"Trip Wire"

[WilliamH]

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

 

[Tom Biasi]

"WilliamH" <WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid> wrote in
message news:n6idnTp0dcwszwPfRVn_vg@giganews.com...

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

Hi William,
As is often the case people here read into the question before they answer.
I am no different. I could just describe a circuit to do what you ask but
feel compelled to but in.
If someone cuts the wire to steel your object the light will make them run
alright, but with your object.
Why not just let the PIR floodlights come on when they get near the object?
OK TOM, mind your own business! Someone steeling your statues William?
Regards,
Tom

 

[Impmon]

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:28:33 -0500,
WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

The laziest way would be a long wire through all of the item to be
protected and then wired to a relay coil. If the circuit is broken,
the relay's coil would de-energize and the normally closed contact
will close. The floodlight could be wired through the N.O. contact
(in parallel to an existing switch) so the floodlights would come on
when the wire's broken.
--
When you hear the toilet flush, and hear the words "uh oh", it's already
too late. - by anonymous Mother in Austin, TX
To reply, replace digi.mon with phreaker.net

 

[Ban]

WilliamH wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

William, look at this beautiful "Garden Dwarf".
http://www.classycollect.com/dw63177.html it has a motion detector built in
and starts barking when someone comes near. If you wire the internal relay
to the light line, also the light will go off. Good night.
--
ciao Ban
Bordighera, Italy

 

[Terry Pinnell]

WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

My first reaction was the same as Tom's: sounds like your alarm might
be activated a tad to late! But maybe the protected object is heavy
and/or bulky enough to make the burglar reluctant to hang around very
long in bright illumination?

Presumably though you have also considered inexpensive PIR-based
security lights? A suitably located high power halogen lamp could be
reliably triggered by a nearby potential villain. Most types are
usually activated in darkness only, and for a presettable short
duration, both features minimising wasted electricity consumption.

But assuming you still want exactly what you've specified, a simple
approach such as the one Impmon suggested would do the job. Its
circuit could look like this:
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/TripAlarm.gif

You could try it out initially with a battery (and a DC bulb for
safety). But note my suggestion to use a mains-based DC supply ('wall
wart'), as a battery would be constantly draining and therefore quite
impractical.

Note also my warning about mains voltages, as I don't know your skill
level.

BTW, if I was constructing this myself, I think I'd add a loud audible
alarm in parallel with the outdoor lamp.

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[John Smith]

"Terry Pinnell" <terrypinDELETE@THESEdial.pipex.com> wrote in message
news:9ubt91tgjrhdh1t88l083fnfbskjn5vncc@4ax.com...

WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

My first reaction was the same as Tom's: sounds like your alarm might
be activated a tad to late! But maybe the protected object is heavy
and/or bulky enough to make the burglar reluctant to hang around very
long in bright illumination?

Presumably though you have also considered inexpensive PIR-based
security lights? A suitably located high power halogen lamp could be
reliably triggered by a nearby potential villain. Most types are
usually activated in darkness only, and for a presettable short
duration, both features minimising wasted electricity consumption.

But assuming you still want exactly what you've specified, a simple
approach such as the one Impmon suggested would do the job. Its
circuit could look like this:
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/TripAlarm.gif

You could try it out initially with a battery (and a DC bulb for
safety). But note my suggestion to use a mains-based DC supply ('wall
wart'), as a battery would be constantly draining and therefore quite
impractical.

Note also my warning about mains voltages, as I don't know your skill
level.

BTW, if I was constructing this myself, I think I'd add a loud audible
alarm in parallel with the outdoor lamp.

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

If I were doing it myself, I'd rig the circuit to trigger the Gattling gun.

Actually, if I were doing it for real, I'd get a dog.

 

[WilliamH]

Tom Biasiwrote:
"WilliamH" <WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid

wrote in

message news:n6idnTp0dcwszwPfRVn_vg@giganews.com...
I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

Hi William,

As is often the case people here read into the question before they
answer.
I am no different. I could just describe a circuit to do what you ask
but
feel compelled to but in.
If someone cuts the wire to steel your object the light will make them
run
alright, but with your object.
Why not just let the PIR floodlights come on when they get near the
object?
OK TOM, mind your own business! Someone steeling your statues
William?
Regards,
Tom[/QUOTE]

Thanks for the response Tom.

Actually, someone is stealing solar lights from several of my
neighbors. I only found this out after purchasing some really
expensive ones. I don't want mine to be taken. I'm actually going to
anchor each light to the ground by a cable at the base of the light
(the lights are on 18 inch metal poles) attached to a piece of rebar
driven into the ground. On a first attempt, this will probably keep
the lights from being stolen. I'm sure they would bring wire cutters
the next time though. I want to sound an alarm and or light as the
light is pulled from the ground. I know this sounds elaborate, but
it's the principle at this point.

Thansk,
William

 

[WilliamH]

Terry Pinnellwrote:
WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

My first reaction was the same as Tom's: sounds like your alarm might

be activated a tad to late! But maybe the protected object is heavy
and/or bulky enough to make the burglar reluctant to hang around very
long in bright illumination?

Presumably though you have also considered inexpensive PIR-based
security lights? A suitably located high power halogen lamp could be
reliably triggered by a nearby potential villain. Most types are
usually activated in darkness only, and for a presettable short
duration, both features minimising wasted electricity consumption.

But assuming you still want exactly what you've specified, a simple
approach such as the one Impmon suggested would do the job. Its
circuit could look like this:
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/TripAlarm.gif

You could try it out initially with a battery (and a DC bulb for
safety). But note my suggestion to use a mains-based DC supply ('wall
wart'), as a battery would be constantly draining and therefore quite
impractical.

Note also my warning about mains voltages, as I don't know your skill
level.

BTW, if I was constructing this myself, I think I'd add a loud
audible
alarm in parallel with the outdoor lamp.

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK[/QUOTE]

Regarding the loud audible, I agree. I want to be sure to cover myself
during the day as well. My wife just had a digital camera taken from
her car in the late afternoon.

William

 

[WilliamH]

WilliamHwrote:
I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a

circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll

have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

I just read through Tom's message and then went down to the rest of
the responses. I thank each of you for your responses and will let
you know how things go. I'm going to try an put something together
this weekend. I just rememberd last evening, my neighbor across the
steet has a degree in electronic engineering. He said he would help
me. He said he'd have a lot of fun doing it. I'll pass some of these
ideas by him as he said he'd think about it through the evening and
get back with me. Thanks again for all of the responses. I tried
posting this scenario on a couple of other forums and had very little
or no response.

William

 

[Impmon]

On Thu, 02 Jun 2005 11:28:22 -0500,
WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I'm sure they would bring wire cutters
the next time though. I want to sound an alarm and or light as the
light is pulled from the ground. I know this sounds elaborate, but
it's the principle at this point.

Or junk the 12v light bulbs and go with 120v lightbulb and hook it
directly to 120 ac outlet. If he cuts, police will then question him
with badly singed hand in a nearby hospital. This one would be
completely foolproof if it wasn't for the fact USA is lawsuit happy
country. =P
--
When you hear the toilet flush, and hear the words "uh oh", it's already
too late. - by anonymous Mother in Austin, TX
To reply, replace digi.mon with phreaker.net

 

[Terry Pinnell]

WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

Terry Pinnellwrote:
WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

My first reaction was the same as Tom's: sounds like your alarm might
be activated a tad to late! But maybe the protected object is heavy
and/or bulky enough to make the burglar reluctant to hang around very
long in bright illumination?

Presumably though you have also considered inexpensive PIR-based
security lights? A suitably located high power halogen lamp could be
reliably triggered by a nearby potential villain. Most types are
usually activated in darkness only, and for a presettable short
duration, both features minimising wasted electricity consumption.

But assuming you still want exactly what you've specified, a simple
approach such as the one Impmon suggested would do the job. Its
circuit could look like this:
http://www.terrypin.dial.pipex.com/Images/TripAlarm.gif

You could try it out initially with a battery (and a DC bulb for
safety). But note my suggestion to use a mains-based DC supply ('wall
wart'), as a battery would be constantly draining and therefore quite
impractical.

Note also my warning about mains voltages, as I don't know your skill
level.

BTW, if I was constructing this myself, I think I'd add a loud
audible
alarm in parallel with the outdoor lamp.

?? Is this a reply to my post? Or a copy of it...?

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[Terry Pinnell]

WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

WilliamHwrote:
I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

I just read through Tom's message and then went down to the rest of
the responses. I thank each of you for your responses and will let
you know how things go. I'm going to try an put something together
this weekend. I just rememberd last evening, my neighbor across the
steet has a degree in electronic engineering. He said he would help
me. He said he'd have a lot of fun doing it. I'll pass some of these
ideas by him as he said he'd think about it through the evening and
get back with me. Thanks again for all of the responses. I tried
posting this scenario on a couple of other forums and had very little
or no response.

William

William: I think there's something screwed up with your methods of
quoting...

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[WilliamH]

Banwrote:
WilliamH wrote:
I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William

William, look at this beautiful "Garden Dwarf".

http://www.classycollect.com/dw63177.html it has a motion detector
built in
and starts barking when someone comes near. If you wire the internal
relay
to the light line, also the light will go off. Good night.
--
ciao Ban
Bordighera, Italy[/QUOTE]

That's a good idea...

William

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

Impmon wrote:

Or junk the 12v light bulbs and go with 120v lightbulb and hook it
directly to 120 ac outlet. If he cuts, police will then question him
with badly singed hand in a nearby hospital. This one would be
completely foolproof if it wasn't for the fact USA is lawsuit happy
country. =P

That's a great way to end up in prision for setting a booby trap.
What about kids or animals that could get hurt or killed, too?

--
Former professional electron wrangler.

Michael A. Terrell
Central Florida

 

[WilliamH]

My apologies. It was kind of confusing to me as well when I was
posting. I'm sure it was/is confusing to everyone else. I think I've
figured it out now.

 

[Terry Pinnell]

WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid (WilliamH) wrote:

My apologies. It was kind of confusing to me as well when I was
posting. I'm sure it was/is confusing to everyone else. I think I've
figured it out now.

OK, no big deal!

Another puzzle. Not sure whether it's just some quirk with my Agent
newsreader, or something you did when sending, but your message was
neatly placed in the original thread, "Trip Wire", yet I see its
Subject is not 'Re: "Trip Wire" as I'd have expected, but 'You're
Correct Terry (screwed up methods of quoting)'

--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[Rich Grise]

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:28:33 -0500, WilliamH wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

I've come to the thread a little late, but I'm still not happy -

If a $15.00 motion-detector security light doesn't deter the thief
as he's walking up onto the property, why would a light that doesn't
come on until he's already cut the trip wire scare him away?

Thanks,
Rich

 

[Terry Pinnell]

Rich Grise <richgrise@example.net> wrote:

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:28:33 -0500, WilliamH wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

I've come to the thread a little late, but I'm still not happy -
If a $15.00 motion-detector security light doesn't deter the thief
as he's walking up onto the property, why would a light that doesn't
come on until he's already cut the trip wire scare him away?

Thanks,
Rich

Agreed - I asked same question in my reply yesterday. No response yet.


--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK

 

[Bob Monsen]

WilliamH wrote:

Tom Biasiwrote:

"WilliamH" <WilliamJHeffernan@hotmail-dot-com.no-spam.invalid
wrote in

message news:n6idnTp0dcwszwPfRVn_vg@giganews.com...
I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

Thanks,
William


Hi William,
As is often the case people here read into the question before they
answer.
I am no different. I could just describe a circuit to do what you ask
but
feel compelled to but in.
If someone cuts the wire to steel your object the light will make them
run
alright, but with your object.
Why not just let the PIR floodlights come on when they get near the
object?
OK TOM, mind your own business! Someone steeling your statues
William?
Regards,
Tom

Thanks for the response Tom.

Actually, someone is stealing solar lights from several of my
neighbors. I only found this out after purchasing some really
expensive ones. I don't want mine to be taken. I'm actually going to
anchor each light to the ground by a cable at the base of the light
(the lights are on 18 inch metal poles) attached to a piece of rebar
driven into the ground. On a first attempt, this will probably keep
the lights from being stolen. I'm sure they would bring wire cutters
the next time though. I want to sound an alarm and or light as the
light is pulled from the ground. I know this sounds elaborate, but
it's the principle at this point.

Thansk,
William

[/QUOTE]
I wonder if you could build a tiny motion detector, that was powered by
the battery in the light? Any attempt to move it would cause the thing
to shriek for a few minutes. That way, the thief would be disuaded from
actually running with the item.

How cheap would it be to do this? I know it's pretty easy to build these
from an electret microphone and a few opamps, but there is probably a
ready-made solution out there you could just buy and wire in. Also, the
sensitivity would be an issue, I guess.

----
Regards,
Bob Monsen

 

[WilliamH]

Terry Pinnellwrote:
Rich Grise <richgrise@example.net> wrote:

On Wed, 01 Jun 2005 19:28:33 -0500, WilliamH wrote:

I want to make a flood light on the side of my house come on when a
circuit is broken.

I want to attach a low voltage wire to something in my front yard.
When someone tries to remove that something from my yard (they'll
have to cut the wire), I want my flood light be activated to scare
them off. I can't imagine this is too difficult a job for someone
that works in electronics. Can anyone tell me how to do this?

I've come to the thread a little late, but I'm still not happy -
If a $15.00 motion-detector security light doesn't deter the thief
as he's walking up onto the property, why would a light that
doesn't
come on until he's already cut the trip wire scare him away?

Thanks,
Rich

Agreed - I asked same question in my reply yesterday. No response

yet.


--
Terry Pinnell
Hobbyist, West Sussex, UK[/QUOTE]

You're probably correct regaring the light alone. That's why I want to
add the siren. The thief will have a flood light and siren to contend
with as well as the cable to cut. I hope the combination of the 3
will work. As the poles holding the lights are hollow, I've realized
I can slide the poles down onto a thicker piece of rebar, drill a
hole through the base of the pole and the rebar, then stick a bolt
through. I don't think a potential thief would take the time to
unbolt the lights. I prefer the "trip wire" as I want to scare the
crap out of the punks.

Terry, I went to a couple/few hardware stores and had no luck finding
a relay. I looked online to purchase one as well, but found so many,
I was't sure what I needed. Knowing what I'm trying to accomplish,
can you make a suggestion as to what type to purchase (a link would
be helpful). Do you need more specifics from me?

In your wiring diagram, you mentioned LETHALITY unless you are
appropriately skilled. I have better than average skills as I do
everything (nearly) I can do on my home myself. The things I do
usually take a long time, but the work is always top notch as it is
my stuff I'm working on and I always try to make things perfect. I'm
not boasting. I believe most people can do a very good job on most
things if they take their time. Enough of that. The point I'm trying
to make is that I'm fairly confident I can get this done properly as
all of you have guided me to this point.

Thanks,
William