Electronic Timer Switch - TIMER PROJECTS

Electronic Timer Switch

This electronic timer switch project is a good project to build to simulate the presence of occupants in a house. In these days when security is becoming more of a concern when no one is at home, having this device will deter the thief from breaking in. When power up, after 60 minutes, the relay will turn ON for 100 secs, OFF for the next 100 secs, and ON again for 100 secs before OFF again for the next 60 mins. This sequence will be repeated. A device such as a lamp that is connected to the relay will turn ON and OFF according to this timing.

Schematic Diagram

The schematic of the project is as shown below.

The core of this electronic timer switch project uses a CD4060B binary counter. The binary counter has 10 outputs and the counter are counted by configuring the oscillator. Every negative clock will trigger the counter of the IC internally.

The timing of the circuit is affected by resistor R3(1M ohm) and capacitor C2(0.1uF). By connecting the four outputs in an AND configuration, the transistor Q1 will only turn ON if all the 4 outputs are in logic "1". If any of the logic is "0", the transistor will remain OFF.

For a complete cycle, the transistor will be ON twice when the output at pin 15, QJ goes to logic "1" and "0" twice when the other outputs QL, QM and QN remain at "1". When this happen, the relay K1 will switch status accordingly. The timing of the switching can be changed by changing the resistor values R2, R3 and C2. Download the data sheet of CD4060B from Texas Instrument website for more details.

Note that since the oscillator is not using crystal, the timing may not be as accurate compared to the ideal calculation. In most cases, fine tuning the resistor and capacitor are good enough to make this project a success. To check whether the circuit is working, connect a LED in series with a 390 ohm resistor at output QD. It will flash ON and OFF as the oscillator oscillates.

Parts List

HOW TO CHECK AMOUNT OF SALT IN LIQUID?-BIOMEDICAL PROJECTS

PURPOSE OF DEVICE

This circuit was designed to detect the approximate percentage of salt contained in a liquid. After careful setting it can be useful to persons needing a quick, rough indication of the salt content in liquid foods for diet purposes etc.

DOWNLOAD THE CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

WORKING OF CIRCUIT

IC1A op-amp is wired as a DC differential amplifier and its output voltage increases as the DC resistance measured across the probes decreases. In fact, fresh water has a relatively high DC resistance value that will decrease proportionally as an increasing amount of salt is added.
IC1B, IC1C and IC1D are wired as comparators and drive D5, D4 and D3 in turn, as the voltage at their inverting inputs increases. Therefore, no LED will be on when the salt content of the liquid under test is very low, yellow LED D5 will illuminate when the salt content is low, green LED D4 will illuminate if the salt content is normal and red LED D3 will illuminate if the salt content is high.
D1 and D2 are always on, as their purpose is to provide two reference voltages, thus improving circuit precision. At D2 anode a stable 3.2V supply feeds the non-inverting inputs of the comparators by means of the reference resistor chain R8, R9 and R10. The 1.6V reference voltage available at D1 anode feeds the probes and the set-up trimmer R4.
One of these two red LEDs may be used as a pilot light to show when the device is on.

HOW TO MAKE PROBES?

It was found by experiment that a good and cheap probe can be made using a 6.3mm. mono jack plug. The two plug leads are connected to the circuit input by means of a two-wire cable (a piece of screened cable works fine).
The metal body of the jack is formed by two parts of different length, separated by a black plastic ring. You should try to cover the longest part with insulating tape in order to obtain an exposed metal surface of the same length of the tip part, i.e. about 8 to 10mm. starting from the black plastic ring.
In the prototype, three tablespoons of liquid were poured into a cylindrical plastic cap of 55mm. height and 27mm. diameter, then the metal part of the jack probe was immersed in the liquid.

NOTES

• Wait at least 30 seconds to obtain a reliable reading.


• Wash and wipe carefully the probe after each test.


• To setup the circuit and to obtain a more precise reading, you can use a DC voltmeter in the 10V range connected across pin #1 of IC1A and negative supply.


• Set R4 to obtain a zero reading on the voltmeter when the probe is immersed in fresh water.


• You may change at will the threshold voltage levels at which the LEDs illuminate by trimming R4. Vary R8 value to change D4 range and R9 value to change D5 range.


• P1 pushbutton can be substituted by a common SPST switch.

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