Grid Connect tips, tricks and help

[CSParnell]

Hi all,

I thought it may he good to have a feed where we could share any tips and tricks to do with any of the Grid Connect Range being Arlec, Deta, Verve, Orion.

I am learning from trial and error and really just accident so sharing with others and sharing back we may be able to create some good learning information for us all.

Please post below starting with what the trick is as the title then how to do so as the body of information.

Carl 

[w0mbat]

Hi again @GreenHouse,

Thanks for the compliments. They do go down well with a soon to be 73 year old who enjoys wrapping his head around new technology!

There is one more bit to this which maybe you know the answer to.

For the Activation period in the automation I use the time period setting ie. the automation is active from 11PM to 6AM the next day.

I wondered what would happen if the activation period ended while the automation was running therefore possibly leaving the spare switch in the on state and so possibly stopping the automation running when the next activation period started. To cover this possibility, I wrote another very brief automation that checks the state of the spare switch shortly after the main automation activation period ends and turns it off if it is on. It may be unnecessary but I did it just to be sure.

So the question is, what happens to a running automation when its activation period ends? I suppose I could have experimented to find out but I took the "belt and braces" approach instead.

Ian

[GreenHouse]

Hello @w0mbat

For a start, at 71 years old,  I'm not far behind you.

As I didn't know what would happen if the control logic within an automation exceeded its active period, I wrote a short automation to test this scenario.

I fully expected the automation would effectively 'stop' at the end of its active period, leaving 'uncompleted' commands in abeyance.  To my surprise, from this one test, it appeared to complete the automation at the end of the delay period, even though the timing was outside the active period.

HOWEVER, it is never good practice to rely on 'operational quirks' of a command language to achieve your desired outcome.

Even if your additional coding to achieve a particular outcome proves to be redundant, it is always better to include it to ensure you get the desired outcome.  In any case, the additional code would make it clear to you and anyone else looking at the code at a later date exactly what you intended.

I was taught it is just 'good practice'.

Your "belt and braces" approach is highly commendable and reduces any risk.  Well done, and thanks for sharing.

[EmJr]

In order to get around the delay between my driveway camera detecting motion and starting to record, I would like to set up a motion detector (or even another camera) near the street and use it to trigger the first camera to begin recording before it detects motion itself. Is there documentation available which could tell me before purchase which Grid Connect cameras are capable of being triggered to start recording via an automation?

I've tried to set up a test automation using an already owned Orion SC002HA (aka "CatCam") to trigger my driveway camera (an Orion SC079HA, I think; the box is long gone and I'm not climbing a ladder in the rain to look for stickers right now). Using motion detection by CatCam as a trigger is easy enough, but my driveway camera doesn't seem to have a "start recording" function available in the app as a "Then" action. The choices are to turn the LED on/off, flip the screen, turn the humanoid filter on/off, turn the PIR on/off or adjust its sensitivity, or set the alarm mode to '0'.

Setting up the test the other way around (so that driveway motion triggers CatCam to record) is simple because CatCam lists Record Switch as a Then action. Unfortunately CatCam is an indoor model and I need the recording camera to be outside, so just swapping them over isn't an option.

I haven't found any info on the Grid Connect or Orion websites about how to tell in advance if a camera has this specific capability. Is there a keyword or something I should be searching for?

[JacobZ]

Hi @EmJr,

Allow me to tag @CSParnell to see if he has any ideas on how to get your camera working as you'd like.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any information on Grid Connect or Orion's websites that would be helpful in answering your questions.

Grid Connect questions are usually best directed to their technical support who can be contacted on 1300 267 168 in Australia and 0800 003 329 in New Zealand.

I have emailed your question to them and will update you when I have a response, however, it may be easiest if you give them a call when they reopen tomorrow as you have all the information at hand to explain what you are trying to achieve.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Jacob

[CSParnell]

@EmJr 

I thought you could set it up though Scenes with a motion detection as a trigger and an event record or continuous record as an event?

Or similar!!!? 

This utilities the same camera to trigger a record state rather than another camera or PIR device to trigger it. 

I don't see why this shouldn't work. Let me know. Cheers Carl 

 

[EmJr]

@CSParnell  I want to use a separate sensor because by the time the camera starts recording based on its own detection of motion it's often too late to see what triggered it. In my case the only useful camera position also means a person walking up the driveway is moving toward the camera rather than across its field of view, which makes detection even slower. Using a sensor or camera located closer to the street as a remote trigger for a camera near the house would allow the recording to begin a few seconds sooner and hopefully catch vision of someone walking up the driveway rather than just of the now-empty space they were in when they were detected 10 seconds earlier. 

The problem is that the outdoor camera I currently have doesn't seem to have any form of "start recording" option to be triggered in a scene or automation (see screenshots below). My indoor camera does, but I don't want to buy a random assortment of outdoor cameras just to see if they can do it too once connected to the app. Reading the documentation would be much cheaper.

Indoor camera options      Outdoor camera options

[w0mbat]

Hi EmJr,

"Proper" security cameras actually record continuously to some sort of buffer memory and there is a setting to choose the number of seconds prior to them being motion triggered that is kept as part of a permanent recording on a hard disk. I think you are trying to deal with the lack of this facility. Maybe there is a Grid Connect (or other branded but made by Tuya) camera that does have this ability. Generally, anything made by Tuya will work with the Grid Connect App.

As for the indoor/outdoor rating of components, I actually have found you can get away with using indoor equipment outdoors as long as it is reasonably protected from direct rain and obvious water entry points are covered with tape. This might open up some possibilities.

Ian

[CSParnell]

@EmJr 

That's the issue with the devices they are not control developed and manufacturered like brands like Swann, Hikvision, Vivotek, etc. 

Grid connect are reskinned Tuya and Tuya can use many manufacturers and then flash their software over it.

So it seems you are right it seems you don't have an option to trigger record on your model of outdoor camera.

What I do find interesting is you have Humanoid Filtering???????

So Ameca won't or will be detected??

 

[EmJr]

I would really prefer not to have her turn up unexpectedly on my doorstep, so let's not experiment in case she gets ideas.

The camera is significantly better at detecting me than it is at detecting my car when the setting is On. It will record me walking from (near) my front door to the car and getting inside, then the next recording will show me getting back out an hour later with bags of shopping. It completely misses the car leaving and returning.

[MitchellMc]

Hi @EmJr,

The Grid Connect team will be reaching out to you directly to provide assistance on your feature request.

Please let us know how you go.

Mitchell