How to tap into existing garden gate system?

[olof]

For those of you interested, hereby an update on my Gate set-up
(please also see my other posts in this thread for background info)

First of all, many thanks to Paul & Enver for your assistance and help!

EDIT Hardware/Software used
- IPPower 9212 & the Homeseer Plugin
- Visonic MCT-100 w/ RFXCom & the RFXCom Homeseer Plugin
- Paul ("Sooty") script
- My existing Gate Controler (NICE) and the 2 PIR's

-The gate technician was able to move some of the inside Siedle modules to the outside gate NICE cabinet, thereby freeing up some wires. These wires then became available to connect to the various relevant terminals of the NICE Gate controller (located outside, close to the gate).
-At the suggestion of Enver ("Tane" & hashop.nl) I bought an IPPower 9212 to which I hooked up these terminal wires.
-The IPPower9212 is then hooked up to my LAN and has it's own IP number from which to control the gate. From there I can Open, Close my Gate as well as get the Status whether the gate is Open or Closed.
- Using Rene's Homeseer IPPower plug-in http://domoticaforum.eu/viewforum.php?f=45 I have the same control & info possibilities in Homeseer.

What is working now
What am I able to accomplish in Homeseer i.r.t. Gate Control:
- Using events, I can Open & Close my Gate based on all sorts of triggers (at sunset Close the Gate, at sunrise Open the Gate, etc..)
- Through HSTouch, I can do the same on all of my devices (IPad, Android smartphones, etc..)
- I receive an e-mail as soon as the Gate Status is changed (from Open to Closed and vice versa)

What is not yet working
My Gate has 2 pairs of PIR, one pair outside the gate and one inside the gate. They are used to stop the gate from moving when something is blocking a PIR (parked car, small child, etc..).
Since our gate will be mostly open when we are at home, I want to use the 2 pair of PIR's to detect incoming & outgoing movement. I.e. visitors
The IPPower9212 checks the N.C. (Normally Closed) status of the 2 PIR's every 0.7 seconds or so, and works nicely.

However, the connection to Homeseer Pro via the IPPlugin falls short in this case. 2 reasons for this:
1. The IPPower 9212 can send a 'SMTP trap' message to Homeseer as soon as there is a change noticed. Perfect! It works with Homeseer 'normal' but it causes Homeseer PRO to crash. Every time. It seems that this particular functionality i.c.m. with the current IPPower Plugin & Homeseer PRO version is a no go. And it looks like it will not be resolved in the near future. See for example, http://domoticaforum.eu/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=7345
2. The Homeseer IPPower plug-in polls the IPPower and the frequency can be set in X seconds. This works perfectly to get the Gate Status, but the nature of PIR with N.C. is such that a movement can be missed, even if you check every 2 seconds or so. And it does in practice, I have experienced.

On the ToDo list
1. So, now I'm busy implementing Paul's ("Sooty") suggestion and installing a Visonic MCT-100 transmitter. I'm removing the 2 PIR wires from the IPPower and hooking it up to the MCT-100. Then using RFXCOM and it's Homeseer Plugin, the 2 PIR's then become just another Visonic security sensors.

2. Paul was kind enough to send me his Homeseer script (see earlier discussion in this thread). I have still not implemented it, but a first look tells me it's impressive. I simply have not had the time to work with it properly. Sorry Paul!

3.As soon as the PIR issue is properly resolved and implemented, I want to use Homeseer with the Sonos plug-in to announce through our speakers that a visitor is approaching the house. And to pass the WAF I will probably use a pre-recorded announcement using my 5-year old daughter's voice instead of Homeseer's build-in computer speech.

Many thanks to Paul & Enver for your assistance and help!

Cheers,
Olof