ffd

The RS-455-3671 sensor used in the Automatic Rear Bicycle Light project published in  the July/August 2010 edition can be replaced by a motion sensor that costs nothing instead of a fiver or thereabouts.   The replacement is a homemade device, built from components easily found in the workshop of any electronics enthusiast. Effectively it works as a variable resistor, depending on the acceleration force to which the device is  submitted. A prototype presented a resistance of 200 kΩ when not moving, and 190 kΩ when dropping about 1 cm. Constructing is easy. Cut off a piece of about 10 mm of copper tubing. Take a piece of conductive foam, the kind used to protect integrated circuits. Cut a rectangular piece of 10  x 50 mm. Roll up firmly until it can be push-fitted securely into the copper cylinder. Then insert a conductive wire through the centre of the cylinder, bend it and (optionally) add protective plastic sleeving to each side. This is the first contact. Finally, solder a thin wire...

This circuit is based on a passive infrared (PIR) sensor, which automatically switches on a device when someone comes close to it. It can be used for detection of theft or an unauthorised person entering a restricted area or building. It can also turn on lights when someone approaches the area where it is installed. Applications of this circuit include security systems, corridor lights and bathroom lights, among others. Fig. 1: Circuit diagram of the motion detector Circuit and working The circuit diagram of the motion detector using NE555 timer is shown in Fig. 1. It is built around 230V AC primary to 9V, 300mA secondary transformer X1, bridge rectifier DB107 (BR1), 6V voltage regulator 7806 (IC1), timer NE555 (IC2) and a few other components. The 230V AC mains is stepped down to 9V, 300mA through step-down transformer X1. Secondary output of X1 goes to bridge rectifier BR1. Capacitor C1 filters the ripples and the rectified output is given to regulator 7806 (IC1). IC1 provides 6V reg...

To explore how different motion detectors operate.To successfully build and test an ambient-light-ignoring active IR motion detector. Background  There are a wide variety of motion detectors available currently. To allow a better understanding of motion detectors,the following section provides a detailed description of a few different types. Ultrasonic Motion Detectors Ultrasonic transducers can be used to detect motion in an area where there are not supposed to be any moving objects.This type of motion detector is most commonly used in burglar alarm systems since they are very effective in this application.  Figure 1 shows the operation of an ultrasonic motiondetector. There are tw1o transducers: one emits an ultrasonicwave and the other picks up reflections from the differentobjects in the area. The reflected waves arrive at the receiverin constant phase if none of the objects in the area are moving.If something moves, the received signal is shifted in phase.  A phase c...