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Radio Door Sensor

The Radio Door Sensor sends a notification to your phone whenever someone opens a door, a window or even the cookie jar! It also works as a reminder when you forget to close the garage or the gate in the evening.

The enclosure can take a magnet, so it is easy to mount, and the sensor runs on batteries for many years. Installation is really simple.

Assembled Radio Door Sensor in a yellow enclosure with the wired magnetic switch beside it
All Radio Door Sensor parts laid out: modules, magnetic switch, enclosure halves and fasteners

Project Intro Video​

Playing the video loads it from YouTube (Google).

Requirements​

info

You can also connect the Radio Dongle to a Raspberry Pi or another single-board computer. See Raspberry Pi Installation for details.

Download HARDWARIO Playground​

Download the latest HARDWARIO Playground for your operating system and run it.

BigClown Playground application open on its Home screen with the Learn documentation

Now make sure the modules run the latest firmware: flash both the Radio Dongle and the Core Module of the remote node.

Flash the Door Sensor Firmware​

Step 1: Connect the sensor​

Connect only the Door Sensor to a USB port on your computer.

Step 2: Flash the firmware​

In Playground, open the Firmware tab, select the hardwario/twr-radio-door-sensor firmware (it is listed after you tick Show all), choose the device's serial port under Device and click FLASH FIRMWARE.

Firmware tab with bcf-radio-door-sensor selected, the serial port chosen and Flash Firmware highlighted

Step 3: Disconnect the sensor​

Disconnect the Door Sensor from your computer. Remove the batteries and leave the sensor unpowered until you pair it.

Flash the Radio Dongle Firmware​

Step 1: Connect the dongle​

Connect only the Radio Dongle to a USB port on your computer.

Step 2: Flash the firmware​

In Playground, open the Firmware tab, select the hardwario/twr-gateway-radio-dongle firmware, choose the device's serial port under Device and click FLASH FIRMWARE.

Firmware tab with bcf-gateway-usb-dongle selected, the serial port chosen and Flash Firmware highlighted

Step 3: Keep the dongle connected​

Leave the Radio Dongle connected to your computer.

Start the Gateway​

In the bottom-left corner, click Gateway and select the device's serial port. The Gateway label should turn green.

Gateway control in the bottom-left corner with the Radio Dongle serial port selected

Pair the Radio Door Sensor​

Step 1: Start pairing​

On the Radio tab, click the Pairing start button.

Radio tab with the Pairing start button highlighted

Step 2: Put the Door Sensor into pairing mode​

Now insert the batteries into the Door Sensor. The remote module sends the pairing command every time you insert batteries.

Step 3: Stop pairing​

Click Pairing stop to end pairing.

Radio tab with the paired door-sensor:0 listed and the Pairing stop button highlighted

Test the Door Sensor​

Step 1: Switch to the MQTT tab and subscribe to the # topic​

Step 2: Move the magnet to the sensor and away again. MQTT messages should appear in the top window​

Step 3: A button press and a temperature change send messages too. Try it!​

MQTT tab subscribed to # showing door-sensor state messages switching between true and false
success

Great! You have built a radio network that receives events and temperature readings.

IFTTT Integration​

In this section, we'll create an Applet in the IFTTT service. An Applet is a rule that responds to an event with an action.

Step 1: Open a web browser and go to IFTTT​

IFTTT homepage with the Sign in button highlighted

Step 2: Sign in to IFTTT. You can also sign up with your Google or Facebook account​

IFTTT Discover page after signing in, with My Applets highlighted in the menu

Step 3: Go to My Applets in the menu and click the New Applet button​

My Applets page with the New Applet button highlighted

Step 4: Click +this in the if this then that sentence​

New Applet editor with +this highlighted in the if this then that sentence

Step 5: Search for the Webhooks service and select it​

Choose a service step with Webhooks typed in the search and the Webhooks tile highlighted

Step 6: Click Receive a web request​

Choose trigger step with the Receive a web request card highlighted

Step 7: Type door in the Event Name field and click Create Trigger​

Trigger fields with door typed as Event Name and the Create trigger button highlighted

Step 8: Click +that in the if this then that sentence​

New Applet editor with +that highlighted in the if this then that sentence

Step 9: Search for the Notifications action service and select it​

Choose action service step with Notifications searched and the Notifications tile highlighted

Step 10: Click Send a notification from the IFTTT app​

Choose action step with the Send a notification from the IFTTT app card highlighted

Step 11: Enter the text Door Sensor Alarm at {{OccurredAt}} ! in the Notification field and click the Create action button​

Action fields with the Door Sensor Alarm notification text filled in and the Create action button highlighted

Step 12: Click the Finish button​

Review and finish step for the door applet with the Finish button highlighted

Step 13: Click the Webhooks button​

Finished door applet card with the Webhooks icon highlighted

Step 14: Click the Documentation button​

Webhooks service page with the Documentation button highlighted

Step 15: This is your notification key. Keep this page open; you'll copy the key into Node-RED later:​

Webhooks documentation page with the personal key highlighted for copying

Step 16: Install the IFTTT app on your smartphone and sign in with the account you used to create the applet. When the app asks, allow push notifications​

success

You now have a working notification Applet in the IFTTT service.

IFTTT Plugin for Node-RED​

To use IFTTT in Node-RED, install a simple plugin that sends notifications.

Step 1: Open the Node-RED tab (Functions in newer Playground versions), then click the menu in the top-right corner and select Manage palette​

Node-RED menu open with the Manage palette item highlighted

Step 2: Switch to the Install tab, search for ifttt and click install. In the pop-up window, click Install again​

Manage palette Install tab with ifttt searched and the install button for node-red-contrib-ifttt highlighted

Step 3: After installation, a confirmation shows that new nodes have been added to Node-RED​

Confirmation banner that the ifttt-key and ifttt out nodes were added to the palette

success

Great! With the IFTTT plugin, Node-RED can send notifications straight to your phone.

Import the Notification Flow into Node-RED​

Step 1: Copy the text below to the clipboard​

[{"id":"5ca15197.aef91","type":"mqtt in","z":"49c6b66c.16eaf8","name":"","topic":"node/door-sensor:0/door-sensor/a/state","qos":"2","broker":"67b8de4a.029d3","x":210,"y":100,"wires":[["ccd36bb4.eccae8"]]},{"id":"ccd36bb4.eccae8","type":"switch","z":"49c6b66c.16eaf8","name":"","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"false","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":1,"x":210,"y":220,"wires":[["6cb9da01.6abab4"]]},{"id":"6cb9da01.6abab4","type":"ifttt out","z":"49c6b66c.16eaf8","eventName":"door","key":"","x":210,"y":320,"wires":[]},{"id":"67b8de4a.029d3","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","broker":"127.0.0.1","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":true,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"","birthQos":"0","birthPayload":"","willTopic":"","willQos":"0","willPayload":""}]

Step 2: Click the menu in the top right, then select Import and Clipboard​

Node-RED menu with Import and Clipboard highlighted

Step 3: Paste the text from the clipboard into the text box and click Import​

Import nodes dialog with the flow JSON pasted in and the Import button highlighted

Set the IFTTT Key​

Step 1: The flow is imported; now fill in your own IFTTT key. Double-click the IFTTT node​

Imported notification flow with the door IFTTT node highlighted for editing

Step 2: Click the pencil icon and paste the key from the last step of the IFTTT Integration section. Check that Event name is set to door, then click Done​

Edit ifttt out node dialog with the Key pencil icon and the door Event Name highlighted

Run and Test the Flow​

Step 1: Every time you change the flow, you have to click Deploy in the top-right corner. Do that now:​

Node-RED editor with the Deploy button in the top-right corner highlighted

Step 2: Move the magnet to the magnetic switch of your Radio Door Sensor and away again. An IFTTT notification should arrive within a few seconds!​

The debug tab on the right shows "true" and "false" messages, and on false a green Sent! flag briefly appears next to the IFTTT node.

Door state messages true and false in the debug tab and the Sent! flag under the IFTTT node

To be notified on "true" messages instead of false, open the switch node and change false to true in its rules.

Phone showing the IFTTT push notification Door Sensor Alarm with the date and time

success

Now find the right spot for your Radio Door Sensor and enjoy the notifications!

More Features​

You can also import this flow into Node-RED. It can:

  • Show the current door state as a graphical padlock
  • Show a stopwatch while the door is open and raise an event once it has been open for a set number of seconds
  • Check the door state at a set time and raise an event
[{"id":"6f038501.0d3aec","type":"mqtt in","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","topic":"node/door-sensor:0/door-sensor/a/state","qos":"2","broker":"29fba84a.b2af58","x":290,"y":260,"wires":[["27a2954e.e0ee9a"]]},{"id":"968704d7.760558","type":"ui_switch","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","label":"Doors","group":"57ff470b.93fdf8","order":0,"width":"0","height":"0","passthru":false,"decouple":"true","topic":"","style":"","onvalue":"true","onvalueType":"str","onicon":"fa-lock","oncolor":"green","offvalue":"false","offvalueType":"str","officon":"fa-unlock","offcolor":"red","x":750,"y":260,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"cd19b231.5a539","type":"inject","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"1","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":210,"y":420,"wires":[["90766ef0.cb081"]]},{"id":"ec67f171.3a0db","type":"ui_text","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","group":"57ff470b.93fdf8","order":0,"width":0,"height":0,"name":"","label":"Opened (sec)","format":"{{msg.payload}}","layout":"row-spread","x":580,"y":380,"wires":[]},{"id":"90766ef0.cb081","type":"function","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"human time","func":"var human = {payload : \"\"};\nvar seconds = {payload : 0};\n\nif(flow.get(\"state\") == \"true\")\n{\n    human.payload = \"CLOSED\";\n} else\n{\n    diff = parseInt((Date.now() - flow.get(\"timestamp\")));\n    human.payload = new Date(diff).toString().slice(16,24);\n    seconds.payload = parseInt(diff/1000);\n}\n\n\nreturn [human, seconds];","outputs":2,"noerr":0,"x":390,"y":420,"wires":[["ec67f171.3a0db"],["fa64f9a0.2e58e8"]],"outputLabels":["human time","seconds"],"icon":"node-red/timer.png"},{"id":"27a2954e.e0ee9a","type":"change","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"state","pt":"flow","to":"payload","tot":"msg"},{"t":"set","p":"timestamp","pt":"flow","to":"","tot":"date"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":580,"y":260,"wires":[["968704d7.760558"]]},{"id":"3ed1d655.049fda","type":"inject","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"at 22:00","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"","crontab":"00 22 * * *","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":200,"y":600,"wires":[["66b56029.25196"]]},{"id":"66b56029.25196","type":"switch","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","property":"state","propertyType":"flow","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"false","vt":"str"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":1,"x":370,"y":600,"wires":[["bf5ca77b.366198"]]},{"id":"94e19310.ac12e","type":"debug","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":770,"y":600,"wires":[]},{"id":"bf5ca77b.366198","type":"change","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"Door opened at night","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":580,"y":600,"wires":[["94e19310.ac12e"]]},{"id":"fa64f9a0.2e58e8","type":"switch","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"opened for 5 s","property":"payload","propertyType":"msg","rules":[{"t":"eq","v":"5","vt":"num"}],"checkall":"true","repair":false,"outputs":1,"x":580,"y":440,"wires":[["e3ba7f50.53703"]]},{"id":"e3ba7f50.53703","type":"debug","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":770,"y":440,"wires":[]},{"id":"cd9712a1.91c45","type":"comment","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"Save state to flow and show it on dasboard","info":"","x":300,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"21a591a0.10411e","type":"comment","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"Opened doors stopwatch","info":"","x":250,"y":360,"wires":[]},{"id":"6752875e.0092b8","type":"comment","z":"84faeffa.c3a93","name":"Check door state at 22:00","info":"","x":250,"y":540,"wires":[]},{"id":"29fba84a.b2af58","type":"mqtt-broker","z":"","broker":"127.0.0.1","port":"1883","clientid":"","usetls":false,"compatmode":true,"keepalive":"60","cleansession":true,"birthTopic":"","birthQos":"0","birthPayload":"","willTopic":"","willQos":"0","willPayload":""},{"id":"57ff470b.93fdf8","type":"ui_group","z":"","name":"Default","tab":"11207769.c31889","disp":true,"width":"6","collapse":false},{"id":"11207769.c31889","type":"ui_tab","z":"","name":"Home","icon":"dashboard"}]
Extra Node-RED flows: door state on a dashboard, opened-door stopwatch and a 22:00 door check