The Netduino Experience

Latest update: Sunday, April 1, 2013

This is a simple alarm monitoring system using Netduino Plus and a typical alarm panel. This implementation could be used in conjunction with the PC5010 Digital Security Controls (DSC) PowerSeries Security System control panel and sensors. Tested with .NET Micro Framework 4.2 (QFE1 and QFE2).

Objective
Use full capabilities of Netduino Plus to monitor home alarm system and report any sensor/motion detector activities via email (using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)), local web server and Pachube (now Cosm).

Programming Languages and Web Development

C# for Netduino Plus

HTML for Web Server with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

JavaScript for Web Server

Warning
This code contains information related to a typical home alarm systems. Please, be aware that this procedure may void any warranty. Any alarm system of any type may be compromised deliberately or may fail to operate as expected for a variety of reasons.

The author, Gilberto García, is not liable for any System Failures such as: inadequate installation, criminal knowledge, access by intruders, power failure, failure of replaceable batteries, compromise of Radio Frequency (Wireless) devices, system users, smoke detectors, motion detectors, warning devices (sirens, bells, horns), telephone lines, insufficient time, component failure, inadequate testing, security and insurance (property or life insurance).

One last thing:
DISCONNECT AC POWER AND TELEPHONE LINES PRIOR TO DOING ANYTHING.

Required Hardware

Netduino Plus

Micro SD Card
SD Card Adapter
3mm green Light Emitting Diode (LED) per alarm zone and motion detector.
330 ohm for each LED.
5600 ohm resistor per alarm zone and motion detector.
Schottky diode per alarm zone. Schottky diode should have low forward voltage drop like the SBR10U40CT.
Sparkfun ProtoScrewShield (sku: DEV-09729). Other shields that will work are: Proto-Screwshield (Wingshield) kit from Adafruit or WingShield Industries.

WiFi connection via WiFly Shield or any WiFi Internet Adapter. Tested on Netgear WNCE3001 and IOGEAR GWU627.

Optional Hardware

Panel Mount LED (Green LED with Holder)

USB Ruggedized / Waterproof Panel Connector (RR-211300-30)

USB 2.0 Cable, Type A Male to A Male (10 Feet or above). Used to access the Netduino Plus board on the alarm panel.
200 Watts / 350 VA UPS (APC BE350G UPS System or similar).
Push button for external reset.
Arduino Proto Shield R3. More space for additional components. Mouser Electronics and others.
Basic 16x2 Character LCD, 3.3V for Netduino or 5V for Arduino.
DPDT switch (or this one from Mouser Electronics) for LCD voltage selection.

Circuitry
The following Fritzing diagram shows how the Netduino plus, LEDs and the alarm zones (or motion detector) are wired. LCD circuitry reference from Szymon Kobalczy.

HomeAlarmPlus connection diagram (basic circuit) Rev-

HomeAlarmPlus connection diagram (basic circuit) RevA

HomeAlarmPlus connection diagram (enhanced circuit) RevG

Zone/Sensor connection

Keep in mind that one or more zone consist in the following:
a) 1 Normally Open contact and 1 Normally closed contact with End Of Line (EOL) resistor.
b) Double EOL circuit, 1 Normally closed contact with 5.6kohm EOL resistor and Schottky diode. This will bring the protection needed for the Netduino or Arduino.
c) Each ground zone should be connected to the ProtoScrewShield GND.

Netduino/ProtoScrewShield Pin	Description
A0	Zone #1
A1	Zone #2
A2	Zone #3
A3	Zone #4
A4	Sensor #1 [Motion Detector]
D2	LED Zone #1
D3	LED Zone #2
D4	LED Zone #3
D5	LED Zone #4
D6 or D7	LED Sensor #1 [Motion Detector]

HomeAlarmPlus schematic (basic circuit)

References

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) based on BanskySPOTMail by: Pavel Bánský.

Web Server based on MFToolkit library by: Michael Schwarz.

Pachube Embeddable Graph Generator (Beta) by: Pachube, adapted by Gilberto García.

NTP Server and Extensions class based on a post/implementation by: Valkyrie-MT.

StopWatch class based on a post/implementation by: Chris Walker.

LCD display using uLiquidCrystal library.

Web server options

Web Server snapshot

Options	Description
/	Root page
/open	Open last file on SD card.
/sdcard	List files on SD card.
/su	Super user. Shows additional options.
/pachube	Shows Pachube activity per zone/Datastream.
/about	Application credits and version.
/delete-confirm	Delete last file on SD card [confirm window].
/delete-last	Delete last file on SD card [no confirm window].
/diagnostics	For now, displays available memory on Netduino and forces to clear the garbage collector.

Code

Config.ini file should be copied to the root directory on the SD Card. The purpose of this file is to customize parameters on SD Card and avoid minimal source code modification. CSS files (header_style.css and table_style.css) should be located in WebResources folder.

microSD directory structure

Config.ini content:

 ;AlarmByZones - Programmed for Netduino by Gilberto García - 5/9/2012  
 ;Feel free to customize this file with your own definitions.  
 ;[NETDUINO_PLUS_HTTP_PORT] HTTP server port.  
 ;[ALARM_ZONES] should match with ACTIVE_ZONES constant defined in AlarmByZones.cs and Definitions.cs .  
 ;[SENSORS] should match with MOTION_SENSORS constant defined in AlarmByZones.cs and Definitions.cs .  
 ;[USE_EMAIL] Activate/Deactivate email option. Y or N arguments expected.  
 ;[EMAIL_FREQ] Email frequency in minutes when the alarm/sensor is active.   
 ;       This will define EMAIL_FREQUENCY in ConfigDefault.cs .  
 ;[STORE_LOG] Saves alarm/sensor log. Y or N arguments expected.  
 ;[STORE_EXCEPTION] Saves Netduino exceptions. Y or N arguments expected.  
 ;[USE_PACHUBE] Activate/Deactivate Pachube option. Y or N arguments expected.  
 ;  
 ;  
 ;  
 [NETDUINO_PLUS_HTTP_PORT]  
 8080  
 [ALARM_ZONES]  
 Zone1=FIRST FLOOR - Living room windows, Dining room windows, Porch (sliding doors), Garage door access.  
 Zone2=SECOND FLOOR - Master Bedroom and Bathroom Windows.  
 Zone3=FIRST FLOOR - Master Bedroom windows.  
 Zone4=SECOND FLOOR - Bedroom 2 and bathroom windows.  
 [SENSORS]  
 Sensor1=Main door access  
 [USE_EMAIL]  
 Y  
 [EMAIL_FREQ]  
 10  
 [STORE_LOG]  
 Y  
 [STORE_EXCEPTION]  
 N  
 [USE_PACHUBE]  
 Y

Architecture of AlarmByZones (main)

Declaration

    /// <summary>  
     /// Alarm zones (Analog Input)  
     /// </summary>  
     static SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput[] Zones = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ACTIVE_ZONES];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Alarm zones LEDs (Digital Output)  
     /// </summary>  
     static Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort[] AlarmLeds = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ACTIVE_ZONES];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Motion detector sensors (Analog Input)  
     /// </summary>  
     static SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput[] Sensors = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.MOTION_SENSORS];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Motion detector LEDs (Digital Output)  
     /// </summary>  
     static Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort[] MotionLeds = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.MOTION_SENSORS];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Gets the total elapsed time measured by the current instance of each alarm zone.  
     /// </summary>  
     static System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch[] stopwatchZones = new Stopwatch[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ACTIVE_ZONES];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Gets the total elapsed time measured by the current instance of each motion detector sensor.  
     /// </summary>  
     static System.Diagnostics.Stopwatch[] stopwatchSensors = new Stopwatch[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.MOTION_SENSORS];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Flag for detected zones when trigger.  
     /// </summary>  
     static bool[] detectedZones = new bool[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ACTIVE_ZONES];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Flag for detected sensors when is trigger.  
     /// </summary>  
     static bool[] detectedSensors = new bool[Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.MOTION_SENSORS];  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Email  
     /// </summary>     
     /// <example> SMTPClient.Email("mail.gmx.com", 587, "user@gmx.com", "destination@email.com", "user password");   
     /// </example>  
     static SMTPClient.Email email = new SMTPClient.Email(Alarm.UserData.Email.host, Alarm.UserData.Email.port,  
       Alarm.UserData.Email.From, Alarm.UserData.Email.To, Alarm.UserData.Email.smtpPassword);  
     /// <summary>  
     /// SD Card Event Logger  
     /// </summary>  
     public static EventLogger SdCardEventLogger = new EventLogger();

Delegates

     /// <summary>  
     /// Monitor zones delegate  
     /// </summary>  
     public delegate void MonitorZonesDelegate();  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Monitor motion sensor delegate  
     /// </summary>  
     public delegate void MonitorMotionSensorDelegate();

Main

      public static void Main()  
     {  
       Zones[0] = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoPlus.Pins.GPIO_PIN_A0);  
       Zones[1] = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoPlus.Pins.GPIO_PIN_A1);  
       Zones[2] = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoPlus.Pins.GPIO_PIN_A2);  
       Zones[3] = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoPlus.Pins.GPIO_PIN_A3);  
       AlarmLeds[0] = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D2, false);        
       AlarmLeds[1] = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D3, false);  
       AlarmLeds[2] = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D4, false);  
       AlarmLeds[3] = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D5, false);  
       Sensors[0] = new SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.AnalogInput(SecretLabs.NETMF.Hardware.NetduinoPlus.Pins.GPIO_PIN_A4);  
       MotionLeds[0] = new Microsoft.SPOT.Hardware.OutputPort(Pins.GPIO_PIN_D7, false);  
       MonitorZonesDelegate monitorZones = new MonitorZonesDelegate(MonitorZones);  
       MonitorMotionSensorDelegate monitorMotion = new MonitorMotionSensorDelegate(MonitorSensors);  
       //based on a post by Valkyrie-MT  
       //http://forums.netduino.com/index.php?/topic/475-still-learning-internet-way-to-grab-date-and-time-on-startup/  
       Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("Setting NTP-time");  
       SetTime();  
       SdCardEventLogger.parseConfigFileContents(Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ALARM_CONFIG_FILE_PATH);  
       InitArrays();  
       Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY(Microsoft.SPOT.Net.NetworkInformation.NetworkInterface.GetAllNetworkInterfaces()[0].IPAddress);  
       SdCardEventLogger.SDCardAccess();  
       new Thread(Alarm.ProtoScrewShield_LED.Blink).Start();        
       new Thread(Alarm.WebServer.startHttp).Start();  
       if (Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.USE_PACHUBE)  
       {  
         Pachube.PachubeLibrary.InitPachubleLibrary(SdCardEventLogger.IsSDCardAvailable(), Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.STORE_EXCEPTION);  
         new Thread(Pachube.PachubeLibrary.PachubeConnect).Start();  
       }  
       while (true)  
       {  
         Debug.Print("Memory available: " + Debug.GC(true));  
         monitorZones();  
         monitorMotion();  
         Thread.Sleep(Alarm.Common.Alarm_Constants.ALARM_DELAY_TIME);  
       }  
     }

Main Methods

      /// <summary>  
     /// Loops thru each alarm zone  
     /// </summary>  
     static void MonitorZones()  
     {  
       for (int i = 0; i < Zones.Length; i++)  
       {  
         int vInput = Zones[i].Read();  
         float volts = ((float)vInput / 1024.0f) * 3.3f;  
         string strZoneDescription = "N/A"; //If zone description is not found on SD Card N/A is default description.  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("Zone " + (i + 1).ToString() + ": Volts: " + volts);  
         //format:                //Zone number, voltage  
         Pachube.PachubeLibrary.statusToPachube = i == 0 ? (i + 1).ToString() + "," + volts : (i + 1).ToString() + "," + volts + "\r\n" + Pachube.PachubeLibrary.statusToPachube;  
         AlarmLeds[i].Write(volts >= 3);  
         //elapsed seconds  
         double eSeconds = stopwatchZones[i].ElapsedSeconds;  
         //elapsed minutes  
         double eMinutes = stopwatchZones[i].ElapsedMinutes;  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("stopwatch[" + i.ToString() + "] = " + eSeconds.ToString() + " seconds");  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("stopwatch[" + i.ToString() + "] = " + eMinutes.ToString() + " minutes\n");  
         if (volts >= 3 )  
         {  
           /*  
            Case #1:  
             !detectedZones[i] = not triggered before. This is the first time in this cycle and first email to send.  
            Case #2:  
             detectedZones[i] && eMinutes >= EMAIL_FREQUENCY = triggered before and time is up for sending another email.             
            */  
           if (!detectedZones[i] || (detectedZones[i] && eMinutes >= Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.EMAIL_FREQUENCY))  
           {  
             if (Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.zoneDescription.Count>0)  
             {  
               if (Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.zoneDescription.Contains("Zone" + (i + 1).ToString()))  
               {  
                 strZoneDescription = (string)Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.zoneDescription["Zone" + (i + 1).ToString()];  
               }  
             }  
             string info = "Zone " + (i + 1).ToString() + " " + strZoneDescription;  
             stopwatchZones[i] = Stopwatch.StartNew();  
             detectedZones[i] = true;  
             email.SendEmail("Alarm Trigger!", info);  
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<tr>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center>" + DateTime.Now.ToString() + "</center></td> ");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center> Zone " + (i + 1).ToString() + "</center></td>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center>" + strZoneDescription + "</center></td>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("</tr>");             if (Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.USE_PACHUBE)  
             {  
               //supress timer and update Pachube with new status  
               Pachube.PachubeLibrary.forceUpdate = true;  
             }  
             if (SdCardEventLogger.IsSDCardAvailable() && Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.STORE_LOG)  
             {  
               SdCardEventLogger.saveFile(DateTime.Now.ToString("d_MMM_yyyy--HH_mm_ss") + ".log", info, "Log");  
             }  
           }  
         }  
         else  
         {  
           detectedZones[i] = false;  
         }  
       }  
     }  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Loops thru each sensor  
     /// </summary>  
     static void MonitorSensors()  
     {    
       for (int i = 0; i < Sensors.Length; i++)  
       {  
         int vInput = Sensors[i].Read();  
         float volts = ((float)vInput / 1024.0f) * 3.3f;  
         string strSensorDescription = "N/A"; //If sensor description is not found on SD Card N/A is default description.  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("Sensor " + (i + 1).ToString() + ": Volts: " + volts);  
         MotionLeds[i].Write(volts >= 3);  
         double eSeconds = stopwatchSensors[i].ElapsedSeconds;  
         double eMinutes = stopwatchSensors[i].ElapsedMinutes;  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("stopwatch[" + i.ToString() + "] = " + eSeconds.ToString() + " seconds");  
         Console.DEBUG_ACTIVITY("stopwatch[" + i.ToString() + "] = " + eMinutes.ToString() + " minutes\n");  
         if (volts >= 3)  
         {  
           /*  
            Case #1:  
             !detectedZones[i] = not triggered before. This is the first time in this cycle and first email to send.  
            Case #2:  
             detectedZones[i] && eMinutes >= EMAIL_FREQUENCY = triggered before and time is up for sending another email.             
            */  
           if (!detectedSensors[i] || (detectedSensors[i] && eMinutes >= Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.EMAIL_FREQUENCY))  
           {  
             if (Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sensorDescription.Count > 0)  
             {  
               if (Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sensorDescription.Contains("Sensor" + (i + 1).ToString()))  
               {  
                 strSensorDescription = (string)Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sensorDescription["Sensor" + (i + 1).ToString()];  
               }  
             }  
             string info = "Sensor " + (i + 1).ToString() + " " + strSensorDescription;  
             stopwatchSensors[i] = Stopwatch.StartNew();  
             detectedSensors[i] = true;  
             email.SendEmail("Alarm Trigger!", info);  
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<tr>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center>" + DateTime.Now.ToString() + "</center></td> ");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center> Sensor " + (i + 1).ToString() + "</center></td>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("<td><center>" + strSensorDescription + "</center></td>");
             Alarm.Common.Alarm_Info.sbActivity.AppendLine("</tr>");  
             if (Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.USE_PACHUBE)  
             {  
               //supress timer and update Pachube with new status  
               Pachube.PachubeLibrary.forceUpdate = true;  
             }  
             if (SdCardEventLogger.IsSDCardAvailable() && Alarm.ConfigDefault.Data.STORE_LOG)  
             {  
               SdCardEventLogger.saveFile(DateTime.Now.ToString("d_MMM_yyyy--HH_mm_ss") + ".log", info, "Log");  
             }  
           }  
         }  
         else  
         {  
           detectedSensors[i] = false;  
         }  
       }  
     }  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Synchronize Netduino time with NTP Server  
     /// </summary>  
     public static void SetTime()  
     {  
       //based on a post from user "Valkyrie-MT" at http://forums.netduino.com/index.php?/topic/475-still-learning-internet-way-to-grab-date-and-time-on-startup/  
       Extension.SetFromNetwork(DateTime.Now, new TimeSpan(-5, 0, 0));  
     }  
     /// <summary>  
     /// Initializes stopwatch and alarms/sensors arrays  
     /// </summary>  
     private static void InitArrays()  
     {  
       for (int i = 0; i < Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.ACTIVE_ZONES; i++)  
       {  
         stopwatchZones[i] = Stopwatch.StartNew();  
         detectedZones[i] = false;  
       }  
       for (int i = 0; i < Alarm.User_Definitions.Constants.MOTION_SENSORS; i++)  
       {  
         stopwatchSensors[i] = Stopwatch.StartNew();  
         detectedSensors[i] = false;  
       }  
     }