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Home Assistant is open source home automation that puts local control and privacy first. Powered by a worldwide community of tinkerers and DIY enthusiasts. Perfect to run on a Raspberry Pi or a local server. Available for free at home-assistant.io

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Pin switch option for doors? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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This weekend, I started setting up my first HA instance. My first and main goal is to monitor the fridge and deep freeze sitting in my garage. Kids of cost me two expensive clean outs already. I setup an aqara door sensor, which are magnetic switches. While they do work, getting placement exact is not great. I am having an issue finding a position to get reliable readings, and not being able to leave the door just lightly cracked.

My thought is like a pin switch or similar. Hopefully, not having to create one from an esp32, though not out of the question. Does this exist in a purchasable form, or am I stuck to wiring and 3d-printing?

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Open the door sensor, locate the reed switch, remove it and connect wires to its PCB pads. Although it should be pretty straightforward to measure the minimum distance required between the magnet and the sensor and install the magnet just a bit closer, so that any cracking of the door opens the switch. If you use a weaker magnet, the sensor will be more sensitive to the distance, so you will be able to detect smaller gaps.
Side note: if the door doesn't close when there's a small gap, the fridge might not be level or your door auto-closing mechanism might be worn out.