Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “DIY Hacks & How To’s: Motion Sensor”.
In this project, I’m going to show you several ways that you can use a motion sensor to automate special effects, such as in a haunted house, infrared motion, sensors work by detecting the movement of heat. They do this with pyroelectric elements that turn the incoming heat into a small electrical signal. When a heat source moves in front of the sensor, it creates a series of pulses that are detected by the microprocessor. The sensor then outputs a high signal to indicate that motion was detected. This can be used to trigger other circuits like lights, alarms or cameras. There are a number of motion sensor modules that are designed to work with a microcontroller this one that I picked up from RadioShack connect to the board with just three pins ground connects to a ground pin on the board. Vcc connects to either 5 volts or 3.3 volts, and the output connects to any input pin on the board.
You can connect the motion sensor to the board with the jumper wires or you can just plug it directly into the board. Once you’ve connected the motion. Sensor, module to the microcontroller, you can use it to activate any number of special effects.
You can control lights and sounds or even animatronics, but if you want to control AC devices with a motion sensor, then it may be easier to just modify a motion sensor. That’S already designed to work with AC. For example, I had an old motion activated security light that I turned into a motion activated AC outlet to do this.
You’Ll also need a three pronged power cord with a male end, a three pronged power cord with a female end and four insulated twist-on connectors start by identifying the wires that are connected to the motion sensor unit. In this case, the green wire was ground. The white wire was neutral, the black wire was the hot input to the sensor and the red wire was the hot output from the sensor.
Disconnect these wires from the attached lights then unscrew the motion sensor assembly from the mounting plate. Now you just need to connect the motion sensor to the two power cords start by separating all the internal wires from the power cords and stripping the insulation off the ends. First, connect all the green wires together. Next connect one wire from the male power cord and one wire from the female power cord to the white wire, and the motion sensor then connect the third wire from the male power cord to the black wire on the motion sensor. Lastly, connect the third wire from the female power cord to the red wire on the motion sensor as an extra safety precaution.
I enclosed all the connections in an insulated plastic housing now just plug the male power cord into an outlet and plug your appliance into the female power cord. Whenever someone walks into the room, your appliance will turn on the motion. Sensor should be able to power appliances that are rated as high as the original lights. If you need to make the motion sensor more focused, you can narrow the viewing angle by applying tape to the sides or by putting a small piece of pipe around it. Here’S a really simple way that you can use this in a haunted house connect a small light to the motion sensor and set it up in a very dark room when someone walks into the room, the light turns on and reveals an actor that jumps out at The person well, that’s a few ways that you can use a motion sensor to automate special effects in a haunted house, thanks for watching and check back next week for more DIY hacks and how to’s .