GW Firmware Updates

Recently, there have been a few noteworthy updates to the GW firmware, primarily from the new GW owners. As always, the latest version 1.5.4 is available on the GitHub  releases page.

Here are some key changes:

• Automatic republishing of zone states to MQTT after reconnecting to the MQTT server. This is useful when updating Home Assistant (HA).
• The lwIP network library has been updated to stable version 2.2.0.
• mDNS has been added, both as a client and resolver. The GW is now accessible at http://ohs.local, eliminating the need to search for its DHCP-assigned address.
• A test alert feature has been added to the web interface, making it easier to verify that all alert paths are properly configured directly from the browser.
• A new alert path has been introduced. Now, all alerts can be propagated to the MQTT topic /OHS/alert and subsequently consumed in HA.
• The shell, accessible via USB, now allows for resetting the web admin user to its default settings.
  

 

 

Fingerprint Reader

An interesting addition to authentication node by p2baron. Check the video of the integration. Source code is available on discord.

Discord

For those who are interested, here is a link to Discord server:
https://discord.gg/PEUAUv6XxV

Discord is replacing rather old and not anymore used OHS forum. Also, I will try to redirect all email conversation to Discord in future, just for the convenience for the newcomers.

MQTT Homeassistant Auto Discovery

A new version of the gateway firmware (v1.5.0) is now available, offering enhanced MQTT support with the addition of Home Assistant Auto Discovery. As always, the updated firmware image is available on GitHub.

Now, let's take a closer look at what MQTT and Home Assistant Auto Discovery are.

MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) is a lightweight messaging protocol ideal for devices that need to communicate in real-time, such as sensors and smart home devices. By implementing MQTT in your burglar alarm system, you enable real-time data transfer between the system and Home Assistant. 

Home Assistant Auto Discovery is a feature that allows Home Assistant to automatically detect and configure devices that support MQTT. This eliminates the need for manual configuration, as Home Assistant will automatically generate entities such as sensors, switches, and binary sensors based on the MQTT messages from your alarm system.

If you're new to MQTT, Home Assistant offers a convenient solution with the Mosquitto Broker add-on. You can easily install it directly from Home Assistant by navigating to Settings > Add-on Store and searching for "Mosquitto Broker." Once installed, head over to the Mosquitto Broker page in the Add-ons section, and click Start to launch the broker. For added security, it's recommended to create a dedicated user (e.g., "mosquitto") with its own password, under which the broker will operate.

Now let's go back to new gateway features. As always they are configurable over the web
interface. Main option to enable Home Assistant Auto Discovery is right on the Setting page as a toggle switch as shown on the picture. Enabling this will create the main MQTT topic for system state, allowing the Home Assistant to see it along with hardware and software version information and link to gateway web configuration page.

Additionally, similar switches are added to all groups and zones. When these switches are enabled, they are automatically propagated to Home Assistant as corresponding entities. This allows you to manage and control these groups and zones seamlessly within Home Assistant, enhancing integration and automation possibilities.

Following picture shows my gateway as new device inside Devices & services for MQTT.

This then can be then added to dashboard, and interacted with as any other Home Assistant device. 

Hope you like it :)

Home Assistant MQTT Alarm Control Panel Integration

Home Assistant is becoming increasingly popular in DIY home automation projects. To help you integrate OHS groups as alarm control panels, I've put together a small guide. The steps are straightforward:

First, you need to access the main configuration file, located at /homeassistant/configuration.yaml. The easiest way to do this is by using the File editor add-on. Go to Settings, then Add-ons, and click on the ADD-ON STORE button at the bottom right. Type "File" in the search bar, and the first add-on to appear should be the File editor. Install it, start it, and set it to start on boot.

Once the File editor is installed, you can access the configuration file at /homeassistant/configuration.yaml. All local files are conveniently accessible from the Folder icon located at the top left. Edit the file and add the following section at the bottom, making sure to maintain proper YAML indentation:

# OHS Alarm
mqtt:
  - alarm_control_panel:
    name: "Alarm Group House"
    supported_features:
      - arm_home
      - arm_away
    payload_arm_away: "arm_away"
    payload_arm_home: "arm_home"
    payload_disarm: "disarm"
    code_arm_required: false
    state_topic: "OHS/group/1/state"
    command_topic: "OHS/set/group/1/state"

This section can be repeated for each group number you have defined in OHS. Simply change the group number in both the state and command topics to match the actual number in OHS, and adjust the alarm panel name as needed.

After editing, save the configuration and then restart Home Assistant. The restart option is conveniently accessible from the editor menu at the top right under the settings icon.

After restarting, the following panel will be added to the main overview. Here, you can directly arm or disarm the OHS group and see its current state.

 

Note: Each time you edit or remove the MQTT configuration, you need to restart Home Assistant and also log off and log on again to clear the web cache.

Now as the GW firmware 1.5.0 allows Home Assistant Auto Discovery, using this manual approach is not recommended. 

Alarm State Machine / Group Zones Example

Just to update of gateway configuration page,  I've created a state machine diagram showing arm/disarm cycle.Also here is an example of my own groups (Garage, House) and zones (PIR, reed) setting for ground floor. You can see here how authentication unit is attached to particular zone. Only these zone is then set up with authentication delay. That is, when someone trips these zones there is time allowed for the person to authenticate. All other zones in house group trigger the alarm state immediately. You can read more about it in zone's setting.

 

Updated Radio NodeMini with STM32

Here comes the updated version of Radio Node Mini on STM32f103. There are only a few visual changes, like places for the required pull-up resistors for the I2C bus. I add them automatically when someone orders the optional HTU21D temperature/humidity sensor. Other than that, only silkscreen labels are enhanced. But the most important fact is the change of way I make those boards. 

The chip crisis is fading out and with it all the components are getting cheaper. This brought me to an idea to use fabrication services. And since I'm getting busier and I value my free time even more, I tried to compromise and I let the new nodes be assembled and soldered at the PCB shop. I invested the effort into making a small panel of the boards and created BOM and CPL files for the machine assembly. 

Make it short, the service is great. Actually it allows me to lower the price of the Mini Nodes, simply because it takes me much less time. And not only by saving my labor time, but also the components are priced similarly, or sometimes even cheaper, to my preferred shop TME. There are only a few cosmetic problems with the micro USB ports, or the micro buttons which are not always aligned, but the boards are nicely soldered and even cleaned of the residue flux.

To celebrate this accomplishment, I made a new graphical pin-out diagram for the STM32 Radio Nodes Mini. Take a look: