Wireless remote control for inverters

[Speo]

Hello guys,



I tought it would be cool to turn my inverter on and off using a wireless remote control, instead of walking to the shed in the middle of the night, so, here is a little project that I put together with Ghurd's help.



The wireless remote control consists of a transmitter and a receiver I bought from eBay for $8, from the seller e-madeinchn . He sells lots of different remote controls.







The receiver is actualy a 3A relay that gets wirelesly activated by the transmitter. By replacing the inverter's switch with this relay, or by soldering it in paralel, the inverter can be turned on/off using the transmitter (the remote control).



I choosed this solution because the remote control is using only 8mA in standby and 25mA when the relay is energized. This is a very low consumption, compared to 250mA drained by the inverter alone, turned on, but without any load. Also, the amperage through the inverter's switch was only 6mA, which can be easily handled by a 3A relay.








In the image above, the box, the PCB and the blue connectors were $6 at an electronic parts store












In the image above, the five connectors, from right to left are:

1 - positive battery

2 - negative battery

3 - relay common

4 - relay NO

5 - relay NC







In the image above, I soldered two wires paralel to the switch and took them out through a whole I made in the face plate.







Here is all of it assembled.

The wires from the inverter's switch are hooked to the receiver's relay (Common leg and NO leg, for normaly open position).



The inverter's switch is off, so, the relay can turn on/off the inverter.

The receiver and the inverter are both hooked to the 12V battery




Here is a 160KB movie with the wireless remote in action



I tested it to see how far it works:

- 120 feet (40m) works 100%

- 180 feet (60m) works 75% (works 3 times out of 4 tries)

- 250 feet (80m) works 50% (works 1 time out of 2 tries)




The funny thing is that even at 200 feet, when it doesnt work, the bulb still flickers when I push the remote's button. It seems like the receiver gets the signal, turns the inverter on, then shuts it off immediately. If I get closer, it works fine again, then if I get back at 200 feet, it flickers again...



Anyway, I am quite happy with the results.



Thanks for taking the time to read this,

Speo

[zap]

I love it! Excellent work!  

It's even cheaper than a wired remote.  Plus we get to watch a movie of it.

[TheCasualTraveler]

I've been wondering about how to do an "on demand" inverter. Good solution.

[ghurd]

That is going to be very useful for a lot of people.

Nice job!

G-

[TomW]

TCT;

You may already know this, but, my Outback has a "search" function that only fires off the inverter if a load is present. You can configure the parameters of the search sensitivity cycle rate, etc.

Not a clue on how they do it but I would start by figuring out how to tell when a load is present by sending a voltage thru the ckt and see if it draws any current, if it does then there is a load. Then I would figure out how to safely start the inverter into a load, probably by disconnecting the load, firing off the inverter then attaching the load. I am no circuit designer but thats how I would start without having done any research. Figuring out when to shut down to standby would be another piece of the puzzle.

They may even make a "chip" that does just this in a cheap package. I will leave the rest to those with true electrickery skills.

Good Luck with it.

TomW

[Tritium]

Excellent I have been looking for a solution to control a pump that provides water to my fish pond 500 meters away from the pump.

Thurmond

[TheCasualTraveler]

     Thanks Tom,

I checked it out, and it shows an Outback draws 6 watts when idle in search mode. I was thinking of being even more miserly. Curious now as to how much my cheap inverter draws when at idle. Hmmmm....

[Speo]

Guys, thank you for your comments. I am glad you find it useful.

I just checked the eBay seller's items (the guy that sold me the remote control, e-madeinchn) and I noticed he has many different transmitters (remotes) sold separately and he claims these are working up to 2000m (600 feet).

Speo

[jimjjnn]

2000m is a lot further than 600 feet as I recall. Did you mean 200 mters or 6000 feet?

[Speo]

Sorry, I meant 2000m, 6000 feet.

Speo

[blueyonder]

 

 hi speo sorry i am late posting a comment.

   but it was interesting reading and nice pics.

   if i had one bad thing to say about the otherpoweer forum then it would be

  i already have to menny projects on the go.

  not to mention all the ones i see and store in my mind for future use.

  sum how i would like to put them all on a cd. but thats another project.

  after building a coil winder a saw a guy on here built one and  put a windscreen wiper motor on it for power. 12volt.

   i was so unhappy now i wanted a new coil winder with a electric motor.

   sum times i  build things that dont work and give up on them.

   also waisting money at the same time.  but you put all the info on here.

   testing it at long range was good.    and it wasent to expensive to make.

    i need one - i want one-  maybe sumone will build a kit on here from your plans.

    i dont have lots of money  but i have evan less when it comes to time.

      maybe i need build it myself.  can a man have to menny projects

 all on the go at the same time.

     great work speo.  now i can just imagine you pointing your remote at the shed.

 and saying beam me up scotty.

    or is that your next project.

[Speo]

blueyonder, there is no rush in posting comments.

I am happy you enjoyed it.

Speo

[Live6766]

Speo I Love it

  I to am Late on this post. This is very Nice and i To what one

Make it sell it Ill Buy It...  Thanks for a great post.

Tom T

[ghurd]

I believe Speo is away for a while.

But I think he would say something like...

Buy the remote, put in a box.

Buy an inverter with a normal on-off switch. (not a membrane key pad)

Snip the switch wire that is not on the light bulb side, or just jump that side of the switch with the remote relay.

Run wires from the inverter switch to the remote relay.