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    #16
    Originally posted by TomTom View Post
    Sparkman,
    I'd like to see your setup and detail if you don't mind. Thanks
    Hi Tom,

    Below are some images that help (hopefully) to explain. Basically I took an old microphone that had a cable with a mono 1/8 inch (3.5mm) plug at the end. I cut the cable and plugged the 1/8 inch plug in the Ext Alert jack of the radio. I connected the negative lead (copper shield) to the ground (GND) terminal and the positive lead to the sense (S) terminal on the IOLinc and then followed the Sensor Input steps in the IOLinc manual to setup the IOLinc. I don't have Insteon so use the IOLinc in X10 mode. I created a device for it in HS and run a high-priority event when the device status changes to On. I then run a script to scrape the Environment Canada website to get details on the alert. I've been playing with the wait time prior to the scrape as it's not consistent as to how fast the alert shows up there. I then speak the event over the whole house audio system (Squeezebox) and then send an email and pushover message for when we're not home. It's been working well, but unfortunately Environment Canada has a habit of isssuing weather warnings at 4 AM mountain time for weather events that may not occur till much later in the day, so it's pretty frustrating to get woken up that early for something that isn't supposed to happen for hours. Hope that helps, if not ask away.

    Cheers
    Al

    PS An X-10 PSC01 Powerflash module should work as well.

    My event actions:
    PHP Code:
    Wait120 seconds 
    Run script
    :  weather-environment canada.txt 
    Run script
    :  &hs.speak hs.devicestring("w21"
    Run script:  &hs.SendEmail "address@email.com""anotheraddress@email.com"hs.devicestring("w1") & " - " now(),hs.devicestring("w21")  
    Pushover (3P):  Message: $$DS:W21 (High Priority)
       
    TitleWeather Alert
       Sound
    Pushover (default) 
    Attached Files
    Last edited by sparkman; February 1, 2014, 12:17 PM.
    HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
    Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

    Comment


      #17
      Originally posted by NeverDie View Post
      I haven't yet implemented. Reacting to a contact closure gives me just one bit of information per radio, but that was the best I could do at the time I started this thread. Since then I've learned a little something about arduino and how useful it can be. The attraction of directly reading the decoded message is there's the potential to get more bits with a single, compact radio. I figure an attiny85 (~$1) is all the arduino I'd need to read the SAME and then output to HS. The question remains how best to get the info into HS: through a wired or wireless connection to an interface box that's already connected, Ethernet, or wifi. I've started to procure the pieces to experiment with inexpensive OOK 433Mhz wireless (~$1 for a transmitter) for sending serial data with an attiny85, so maybe that's something I'll be able to leverage after I get some experience with it.

      In theory, all I would need is a radio with AGC tuned to the SAME frequency, and then the attiny85 could simply read the signal from an io pin and decode the SAME directly. I haven't yet looked into that, but my guess is someone has already done it and published a library interface. Also, not sure it'd be worth the effort just to save a fraction of the $20 cost from the breakout boards I posted last night. There's a lot to be said for leveraging something that already works.
      Yes, it would be great for HS to receive the actual message. After the alert is triggered I scrape the Environment Canada website to get the details on the weather warning, but it's not consistent how fast it shows up there. Keep us posted if you find a good way to do so.

      Cheers
      Al

      PS Here are some links I found. You've probably seen these already but just in case.

      https://umdrive.memphis.edu/tcanaday...e_decoder.html
      http://www.raydees.com/Weather_Radio.html
      http://hackaday.com/2012/07/27/decod...th-an-arduino/
      http://blog.arduino.cc/2014/01/23/de...-with-arduino/
      Last edited by sparkman; February 1, 2014, 12:38 PM.
      HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
      Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

      Comment


        #18
        Originally posted by sparkman View Post
        Hi Tom,

        Below are some images that help (hopefully) to explain. Basically I took an old microphone that had a cable with a mono 1/8 inch (3.5mm) plug at the end. I cut the cable and plugged the 1/8 inch plug in the Ext Alert jack of the radio. I connected the negative lead (copper shield) to the ground (GND) terminal and the positive lead to the sense (S) terminal on the IOLinc and then followed the Sensor Input steps in the IOLinc manual to setup the IOLinc. I don't have Insteon so use the IOLinc in X10 mode. I created a device for it in HS and run a high-priority event when the device status changes to On. I then run a script to scrape the Environment Canada website to get details on the alert. I've been playing with the wait time prior to the scrape as it's not consistent as to how fast the alert shows up there. I then speak the event over the whole house audio system (Squeezebox) and then send an email and pushover message for when we're not home. It's been working well, but unfortunately Environment Canada has a habit of isssuing weather warnings at 4 AM mountain time for weather events that may not occur till much later in the day, so it's pretty frustrating to get woken up that early for something that isn't supposed to happen for hours. Hope that helps, if not ask away.

        Cheers
        Al

        PS An X-10 PSC01 Powerflash module should work as well.
        Al,
        Nice! Thank you for great write up! This has been added to my to do list. Yikes on the 4am alert- could see wife putting and end to this if it happened here.
        Tom
        baby steps...starting again with HS3
        HS3Pro: Z-NET & 80 Z wave Devices,
        HSTouch: 4 Joggler (Android Kitkat), 2 iPhone, 3 iPads
        Whole House Audio: 5 SqueezePlay Jogglers w Bose Speakers
        In The Works: 10 Cameras Geovision, new Adecmo/Envisalink Alarm, Arduinos
        System: XP on Fanless Mini-ITX w/ SSD

        Comment


          #19
          "Valuable info"

          For giggles, I give you a Radio Shack document for the procedure: http://support.radioshack.com/suppor...oc66/66348.pdf

          FWIW
          Steve

          (System configuration is in my profile)

          Comment


            #20
            NOAA Radio Broadcast Decoder - Script to HS3 Plugin

            I have actually written a .net script that I was looking to turn into a plug-in for the MTS Ear weather radio. The script actually decodes the weather broadcast SAME message system data (the brackish tones before the recorded alert is actually data) Since it works off radio transmissions it is not subject to internet outages during major weather events.

            You can create HS events for specific types of alerts (tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm, freeze, etc) and the script generates a virtual device that shows the alert type, alert duration and details. Additionally it can filter the alerts to only messages for your immediate area.

            I plan to convert the .net script to a plugin for HS3 eventually, but if there is someone that can help me who has HS3 plugin experience it would speed things up.

            I've been using it for two years with HS2 and it works great. It even has a watchdog that watches for the required weekly test transmissions and alerts you if it misses one.

            It's actually my wife's favorite home automation addition. It once alerted us to a tornado in our area by bring up the lights in our bedroom, announcing the details, and turning on our TV to the local news. Turns out the tornado was right down our street. Major win for HA.

            Again the beauty of the script is it requires no internet connection. It actually decodes the entire NOAA alert transmission data.

            Comment


              #21
              Sounds great. Does it work on the audio output of the weather radio? I was recently looking at these: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11129 to interface to an Arduino but I'm assuming your script would then also work with the audio from it.

              Cheers
              Al

              EDIT: Just realized that's the same device that NeverDie posted about last year.
              Last edited by sparkman; April 16, 2015, 12:08 AM.
              HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
              Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by cheaha View Post
                I have actually written a .net script that I was looking to turn into a plug-in for the MTS Ear weather radio. The script actually decodes the weather broadcast SAME message system data (the brackish tones before the recorded alert is actually data) Since it works off radio transmissions it is not subject to internet outages during major weather events.

                You can create HS events for specific types of alerts (tornado warnings, severe thunderstorm, freeze, etc) and the script generates a virtual device that shows the alert type, alert duration and details. Additionally it can filter the alerts to only messages for your immediate area.

                I plan to convert the .net script to a plugin for HS3 eventually, but if there is someone that can help me who has HS3 plugin experience it would speed things up.

                I've been using it for two years with HS2 and it works great. It even has a watchdog that watches for the required weekly test transmissions and alerts you if it misses one.

                It's actually my wife's favorite home automation addition. It once alerted us to a tornado in our area by bring up the lights in our bedroom, announcing the details, and turning on our TV to the local news. Turns out the tornado was right down our street. Major win for HA.

                Again the beauty of the script is it requires no internet connection. It actually decodes the entire NOAA alert transmission data.
                Cool! I'm impressed you are decoding brackish tones. Sounds like a fun project. Which radio are you using to acquire the brackish tones that you decode?

                Tangent:
                I noticed just now while searching for the radio you might be using that according to the review for this radio (http://www.amazon.com/Weather-5120-E.../dp/B00BMPSESM), you can allegedly get the weather data over its serial output.
                Last edited by NeverDie; April 16, 2015, 08:56 AM.

                Comment


                  #23
                  Originally posted by cheaha View Post
                  I have actually written a .net script that I was looking to turn into a plug-in for the MTS Ear weather radio ... I've been using it for two years with HS2 and it works great...
                  Are you willing to share the script you have now for those of us still on HS2?

                  Thanks
                  Steve

                  (System configuration is in my profile)

                  Comment


                    #24
                    I'm a bit of a ways from actually finishing this device but I'll be building a MQTT Weather Alert node. It's a Chipkit UNO32 or Fubarino Mini with a W550io Ethernet and a SparkFun Weather Band Receiver Breakout - Si4707 - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11129 .

                    I decided to build this thing because I was riding my bicycle in the NJ Pine Barrens when a tornado warning occurred in the area I was riding in. I found out due to the odd weather we had and checked later. Had I had some warning I would have certainly not been riding so far out in the scrub.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Originally posted by NeverDie View Post
                      Cool! I'm impressed you are decoding brackish tones. Sounds like a fun project. Which radio are you using to acquire the brackish tones that you decode?

                      Tangent:
                      I noticed just now while searching for the radio you might be using that according to the review for this radio (http://www.amazon.com/Weather-5120-E.../dp/B00BMPSESM), you can allegedly get the weather data over its serial output.

                      That's the radio, and I am getting the data over the serial. The radio has a SAME decoder in it and outputs the raw ASCII via serial. My plugin then translates the raw ascii broadcast data converting into the various warnings, watches, alerts, and tests. It also performs check-sums on the broadcast, sets appropriate expiration times based on broadcasted data, and even has a watchdog feature that ensures the broadcasts are being received every week. One other nice feature is it also can directly control the radio, programming firmware, etc.

                      Comment


                        #26
                        Originally posted by ncherry View Post
                        I'm a bit of a ways from actually finishing this device but I'll be building a MQTT Weather Alert node. It's a Chipkit UNO32 or Fubarino Mini with a W550io Ethernet and a SparkFun Weather Band Receiver Breakout - Si4707 - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11129 .

                        I decided to build this thing because I was riding my bicycle in the NJ Pine Barrens when a tornado warning occurred in the area I was riding in. I found out due to the odd weather we had and checked later. Had I had some warning I would have certainly not been riding so far out in the scrub.
                        I'm looking to do something similar (not using MQTT), but was planning on using a "regular" Uno or Pro Mini. What's the rationale to use something with the PIC32 processor?

                        Thanks
                        Al
                        HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
                        Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Originally posted by cheaha View Post
                          That's the radio, and I am getting the data over the serial. The radio has a SAME decoder in it and outputs the raw ASCII via serial. My plugin then translates the raw ascii broadcast data converting into the various warnings, watches, alerts, and tests. It also performs check-sums on the broadcast, sets appropriate expiration times based on broadcasted data, and even has a watchdog feature that ensures the broadcasts are being received every week. One other nice feature is it also can directly control the radio, programming firmware, etc.
                          I'm expecting that the Sparkfun breakout board along with an Arduino can be set up to provide the required ASCII output to potentially work with your plugin/script. Would you mind sharing a bit of the output from the MTS Ear radio to see if that's a possibility?

                          Cheers
                          Al
                          HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
                          Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

                          Comment


                            #28
                            A nice improvement would be to automatically record the audio announcement that follows the alert tone. Usually, by the time I'm close enough to hear it, I have to wait for it to repeat. If it has already repeated once, then it can be a long while waiting for it to repeat again. I will typically look on the internet, but that, of course, assumes the internet connection is working, which during an epic storm it may not be.

                            @cheaha: What type of serial connector does it use?

                            @Sparkman: Please do let us know if/when you get the sparkfun thing working and whether you like it or not. Looks as though it's presently backordered.
                            Last edited by NeverDie; April 17, 2015, 12:43 PM.

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Originally posted by NeverDie View Post
                              @Sparkman: Please do let us know if/when you get the sparkfun thing working and whether you like it or not. Looks as though it's presently backordered.
                              Will do. Digi-Key has some in inventory so I have ordered it through them.

                              Cheers
                              Al
                              HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
                              Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

                              Comment


                                #30
                                Just a quick update. I received the module yesterday and hooked it up last night to an Arduino (tried it with an Uno and a Pro Mini). I tried a few different sketches that are floating around and am currently running it with this one: https://github.com/tomn46037/Si4707. I will need to experiment a bit with it to get the output needed to allow interfacing with HS. It's hard to test the SAME functionality without an active alert, so I'll have to wait for a severe weather warning.

                                Cheers
                                Al
                                HS 4.2.8.0: 2134 Devices 1252 Events
                                Z-Wave 3.0.10.0: 133 Nodes on one Z-Net

                                Comment

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