Hi Neil,

I don't know who developed it. If it's someone on the list, please chime
in!

Their first product was a small cat door, which I still think is their
best product. It consistently gets a year on 4 AA cells. It pings for
the cat with an IR pair, and if it sees a cat in the tunnel, quickly
powers up the RFID coil. The door latch uses a small motor, powered only
while changing lock/unlock state. Size is the only problem with that
door, it is a little small. My cat isn't big, just overweight, and it
looks like black and white toothpaste coming out of a tube when he goes
through.

Their second product is a bigger door with more features and an LCD
display. While the original door only regulated entrance, this bigger
one has a clock and settable "curfew mode" for exit. It has 4 C cells
and goes through a set in six months. The LCD is direct drive (1:1 duty
cycle) and is driven by four or five 74HC595's and a PIC with a 32KHz
crystal for RTC. I would have used an MCU with LCD peripheral built in,
and a multiplexed LCD. That would saved a bit of power. But anything
running off 4 cells is always a compromise, even a micropower voltage
regulator draws current. I have three of these doors and have had to
tinker with a couple of them. Their people in UK and in Florida are very
nice but worthless when it comes to warranty or out-of-warranty support.

Friendly regards, Bob

On Sat, Jan 2, 2016, at 05:07 PM, Neil wrote:
> Bob,
>=20
> Is this something you or someone else developed?
>=20
> Cheers,
> -Neil.
>=20
>=20
> On 1/2/2016 2:16 PM, Bob Blick wrote:
> > Hi Rossano, This is a food dish that only opens for the chosen cat or=20
> > cats. A little expensive but it's probably been tested and debugged. I=
=20
> > have several of their pet doors and they work pretty well. One of them=
=20
> > even has a PIC in it :) If nothing else, watch one of their videos to=20
> > get some ideas. RFID readers and hobby servos are cheap!=20
> > https://www.sureflap.com/en-us/pet-feeder/microchip-pet-feeder Hope=20
> > the link works for everyone, they have geolocation in their web server=
=20
> > and although they are a British company I can only see their US site.=20
> > Happy new year! Bob=20

--=20
http://www.fastmail.com - Faster than the air-speed velocity of an
                          unladen european swallow

--=20
http://www.piclist.com/techref/piclist PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
.