer
                  last edited by

                  Finally got around to testing on the PI’s 5v power (I’ve busy being sick) and seems to work fine!
                  Next I’m going to hook up to the GPIO and see if I can get the whole thing running together.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • D Offline
                    dmcinnes Module Developer
                    last edited by

                    Now that I have time I’ve finally set up the microwave sensor on my mirror. Works like a charm!
                    The sensor’s data line goes high to 3.3v when it detects motion and stays high for about 30 seconds. It’s set up on one of the 5v outputs. I’ve put some foil around it to help it be a bit more directional since the sensor is so sensitive; I sit under and to the right of my mirror all week and I don’t want it it trigger all the time. It helps somewhat.

                    CatoC 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • A Offline
                      amcolash
                      last edited by

                      I used some cardboard and then made a little housing for my PIR under the bottom of the mirror. It is a little ugly, but hey this whole project for me was to make something cool (not necessarily beautiful)!

                      I did a few layers of cardboard between the sensor and the front to limit the viewing angles and for my needs it is perfect :)

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • CatoC Offline
                        Cato Module Developer @dmcinnes
                        last edited by

                        @dmcinnes Would you mind share some code? :)

                        D cowboysdudeC 2 Replies Last reply Reply Quote 0
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