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Sensor Calibration

Some sensors expose calibration parameters that let you fine-tune their behaviour from the dashboard. When you select a sensor type that supports calibration, a Calibration panel appears with sliders.

PIR Motion - Sensitivity​

The PIR sensor has a Sensitivity slider (1-10, default 7):

  • High (10) - triggers on the slightest motion. Good for monitoring quiet rooms.
  • Low (1) - requires sustained movement over multiple readings to trigger. Useful if the sensor is near a heat source or in a high-traffic area where you only want to capture deliberate activity.

Internally this controls how many consecutive motion readings are averaged before firing - lower sensitivity means a larger averaging window.

tip

Most HC-SR501 modules also have a physical potentiometer for sensitivity on the back of the board. Use the hardware pot for coarse adjustment and the software slider for fine-tuning.

Vibration / Knock - Pulse Threshold​

Vibration (KY-002) and Knock (KY-031) sensors produce brief digital pulses on each impact. By default, a single pulse triggers recording. The calibration sliders let you require multiple impacts before triggering:

  • Pulse threshold - number of impacts required (default: 1 for vibration, 3 for knock). Higher values filter out single accidental bumps.
  • Counting window - time window in seconds to count pulses (default: 5s). Only used when threshold is greater than 1.

For example, setting the knock sensor to threshold 3, window 5s means "3 knocks within 5 seconds" are needed to start recording - a typical knock-knock-knock pattern. A single accidental bump is ignored.

Tilt Switch - Settle Time​

The mercury tilt sensor (KY-017) is sensitive to vibrations - a door slamming nearby can slosh the mercury and cause a false trigger. The Settle time slider (0-50 in tenths of a second, default 0.5s) requires the sensor to stay tilted for the set duration before triggering:

  • Instant (0) - trigger on any tilt change, no filtering.
  • 5s (50) - the camera must be held at a new angle for 5 full seconds before recording starts. Good for noisy environments.

If the sensor returns to its original position before the settle time elapses, the trigger is silently discarded.

Touch Sensor - Touch Duration​

The capacitive touch sensor (KY-036) can fire from static discharge or accidental brushes. The Touch duration slider (0-30 in tenths of a second, default 0.3s) requires the touch to be held before triggering:

  • Instant (0) - trigger on any contact, no filtering.
  • 3s (30) - finger must stay on the pad for 3 seconds. Filters out everything except deliberate, sustained touches.

Sensors without calibration​

Reed switches (KY-025, KY-021), hall sensors (KY-003), light gates (KY-010), buttons, and the mock sensor have clean digital signals that don't benefit from calibration. They work reliably with the default settings.