313-313 0 Posted December 24, 2006 Is there a way to hook up motion detector to a strobe light? I have a customer who lives in his house behind the store. He wants the strobe light to flash if there is motion detected in his cabin at the store. Someone told me that motion detectors only work with control pannels and cannot work directly. Has anyone used strobe lights with motion detetors? thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kensplace 0 Posted December 24, 2006 What do you mean by motion detectors? PIR, motion detection on a multiplexer, motion detection on a dvr, or pc dvr card/software? If, which I think you are, talking about a pir (passive infra red) detector, as used on alarms, then they are basically a switch that triggers when the ir changes enough to trigger them. Its basic electronics to wire up one of those to a suitably rated relay or scr (silicon controlled rectifier, think of it as a relay with no moving parts) to control a strobe light. If its a low voltage, low amperage strobe the pir may even be able to control it directly, but usually you would need to use the pir to trigger a buffer, ie a relay or scr or equivalent to operare the strobe. If your not familiar with the above, you could maybe get one of the security lights that has a pir built in, and wire up the strobe instead of the bulb (assuming both are mains, and the strobe does not draw more current than the original lamp) - BUT if your not familiar with basic electronics I would recommend getting somone experienced or qualified (experienced preferred, sometimes exams alone dont teach real world lessons) to do it for safetys sake, as mains can kill easily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
313-313 0 Posted December 25, 2006 yes PIR connected directly to a strobe light. It will not connect to a DVR or a alarm control pannel. Do you know any particular relay that i could use? If I can figure this out I have a lot of applications for this setup. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kensplace 0 Posted December 25, 2006 You would need a 12v coil relay, with contacts rated for the strobe light, ie 240v for uk mains, or 110 or 120 whatever the us mains is, and however many amps the lamp is. If its a 12 or 24v strobe then obviously just get a relay that can handle at least those volts and the amps for it. There are quite a few premade relay control boards on the market, even on ebay that would do the job if you want a simple solution, or you can buy the relays themselves from any decent electrical component supplier. As its for a customer your best of getting a premade board to protect yourself from liability issues, and for safety, as its easy to screw up with mains, and you may not live to tell the tale if it goes wrong.. Plus, even if you can make one yourself, there a usually a load of regulations about what you can sell to people, and if its a mains strobe I would go premade. Low voltage is a different matter (usually, but still I would check your local regulations, its illegal for me to make a 12v ir lamp and put it in my back yard on a permanent basis in the uk without informing builing control and paying a large inspection fee, the world is going crazy.....) Cost wise, on ebay Im sure they are available for about 10 to 30 pounds new, roughly doulbe those figures for us dollars, but then again electrical stuff seems to be cheaper in the us than in the uk.. Not able to recommend any particular product at the moment, as had a few to drink, and been waiting all day to get on the net, but other half kept me away, saying its christmas but if you need any pointers on something suitable them pm me to remind me in a few days, and I can hunt around for some links when sober Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cachecreekcctv 0 Posted December 25, 2006 I have done exactly that with the motion sensors and strobe lights many times. No relays needed. Built my first one for my parents about 5 years ago. Use strobe lights off of electric lift truck. Most run from 12vdc to 48vdc. Don't consume too much amperage, maybe 1 or 2 amps at most. I found motion sensors very cheap on Ebay , that have 12 vdc outputs. Output contacts were rated for small amperage, but 5 years later, still going strong! I did the first one for my parents, so as anyone walks up to front walkway towards front door, output goes to strobe in back yard, underneath patio cover. Look for Microstrobe brand, or Firestar. Just check voltage. Next time you are out at your local Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, etc. check out strobes used on their electric lift trucks, they're on there for safety. When my son was in high school, I wired up the same strobe to the garage door, with a limit switch being held when door was closed. When he used to sneak in on weekend nights, limit switch would close contacts, then operating strobe in hallway to let me know he was coming in through garage door. Single father, teenage son, .......poor kid. Any more help, just ask!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted December 25, 2006 buy the 12VDC Strobes used for Burglar alarms, then using a basic 12VDC Relay tie them together .. its cheap and simple, and doesnt require any high voltage. If its indoor then a Zodiac Motion Detector would work fine. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
313-313 0 Posted December 26, 2006 yes Rory that was the first thing that I am going to do tomorrow. do you think this http://www.altronix.com/p_pdf/RBSN.pdf relay will do Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted December 26, 2006 yeah that should work .. been a while for me and relays .. I think you connect the motion to the NC/C inputs, and the output to the strobe .. as it uses the same as a siren. Look at the ELK SL1 Series Strobe Lights and the ELK-WK1 Strobe Wall Mount Kit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
313-313 0 Posted December 27, 2006 the links below are for motion detector http://www.visonic.com/VisonicHomePage.nsf/sysAllDocuments/DED50BFE4D4662E0C2256BFD00214C2D/$FILE/DUO%20240%20installation%20instructions.pdf this is for the relay http://www.altronix.com/p_pdf/RB1224.pdf and am using a strobe light. All the 3 work with 12v DC current. I am not able to figure out how to connect all three so that when ever there is motion, the strobe light should turn on. thanks guys Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kensplace 0 Posted December 27, 2006 caught me drunk again, hey its still christmas (ps merry christmas everyo ne) Hopefully the following info will help you Where it referers to C on the instructions think of that as "common", and one side of the strobe to it, usually the positive connection from the 12v power. as for NO an NC, they are as follows NO is Normally Open, ie its not usually connected to the C (common) so if you wire that to the strobe nothing will happen until you power the relay coil, at which point the strobe would light for as long as the coil had power (you do realise that the strobe would only come on for a short time, usually the pirs dont latch the output) The NC is the opposite, normally closed, so the two contacts are normally touching, ie the strobe would be always on, until the sensor powered the relay, turning them off. Its only 12v, experiment with a multimeter on continuity setting, or ohms reading, watch or listen to what happens, its a good way to learn (and safe without load on 12v) If you want the strobe to stay on, you would need a timed relay module.. so one wire to C and one wire to NO should do it. ie power to C, NO into strobe, other strobe wire to ground. seriously though, play around, its something you will learn fast, through doing. saying that, thats one weird module, the pos and neg are probably where power needs to be, but hey im tipsy.. Experiment, learn, and enjoy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kensplace 0 Posted December 27, 2006 ok looked again, and the more I look, the more I realise beer makes schematics harder, so the advice given in general is ok, but for that specific one, well, its maybe not the best, as my head is spinning but the experiment, and no.nc/c stuff is still the same. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted December 27, 2006 You also need a Power Supply ... Altronix has them also. The Motion is NC/C I havent used that Relay so cant say ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites