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I need to find a way to detect when a door is opened and i want to register that through a wifi connection. So the 'door detection' module should send data to a PC over wifi when a door is opened.
There may be better solutions to get this working, but the first thing that came to my mind is an arduino board. Is there an arduino board that is easily capable detecting when a door is opened and sending data on detection to a PC (wireless)??
Or are there better alternatives?
The Digi Xbee WiFi modules have 10 digital I/O channels and ADC on board to operate autonomously, so you don't need a SBC like Arduino.
Connect one of the I/Os with a pull-up resistor to a microswitch to detect the door's state.
I think you need to focus how you want to solve WiFi connectivity. The opening door detection will be easy with respect to that. Try searching the Internet for 'arduino wifi shield' and you'll get a lot of hits on shields that will support WiFi.
Personally I wouldn't go for the WiFi (or ethernet) solution. It is complex not only to physically build, but also the (webserver? and) client side software that you need. I experimented with a Bluetooth transceiver, which is reasonably easy to implement, but the range with my module was with about 10m a bit short.
EDIT:
Coming to think about it, I have 2 433MHz radios that easily connect to arduino and PC. They have a range of up to 1000m. Radio communication module
If WiFi or Bluetooth are a bit short range then this device can be connected to a door open switch and used to report the event to your pc. The door can be pretty much anywhere apart from the polar ice caps.
You can use the Xbee modules for stevenvh's suggested solution, but if you're dead set on using WiFi this module can have analogue and digital input without an external Microcontroller.
Obviously it will consume more power than the Xbee modules, but it has the advantage of not requiring an external Xbee adapter connected to the PC.
I know this is an old thread but i'm looking for an easy to build inexpensive system for solving almost exactly the same problem. I've had quite a bit of success using the nRF24L01 tranceivers with the available RF24 library by maniacbug. I'm currently working on two solutions: one uses arduino nanos with the RF24 transceivers with leaf nodes acting as sensors and multiple hub/routers for receiving and aggregating data into my security system.
The hubs can overlap and even receive the same data depending on the distance away from the sensor but the system accounts for that. Another approach i've considered is to have each sensor act as node on a mesh network but that requires more work and the use of another library that i've yet to start looking at..
The benefit is that these radios cost from $1.50 to $3.00 apiece usually sold as a 2pc set for $6 where the Xbee modules listed above cost from $25 to $60 for just one.
I'm not sure if my response is timely enough but I believe its a better solution than the Xbee approach if cost is a consideration.
There's plenty generic 433mhz door/window alarm sensors like PB-67R.
To receive the signal, all you need is e.g. WeMos D1 (has WiFi) and a $1 433mhz receiver e.g. WL101-341.
P.S.: Note that PB-67R wouldn't ping you when the door is closed.
