Building an Arduino-powered RFID cat door

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BitSignal

Reply # 453385 30-Mar-2011 09:10

I see a lot of people on the 'scare it to near-death' bandwagon. I may try something like that if I catch it the next time.

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graemeh

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Reply # 453444 30-Mar-2011 11:58

magu: I see a lot of people on the 'scare it to near-death' bandwagon. I may try something like that if I catch it the next time.

That's probably not a good idea as based on your previously decidedly uncool idea of taking it miles from home and letting it loose you'd probably end up killing it if you just tried to scare it.

bazzer

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Reply # 453707 31-Mar-2011 09:01

As above. I don't think there's anything wrong with soaking them and leaving them to worry for a while.

OTish: graemeh, do you remember which seller you used for your pet porte? It looks like a really sophisticated product, so if I could get it cheaper than $400 that would be awesome. I'll already have to replace my glass and get my cats chipped, so anything to make it cheaper would be good.

graemeh

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Reply # 453715 31-Mar-2011 09:25

bazzer: OTish: graemeh, do you remember which seller you used for your pet porte? It looks like a really sophisticated product, so if I could get it cheaper than $400 that would be awesome. I'll already have to replace my glass and get my cats chipped, so anything to make it cheaper would be good.

I got mine from a private seller but I also had a reply from a seller called "buybypost" who said they would ship to NZ and the cost for shipping was £15.50.

Here's a link to their auction: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280578784298&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

The auction price is £66.99 so you're probably looking at just under $200 delivered to NZ.

You will get a plug pack with a UK plug on it (the big 3 pin jobbie), I use a travel adaptor but you can get a replacement from Hong Kong for $10 on ebay.

wallross

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Reply # 453718 31-Mar-2011 09:32

My 2 cents worth for the "scare the cat, but do not harm it" idea pile is as follows:

We had issues with a neighbours cat coming in and eating our cats food. So we setup a webcam on motion detect, and lo and behold, not only was the neighbours cat coming in, but 3 others we had not ever seen round the neighbourhood at all during the day time were ALSO coming in for a chow down during the night (I think they all belong to a Kittyfacebook group called "get food at this address").

So someone said to try the following.

Catch the cats by making the cat door "in only". Then cover the cat with a towel (this is probably the hardest bit in the middle of the night when you have woken from a deep sleep!), and then make a massive amount of noise such as banging a pot lid, airhorn etc (without at harming the cat at all, OR making the neighbours think you are being murdered, and calling the Police!). But the KEY thing, was to spray perfume near the cat at the same time. The idea being, that they will associate the smell with intense FEAR (smell is an amazing memory trigger in cats and humans). You then let the cat go once it is suitably spooked, and then squirt the wall area outside the catdoor with some of the same perfume.

Our cat (kept well away from all the spooking action) just thought the cat door smelt odd, but did not associate any fear with it, so was happy to still use the door. The cats we caught NEVER came back.

Back to the Technology:
Love to see pics of the setup once complete. And a webcam of it in action (ie allowing access and denying access!).

I have been intrigued by this stuff since seeing the blog a few years back about the guy who used side view imaging to stop his cats from carrying birds/mice etc into the house, as well as "profiling his cats" so other cats would not be able to use the door. This was round the same time as the issues we were having above. I always thought if someone could commercialise such a system for the right price, there could be a market for it (ala PetPorte)

bazzer

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Reply # 453751 31-Mar-2011 11:08

graemeh:
bazzer: OTish: graemeh, do you remember which seller you used for your pet porte? It looks like a really sophisticated product, so if I could get it cheaper than $400 that would be awesome. I'll already have to replace my glass and get my cats chipped, so anything to make it cheaper would be good.

I got mine from a private seller but I also had a reply from a seller called "buybypost" who said they would ship to NZ and the cost for shipping was £15.50.

Here's a link to their auction: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280578784298&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

The auction price is £66.99 so you're probably looking at just under $200 delivered to NZ.

You will get a plug pack with a UK plug on it (the big 3 pin jobbie), I use a travel adaptor but you can get a replacement from Hong Kong for $10 on ebay.

Great, thanks. Can you tell me how much of the door is on the interior side of the glass/wall? We have a ranch slider on the inside of the glass where the door will go and I want to ensure it will clear it.

magu

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BitSignal

Reply # 453769 31-Mar-2011 12:02

Sorry for the lack of updates. As expected, I've been busy with the Arduino kit (arrived yesterday after lunch).

The range is going to be a problem without external antennas. I'll have to find a good external antenna for it as even the large RFID swipe cards only detect at 1-2 inches distance from reader (ID-20).

Writing the software is a nice experience. I'll try and get some more going on the weekend, hopefully.

I'll take pics and post some notes soon. Stay tuned.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

graemeh

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Reply # 453785 31-Mar-2011 12:32

bazzer: Can you tell me how much of the door is on the interior side of the glass/wall? We have a ranch slider on the inside of the glass where the door will go and I want to ensure it will clear it.

I'll check tonight but from memory it looks like about 25mm.

magu

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BitSignal

Reply # 454299 1-Apr-2011 17:42

Found an example of how I want my door to operate:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygdKn6RtPDM

I got the code to recognize saved RFID tags and activate a servo when it detects one nearby, but the magnets are a much cleaner solution.

EDIT #1: Scratch that. He's using magnets for detection. I want the actual lock to be a magnet.

EDIT #2: Actually, even though he's using magnets in the collars, his open-door detection mechanism is exactly what I was looking for.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

bazzer

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Reply # 455019 4-Apr-2011 10:11

graemeh:
bazzer: Can you tell me how much of the door is on the interior side of the glass/wall? We have a ranch slider on the inside of the glass where the door will go and I want to ensure it will clear it.

I'll check tonight but from memory it looks like about 25mm.

25mm would work OK for me (there's a clearance of about 25-30mm). Please let me know the measurement, I hope it fits, otherwise I'm going to have to resort to making my own as in this thread which would be fun, but I don't have the time! :)

graemeh

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Reply # 455054 4-Apr-2011 11:43

bazzer:
graemeh:
bazzer: Can you tell me how much of the door is on the interior side of the glass/wall? We have a ranch slider on the inside of the glass where the door will go and I want to ensure it will clear it.

I'll check tonight but from memory it looks like about 25mm.

25mm would work OK for me (there's a clearance of about 25-30mm). Please let me know the measurement, I hope it fits, otherwise I'm going to have to resort to making my own as in this thread which would be fun, but I don't have the time! :)

Sorry I didn't get a chance to measure it but looking at it again it's more like 40mm. You should be able to get an accurate measurement from someone who sells these things.

magu

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Reply # 455063 4-Apr-2011 12:04

Another update (I promise the pictures will be on their way as soon as I get a chance to take them).

Added a reed switch to detect the state of the door, and to prevent the door from being locked until it is fully closed.

It will also periodically check the reed switch status and unlock-lock the door to ensure it is secure. That's a fail-safe to prevent the cats from leaving the door unlocked when they go through the door too fast or too slowly.

I'm still deciding between a servo or a solenoid to lock the door. The servo would move a metal bar in place, and the solenoid would just be by itself there.

The whole circuit will sit by the bottom left of the door, just below the bottom glass plane, inside a little plastic box. The power will be drawn from the stove outlets closer to the door.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

bazzer

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Reply # 455094 4-Apr-2011 13:12

graemeh:
bazzer:
graemeh:
bazzer: Can you tell me how much of the door is on the interior side of the glass/wall? We have a ranch slider on the inside of the glass where the door will go and I want to ensure it will clear it.

I'll check tonight but from memory it looks like about 25mm.

25mm would work OK for me (there's a clearance of about 25-30mm). Please let me know the measurement, I hope it fits, otherwise I'm going to have to resort to making my own as in this thread which would be fun, but I don't have the time! :)

Sorry I didn't get a chance to measure it but looking at it again it's more like 40mm. You should be able to get an accurate measurement from someone who sells these things.

Yeah, one said 40mm and the other said not suitable for sliding doors. 40mm is going to be a problem for me. Hmmm...

AndrewTD

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Reply # 455125 4-Apr-2011 14:49

Over the years I've had similar "foreign" cat problems.
(Also problems with my cat bringing in half-dead vermin & freeing them in the house.)
I tried the catch-and-terrorise approach. No long lasting results.
I tried the magnetic latch option (with my first cat) - but gave up on that when I saw the cat walking around with a tea spoon stuck to his collar! Also, my second (& current) cat won't wear a collar (for long) and I never managed to train him to go through a cat door flap! (stupid cat) - so I simply had an always-open cat door! Hence the two problems stated at the top.

In the end, I moved house, and took out the cat door entirely (after the dog broke the window it was installed in).
Now the cat has to be "manually" let in and out. And I have put a litter tray down in the laundry in case I forget to let him out.
But, it turns out this is much less hassle than all the other problems.
Simple is good :)

But all power to you in your current technical creation.

PS You'd think that having a dog in the house would have deterred foreign cats coming in. But no, the lazy brute would sleep through that.

kind regards Andrew TD

magu

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BitSignal

Reply # 486611 27-Jun-2011 21:55

Status update: due to a recent break-up, I no longer have the cats, nor the door. Still have the Arduino, though, which I'll have to find another use for. :)

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

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