Beam activity
V2 replaced unreliable PIR sensing with a beam break across the opening.
The sensor choice made the project work.
Triggered on insects and nearby door movement.
Only fires when the pet-door opening is crossed.
What the system delivered
The system proved immediately effective - within the first 2 days of deployment, it detected and alerted me to the intruder cat attempting to enter the house, allowing me to catch and remove him from the property.
The break beam sensor implementation in V2 eliminated the false positive issues experienced with the PIR sensor in V1, providing reliable detection with no missed events or false alarms during normal operation.
The Telegram notification system provides instant alerts with timestamps, enabling quick response to any cat door activity and building a log of movement patterns for behavior analysis.