SiliconAngel
New Member
Hi guys,
Sorry for the not particularly informative thread title but I wasn't sure what to put in it. Mods feel free to alter if necessary
So I have a couple of projects I wish to undertake and I've gotten to the point where I just don't know where to go from here. To give you some idea of my (in)competency, I'm an IT consultant who's been working with computers and releated tech for over a decade, and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty on projects whether its cars, house renovations or basic electrical repairs. However I have very limited experience with 'real' electronics so while I may have plenty of ideas of the things I might want to do, I usually fail at the execution 'cause I just have no idea where to begin.
I'm sorry if there are already places to go to find this kind of stuff, but as I'm sure you know, when learning anything new people are often intimidated by the sheer mass of information on a subject they know nothing about and I'm not immune to this phenomenon... But I'm excited at the idea of conquering it!
So on to the questions at hand - I have to projects I wish to undertake and I'll outline them below:
1) Automatic Roller Door Addon Controller
Our house has a B&D Electrical Roller Door that only has a single controller, but we park two cars in the garage. I contacted the manufacturer and they said the model is too old to buy a new controller and the only option is to buy a whole new roller door system, which I think is a little bit stupid because it still works ok.
I've tried using an aftermarket UHF scanning remote to copy the signal from the factory remote, but the remote only sends out its activation signal for about two seconds, which is far too short for a scanner to pickup and record. I've taken the remote to a specialist electronics place and after some analysis of the remote they told me there was no way to copy the signal and I just had to suck it up and buy a whole new system.
Not being one to just accept the conclusions of the unimaginative, I'm wondering if there is another solution. Either some way of copying the code from a chip in the remote or wiring in a new system that will activate the roller motor's on/off signal using an external wireless source.
Any thoughts or suggestions highly appreciated!
2) Miniature Slave Flash
My other project should be fairly simple in theory, although I have no idea how to implement it in practice. Basically what I want is a small light sensor and camera flash bright enough to light up a standard piece of A4 paper from a distance of about a foot, either in normal light or infra-red (preferably both). I need the whole device to fit into something about the size of half a matchbox. I'm thinking the kind of flashes that can be found in mobile phones these days. Assume a remote power source of 12V for simplicity - I don't care if it has wires to it, I just want the sensor and flash(es) to be close together, responsive and fairly compact. Once again thoughts / ideas / suggestions highly appreciated!
Thanks!
Trevor
Sorry for the not particularly informative thread title but I wasn't sure what to put in it. Mods feel free to alter if necessary
So I have a couple of projects I wish to undertake and I've gotten to the point where I just don't know where to go from here. To give you some idea of my (in)competency, I'm an IT consultant who's been working with computers and releated tech for over a decade, and I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty on projects whether its cars, house renovations or basic electrical repairs. However I have very limited experience with 'real' electronics so while I may have plenty of ideas of the things I might want to do, I usually fail at the execution 'cause I just have no idea where to begin.
I'm sorry if there are already places to go to find this kind of stuff, but as I'm sure you know, when learning anything new people are often intimidated by the sheer mass of information on a subject they know nothing about and I'm not immune to this phenomenon... But I'm excited at the idea of conquering it!
So on to the questions at hand - I have to projects I wish to undertake and I'll outline them below:
1) Automatic Roller Door Addon Controller
Our house has a B&D Electrical Roller Door that only has a single controller, but we park two cars in the garage. I contacted the manufacturer and they said the model is too old to buy a new controller and the only option is to buy a whole new roller door system, which I think is a little bit stupid because it still works ok.
I've tried using an aftermarket UHF scanning remote to copy the signal from the factory remote, but the remote only sends out its activation signal for about two seconds, which is far too short for a scanner to pickup and record. I've taken the remote to a specialist electronics place and after some analysis of the remote they told me there was no way to copy the signal and I just had to suck it up and buy a whole new system.
Not being one to just accept the conclusions of the unimaginative, I'm wondering if there is another solution. Either some way of copying the code from a chip in the remote or wiring in a new system that will activate the roller motor's on/off signal using an external wireless source.
Any thoughts or suggestions highly appreciated!
2) Miniature Slave Flash
My other project should be fairly simple in theory, although I have no idea how to implement it in practice. Basically what I want is a small light sensor and camera flash bright enough to light up a standard piece of A4 paper from a distance of about a foot, either in normal light or infra-red (preferably both). I need the whole device to fit into something about the size of half a matchbox. I'm thinking the kind of flashes that can be found in mobile phones these days. Assume a remote power source of 12V for simplicity - I don't care if it has wires to it, I just want the sensor and flash(es) to be close together, responsive and fairly compact. Once again thoughts / ideas / suggestions highly appreciated!
Thanks!
Trevor