OK, I've been designing and modifying my alarm to monitor genset running for keeping pets safe in the a/c. Actually, all I'm monitoring is that the genset is running. As soon as the alarm looses 110v, it sets off the pager.
Now, I've found out some things about this alarm that may make some more comfortable with how it works. The pager and alarm communicate constantly, there is an indicator on the pager that blinks, letting you know that you are in range. As soon as you get too far away, that indicator turns off, get back into range and it starts blinking again. If the alarm goes off while you are out of range, it alerts as soon as you get back into range.
The pager will can be set for audiable or vibration or both to alert if the alarm goes off. It has a back light so you can check if you are still in range in the dark. The light stays on for 10-15 secs then goes off to save batteries.
Rather than use up a lot of band width to explain how I built it, PM me with your e-mail address and I will be happy to send all the information. I spent $78 for the alarm, and approximately $50 more to make it work. (Not counting things that didn't work.)
It is housed in a 6" x 3" x 2" plastic box, has an led light to show 12v power, and one to show 110v power. It requires a switch to arm the alarm after the power has been connected.
So far, I have only tested the range from inside my warehouse, which doesn't work well with cell phones. It reached out through the building about 1/4 mile. (2+ city blocks) I will give it more testing outside soon and see if the 1/2 mile minimum range is true. I have cycled it 20-30 times and it performs exactly as I wanted, detecting the loss of the 110v power within seconds.
topless wrote: OK, I've been designing and modifying my alarm to monitor genset running for keeping pets safe in the a/c. Actually, all I'm monitoring is that the genset is running. As soon as the alarm looses 110v, it sets off the pager.
Now, I've found out some things about this alarm that may make some more comfortable with how it works. The pager and alarm communicate constantly, there is an indicator on the pager that blinks, letting you know that you are in range. As soon as you get too far away, that indicator turns off, get back into range and it starts blinking again. If the alarm goes off while you are out of range, it alerts as soon as you get back into range.
The pager will can be set for audiable or vibration or both to alert if the alarm goes off. It has a back light so you can check if you are still in range in the dark. The light stays on for 10-15 secs then goes off to save batteries.
Rather than use up a lot of band width to explain how I built it, PM me with your e-mail address and I will be happy to send all the information. I spent $78 for the alarm, and approximately $50 more to make it work. (Not counting things that didn't work.)
It is housed in a 6" x 3" x 2" plastic box, has an led light to show 12v power, and one to show 110v power. It requires a switch to arm the alarm after the power has been connected.
So far, I have only tested the range from inside my warehouse, which doesn't work well with cell phones. It reached out through the building about 1/4 mile. (2+ city blocks) I will give it more testing outside soon and see if the 1/2 mile minimum range is true. I have cycled it 20-30 times and it performs exactly as I wanted, detecting the loss of the 110v power within seconds.
Thank you for posting this info, I will investigate further!...
Made something similar. In my case I wasn't concerned about what was running but if the temperature got too high for the dogs. We often leave them in the pickup with the diesel engine running to operate the A/C while we eat lunch in a restaurant, for example. I made a system to run the engine with out the key, it has to be activated when the truck is ON to keep someone from using it to start the truck. The truck can't be driven when the engine is running in that mode because the steering column is locked and so is the shifter. Besides the big dogs are IN the truck so it'd take some nerve to try
Anyway- I bought a speech synthesized digital thermometer that has a settable high or low temp alarm..when the limit is reached the unit announces the temperature. Couple this to an FRS radio with VOX and voila you have a temperature alarm
If one has access to other radios like I do this system could work for MANY miles as well.
Topless- I AM interested in how yours was built and have PM-ed you my email..TIA!
Where did you find your voice-synthesized digital thermometer? I was trying to do exactly what you're doing but couldn't find the thermometer! (Great minds think alike, eh? ) I found some that will announce the temp every hour but that's way too long between annoucements.
OK, I'm in the process of writing this up and making a wiring diagram, so be patient with me. I knew there would be interest, but I wasn't ready to respond so quick. I just finished the final tweaks today. It really turned out much simpler than I thought it would. I was concerned about radio interference from the ac to dc tranformer, but that didn't happen.
Where did you find your voice-synthesized digital thermometer? I was trying to do exactly what you're doing but couldn't find the thermometer! (Great minds think alike, eh? ) I found some that will announce the temp every hour but that's way too long between annoucements.
I got it at Radio Shack. Not sure if they still have the same one though, since it was a couple of years ago.
Interesting solution. We full time and are worried about temperature and power in the rig when we are out and the pets are in. We use a Hughes portable satellite Internet connection. When set up we have a monitoring device we purchased from AKCP (akcpinc.com) that will notify us by email to our cell phones whenever the temperature reaches a preset level (low and high). We use a battery backup on the satellite transceiver and monitoring device and it will notify us in the event of a power outage. This works with the generators or shore power.
It has worked flawlessly and has given much peace of mind. In the last year we have had a power outage notification while we were shopping - stopped what we were doing and went back to the rig. It was summer in Texas and the temp was still very cool when we returned. Ditto, we had a high temp alarm recently and returned to find the sun shining in a window onto the temp sensor - sort of a false alarm but very re-assuring.
The cost was not small ($500) but we have been most satisfied with the knowledge that we have a bit of insurance for the pups.
Since I'm a confirmed nerd imagine the satisfaction of lying in bed and using my wireless PDA to determine the temperature in the living room. (I know that is just tooooo sick).
Here goes, I haven't figured out how to put a wiring diagram on here, so I hope the instructions make sense.
Genset Alarm
Here is the list of parts I used. I’m listing the Radio Shack parts for reference, but any comparable component will do.
The heart of the alarm is a Model PG-8 Long Range Auto Monitor, cost $69.99 + freight. Website is Car Monitor
The rest of the components are: (Radio Shack #’s)
Project box 6” x 3” x 2” plastic……..270-805………$3.79
110V a/c power adapter……………..273-1773……..$18.99 (110v input > 12v output-300-500ma. I used an old one I had from a cordless telephone set. It only powers the relay so it doesn’t take much.)
12v DC 2 amp power cord…………..270-1533……..$7.49 This has a cigar plug on one end and a mini plug on the other, the main thing is it is fused.
Mini rocker switch………………….275-731……….$3.99
Panel mount green LED, 2 per pkg………275-069……..$2.39
12v 30 amp relay……………………275-226………$6.49
You will also need a few pieces of wire. I used a soldering iron, some 1-/4” crimp-on female spade connectors and small wire nuts to hook it all together.
The alarm comes with 3 different wiring harnesses, you only use 2, the one for the antenna, and the 10 wire. The other one is used in an actual car alarm setup and not used here.
The 12v relay has (5) -¼” terminals; 2 power the coil, 1 is common, 1 is normally closed, 1 is normally open. There is a diagram on the relay that will label the terminals for you. The a/c power adapter is used only to power the relay coil and one LED. The positive and negative are not important to the relay. When connected to power, it will click. The LED must be hooked up to the proper polarity in order to light. The blue wire from the alarm is connected to the normally closed terminal. This wire will indicate that the trunk has been opened if the genset fails.
The 12vdc power cord will plug into your cigar lighter of your chassis to power the alarm independent of the genset. I cut off the mini plug the other end. On this particular power cord, positive is black with white stripe, negative is solid black. Proper polarity IS important.
The negative wire is connected to 1) common terminal of the relay, 2) one side of the switch, 3) black wire to the alarm, 4) the other LED. The LED must be hooked up to the proper polarity in order to light.
The positive wire is connected to the red wire from the alarm and the LED.
The switch has 1 terminal already connected to the negative side of the 12vdc the other connect to the orange wire from the alarm. This is the arming trigger to turn the alarm on. When the switch disconnects the negative input from the alarm, it will show up on the pager display as an unlocked padlock. Switched on, the pager displays it locked and after 20 secs the alarm indicator flashes. This indicator will continue to flash as long as you are in range.
You will need to drill holes in the project box to mount the LEDs, and the switch, I notched the box at the lid, to get the wires out. Everything will fit inside the box, mount it however you wish, there is double sided tape supplied with the alarm.
To operate this setup: Start the genset, plug the a/c power adapter in an outlet. The LED will light up and the relay will click, indicating that there is power. Plug in the cigar plug and the other LED will light. Turn on the pager, it will indicate the alarm is unlocked. Flip the switch to arm the alarm.
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) I found some that will announce the temp every hour but that's way too long between annoucements.
