Decent Motion Sensing Lights? 82
Above asks: "At my previous house I purchased a number of motion sensor lights to replace the standard flood lights. I simply went to the nearest Home Depot and bought a mid range model, and they worked great. Since then I've moved, and in the new house I did the same, and got some Heath-Zenith units from Home Depot. They were junk (came on all the time for no reason). I adjusted two different units to no end, they simply didn't work. Since that was basically all Home Depot carried, I went to Lowes, and got a Regent Lighting unit. It was better, but not by much. I want my back yard to be relatively sensitive, triggered by the dogs when we let them out, but the front yard to be insensitive, triggered only by a car or the close approach of a person. Where can I get a good quality, motion sensor flood light? What are the secrets to aiming and adjusting them so they work right?"
Simple. (Score:1)
Why can't people google before asking slashdot? (Score:2)
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FWIW, I agree with the assessments of X10's marketing techniques, but the controller I bought from them 10-15 years ago is still holding up fine. If I'd known they made lights like the ones you linked to, I probably would have installed them on my new porch instead of w
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It looks like they have useful stuff, but their web site is really annoying.
X10 (as a company) Sucks (Score:5, Insightful)
I won't support them. And I urge others to do the same.
Re:X10 (as a company) Sucks (Score:5, Funny)
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second that. boycotting X10 (Score:1)
X10 is junk.. but worth buying anyway (Score:3, Informative)
For the money spent, it was a good deal: the cameras, though poor quality work, and the flood lights come on when sensing motion, sending X10 events and responding to X10 commands to turn on the cameras and floodlight.
However:
1) The video range is poor. Figure 20 feet max through typical household construction, and interference can be
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Those lights cost like 15 bucks (Score:1)
All else the same? (Score:1)
Floodlights aren't enough. (Score:2, Funny)
But seriously, flood lights aren't going protect your home very well, especially DYI projects. If it's safety you have in mind, it is worthwhile to call the professionals.
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GHOST BUSTERS!
Flood lights are VERY annoying to thieves. (Score:3, Informative)
Motion sensing flood lights are VERY annoying to someone trying to sneak around. Annoying enough that they may consider trying another house that doesn't have motion sensing lights.
Re:DYI? (Score:1)
Ask Slashdot (Score:4, Funny)
Hey Slashdot readers, what's the best brand of oil to use in my car?
Dear Slashdot, I keep buying ballpoint pens that don't write well. I have to keep scribbling on scratch paper to make them work. What kind of pen should I get so I don't have this problem?
Dear Slashdot, my kid wants a dog. I don't want a dog that barks alot. What do you recommend?
Yo Slashdot, I got a beef wit dis guy in my 'hood. What kinda piece do you recommend I use on his a$$? Peace.
Dear Slashdot, I'm so fat I keep breaking every chair I sit on. Anyone know of an industrial strength chair I can get that won't get crushed by my lazy butt?
Hey all you smart Slashdot readers, I'm going to be on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Anyone want to be one of my lifelines? You need to be really smart and stuff. Lemme know if you are.
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Ask Slashdot: I'm hungry (Score:2, Funny)
Once again I awoke this morning hungry. I installed food into my mouth yesterday when I woke up hungry too. In fact, I installed food three times yesterday. And they day before that. And the day before that. This seems like such a cheap hack to a simple problem. Is there any way I can automate a solution to this problem? I have a few requirements though. Of course it must be open source and patent free. Also, I would prefer a linux based solution. Any suggestions would be great!
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http://www.adminschoice.com/d [adminschoice.com]
Re:Ask Slashdot (Score:5, Funny)
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Pen recommendation (Score:3, Informative)
I recommend trying out the space pen [spacepen.com]. Containing a pressurised ink cartridge, it'll write reliably at any angle, on just about any surface. These pens were used by NASA in space, for their ability to work in zero gravity. Plus, you'll get geek cred for owning one.
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Yeah, but try sharpening a pencil in space.
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Geez, it was a reply made in jest, trying to evoke images of pencil shavings floating around in a zero gravity chamber.
But, since you want to take it seriously, let's examine why both NASA _and_ the Russian space agency have never used pencils in space. Yep, the Russ
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Pencil
Cat
Diet
No
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That's what I meant, yes...
Not interested in the discussion? Don't comment. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not interested in the discussion? Don't comment (Score:2)
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Of course, the original question looked more like "what brand should I buy", which is _not_ nerdy.
How to DIY is the way to go..
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Slashdot seems like a decent place to ask questions about home automation-related projects. The submitter is asking about something fairly basic, but it's still part of a wired-up home.
Re:Not interested in the post? Don't comment (Score:2)
You see what I did there? He DOES have an interest in it. He has an interest in stopping future stories like it that also have absolutely nothing to do with Slashdot. Just the same as you had an interest in stopping him from posting about them.
Re:Not interested in the discussion? Don't comment (Score:2)
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Pens: Not only do they write poorly, but you don't have access to the blueprints to improve them. You're forever stuck in Bic's pen goes scratchy - buy a new pen upgrade cycle. Try OpenOffice on Ubuntu.
Dog: Aibo.
Piece: I've played a lot of Quake2. In my time in lmctf, I've experimented a lot, and the HyperBlaster [quake2.com] is *the* all-around offense weapon to have. However, I haven't found any in the local gun shops, so I'd r
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I think you are wrong btw, (reading your post to be a rhetoric argument against the topic) this subject already has sufficiently nerdish answers... it was worth home page time.
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Brand? doesn't really matter. Synthetic will last longer than natural, and use the lowest weight oil your manufacturer recommends. XXwNN means roughly "starting temperature viscosity equivalent to XX weight oil, running temp viscosity equivalent to NN weight oil." Higher numbers are more viscous, but less likely to leak. Lower numbers will give you slightly better fuel economy.
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I don't know who told you this but you're on crack. Synthetic protects any engine more than natural oil, and most synthetics were actually designed to replace normal oil in existing cars. The synthetics designed specifically for modern vehicles (like the 0W15 oil - yes that's a 0) are all products that were released later.
Now, what you should never do is try to break a car in on synthetic if it is not designed for it. The synthetic prevents it from breaking in properly. However, it seems like most of th
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If your goal is to protect your engine, then put in any motor oil that has the ASPI seal and change it whenever it gets the color of strong tea or darker. Your differentials wil
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Petroleum-based oils also get water in them. You've never seen milky oil? No car should ever be driven without being allowed to come to full operating temperature for just this reason; since the crankcase is not a closed system, water enters the system every time you drive. Consequently, you need to bring the engine up to temperature and cook off that water every time you drive to minimize corrosion.
There are reasons to use synthetic in your [automati
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Acutally, there's another case.
If you've got a Mazda rotary engine.
In that case, you've actually got an oil injector.
(Although some guys do remove it and premix two-cycle oil in their gas tanks.)
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Of course you know that if your vehicle did not come with synthetic and you switch oil your seals(pan,main,valve covers,etc...) will start to leak guaranteed and if they already leak they will leak even more! So even if it LASTS longer you will have to add more sooner just from leaks
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use the lowest weight oil your manufacturer recommends.
This, of course, is nonsense. There's a reason that manufacturers often give a range and just because your particular situation makes one side of the range worthwhile doesn't mean that'll translate to someone else's situation.
The manufacturer of my motorbike (Suzuki) recommends 10W40. That's a recommendation for a bike that is driven all over the US: from Maine to Montana to Arizona to Florida. A recommendation for regions where temperatures drop b
Sensor orientation (Score:5, Informative)
(You can actually walk by most IR sensors without setting them off if you move VERY slowly, which is why better quality alarm systems use radar or specific thermal level monitoring rather than just a change).
Which brings us to aiming. Most of the time the zones are arranged to be more sensitive to side-to-side motion than up/down. So if you have one oriented 90deg out of "true" then it'll be rather insensitive except in a narrow band. (This is a good way to limit the area of coverage of a sensor without having to break out the masking tape).
Speaking of which, the height and angle of the sensor makes a big difference for the same reason.
So I would recommend taking one apart, figuring out the zone layout and adjusting accordingly. (Heck, you can even just set one on a table and see what area it "sees" and how sensitive it is to motion in that area, then turn it 90deg and try again).
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Some corrections (Score:5, Informative)
Its not a light guide its a plastic fresnel lens with multiple elements which focuses light (actually heat) from various "zones" onto the sensor.
It is the changing difference between the zones that triggers the sensor.
Nope. The sensor is made from two seperate pyroelectric elements which are mounted side by side. It is differences between these two elements which triggers the device. This could be from the same zone or different zones. Sun light and other ambient light (heat) changes will affect both elements equally (you hope) so that they don't trigger the device.
Try taking one of them apart and you'll see either variations in the lens plastic, or even a set of physical baffles between the outer filter and the sensor itself.
(You can actually walk by most IR sensors without setting them off if you move VERY slowly, which is why better quality alarm systems use radar or specific thermal level monitoring rather than just a change).
Which brings us to aiming. Most of the time the zones are arranged to be more sensitive to side-to-side motion than up/down.
The are all like this due to them being two element devices.
So if you have one oriented 90deg out of "true" then it'll be rather insensitive except in a narrow band. (This is a good way to limit the area of coverage of a sensor without having to break out the masking tape).
True.
Speaking of which, the height and angle of the sensor makes a big difference for the same reason.
So I would recommend taking one apart, figuring out the zone layout and adjusting accordingly. (Heck, you can even just set one on a table and see what area it "sees" and how sensitive it is to motion in that area, then turn it 90deg and try again).
The biggest difference between the systems you can buy is the shape of the fresnel lens. You can have just one main zone or lots of sub zones or a combination of both. Most good systems will give you a diagram of the size and position of the zones which you can use to choose and position them.
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That is one type, there are also "bug-eye" lenses and no lens at all, just a plastic honey-comb between the filter and the sensor.
It is differences between these two elements which triggers...
Right, and the difference between those elements is generated by the IR coming from the zones which is what actually matters for purposes of aiming, hence my use of the word "zones" instead of confusing the issue for the poor sod who's trying to solve his problem. See more on this below, (the
Check for RFI (Score:2)
Also, poke around: some have sensitivity adjustments.
Go really hardcore and wire them into your home security system. Passive infrared detectors for alarms systems are high quality and a reasonably sophisticated panel can be programmed to turn lights on without sounding an alarm.
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There are other options... (Score:3, Interesting)
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Reverse 'em (Score:2)
Costco/Price Club (Score:2)
Power line filter (Score:2)
--
Bush lied. Thousands died. Impeach.
Maybe you could live without them (Score:5, Insightful)
One of my neighbors has a burglar alarm which he only sets when he goes on vacation. It has internal motion sensors that are triggered if a passing wind rattles one of his windows. This means we are treated to a 120db external siren on almost a daily basis.
Blackouts are an inconvenience, but we used to make them fun by lighting a fire in the fireplace, cooking over a camp stove, and lighthing candles and lanterns and maybe reading stories to the kids. But a couple of years a go a vogue went around the neighborhood for buying gasoline powered emergency generators. Since noise from these things apparently isn't regulated, lamplight reading is out because the neighborhood sounds like a motor speedway.
I'm all for collecting geeky stuff, but it's one thing to have an attic electronics lab, it's another to deny a neighbor the right to be in his back yard in the dark. There's a growing and unhealthy obsession with extending and expanding our personal space, whether it's building houses as close to the property line as allowed, shining lights into neighbors' yards and windows, or driving an absurdly large SUV.
The Stoic philosophers reasoned this way about happiness: if happiness is having all your wnats satisfied, the surest way to happiness is to self-regulate your wants. Epictetus once told the story of placing an iron lamp on the outside of his house; he heard an odd noise outside his door he went out to find that a thief had stolen the lamp. "Tommorow, my friend," said Epictetus, "you will find a clay lamp; a man can only lose what he has."
MOD PARENT UP (Score:3, Insightful)
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Maybe it was the "pointing your telescope at their windows" part that had them so concerned.;-)
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Think you've got the wrong definition of 'backyard astronomy'; you're supposed to be in your own backyard, with a different sort of telescope.
motion light (Score:3, Insightful)
Passive InfraRed (PIR) Motion Detectors (Score:2)
http://www.sensorsmag.com/ [sensorsmag.com] is often a good starting poi
DIY IR-switched lighting (Score:1)