dscKeybusInterface VS ESP32-A2DP

Brought an inactive home security system onto Home Assistant using the below repository, so I can track everything from smoke alarms to motion, doors, and windows. I swear there's a niche business opportunity in retrofitting all these deactivated systems!

https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface

The sensors themselves are relatively easy to defeat, a strong enough magnet in the right position and you can pop a door or window open without tripping the sensor. This specific DSC panel was chosen as the bus protocol was unencrypted(the only reasonable attack would be a playback attack, everything needs a user, master, or installer code), but it would be relatively easy to add an esp8266 behind the wall plate of a keypad. (take notes, this is why you should have motion detectors wired inside, and add latching tamper zones). I don't have to worry about the encryption issue, since the keybus line doesn't go outside of a locked closet, which will probably use the latching tamper preset.

Additional context for anyone that's trying to google the same thing. DSC power series pc1816, pc1832, and pc1864 main boards use this connector for the battery harness, which is difficult to source. (This sub is also relevant as there is a DSC key bus Protocol library for Arduino or espressif boards, this was one of the last boards they made before the bus line was encrypted).

Actually it's not "dated" as much as it's "timeless" :) Things get a lot easier with a serial cable and the DLS software. You can even build your own Envisalink like module that works with Home Assistant, for about $6, see: https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface

There is a lot of work done for DSC powerseries keybus interface (not the NEO version): - https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface - https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface/tree/expander But I cannot find any documentation online for the NEO version.

What's the main goal here? The EnvisaLink™ EVL-4EZR module works really well with home automation like Home Assistant or, if you want a less expensive solution taligentx / dscKeybusInterface is an open source solution which can run on a Wemos D1 mini (< $10). Both of these solutions appear to the DSC panel to be a keypad so unless you exceed the maximum number of keypads for a given panel then you should be OK.

Speaking of DIY, you can build your own for under $10 in components and use opensource software like taligentx / dscKeybusInterface, then monitor yourself with Home Assistant. There is even open source software to recover the installer code. So the options for such an panel are not limited.

I'm wondering because I'm planning to run this project on the system to recover the installer code. I'm a little worried that doing so will start dialing to the old alarm company.

Did you check if https://github.com/taligentx/dscKeybusInterface would support to unlock it? It would only require an arduino and a few days maximum to run (most likely a few hours). I've done it on my panel although it was more recent.

If one doesn't like the $100 cost of Envisalink, with DSC systems there is open source software on GitHub that uses a $5 Wemos D1 mini board and another $1 worth of electronic components (couple resistors and a transistor) to interface directly to the KeyBus and then provides several methods of control.

Whole thing is programmed using Arduino library in platformio and for a2dp sink im using pschatzmann library https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP

The ESP8266 won’t work, since it doesn’t support Bluetooth. You’ll need an ESP32 and an I2S DAC. I built something similar based on this library: https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP

I want to turn a USB computer keyboard into a musical instrument where i can press a key and a sound is played on my bluetooth speaker. I have played around with https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP and managed to hardcode a little tune and play it on the speaker. Unfortunately that alone already uses 80% of the esp32 flash memory and I need some more space to read the keyboard input and do a little bit of sound design on top of that. I’m looking for suggestions on a controller (combination of controllers) would be best suited for the job, with the constraint that it should have low power consumption.

Check out arduino-audio-tools and other libraries it can make use of, such as ESP32-A2DP. It's tailored towards ESP32 devices, but also supports the RP2040 and others.

For all other i2s pinouts, I'm leaning on this GitHub-project: https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP

You can use Bluetooth A2DP. This is the same standard used in Bluetooth headphones. Several implementations are available https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP

A2DP library: https://github.com/pschatzmann/ESP32-A2DP

I recently discovered that the ESP32 could be used to receive audio via Bluetooth and since I'm using one as part of my build anyway (for controlling peripherals and LED outputs) I was thinking to just use the ESP32's onboard Bluetooth rather than a dedicated chip/module. After looking through some example code and the ESP32-A2DP library, I feel confident that this would work but is anyone able to see any caveats in doing this other than not being able to support aptx?