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Thread: Breakout Boxes and Cabinet Ligting

  1. #1
    Regular Vistor
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    Breakout Boxes and Cabinet Ligting

    Hello, I have owned my Apex for over a year now and I love it. I mainly just use it for very simple things. Now that I have some experience with it and things have settled down I have decided to maximize the full potential. I am going to purchase a second EB8 and a Breakout Box. What I was wanting to do and I know it is possible but I only could find one post on it. Add a magnetic contact switch so when my cabinet is open it will turn on the cabinet lights. I always seem to get into it without remembering to get a flashlight so I can see. Thought I would take advantage of the Apex and settle this problem.

    Making sure I understand this correctly. The switch will be wired to the Breakout Box which is connected to ether the Aquabus or EB8. Then from there the rest is just setting up the switch in the controller and programming correct?

    Lastly, where can I find these contact sensor, do Home Depot or Lowes carry them? I checked online but seems all they have online are the ones that you use with the alarm system in a box kind of deal. Maybe they don't list them probably? Ideally would like one without wires that just have contacts so I can add my own wire that I can make to the length I need.

    -Thanks!

  2. #2
    Master Control Freak RussM's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Texan78 View Post
    The switch will be wired to the Breakout Box which is connected to ether the Aquabus or EB8.
    Not quite..

    Yes, the switch gets wired to the BoB. But the BoB doesn't connect to either the EB8 or to an Aquabus port. It connects to the I/O jack on the Apex, Apex Lite, or any PMx module.
    Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums for Apex help. PM me ONLY if the matter is of a private or personal nature. Thanks.

  3. #3
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    I used magnetic reed switches for my doors. Got five pairs on ebay for $9.50 shipped


    If links are ok, here is the ones I got:
    http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-Magnetic-D...item256d085ef7

  4. #4
    Regular Vistor
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    Thank you Russ for the clarification. I have the Apex and was just calling it the wrong thing. I thought it was called the aquabus but that is actually a connection and not a device. It all makes sense now. Just need to located the switches.

    Those switches would work but I was hoping to be able to find them locally first so I didn't have to ship them and something they didn't already come with the wire. Shipping this time of year and to where I live takes forever. I will keep those in mind though as an option. Thank you for sharing.

  5. #5
    Master Control Freak aquamanic's Avatar
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    You can get them locally at anybody that sells to the alarm industry. Even a local alarm company that does installations will have them on hand. Also, IIRC Home Depot carries some DIY alarm materials in their electrical isle. You'll pay more than EBay (which is where I got mine) but if you need it locally those would be a good start.
    Al

    I do not work for Neptune. Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums!
    For Neptune support send an email (don't call) to: [email protected] .
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    Comprehensive Reference Manual can be found here.

  6. #6
    Regular Vistor
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    Thanks for the information. I just figured since these are used everyday by alarm companies and everywhere else that I should be able to find them locally. I am going to look around tomorrow and do some checking. I don't mind shipping them if I have to but I have ordered so much stuff in the past month I am tired of ordering things...LoL Also our shipping here is so backed up due to weather I might not get it for several weeks. We bought our daughter a new 30G Nano tank for Christmas and it has been sitting at the hub in our city for 2 1/2 weeks.

  7. #7
    Regular Vistor
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    One more quick question. Could I double up this sensor as an alarm? For example if I am not needing to be in the cabinet I just set it to be an alarm to email me and sound an alarm but, when I need to be in it and the light to come on I can turn it off so the alarm doesn't come on and the light will come on when I get into it?

    I have been kicking around some possible ways to do this.

    -Thanks!

  8. #8
    Master Control Freak aquamanic's Avatar
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    I suppose what you could do is put the switches on your door(s) and create a virtual outlet called something like 'door_open'. If the door opens and the switch goes CLOSED (or OPEN, I can't remember) then the outlet goes ON and you send an email alert, sound the alarm, etc. But to make it so that you can essentially 'disarm' the doors, program one of your feed modes with a really long time, like 2 hours. Then modify your virtual outlet so that it goes OFF if the selected feed mode is active. When done you either cancel the feed mode or just leave it to expire in 2 hours.
    Al

    I do not work for Neptune. Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums!
    For Neptune support send an email (don't call) to: [email protected] .
    Manuals for all products including the
    Comprehensive Reference Manual can be found here.

  9. #9
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    Ah feed mode, I didn't think of that, that would be a good idea.

    The more I think about it since I have to activate or deactivate something anyways. It would probably just be easier to use the switch just for the alarm and just turn the light on from the outlet via the app. Then that just voids what I am trying to do with automated lights when the door is removed. So maybe just use two door sensors. One for the alarm and the other for the light. That will probably be the easiest method. But then how would I disarm it? My BoB is on the way, when it is connected will it add the switch controls to the GUI? If it does then that would solve that problem.

  10. #10
    Master Control Freak aquamanic's Avatar
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    Those switches are probably already at your Dashboard - look in the Unused Tiles bin for sw1 - sw6. They should all show as OPEN since there's nothing connected yet.
    Al

    I do not work for Neptune. Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums!
    For Neptune support send an email (don't call) to: [email protected] .
    Manuals for all products including the
    Comprehensive Reference Manual can be found here.

  11. #11
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    On the dashboard they are there. I have them set to Dashboard 2 in preparation of the BoB.

    What about the App though? Will I have access to them via the app once the BoB is connected?

    That is mainly what I use to access my Apex through and would be the easiest method to just pull it up and turn off the alarm and do what I need to do then re-arm it when I am done.

  12. #12
    Master Control Freak aquamanic's Avatar
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    Not directly but what you can do is create a virtual outlet for each switch. All outlets, virtual or physical appear in the smartphone apps:

    [door]
    Set OFF
    If sw3 CLOSED Then ON
    Al

    I do not work for Neptune. Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums!
    For Neptune support send an email (don't call) to: [email protected] .
    Manuals for all products including the
    Comprehensive Reference Manual can be found here.

  13. #13
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    Sorry to bring this old thread up but I want to do this. Can someone give me links to flexible led lights for this project please?

  14. #14
    Frequent Contributor zombie's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ifoulkes View Post
    Sorry to bring this old thread up but I want to do this. Can someone give me links to flexible led lights for this project please?
    Amazon sells any length or color you could desire.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

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