On Sat, 28 Mar 2009 11:00:45 -0800, David Nebenzahl
wrote:

On 3/27/2009 3:55 PM Tim spake thus:

In article m,
kens says...

(famous last words, "simple circuit" ...)

OK, so I'm trying to come up with a simple (maybe even elegant) solution
to a simple problem. Have an idea I want to run by y'all.

Function: person has a motion-detector light installed in their home.
They want a buzzer/bell/annunciator of some kind to go off *momentarily*
whenever the light is activated.

Here's my idea for the circuit:
http://www.geocities.com/bonezphoto/...e-shotBell.gif

OK, so a lot of issues here deal with the AC power being detected and
transferred to something useful. I did a simple data logger for my well
pump (URL: http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/snowowl/DataRecorder.html), that
had to deal 220V being sensed. I used a cheap little cell phone / palm
pilot charger that was universal 110/220 50/60hz and wired it parallel
with the motor leads. This gave me a nice 5 volts when the power was
applied to the pump, so I could log it's on cycles. You still have to
wire it up the the light, so that's a danger here as well. Dealing with
AC mains wiring, there always a need for extra safety.

Thanks for your reply.

Unfortunately, your solution, while interesting, misses one of the
requirements of the whole deal: it needs to operate the
bell/chime/annunciator *momentarily*, not continuously.


Since you need 18-24vdc, instead of the hazard of components
directly connected to the powerline, use an approved AC adapter or
"wallwart" that would provide the necessary DC voltage. From the
output of the AC adapter, place a PTC (positive temperature
coefficient) thermistor in series with your load. It will be a bit
tricky to determine the right physical size and nominal resistance of
the thermistor, since you haven't specified the load.
When the adapter powers up, the thermistor will be cold, and will
run the "indicator" what ever that is. After the thermistor heats up,
it will reduce the current going to your device, hopefully to the
point where it won't be noticed. The "resetable fuses" work on this
idea, you could use one of them the same way, but you need to again
select based on current load, and power.
If you get it to work it's: simple
doesn't violate electrical safety
reliable
The disadvantage, is that once on, it needs some time to "reset"
(cool down). The thermistor does get hot, a poorly designed circuit
could get hot enough to be a problem.

There are relay circuits that do much the same, but I'd run them
off the ac adapter as well. (relay in series with large cap, operates
when cap charges up. cap was bleeder resistor in parallel so it
discharges prperly when power is removed). The relay circuit would be
straight forward to calculate the on time (a percentage of the time
constant).

I'd prefer you stick to quite low voltages (6-12v), to minimize any
risk of shock. Who knows how this circuit might be physically
implemented!

Paul G.