On Tue, 2011-10-11 at 23:16 -0400, V G wrote:
> Hi all,
>=20
> I want to make a simple, cheap, quick, reliable (no one dare say you can
> only pick only x) garage door open detector that will light up an LED in =
the
> house/beep a speaker if the garage door is open. I know all it takes is a
> mechanical switch, but I'd rather not use any moving parts. I'm thinking =
a
> very bright infrared LED and IR transistor with a piece of foil mounted o=
n
> the inside of the garage door. If the door is closed, a series of LED pul=
ses
> will hit the aluminum foil reflector and bounce back to the IR transistor
> and signal the device that the door is closed. Will this work? I've never
> done any IR work, so I don't really know what power LED is required, what
> the distances are, etc.

Unless you interested in learning about that kind of stuff, don't
bother.

Just get the type of sensor alarm systems use. One end is just a magnet,
the other is a reed type switch. VERY reliable, VERY cheap. You can find
them pretty much everywhere. Easy to mount to. That's what I use.

TTYL

--=20
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