Looking for LED Lamp

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I'm looking for a small battery operated (preferably by single AAA battery) LED lamp. Does not need to be overly bright, but needs a long battery life. Needs to be light sensitive so only switches on when dark. Has anyone come across such a thing.

I want to fit it to inside bottom edge of a remote controlled roller shutter door. I have a camera watching the door but at obviously at night there is not enough ambient light to be able to tell whether door is open or closed when looking at the camera display. I thought that a small LED lamp (that was only lit up at night) fitted to bottom edge of door could be used as a positional indicator.

Colin

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

Just get any led operated light and put a switch on the door to hold it off when shut…so when the door is open the light is on…battery life not so important now.

Ian

[Grizzly bearParticipant @grizzlybear]

If you have mains voltage, or whatever you are powering the door with, you could attach a neon or led, and have it lit permanently (Behind the door).

Regards, bear..

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

How about something that will last for 12-24 years+ without a battery?

Tritium-Lamp-Vial-Tube-Capsule

Neil

[martin ranson 2Participant @martinranson2]

Colin … if you use mains power, then why not try a mains door bell transformer …somewhere about 5 volts output … fit a switch if needed, on the secondary side, and feed this to a cycle headlamp … a small one normally powered by 3 x AAA batteries … they have about 3 LEDs for the light output … in the space where the batteries would normally live you could fit a resistor, 4 diodes in a bridge, and an electrolytic capacitor to smooth out the supply if it is an AC output … the lamp units normally fit on the pushbike handlebars with a clamp … this should be easy to cannibalise to accept a woodscrew and fasten the unit to the wall or woodwork … all the bits are fitted in a ready-made box … and no need to worry about batteries going flat.

martin R

[Paul LousickParticipant @paullousick59116]

How about a solar powerred garden light. Available from the local hardware store and cheap as chips.

They charge the battery when the sun shines and turn on when it gets dark. Mine stay on til after midnight.

Paul.

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

When you say you've got a camera watching it, why didn't you just choose a camera with IR illumination? You don't say how it's viewed – is it USB, video or IP? But either way they aren't expensive these days. Given that the camera already has a power supply, this would avoid the need for additional batteries and power supplies.

Murray

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by Muzzer on 02/01/2018 21:01:32:

When you say you've got a camera watching it, why didn't you just choose a camera with IR illumination? You don't say how it's viewed – is it USB, video or IP? But either way they aren't expensive these days. Given that the camera already has a power supply, this would avoid the need for additional batteries and power supplies.

Murray

Very true, but from experience I'd avoid anything that didn't explicitly state at least W7. I have a host of webscams and some of the 'apparently' better don't work with W7 – 10.

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

Thanks for the answers so far received.

I already have the Cisco PTZ wi-fi camera (unfortunately not IR). I want the light to be attached to the bottom slat of the roller shutter door so it will indicate how far open the door is. What I may not have made clear is the fact that this is all inside the garage so a solar powered device would not get charged up.

Also I do not wish to drill holes in the door slats.  I was hoping to fix lamp via industrial Velcro or double sided tape.

Colin

 

Edited By Colin Heseltine on 03/01/2018 12:09:38

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

Unfotunately not IR

Many, or most, daylight cameras have an internal IR filter. Removal of said filter often allows IR photos, but may need a slight focus adjustment (not too important in this application). Then just use an IR led on a daylight switch. I would have thought that a micro switch, turning on a light when the door is open, might be part of the solution.

Is this for security or just a reminder to close the door before retiring?

[Matt HarringtonParticipant @mattharrington87221]

Why not buy an camera IR emitter? If you are powering the PTZ, then you could split the power to the emitter and off you go.

[Andy CarruthersParticipant @andycarruthers33275]

Many cameras have a removable IR filter over the lens

How about creating a strip of mains powered Infra Red LEDs pointing down from the roof to the bottom of the roller shutter?

[MuzzerParticipant @muzzer]

Given that you have wifi there and also mains power, get yourself a wifi smart switch like the Sonoff S20. You can then use it to turn a light on and off from anywhere in the world (or your house) to illuminate the door. You can then view the door through the camera, then turn the light back off.

I've got a smart switch in the workshop (actually a TP-Link) that is scheduled to turn off every night at 11pm, regardless of whether it was ever turned on manually. This means I can't accidentally leave my equipment turned on overnight. With these devices, you can program scheduled events from your smart phone.

The TP-Link model I've got (HS110) is a slightly snazzier version (than the basic smart switch), that reports back the power consumption and energy useage.

These wifi enabled devices are becoming much more affordable. You can now buy a range of devices for remote ("smart&quot access and even make your own domestic alarm system, complete with cameras, sounders etc.

As ever, you need to be wary of buying mains gear directly from abroad. It almost looks as if the Itead (Sonoff) gear has proper safety approvals for Europe and they appear to be available from recognised UK outlets eg Amazon. However, some brands might present shock and fire risks, so there is a strong argument for sticking to reputable brands such as TP-Link if you want to play safe.

Murray

[Martin WParticipant @martinw]

Colin

An alternative approach would be to use UV light instead, similar to that used in bank note scanners. This is simple to install and requires no batteries. Get some self adhesive fluorescent tape and stick this to the door, yellow or green seem to work quite well. You can then illuminate this with a UV LED fixed to the wall and driven from a plug top power supply. The advantage is the you won't need batteries and the only moving part is the tape and not a block containing batteries, circuits etc.

Cheers

MartinW

PS

Alternative you could just install a low power, say 3 or 5 watt, white LED source driven from the mains via a timer to cover the hours of darkness. This will provide illumination for the camera and cost virtually nothing to run.

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

NDIY

More of a security thing. Couple of times I have accidentally triggered the door to open when the remote is in my pocket and as it has a good range I would not necessarily know the door was open. The door control panel does have a light on it which comes on when door is opened, BUT after about 5 minutes it goes off. Had it stayed on it would have been ideal.

The micro-switch and associated led lamp may be the simplest and best way.

Colin

[martin ranson 2Participant @martinranson2]

Colin … if you want to use batteries and want to attach the unit to the bottom door slat, then presumably your light will not hit anything when the door is fully open … does the bottom slat stay clear of the other slats as it all rolls up ? if it is totally clear of everything then can you use a larger size for the batteries than AAA ?

martin R

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Worth trying to see if your camera detects IR. Many do – the filters aren't bullet proof. In the dark, point the sending end of a TV remote at the camera. If you can see it glowing when buttons are pressed the brightness will give you an idea about the camera's IR sensitivity – or not!

I like Neil's tritrium suggestion best. A small glowing light on a door would make me think it had an alarm fitted. And the light would show up well on camera when the door is closed.

Dave

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

Martin R,

Yes the bottom slat is clear of all the others so will not get rolled up.

Murray,

A wifi smart switch is not a bad idea. I was lent one to try a year or so back but the but the owner needed it back.

Overall a good few ideas to think about.

Thanks gents.

Colin

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

I would use an old phone charger to power a 10 mm led ( with current limiting resistor fitted ) then use a magnet / reed switch combo ( same as what an alarm uses to detect an opened door or window ) to turn it on when the door is open . Power usage would be negligible and cheaper than buying batteries .

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

No takers for a tritium glow-bulb?

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 03/01/2018 20:57:33:

No takers for a tritium glow-bulb?

I voted for it! I'm going to get a blue one to scare the socks off a friend who's nervous about radioactivity. I'm going to mention Plutonium. With friends like me who needs enemies…

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 03/01/2018 21:10:29:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 03/01/2018 20:57:33:

No takers for a tritium glow-bulb?

I voted for it! I'm going to get a blue one to scare the socks off a friend who's nervous about radioactivity. I'm going to mention Plutonium. With friends like me who needs enemies…

Tell him that the blue glow is Cherenkov radiation

Neil

[SillyOldDufferModerator @sillyoldduffer]

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 03/01/2018 21:49:29:

Posted by SillyOldDuffer on 03/01/2018 21:10:29:

Posted by Neil Wyatt on 03/01/2018 20:57:33:

No takers for a tritium glow-bulb?

I voted for it! I'm going to get a blue one to scare the socks off a friend who's nervous about radioactivity. I'm going to mention Plutonium. With friends like me who needs enemies…

Tell him that the blue glow is Cherenkov radiation

Neil

My plan is to turn a scary looking container up from some 38mm diameter steel and paint a red band on it. When the hefty lid's removed using a pair of sausage tongs he'll see thick walls surrounding a tiny glowing object. If it goes really well I'll be on News at Ten in handcuffs.

[I.M. OUTAHEREParticipant @i-m-outahere]

For that extra realistic effect you could make up a small dummy geiger counter !

Mount a battery in a box with a buzzer some  leds , a small pushbutton switch mounted under the box where you can't see it and if you have one a small panel meter.

When  the switch that you have sneakily is pressed  it turns the leds,buzzer and meter on 

If you open the can then  start backing away from it with a very concerned look on your face and tell your friend there is something wrong – they shoudnt be glowing like that ! Then produce said fake geiger counter and pretend to test the little glowing sticks ! If your friend is that scared of radiation he probable would have jumped through a window by then !

Ian

Edited By XD 351 on 04/01/2018 02:21:31

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