Roman,

> Well, I don't think you will be able to
> declare it a good design because that circuit
> connects the AC mains direct to a PIC pin
> via a resistor!!!

Are you referring to the power supply, the zero cross detect or both?

> The amount of appliances i've
> fixed that failed from dirty mains and most
> of those HAD filters and series resistors etc.

My 80cm SONY TV died as a result of a brownout! :-)

> There's no way you can convince me it's smart
> to couple AC mains into a PIC pin with nothing
> more than one resistor to protect the PIC.

I wasn't trying to convince you, I was asking opinions. And they seem
to be widely varied.

> The cost of a capacitor and zener etc are only
> a few cents.

Again, on the zero cross detect? How would you configure it? Doesn't
the existing Zener clamp the maximum voltage at 5.6 Volts? Also, the
minimum voltage is zero volts? Can I ask you Roman, when is the neutral
ever more than 0 volts?

Again, it's not "Sean Alcorn's circuit". It's simply one of many that I
have seen using this technique.

Regards,

Sean

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