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Swapping One Device with Another:
If one of your Grid Connect devices fails, OR if, for some reason, you simply wish to swap one device for another, there is no simple way of swapping your ‘old’ device with a ‘new’ device in all your Scenes and Automations. 😡 I wish there was ! ! !
There appears to be no alternative but to locate the ‘old’ device in each and every Scene and Automation, and ‘swap’ it, one by one, with the ‘new’ device. If you’re like me, this can be a daunting and confusing process. To help with the process, I offer the following suggestion which may help.
Obviously you have to first add and pair the new device in the normal way.
So as not to confuse myself with the ‘old’ and ‘new’ devices, I rename the ‘old’ device with a ‘❌’ and the ‘new device with a ‘✔️’ This helps to save me from deleting the wrong device!
In the example below, I wish to swap ‘Contact Sensor 2’ (old) with ‘Contact Sensor 1’ (new) for my Dark Room door. (Don’t ask me why. 🤔)
Hi @GreenHouse
Thanks for that handy tip when changing over one device for another. I'm sure our members will find this information very useful, especially if they are planning on upgrading their equipment in an existing setup.
Eric
Grid Connect Buzzer:
I wanted a ‘Grid Connect’ compatible buzzer of some sort to provide audible confirmation of an event etc.
I put a few components together to achieve this for under $20 and it works well.
Orion Smart Indoor Siren & Chime (SWS07HA) Review and Tips:
I’ve seen this item sitting on the shelf at Bunnings for some time now and a few days ago I purchased one, more out of curiosity than need.
The item is not powered by a battery and a ‘user supplied’ 5V USB power supply (phone charger) is required. However, the item did come with a reasonably long USB Type A to USB micro cable.
The item has a ‘Music’ button and a ‘Volume’ button on one side for testing purposes. (The “Music’ button also facilitates pairing, if required.) A red/green status LED is located on the front, along with a 'circle' of 4 (not very bright) blue ‘strobe light' LEDs located around the internal micro speaker.
It was easily connected to my WiFi network, but with no instructions as to how best to create automations and scenes, my first attempt was not all that successful and I was about to return it for a refund. It turned out I was setting too many features at once and it would not do what I wanted. (It’s a pity at least some of the following information and tips were not included in the manual - it would have saved hours of experimenting!)
Initially, all I wanted to do was sound the 'Door Bell' tone, but it kept on sounding an 'Alarm' tone. I then realised all I needed to do was set the 'Door Bell' tone and ignore all the features I didn't want. Success! The basic idea is to FIRST set the required mode of operation (duration time, alarm mode, volume etc) and THEN set the required Alarm or Chime.
Once you get into it, creating suitable automations and scenes is not too bad. You are able to play different alarms/chimes for different events and adjust the volume and alarm duration to suit.
The item has many features including:
7 Alarm Tones, a Door Bell tone and 8 Chime tones (tunes)
3 Volume levels
Adjustable alarm duration from 1 to 4 minutes in 1 minute steps (0 minutes = unlimited time)
Adjustable alarm modes – Siren only, Light only or Siren + Light
TIP: 1 minute for the various alarm tones may be too long for some uses. It’s a pity the 'duration' can’t be adjusted in minutes AND seconds. However, if you require a shorter alarm duration, you can set up a time delay from 1 to 59 seconds and then 'Disarm' the device once the time delay has elapsed. (Refer my example scene below.)
It is also to be noted that whilst ‘Alarms’ can be disarmed at any time within a scene or automation, ‘Chimes’ continue playing to their end. Also, checking the ‘Alarm State’ of the item with an Automation ‘IF’ statement will only work for the 7 Alarm Tones. The ‘Door Bell’ tone and any of the 8 chime tones do not change the ‘Alarm State’.
TIP: If an automation or scene changes the 'Alarm State' from 'normal' to 'alarm' whilst the unit is 'Armed', an Alarm tone is sounded immediately, bypassing all other settings. Changing the 'Alarm State' back to 'normal' or 'disarming' the unit will stop the alarm tone.
TIP: If you want the 'Lights' to remain ON after the 'Alarm' has sounded, you could add the following code at the end of your automation or scene.
NOTE: All the ‘time delays’ appear to be necessary to give the device time to set a required function before moving on to set the next function!
Final thoughts . . .
Overall, I think the Orion Smart Indoor Siren & Chime is a little fiddly (given the apparent requirement to provide delays between setting each function), but OK for the domestic environment and does, at the very least, provide an audible interface for Grid Connect. With a maximum sound pressure level of only 90dB, I think the alarms will only keep the honest people honest, but will not dissuade any serious intruder.
I would rate the sound quality of the item as poor to average and the blue 'strobe lights' as minimal.
It may be considered a bit of a toy, but it's a bit of fun and could prove to be somewhat useful. At $32.00, I’m not sure I got $32’s worth of fun out of it, but time will tell.
I’ve included a few screen shots and a simple scene below. Note that with a time delay, alarm times can be reduced to as little as 1 or 2 seconds.
(PS: Once I’ve decided to keep the item, I may consider opening it up and adding an audio jack to facilitate connecting it to an amplifier and larger speaker. 🤔)
Orion Smart Indoor Siren & Chime – Simplified Operation:
I offer the following suggestions and tips that may prove useful for setting up and simple operation of the Orion Siren & Chime.
1. Create an Automation called, for example: ‘Orion Alarm: OFF in 2 secs’
This automation gets around the ‘1 minute time interval’ limitation of the device & automatically turns ANY alarm ‘OFF’ after the required time – in this case 2 seconds! 😉
For me, this is great! I like some of alarm tones for a second or two, to indicate some event or condition, whereas even 1 minute of an alarm or playing one of the (lame) chimes could be a be much.
(Note: This does not affect chimes, which always play to their end.)
2. Create a Scene called, for example: ‘Orion Defaults’
This scene sets the operational defaults. Modify to suit your requirements.
3. Then, simply set any one of the 7 ‘test tone’ alarms you require in any Automation or Scene.
The mode of operation will be as per the above Scene (2) defaults and the alarm duration will be as per the above Automation (1).
You could get even more creative by writing several different ‘OFF’ Automations to suit different events eg:
- ‘Orion Alarm: OFF in 30 secs’
- ‘Orion Alarm: OFF in 1min 30 secs’ etc
And then create Scenes to ‘Enable’ the required alarm time and ‘Disable’ those not required.
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @KevEngland. It's great to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about Grid Connect products.
I presume you are having issues using the product as a normal light. Would you be able to go into more detail as to what they are? Is the lack of WiFi coverage causing the light not to function? If you can provide more details of the product, and perhaps link us to the model, then our helpful members, such as @CSParnell, should be able to offer some insight. Grid Connect can also be contacted directly to troubleshoot any issues you're experiencing.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Mitchell
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