I drilled a 7/8" hole with a spade bit in the top of my mirror frame. This was just about the perfect size to press-fit the sensor from the back.
Head to LED Preferences under Config and scroll down until you find the button setup section. Change Button 1 to pin 18, and select PIR sensor from the dropdown.
Then head to the Time & Macros tab under Config and find the Button Actions section. For a PIR sensor, the long press field determines what happens when the sensor is triggered, and the short press field is what happens when the sensor is reset (i.e. no more motion).
Enter your "off" preset number into the short press field and your playlist of all the effects into the long press field.
Time to test it out! Wave your hand in front of the PIR sensor and one of your messages should appear. After a few seconds with no movement it will fade out, leaving a blank mirror until you move again.
Troubleshooting
If it's not working, or you're getting erratic results, here are a few things to try:
If you're getting no response from the PIR sensor:
- Make sure it's wired correctly. The red wire coming from the connector should be lined up with the +5v pin and the black wire should be going to G.
- On the Sparkle Motion, be sure the red wire is going to +, black is G, and the yellow wire is soldered to pin 18. Inserting it into the screw terminal or using one of the Stemma ports won't work.
- Use a multimeter to be sure the sensor is working. Check the DC voltage between power and G pins (should be 5v) and between power and data pins (should be 3.3v when the sensor is triggered, 0 when it's not being triggered).
- Try setting up the button to trigger just one preset instead of your playlist and see if that works.
If the sensor works and triggers modes, but the behavior seems inconsistent:
- Adjust the Duration of each preset in your playlist. It needs to be longer than the sensor's trigger time.
- Adjust the trigger time of the sensor by turning the "Time" screw. It's very sensitive so just turn it a tiny bit until you get the results you want.
- Adjust the sensitivity of the sensor with the other screw.
- Double check that the jumper on your sensor is in position 2 (right-most pins) rather than position 1.
If you're getting multiple quotes lighting at once:
- Recreate the preset: Turn off any segments you don't want on with the segment power button, then click the "overwrite with state" button on the preset and click save.
- Be sure the "Checked Segments Only" button is unchecked as you create your presets.
Page last edited September 25, 2025
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