RE: IR receivers

["Keith Doxey" <keith.doxey@xxxxxxx>]

Hi Graham,

The prototype IR receiver that Mark has on his page was quite difficult to
build due to the physical restraints of the enclosure it had to fit in. The
*body* of the IR receiver is in fact a neon indicator from Clipsal's
modular
range of electrical accessories. Construction of the prototype was on a
small piece of veroboard which was quite tricky but with a purpose built
PCB
the electronics could be assembled very quickly and quite cheaply.

The difficulty is in the actual housing. The neon indicator must be
disassembled and then attacked with a variety of common tools such as drill
and junior hacksaw along with a Hot Glue Gun for assembling the finished
receiver module. The time taken to perform this part of the operation is
about 20-30 minutes and adding that much labour charge to the cost of a
receiver module would make it too expensive to sell.

I have also taken ordinary light switch modules from the Clipsal range and
fitted an LED into the centre of it. (Mike Huggins had the prototype of
that
last I heard!) Again that was a very cheap, functional and stylish item
suitable for interfacing to a home Automation system but VERY fiddley and
time consuming to make.

Many people on the list have said how much they like the features and looks
of the megabucks systems that are commercially available but state that
they
are out of their price range.

As I have already stated, I have created the functionality required but
*manufacturing* some of this stuff is not really commercially viable in
terms of the assembly time required. Any items that I build, particularly
where they will be highly visible MUST look immaculate to pass the WAF test
(and the purchaser as well).

I have given a great deal of thought to that and decided that because my
website is

DIY Home Automation

that some of the assembly could be undertaken by the end user. Once the
initial KAT5 stuff is done I will look at making available a
kit_of_parts/ready_assembled_PCB for the In Wall IR receivers along with
tutorials on how to undertake the mechanical construction of the time
consuming bits. The tutorials will be packed with pictures taken during
construction of one of my units. The look of the finished article will then
be determined by the constructor.

Sadly I dont have photos of either of the units that Mark & Mike have,
they
were built before I had a digital camera so if they wouldnt mind sending me
a few pictures I would be very grateful :-)

Your costing is well within reach if you are prepared to put in some work
yourself. The electronics would be built and tested leaving only the
mechanical assemble and final wiring to be done by yourself.

Hope that helps

Keith



> -----Original Message-----
> From: Graham Howe [mailto:graham@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 04 October 2000 15:36
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: [ukha_d] IR receivers
>
>
> I want to put some IR receivers around the house to be wired back to
the
> homevision. I have looked at Mark's site and must admit the design
that
> Keith came up with is pretty good. How easy would it be for me (no
> electronic experience) to make something like this. Alternatively are
they
> going to be sold. Also there was some talk (Nigel I believe) about IR
> receivers being built into PIR units, again how easy is this for
> a novice to
> build. I have seen the Xantech units that would certainly work,
> but I can't
> justify the price for multiple receivers. I was hoping for a cost in
the
> region of £25 per room, is this realistic.
>
> Thanks for any advice
>
> Graham
>
>
>
>
>
>


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