Have you ever thought of giving new buzz to outdated wired alarm systems or saving money while upgrading your home security? The Hornet Nest Alarm Panel, to which hacker [Patrick van Oosterwijck] contributes, does just that. Designed for domotics enthusiasts, it offers 42 sensor zones and seamless integration with Home Assistant and ESPHome. This open-source gem uses the wESP32 board, which combines an ESP32 with Ethernet and Power over Ethernet (PoE) for robust, reliable connectivity. Check out the Crowd Supply campaign for details.
So what makes this Hornet Nest special? Besides its hackable nature, it repurposes existing wired sensors, reducing waste and cost. Unlike WiFi-dependent solutions, the PoE-powered ESP32 ensures stable performance, even in hard-to-reach locations. The optional USB programming port is genius—it’s there when you need it but doesn’t clutter the board when you don’t. With its isolated circuits, long-cable safety, and smart Ethernet, WiFi, and Bluetooth combination, this system ticks every DIY box.
Hackaday has featured other DIY PoE-powered projects, offering more inspiration for smart automation enthusiasts.
Since I can’t reply directly to Ian, i’d like to make a counter argument…
I understand why some people distrust many modern security tools, but I also think some people’s distrust of technology surpasses the xenophobia and distrust of others.
Can you honestly say that your distrust of this tech is worse than the distrust that people with security systems have of other people?
Outdoor security cameras have become invaluable tools for combating modern crime. Porch pirates are as common as drug dealers. Most of society is also far less considerate of other people and their property. As criminals continue to push society toward favoring their agendas, by pushing a “mind your own business” mentality, misrepresentation of law enforcement, portraying criminals as doing nothing wrong, pushing acceptance of fraud and scams, and encouraging loyalty only to one’s self, society’s moral compass has degrading extremely over the past 20 years. Things that were unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago, are common practices now.
Avoiding the usage of tech does not keep you from being a target. Security cameras don’t just help you. Through crowd sourcing, it has helped catch MANY truly bad people. Murders, kidnappings, home invasions, etc. I’m not suggesting you aim your camera at your neighbor’s front door, but invaluable facts and evidence can be gathered from enough security footage. A man gets robbed walking down the street. He is stabbed. 2 houses down from you. A security camera across the street caught part of it. Another one next door to you caught some too. The criminal fled down the street, where another camera picked him up getting into a green mustang. That camera doesn’t get the license plate, but the gas station a block away recorded a green mustang pulling up to get gas, and the inside camera gets a clean image of his face. The timeline matches, 3 minutes before the robbery, and the mustang is seen going up that street. The gas station also got a clear reading of the license plate.
No one would have known about a green mustang without home security cameras. The cops could maybe estimate the time within an hour or two, but what would they even be looking for if they checked the gas station cameras during that time? Someone walking into the gas station with a bloody knife?
Crowdsourced security has a lot of advantages. As far as privacy, I have to agree with the courts that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy when out in public. The best rule in public is act like someone is always watching. That’s not a problem for a lot of people. If the government wanted to know where you go, who you visit, they have many ways to do that. Law enforcement doesn’t have enough time to investigate all the crimes that they have. They don’t have time to pull days or weeks of surveillance on you just because you visited the NRA website or went to a gun show. That’s a lot of manpower and money and time. They have plenty of real leads without the need to put on their own tinfoil hats.
I used to install security systems for a couple years. My ex’s parents owned a security company and I ended up working for them as a tech. Great pay. We did more than security. We did surround sound, home theater, intercom systems, full home music, central vacuum… Mostly custom houses. This was in 2001/2002, all our systems were wired and most signed with our monitoring service. Getting a phone call if the alarm triggers and having a safe/not safe word is a big thing to a lot of people. I’ve never met anyone who became more paranoid or afraid of people by getting a security system. But especially these days, you can’t count on a neighbor to hear something, look outside, and put themselves in the middle of it or to even help you. Not everyone lives in tract housing either. In rural areas, you can’t see your neighbor’s house. Locking your doors and windows isn’t so effective these days. You need tech if you want to protect your home from someone smashing your sliding door or a window and crawling through. Having a firearm or baseball bat is for last resort. A melee weapon requires very close proximity to the person. A firearm is okay, but what if they have one too and happen to be a better shot than you? And if you do shoot them, you don’t just call the cops and have them haul the body away. You will get multiple interviews, a full check into your weapon, registration, convincing the DA or PD that you acted in self defense. If the other guy is dead, it’s still a homicide, even in self defense, and he isn’t alive to tell his side of the story, and they don’t just assume the person was a criminal because you say so. No matter what, it’s going to be a headache for you. It’s better than being dead, but it’s far from simple or convenient. Whose to say you didn’t lure the person there to murder him and claim he was an intruder?
Alarm systems are still good deterrents or alert systems. They make a lot of noise and attract attention. They may or may not be monitored. Cloud cameras have an advantage of storing footage even if someone destroys or takes your camera or DVR.
This is a long reply, I know. And maybe it won’t alter your opinion at all. But it might influence someone else’s who is also influenced by yours.
Criminals don’t care whether you have a tinfoil hat or are overly concerned about privacy. In fact, the more extreme people are unlikely to have security, or cameras to capture them. They probably keep large amounts of cash stashed somewhere.
Home security systems aren’t paranoia. And if you’re concerned about your privacy and protecting it, you probably don’t want someone walking into your private house and violating your privacy by taking your personal items or information.
All I can say is that alarm systems attract criminals, which anyway operate under the assumption of limited time before arrival of law enforcement, due to neighbours noticing them through windows.
People who pixelated their homes ironically were under more crime related pressure in my country. If you signal fear of financial loss to other people it will make you a more attractive target.
And people with safes at home are often another subject on the “XY Unsolved Crime” show. They are suffering from home invasion at gunpoint. The reason why safety deposit boxes and banks exist in the first place is that we outsourced who will be left traumatized by robbers.
I was not arguing against the tech.
I was arguing against the marketing tactics that have been used since home security started, and pointing out the social results.
“Home security” as a concept is a symptom.
The decades of distrust used to market them, has CREATED or reinforced general distrust.
Do they prevent loss of property? Maybe.
Most of the studies I can find (and I put on my researcher hat and spent over an hour reading studies) were either funded by companies with direct interest in selling security products, and therefore tainted, or the results concluded that a security system “worked” because it was providing “peace of mind”, which is irrelevant.
But let’s put the social problems and dubious usefulness aside for a moment.
I have been paid for my professional opinion on security.
This includes educating a client on what/how to secure things.
I have also worked with clients to design their overall site security, up to and including guards, man-traps, air gapped networks, and other “serious” security.
Security is ALWAYS a balance of money and effort vs what needs to be secured, and why.
If you keep $50k in jewelry in your home, you need a nice safe that bolts to the floor, and receipts/appraisal paperwork filed with your insurer.
What you DON’T need is 17 cameras inside/outside your home sending 4k video to some dubious cloud service, so you can watch every angle of your home from a PC/tablet/phone at a moments notice. That is NOT the correct amount of security, and feeling like you need that much tells me you should be spending that money on therapy instead.
Got a classic car worh $100k?
Hide a gps tracker on it. Maybe a remote disabler(that keeps the car off when it turns off, not one that TURNS the car off while it is running. Those are incredibly unsafe, and illegal in most areas.)
Also insure it.
But who knows? Maybe you live in an area where the local gangs kill people every week?
Maybe you have a real stalker?
Maybe you have a REAL reason to actually need the evidence/documentation that a camera might record, and it’s worth paying a bunch of money and constant minor inconvenience?
The vast majority of people do not need a home security system.
That is my professional opinion, and you didn’t even have to pay me.
Probably varies a lot with the location.
Round here, most burglaries are opportunistic. An alarm makes it harder and deters them, and burglaries have dropped a lot over the last few decades.
But cameras massively boost investigations and convictions, which keeps burglars off the streets. And it also helps with all kinds of other crimes, from burglaries to DV to drugs stuff to mugging, to car theft, to … almost everything.
I’m not a criminal. F the police. Mind your own business. Protect your neighbors, shop lift, and burn down dollar general.
In response to Ian’s comment, and those who distrust security systems….
I understand why some people distrust many modern security tools, but I also think some people’s distrust of technology surpasses the xenophobia and distrust of others.
Can you honestly say that your distrust of this tech is worse than the distrust that people with security systems have of other people?
Outdoor security cameras have become invaluable tools for combating modern crime. Porch pirates are as common as drug dealers. Most of society is also far less considerate of other people and their property. As criminals continue to push society toward favoring their agendas, by pushing a “mind your own business” mentality, misrepresentation of law enforcement, portraying criminals as doing nothing wrong, pushing acceptance of fraud and scams, and encouraging loyalty only to one’s self, society’s moral compass has degrading extremely over the past 20 years. Things that were unthinkable 20 or 30 years ago, are common practices now.
Avoiding the usage of tech does not keep you from being a target. Security cameras don’t just help you. Through crowd sourcing, it has helped catch MANY truly bad people. Murders, kidnappings, home invasions, etc. I’m not suggesting you aim your camera at your neighbor’s front door, but invaluable facts and evidence can be gathered from enough security footage. A man gets robbed walking down the street. He is stabbed. 2 houses down from you. A security camera across the street caught part of it. Another one next door to you caught some too. The criminal fled down the street, where another camera picked him up getting into a green mustang. That camera doesn’t get the license plate, but the gas station a block away recorded a green mustang pulling up to get gas, and the inside camera gets a clean image of his face. The timeline matches, 3 minutes before the robbery, and the mustang is seen going up that street. The gas station also got a clear reading of the license plate.
No one would have known about a green mustang without home security cameras. The cops could maybe estimate the time within an hour or two, but what would they even be looking for if they checked the gas station cameras during that time? Someone walking into the gas station with a bloody knife?
Crowdsourced security has a lot of advantages. As far as privacy, I have to agree with the courts that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy when out in public. The best rule in public is act like someone is always watching. That’s not a problem for a lot of people. If the government wanted to know where you go, who you visit, they have many ways to do that. Law enforcement doesn’t have enough time to investigate all the crimes that they have. They don’t have time to pull days or weeks of surveillance on you just because you visited the NRA website or went to a gun show. That’s a lot of manpower and money and time. They have plenty of real leads without the need to put on their own tinfoil hats.
I used to install security systems for a couple years. My ex’s parents owned a security company and I ended up working for them as a tech. Great pay. We did more than security. We did surround sound, home theater, intercom systems, full home music, central vacuum… Mostly custom houses. This was in 2001/2002, all our systems were wired and most signed with our monitoring service. Getting a phone call if the alarm triggers and having a safe/not safe word is a big thing to a lot of people. I’ve never met anyone who became more paranoid or afraid of people by getting a security system. But especially these days, you can’t count on a neighbor to hear something, look outside, and put themselves in the middle of it or to even help you. Not everyone lives in tract housing either. In rural areas, you can’t see your neighbor’s house. Locking your doors and windows isn’t so effective these days. You need tech if you want to protect your home from someone smashing your sliding door or a window and crawling through. Having a firearm or baseball bat is for last resort. A melee weapon requires very close proximity to the person. A firearm is okay, but what if they have one too and happen to be a better shot than you? And if you do shoot them, you don’t just call the cops and have them haul the body away. You will get multiple interviews, a full check into your weapon, registration, convincing the DA or PD that you acted in self defense. If the other guy is dead, it’s still a homicide, even in self defense, and he isn’t alive to tell his side of the story, and they don’t just assume the person was a criminal because you say so. No matter what, it’s going to be a headache for you. It’s better than being dead, but it’s far from simple or convenient. Whose to say you didn’t lure the person there to murder him and claim he was an intruder?
Alarm systems are still good deterrents or alert systems. They make a lot of noise and attract attention. They may or may not be monitored. Cloud cameras have an advantage of storing footage even if someone destroys or takes your camera or DVR.
This is a long reply, I know. And maybe it won’t alter your opinion at all. But it might influence someone else’s who is also influenced by yours.
Criminals don’t care whether you have a tinfoil hat or are overly concerned about privacy. In fact, the more extreme people are unlikely to have security, or cameras to capture them. They probably keep large amounts of cash stashed somewhere.
Home security systems aren’t paranoia. And if you’re concerned about your privacy and protecting it, you probably don’t want someone walking into your private house and violating your privacy by taking your personal items or information.
I hear “alarm” and “wireless” in the same context, and all it manages to translate to is “attack surface”…
Wired alarms are the only way to fly…
“Unlike WiFi-dependent solutions, the PoE-powered ESP32 ensures stable performance, even in hard-to-reach locations.”
I wonder how gracefully it degrades under jamming.
you should probably ‘listen’ better
The wESP32 has an Ethernet chipset.
is it just me or is this missing an important security feature. My alarm panel uses an end of line resistor across sensors like door sensors.
If the alarm sees 5.6k or one of the resistors, then it knows that it’s closed, because it’s running up through the sensor taking the path of least resistance, through the resistor in series, and then back to the panel which should be 5.6k. Now if it’s open, it will run up to the sensor, it can’t get through the sensor. So it’ll go around the resistor, so 5.6k there. But it’ll also run through the resistor in series. So it’s going to see another 5.6k for a total of 11.2k. And finally, if the wire is cut, so there’s no way for any current to get back to the panel, it’s gonna see infinite resistance and so it’ll know that the wire is cut.
Unless I am missing something this panel looks like it’s only using binary values for open/closed.
Am I missing something?
Thank you for sharing. The resistor-loops you are describing sound like an easy but genius solution. If this was implemented in the Hornet Nest Alarm Panel, I would see the price 259 € as fair.
The wESP32 is a well-engineered piece of hardware, which I am also using.
Just for on/off inputs, I would go e.g. for one or more Kincony A16 (no PoE) for 1/10 of the price of the hornet Nest.
I’ll keep your resistance-loops in the back of my head, so an extended monitoring of the physical layer is possible with 2 wires, when I might need it.
I thought this was the norm? I’ve never seen an alarm system that was not done this way
I had a look at the kincony these seem like a good product with basic io. I wanted to sense the resistance like described above so are looking at developing my own board without poe so it can charge a battery
UK security installer here: FSL/EOL resistored inputs are the minimum for a real security system. If using existing wired detectors as suggested, they would also have them, so this panel won’t work unless it also supports FSL.
Next question – can the board work with multiple different resistance values, since alarm manufacturers use a variety on values: 1K/1K. 4K7/2K8, 10K/10K. etc. etc. If it can’t you’ll need to replace all the detectors too.
The list price is around what you’ll pay for a certified panel kit from an existing manufacturer, which is another challenge for small run products.
The USP is really HA integration, but could be hacked with a bunch of other ESP powered I/O modules without manufacturing a whole board, albeit a lot less elegant.
I believe that’s called “Fully Supervised Loop” or EOL (end of line) that gives different resistances depending on whether a switch is open, or it has been tampered with (open).
You aren’t missing anything and is addresses as an issue in the GitHub repository: https://github.com/taconsultingllc/hornet-nest-alarm-panel/issues/4
TL;DR Binary only signaling for simplicity
Alarm systems are for paranoid lunatics. I used to sell them. Anyone remotely sane didn’t bother using one.
“Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean someone isn’t out to get you!”
-a poster in the 1970s
Then you’ve never been burgled.
I wonder what the chances are that once burgled to be burgled again? Even a single burglary is low but adding a second or third must be astronomically low for the average family.
It would be even better if it supported OEM keypads.
Central station monitoring?
And as mentioned above, line supervision.
While you will likely never try to get UL certification, your design should be certifiable.
Central station monitoring?
And as mentioned above, line supervision.
While you will likely never try to get UL certification, your design should be certifiable.
A significant piece is the 12V power supply and battery charger/backup but I don’t see that here so the price seems high. The aux feeds need to be fused or the 22ga wire will burn – a reno nail through a cable or if it gets crushed. Not a pro hardware build, look at commercial panels to see how they do it. A lot of money spent on optos which are not necessary.
I made an alarm system after thugs kept trying to break into my (detached) garage. ESP8266 and a door Hall sensor and motion and handle vibration sensor. It’s worked fantastic for 4 years now and after the first time the siren went off (after the door was body slammed) thugs have left it alone. Paid for itself.
When you add in smoke detector tie in, sump water/flood sensor, freezing sensor – then this stuff pays off protecting a home.