MagicMirror Forum
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Unsolved
    • Solved
    • MagicMirror² Repository
    • Documentation
    • 3rd-Party-Modules
    • Donate
    • Discord
    • Register
    • Login
    A New Chapter for MagicMirror: The Community Takes the Lead
    Read the statement by Michael Teeuw here.

    Do you use a PIR sensor? How do you hide it?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
    21 Posts 11 Posters 17.7k Views 11 Watching
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • B Offline
      boblazer @sdetweil
      last edited by

      @sdetweil said in Do you use a PIR sensor? How do you hide it?:

      maybe you only need 2mm of that to make the sensor work…

      Yeah, that’s my understanding. I can’t find the post but it was here on this site. A guy did some experiments to find the smallest size hole his PIR sensor actually required. He tried 1mm, 2mm and 4mm(?). He said it worked just fine with a 2mm hole.

      yawnsY 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • yawnsY Offline
        yawns Moderator @boblazer
        last edited by

        @boblazer said in Do you use a PIR sensor? How do you hide it?:

        @sdetweil said in Do you use a PIR sensor? How do you hide it?:

        maybe you only need 2mm of that to make the sensor work…

        Yeah, that’s my understanding. I can’t find the post but it was here on this site. A guy did some experiments to find the smallest size hole his PIR sensor actually required. He tried 1mm, 2mm and 4mm(?). He said it worked just fine with a 2mm hole.

        You are referring to this one: https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/557/pir-sensor-behind-glass/33

        B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
        • qu1queQ Offline
          qu1que Project Sponsor
          last edited by

          I’ve made an 8 mm hole, as you can see here:

          https://forum.magicmirror.builders/topic/7263/my-first-smart-mirror-in-a-frame-of-40-x-30-cm-with-raspberry-pi-zero-w/2

          B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • B Offline
            boblazer @yawns
            last edited by

            @yawns Yes! Thanks.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • B Offline
              boblazer @qu1que
              last edited by

              @qu1que Having other lights there like you do makes it fit in a little better. That’s something to think about. Maybe I’m trying to make mine look too old-fashioned.

              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • htilburgsH Offline
                htilburgs
                last edited by

                I made a 8 mm hole on the backside and a 2 mm hole on the frontside.
                Removed the cap from the motion sensor and placed it in the 8 mm hole.
                Works great and you can hardly see the 2 mm hole.

                Backside:
                alt text

                Frontside:
                alt text

                (still trying to learn JS, but not afraid to ask and AI is my best friend) ☺

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                • B Offline
                  boblazer
                  last edited by boblazer

                  Nice pic, thanks for showing us how it actually looks.

                  It still bugs me though. Looking at yours I wonder if putting a power light (or something light) next to the PIR hole would make the PIR hole look like less of a forced design choice. You know, it could even be a chiche looking light that blends into the wood and lights up in such a way that it doesn’t make the mirror look tacky and also doesn’t give you the feeling that it’s like a monitor power light.

                  I don’t know what that would look like. Not super bright. Maybe kind of dull but not so dull that it looks weak. Maybe a good complimentary color to the wood. Maybe not a circle or a rectangle but a cool shape like a rhombus. Maybe you could put a logo or text of some sort on the face of the mirror and hide the hole there and it wouldn’t look out of place.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • htilburgsH Offline
                    htilburgs
                    last edited by

                    I still have to paint the frame, thinking of a kind of ‘white-wash’ so you keep seeing the wood grains. Maybe it’s less ‘obvious’.
                    But you know and I know, but most visitors I’ve had didn’t even see it or looking for it 🤔

                    (still trying to learn JS, but not afraid to ask and AI is my best friend) ☺

                    B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
                    • B Offline
                      BluP Project Sponsor @htilburgs
                      last edited by

                      @htilburgs

                      B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • B Offline
                        BluP Project Sponsor @BluP
                        last edited by

                        @BluP said in Do you use a PIR sensor? How do you hide it?:

                        @htilburgs

                        You May also think of some different solution: I‘m using a Hue Motion detector which is in my corridor anyway and controls the MM via MM-remotecontrol using the Http get requests through HomeKit and homebridge

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • O Offline
                          onkelbobby
                          last edited by

                          I did not use PIR sensor because it needs to “see” through the frame. After a little research I found an microwave based motion sensor called
                          RWCL-0516. This tiny PCB works super reliable even though ma 20mm thick wooden frame.

                          B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • htilburgsH Offline
                            htilburgs
                            last edited by

                            @onkelbobby, seems nice for my next mirror ;-)
                            How let you this interact with the Pi and MagicMirror? Is there a module, or do you use a Python script?

                            (still trying to learn JS, but not afraid to ask and AI is my best friend) ☺

                            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • M Offline
                              MadScientist
                              last edited by

                              The microwave sensor is compatible with the MMM-PIR-sensor module.

                              1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • B Offline
                                boblazer @onkelbobby
                                last edited by boblazer

                                @onkelbobby It works through 20mm of wood for $3.59!? This seems too good to be true! I ordered one. Might be a week or two before I have a chance to test it out. …Actually shipping on that item is super slow (about a month). Still, I’m holding off on drilling the PIR hole until I can try it out the RWCL-0516.

                                Edit - Found it here for $1. Shipping times are still brutal though unless you pay about $30 for air mail. btw dimensions of the little fella are 35.9 X 17.3mm/1.41 X 0.68inch

                                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • M Offline
                                  MadScientist
                                  last edited by

                                  I could use mine because it worked through the prick wall behind the mirror.

                                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • C Offline
                                    cyberphox
                                    last edited by

                                    Hide it? Why it goes in it’s own enclosure of course? :)

                                    0_1552916790185_IMG_7103 (1).jpg

                                    Full time Dad, DJ and entertainer and lover of technology.

                                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • O Offline
                                      onkelbobby
                                      last edited by

                                      @htilburgs
                                      mine is connected to an Arduino micro 3.3V version and this one is controlling a simple relais switching the monitor inside the mirror. But as @MadScientist already mentioned you can also hook it up to the Raspberry Pi since It works perfectly with MMM-PIR-Sensor.

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

                                        Yeah, that’s my understanding. I can’t find the post but it was here on this site. A guy did some experiments to find the smallest size hole his PIR sensor actually required. He tried 1mm, 2mm and 4mm(?). He said it worked just fine with a 2mm hole.

                                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • G Offline
                                          gismet181
                                          last edited by

                                          Hi, I’ve been busy with this problem for a long time until I found the solution. And it’s called RCWL-0516 Microwave Radar Sensor. Guys, forget PIR sensor, the RCWL-0516 you can completely obstruct in the frame behind the mirror. It works perfectly with paviro / MMM PIR sensor. You get 5 pieces for 8 € on Amazon. I hope I could help you. And forgive me my bad English. Regards

                                          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1

                                          Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.

                                          Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.

                                          With your input, this post could be even better 💗

                                          Register Login
                                          • 1
                                          • 2
                                          • 1 / 2
                                          • First post
                                            Last post
                                          Enjoying MagicMirror? Please consider a donation!
                                          MagicMirror created by Michael Teeuw.
                                          Forum managed by Sam, technical setup by Karsten.
                                          This forum is using NodeBB as its core | Contributors
                                          Contact | Privacy Policy