Build Automatic Water Switch with Engineering Knowledge

[jaredogden]

I am wanting to make something that allows me to open a valve to turn water on or off. I am wanting to figure out a way to make my system somehow that would use maybe an alarm clock or some sort of digital timer to send a signal to a receiver that then would open/close a valve. I guess it's kind of like a sprinkler system in a sense. I know I can just go out and buy something like that but I want to make a project out of it and see if I can use some of the stuff I've learned so far in Engineering to make something like this. If anyone has any ideas of how this could work, or if there is any schematics that might help, or simply some details I am missing please let me know.

Assume I know nothing because I'm not even sure the complexity of this. The things I have thought I might need to know about is the timer, signal sender and receiver, any schematics for a circuit that would be needed, if there is any sort of programming that would need to be written for a chip. I don't know if I'm even on the right track here. Thanks for any or criticism help ahead of time.

 

[turbo]

I have motion-activated sprinklers guarding my garden. The sprinkler heads are the reciprocating type and since they are made of hard plastic, they make quite a clatter when they go off. The trigger is an IR motion sensor in the top of each unit. They feature a sensitivity pot so that I can dial back the "touchiness" so that birds, small critters, and weeds waving in the breeze don't set off the sprinklers. 5 years with NO deer damage. One 9-volt battery per unit lasts all season, and all you need is a couple of charged garden hoses to "power" the system.

The only timers in the circuit are an 8-second reset between trips, and whatever the designers came up with to limit the blast of water to a few seconds. Yes, you can buy these things, but it might be fun to play with them and build your own, too.

 

[jaredogden]

Yes, you can buy these things, but it might be fun to play with them and build your own, too.

Exactly, I just am not sure where to start with something like this. Do you have any ideas of where I can look to find information that might help integrate maybe a receiver from something else and somehow wire something into a clock to send a signal to the receiver that would open a valve?

 

[turbo]

Exactly, I just am not sure where to start with something like this. Do you have any ideas of where I can look to find information that might help integrate maybe a receiver from something else and somehow wire something into a clock to send a signal to the receiver that would open a valve?

Sorry, I have been into electronics for years, but only the kind that run on tubes and high voltage. Never learned solid-state/chips/etc.

 

[skeptic2]

I am wanting to make something that allows me to open a valve to turn water on or off. I am wanting to figure out a way to make my system somehow that would use maybe an alarm clock or some sort of digital timer to send a signal to a receiver that then would open/close a valve. I guess it's kind of like a sprinkler system in a sense. I know I can just go out and buy something like that but I want to make a project out of it and see if I can use some of the stuff I've learned so far in Engineering to make something like this. If anyone has any ideas of how this could work, or if there is any schematics that might help, or simply some details I am missing please let me know.

Assume I know nothing because I'm not even sure the complexity of this. The things I have thought I might need to know about is the timer, signal sender and receiver, any schematics for a circuit that would be needed, if there is any sort of programming that would need to be written for a chip. I don't know if I'm even on the right track here. Thanks for any or criticism help ahead of time.

The first thing you need to do is define your project down to the details. Do you have the valves already? How much voltage and current do they require? What will be their power source? How far will the controller be from the valves? What kind of connection do you want between the controller and the valves, wired or wireless? If wireless, what kind of transmitter and receiver do you have in mind? Lastly what have you learned so far in engineering that you can use to make something like this?