Corner mounting of PIR

I just bought a couple of resolution products PIRs and the description states that it can be corner mounted. Though I don’t see how. The PIR has a flat back and no corner adapter is included. Do I have to cut something out of wood - mount that to the wall and in turn to the PIR or did my kit ship with parts missing?

This is the regular one, not the gimbal set.

Thanks

Without the gimbal you can mount the RE210P in a corner at 45 degrees by drilling/screwing through the angled corners on the back of the cover. If you want to mount it at another angle or tilt it up/down then you need the gimbal but the most common corner mounts is just a straight 45 degree angle. Carefully pop the circuit board out of the back cover before you drill to avoid accidentally damaging it. You can pop it back in after the back cover is mounted.

RE210P-Back.jpg

Thanks Ryan - one additional question for this PIR… the sensitivity jumper inside, is there some sort of rule of thumb on high vs normal? What differentiates the two? The docs that RP provides are ridiculous. Product seems nice so far, but the documentation is a joke :slight_smile: Thank heavens for you guys.

You want to reliably detect human motion without getting false alarms. Ideally, for security purposes, you would want to use high sensitivity but if high sensitivity is causing false alarms in your environment then it’s a nuisance and becomes effectively less secure than low sensitivity because you won’t take the alarms seriously. If you’re trying to maximize security then I’d say start with high sensitivity and switch to low if you get false alarms. If your system is more for casual use then I’d just use low sensitivity as long as it’s reliably detecting you when you do your walk tests.

Thanks again! It’s weird - I have a small bedroom where I mounted it. The room is 10x11 - and walk test in normal mode barely registered. High sens did better. I’m concerned that this room has two walls of windows that aren’t the best quality (leaky, not good at blocking energy). One wall is south-facing at that. The PIR is mounted in the “armpit” between the walls of windows pointing away from the windows. Guess we’ll wait and see. I’m replacing all windows next year so this is a short-term problem. I just hope the PIR doesn’t false on me at an inopportune time. Which knowing things it will :slight_smile:

Thanks again for everything.

Happy to help. You may already be aware of this but testing motion detectors can be tricky. From the RE210P manual:

LED Walk Test: Press Tamper for 3 minute test:

  • LED lights when motion sensed.
  • Sensor re-calibrates for 10 to 30 seconds after each LED blink. It will not transmit during re-calibration. So wait about 30 seconds before first test, and 30 seconds between tests.
  • Wireless transmissions sent for each detection, so walk test can be used for panel operation test as well.

Operation

  • Motion sends wireless transmission after 2 or 3 (select via jumper) pulses.
  • Motion stops (locks out) transmitting wireless sensor alarms for 3 minutes after sending an alarm transmission. This is to conserve battery life.
  • Tamper, when cover is opened (only Motion reports tamper, not Ext Contact).
  • Supervisories, every hour (including Ext Contact, if activated).

Also, a note about the ridiculous manuals from Resolution Products… I agree. I think it’s because their target market has been alarm dealers/installers, not end users. Dealers/installers don’t usually need complete manuals because the knowledge gets shared by word of mouth between technicians. We’re one of the few DIY companies that supports Resolution Products. I think RP is making a move to better support the end user though because they’ve recently started packaging some of their products in pretty, individual boxes instead of just clear plastic bags and brown boxes.

So reading the RP note on walk test… let me regurgitate it and let us know if this is correct…

  1. when the PIR detects motion, the sensor basically shuts off for 10-30 seconds after every detection event.
  2. it can be tested without the panel in walk test mode

If this is the case to test detection properly…

  1. open PIR and hold tamper button for a few seconds
  2. leave area
  3. return after 30 seconds - wait for light, leave
  4. rinse and repeat up to 3 minutes

Is that about right?

And to follow on the note about manuals. I don’t expect massive books or bible-length tomes of information. But even 2gig blew it a few times. What I do expect is a definition of key items. In both RP and 2Gig instructions I found some that had full details on loop function, type of zones and other key notes. On some - absolutely no info, had to google - for example - to see that loop2 is what is used on the thin contacts. I’m a web developer and long-time graphic designer so consistency is key to me. My clients would have slammed me for having such differing quality documents.

All in all though - installing this whole system has been a cake walk. Before I got into web dev I was in low voltage installation. Did alarms, home theater (before the term existed) etc. So I’ve done my fair share of installing Ademco panels and the related wiring. When I was doing this stuff wireless was pretty new and none of us trusted it. Using these components now, nearly 30 years later, has blown my mind how far things have come.

Cheers

That’s right. In test mode you have to wait 30 seconds with no motion between detection events. In normal operation you have to wait 3 minutes between detection events. It’s pretty common for people to think their motion detectors aren’t working because they’re not leaving the room or standing perfectly still to let them recalibrate between detection events.