PIR Sensor ??

[MDLefevere]

Hi everyone,

I’ve recently started building a MagicMirror and so far i like it a lot.
Yesterday i ordered a HC-SR501 PIR Sensor and tried to install it.

This is were the problems started:

I’ve tried some modules but couldn’t get it to work.
I’ve connected my SR501 as followed:

• PIN4 - 5V
• PIN11 - Motion (GPIO17)
• PIN6 - GRND

Is there a 2021 tutorial that can direct me in the right direction?.

Before anyone asks ;) . I’m trying for about 5 hours now and used the search box at the top :)

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere does it work outside mm?

lots of internet articles with python code to read pir and say something

the modules generally run some python code under the covers

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

I’m not yet that good with Python, so some parts are a bit hard to understand.
I’ve seen a couple of modules/posts over here and gave them a shot.

One was working half. Screen turns of but no way to get it back on.
This was: MMM-Pir-Sensor

Just found a dutch how-to: here so i will give this a shot.

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere said in PIR Sensor ??:

One was working half. Screen turns of but no way to get it back on.
This was: MMM-Pir-Sensor

off is easy, PIR doesn’t report , so nobody there, by default, so turn off…

make sure u have ssh enabled, so u can get in from your PC and turn display back on…

put the sensor is not reporting, or the module config isn’t looking at the right GPIO pin .

make it work outside MM… then it will be better

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

Alright i got i working with this guide.

The only thing i’m now facing is, and i can’t understand this, that i get the message “Cable not connected” on my display.

When i was using it in crontab with “vcgencmd display_power 0” (timebased) it put the monitor in sleep mode and the led’s of the monitor turned off.
Now when using it in a .sh command the monitor stays on with this message.

Do you have any idea?

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere well, when u ran in cron, you ran as root

in your script do you do

sudo vcgencmd display_power 0

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil said in PIR Sensor ??:

sudo vcgencmd display_power 0

No i don’t
But i tried it already and didn’t make a difference.

Also if i sudo su and then use vcgencmd display_power 0 it’s not sleeping.

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere this is where I have trouble… all my displays behave as u describe…

turn off the hdml and then they holler about no input… , and 15 mins later power off (energy start complaince) …

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

Hmm alright.
So do you have a “workaround”?. How do you handle this?. I just want the screen to be not on all day long when i’m just home for a couple of hours

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere I use module hiding. never turn the display ‘off’

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

Ahh so. But doesn’t the backlight stay on all nigjt?. Not very energy efficiënt 😋

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere yes. but can’t turn it off programatically… what else can I do?

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

So weird. I can’t imagine that a crontab can do it and the same line in a .sh not.
That’s bothering me. To be continued.

Saw another module im gonna try tomorrow: MMM-NewPIR

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere they all use the same 4 commands

tvservice
vcgencmd
dpms
cec-client

top three turn off hdmi, leaving the ugly message
cec-client turns off the display, BUT, needs something 2018 or newer with CEC support
for it to work… my 55 in tv will turn off, but not on… (so much for standards!), and only from the pi4… nothing else.

this is the screen library in NewPIR
https://github.com/bugsounet/screen

use the same 4 commands

and the matching code

    switch (this.config.mode) {
      case 1:
        if (set) exec("/usr/bin/vcgencmd display_power 1")
        else exec("/usr/bin/vcgencmd display_power 0")
        break
      case 2:
        if (set) exec("DISPLAY=:0 xset dpms force on")
        else exec("DISPLAY=:0 xset dpms force off")
        break
      case 3:
        if (set) exec("tvservice -p && sudo chvt 6 && sudo chvt 7")
        else exec("tvservice -o")
        break
      case 4:
        if (set) exec("echo 'on 0' | cec-client -s")
        else exec("echo 'standby 0' | cec-client -s")
        break
      case 5:
        if (set) exec("xset dpms force on")
        else exec("xset dpms force off")
        break
    }

[c1olli]

I use a mini pir sensor like this:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/133654306312
That switches the monitor directy completely off without any programming.
That solution works on my MagicMirror since one year without any problems.

[cowboysdude]

@mdlefevere No real answer for this… I’ve tried several times. I can turn it off but not back on…

Are you running a pi4 or pi3?

This was my answer to the pi3 and it works… cannot figure out the pi4

https://github.com/cowboysdude/Pir-Sensor

[MDLefevere]

@c1olli

That might be nice.
But how about the startup?. Do you get the ugly brand boot screen first?. How longt to fire up?

[MDLefevere]

@cowboysdude
@sdetweil

I’m running a 8GB PI4.
I’ve installed NewPIR and configured it like this:

		{
			module: 'MMM-NewPIR',
			position: 'top_left',
			configDeepMerge: true,
			config: {
				screen: {
					delay: 20000,
					turnOffDisplay: true,
					mode: 1,
						},
				pir: {
					gpio: 17
				}, 
			}
		},

Strange enough it’s working now on another monitor. No sleepy “No Signal” text on screen but just a monitor turning in stand-by.
It’s not a new monitor --> Fujitsu L20T-4 connected with DVI

I can’t get my hands on it…

[sdetweil]

@mdlefevere that monitor is not energy star compliant.

the monitor doesn’t actually turn off, but enters some lower power mode. or they turn off backlight.

[MDLefevere]

@sdetweil

Ah i see.
But on the other hand: It goes into stand-by so the front light turns orange, and the screen goes all black (no backlight).