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Problem, Solution = gerbils??

A

Alan

Jan 1, 1970
0
I and probably a lotta other people have a chronic problem that is in
need of a simple solution. We're about to move into a new bldg and I
have to do a lotta install'ns of PCs, etc., so I'm under the desk a lot.
Every room in the new bldg has the motion sensors that turn off the
lights after a few minutrd, and I have to continually get up and wave my
arms to reactivate the sensors.

Some of the sensors are PIR motion detectors, and some are ultrasonic.
The US ones could be fooled with a fan in front of the sensor, But how
can I fool a PIR motion sensor? I have to have a warm, moving body in
front of the sensor, maybe a caged animal? Or a long wave IR generator
that moves or generates an intermittent output. I've ruled out candles
or other flames for safety reasons. A friend suggested a Lavalamp might
work, but I don't think I want to wait ten or twenty minutes to warm it
up. Maybe one of those old lamps with the rotating picture and fan
blades on top, that turns by convection currents from the light bulb
heat. I know that the IR output from IR LEDs is much too short a
wavelenght. Any ideas? Thanks.


What about strapping a Gerbil to the fan? Works for both types of
sensors :)

Alan

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Jenal Communications
Manufacturers and Suppliers of HF Selcall
P O Box 1108, Morley, WA, 6943
Tel: +61 8 9370 5533 Fax +61 8 9467 6146
Web Site: http://www.jenal.com
e-mail: http://www.jenal.com/?p=1
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
C

Clint Sharp

Jan 1, 1970
0
"Watson A.Name - \"Watt said:
I suppose I could do that for one room with a lot of PCs. But I'd
probably spend too much time diong that if I have a few dozen rooms to
do, each with a one or two PCs. The newer switches don't have
ON-Auto-OFF, just Auto and Off, so one can't defeat the sensor. I've
opened up switches to adjust the sensitivity or time, but I've never
seen one with an overrride. It sure would be convenient if I had a box
that I could just carry from one room to another. Thanks.
How 'bout something like a Scalextric with a filament bulb mounted on
each car's roof. Not only do you fool the sensor, you can have fun at
the same time.
 
S

Spehro Pefhany

Jan 1, 1970
0
I and probably a lotta other people have a chronic problem that is in
need of a simple solution. We're about to move into a new bldg and I
have to do a lotta install'ns of PCs, etc., so I'm under the desk a lot.
Every room in the new bldg has the motion sensors that turn off the
lights after a few minutrd, and I have to continually get up and wave my
arms to reactivate the sensors.

Some of the sensors are PIR motion detectors, and some are ultrasonic.
The US ones could be fooled with a fan in front of the sensor, But how
can I fool a PIR motion sensor? I have to have a warm, moving body in
front of the sensor, maybe a caged animal? Or a long wave IR generator
that moves or generates an intermittent output. I've ruled out candles
or other flames for safety reasons. A friend suggested a Lavalamp might
work, but I don't think I want to wait ten or twenty minutes to warm it
up. Maybe one of those old lamps with the rotating picture and fan
blades on top, that turns by convection currents from the light bulb
heat. I know that the IR output from IR LEDs is much too short a
wavelenght. Any ideas? Thanks.

I suggest trying a single automotive tail-lamp bulb modulated at 2-3Hz
(555 + MOSFET driver). You don't really need to simulate motion with
the pyroelectric sensors- in fact they have to turn motion of the
target into an AC signal with their Fresnel lens.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
The said:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 16:11:43 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the


Now I am not quite sure what devices are being used, but all the PIR
movement sensors for lights I ahve seen can be toggled into an 'always
on' mode by quickly switching the light switch off the on.

Well, thank you for that information. The usual new bldg has these
sensors installed by the electricians, and then all the instructions are
discarded along with the leftover packaging, so absolutely *no* one has
a clue as to how these work and what to do with them. Isn't that
crazily amazing..
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Clint said:
In message <[email protected]>, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt
How 'bout something like a Scalextric with a filament bulb mounted on
each car's roof. Not only do you fool the sensor, you can have fun at
the same time.

Now that takes some chutzpa. Using the PIR excuse for playing around
with toys. But, yeah, that's a good idea. Gotta figure out how to
power the light bulb, tho.
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Spehro said:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 16:11:43 -0700, the renowned "Watson A.Name -


I suggest trying a single automotive tail-lamp bulb modulated at 2-3Hz
(555 + MOSFET driver). You don't really need to simulate motion with
the pyroelectric sensors- in fact they have to turn motion of the
target into an AC signal with their Fresnel lens.

I've got an IRF630 and a 2SK2135(?) laying around, maybe I'll make up a
power flasher. I guess a 555 isn't really needed, just a flip-flop. I
don't need full brightness, so I guess 6 to 9V would be enough supply V,
assuming that the FETs will turn on enough at that voltage. The bulb
should last about forever. Maybe a wall wart would handle the power.
I might connect two lamps in series to get lower brightness.
 
C

Charles W. Johson Jr.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson A.Name - "Watt Sun said:
message [snip]
Portable light source, then forget the room lights.

I come armed with a couple flashlights with LEDs replacing the light
bulbs, so I'm good to go in that respect. It's just that I've got only
two hands and they're usually occupied with something, so I can't hold
the flashlight on where I'm working. And besides, when one sets up PCs,
one often just sits waiting for the damned things to restart, and the
lights often go off while one is waiting. That's mighty inconvenient to
have to type in the dark. I got some LED headlamps, maybe I'll try one
of those. But they don't always shine light where it's needed, like
around a corner, or whatever.

But thank you for the idea. I just got a new brainstorm. I'll grab one
of the 375W floodlights from the maintenance dept, you know, those big
yellow things on a yellow tripod, with the big reflector that holds a 4"
tube of tungsten, might be halogen, or whatever. The construction crews
use them for doing their thing when there's no power for lights in a
building. I can just drag it from room to room and plug it in, and
screw them silly sensors! Probably a much quicker solution than trying
to fool the sensors.

That was actually what I was thinking. Note to self: Be clear in solution
definitions lol

Charles
 
P

Paul Hovnanian P.E.

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun said:
[snip]

Well, if it isn't radiating IR, in other words a warm body, it shouldn't
trigger the motion sensor. My understanding is that the PIR sensors
were made to avoid problems that occured with ultrasonic sensors, such
as the wind blowing drapes and triggering the motion sensor. So I'd
still have to have some kind of warm body dangling from the pendulum.
That's why I suggested gerbils. But come to think of it, those little
critters are nocturnal, and sleep most of the day. So maybe not such a
good idea.

Duct tape a gerbil to the pendulum. Just be careful that you don't order
the duct tape and gerbils from the same outlet, or you'll end up on
someone's watch list. ;-)
 
P

PaulCsouls

Jan 1, 1970
0
How about a police car/fire engine light. They used to make helmets
for kids with those lights on them. Or one of those toy robots.

Paulc
 
S

Steve Sousa

Jan 1, 1970
0
in message ..
Every room in the new bldg has the motion sensors that turn off the
lights after a few minutrd, and I have to continually get up and wave my
arms to reactivate the sensors.

What about one of those lamps that flicker like a candle?
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
I and probably a lotta other people have a chronic problem that is in
need of a simple solution. We're about to move into a new bldg and I
have to do a lotta install'ns of PCs, etc., so I'm under the desk a lot.
Every room in the new bldg has the motion sensors that turn off the
lights after a few minutrd, and I have to continually get up and wave my
arms to reactivate the sensors.

Some of the sensors are PIR motion detectors, and some are ultrasonic.
The US ones could be fooled with a fan in front of the sensor, But how
can I fool a PIR motion sensor? I have to have a warm, moving body in
front of the sensor, maybe a caged animal? Or a long wave IR generator
that moves or generates an intermittent output. I've ruled out candles
or other flames for safety reasons. A friend suggested a Lavalamp might
work, but I don't think I want to wait ten or twenty minutes to warm it
up. Maybe one of those old lamps with the rotating picture and fan
blades on top, that turns by convection currents from the light bulb
heat. I know that the IR output from IR LEDs is much too short a
wavelenght. Any ideas? Thanks.

---
A 100 watt incandescent lamp turned on and off periodically will do
it. The trick is, you have to locate the lamp on one side or the
other of the PIR motion detector's sensitive region so that the heat
from the lamp will only get focused on one of the PIR sensor's two
detectors.
 
J

Jeff Wisnia

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:
Well, thank you for that information. The usual new bldg has these
sensors installed by the electricians, and then all the instructions are
discarded along with the leftover packaging, so absolutely *no* one has
a clue as to how these work and what to do with them. Isn't that
crazily amazing..


There's no manufacturer's name on them to lead you to a web site where
you can find or ask for information about them?

Jeff
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson said:
The Real Andy wrote:




Well, thank you for that information. The usual new bldg has these
sensors installed by the electricians, and then all the instructions are
discarded along with the leftover packaging, so absolutely *no* one has
a clue as to how these work and what to do with them. Isn't that
crazily amazing..

Well, I went out there today and went on a walk-thru of the new bldg
with the other honchos. I found that the light switches have _two_
small buttons, side-by-side, labeled "I" and "II". These are set up so
that one of them lights the center tube of the three-tube fluo light,
and the other lights the two outer tubes of the fluo light. So you can
press both buttons for all three. Unfortunately there's no way to
rapidly toggle these on and off, because they're like a ball point pen,
they're click on, click off. And they're small enough so that if you're
trying to hit them quickly, you're likely to press the wrong one, or
both of them.

So it looks like your idea of rapidly toggling these, sadly, isn't going
to work. And _every_steenking_room_ has them! Damn!
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Paul said:
Well, if it isn't radiating IR, in other words a warm body, it shouldn't
trigger the motion sensor. My understanding is that the PIR sensors
were made to avoid problems that occured with ultrasonic sensors, such
as the wind blowing drapes and triggering the motion sensor. So I'd
still have to have some kind of warm body dangling from the pendulum.
That's why I suggested gerbils. But come to think of it, those little
critters are nocturnal, and sleep most of the day. So maybe not such a
good idea.

Duct tape a gerbil to the pendulum. Just be careful that you don't order
the duct tape and gerbils from the same outlet, or you'll end up on
someone's watch list. ;-)

Hey, YEAH! That's a good idea! Actually, I've found the perfect
candidate. As we were doing the walk-thru, we saw this small gray-brown
spot of fur fly by, below our feet. It was a little field mouse that,
for some reason, ran inside. Well, later, there he was again, flitting
down the hallway, more scared of us than we were of him! EEK!

Looks like we need to get a cat or two. The exterminator put traps
outside each building, but apparently, from this experience, they're not
doing the job!
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Steve said:
in message .

What about one of those lamps that flicker like a candle?

The ones I've seen have two electrodes in neon gas, and don't produce
enough IR to do the job.
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
Jeff said:
Watson A.Name "Watt Sun - the Dark Remover" wrote:
There's no manufacturer's name on them to lead you to a web site where
you can find or ask for information about them?

For the last half hour, I've been googling for motion sensing light
switches, and I still haven't come across anything that looks remotely
like the ones in this new bldg. I'm going to keep searching until I
find one that at least _looks_ like them. So far, I know that they're
not Leviton, Zenith or GE.
 
W

Watson A.Name \Watt Sun - the Dark Remover\

Jan 1, 1970
0
John said:
On Sun, 11 Jul 2004 16:11:43 -0700, "Watson A.Name - \"Watt Sun, the


---
A 100 watt incandescent lamp turned on and off periodically will do
it. The trick is, you have to locate the lamp on one side or the
other of the PIR motion detector's sensitive region so that the heat
from the lamp will only get focused on one of the PIR sensor's two
detectors.

Ah-HAH! I'm finding out more and more about these sensors. So even tho
they're only three leads, ground, power and output, they have more than
a single sensor inside? That's good to know, thanks. Maybe that's why
J.T. suggested two lights spaced 3' apart.
 
J

John Fields

Jan 1, 1970
0
John Fields wrote:

Ah-HAH! I'm finding out more and more about these sensors. So even tho
they're only three leads, ground, power and output, they have more than
a single sensor inside?

Yes. AFAIK there are three types of materials used in the sensors:
lithium niobate, poled polyvinylidene fluoride, and a ceramic of some
sort. Almost all of them internally use two tiny rectangular sensors
which generate an electrical signal when they're heated, (or cooled)
and they're connected differentially so that if they're both heated or
cooled at the same rate the net output from the pair will be zero. A
lens is used in front of them so that as a warm object moves across
them the image will be focused when it hits them, and as the spot
traverses the pair it generates the desired output, which is usually
cap-coupled and severely bandwidth limited and eventually used to
makes the yes-no decision about whether to turn on the lights, or
detonate the bomb, or whatever.
---

That's good to know, thanks.

---
You're welcome. :)
---
Maybe that's why
J.T. suggested two lights spaced 3' apart.

---
More than likely, but you can do it just as well with a single
off-normal lamp, and I'd put it farther away from the center line than
18 inches just to make sure it's not hitting both sensors equally.

My 100 watts is probably way overkill, too, since we humans radiate
about 100 watts from a rather large area, so you could for sure get by
with less from a point-ish source like an incandescent lamp.
 
G

Guy Macon

Jan 1, 1970
0
Watson A.Name "Watt Sun - the Dark Remover said:
Ah-HAH! I'm finding out more and more about these sensors. So even tho
they're only three leads, ground, power and output, they have more than
a single sensor inside? That's good to know, thanks. Maybe that's why
J.T. suggested two lights spaced 3' apart.

I have done a lot of work with security system PIR sensors.
The typical design uses a single sensor and a molded multiple lens
array so that the sensor "sees" what you would see if you punched
a few holes in a sheet of cardboard and held it a couple of feet
in front of you. The "motion sensing" is really a warm body
either being in front of the "hole" or between two of them. The
sensor then takes the signal. low pass filters it so that no 60Hz
gets through, takes out the DC with a series capacitor, then
rectifies the signal and runs it into a comparator threshold
detector.
 
R

Rich Grise

Jan 1, 1970
0
on Monday 12 July 2004 04:51 pm, Watson A.Name "Watt Sun - the Dark Remover"
For the last half hour, I've been googling for motion sensing light
switches, and I still haven't come across anything that looks remotely
like the ones in this new bldg. I'm going to keep searching until I
find one that at least _looks_ like them. So far, I know that they're
not Leviton, Zenith or GE.

Then again, you could just stay awake. ;-)
 

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