Main Page | Report this Page
 
   
Science Forum Index  »  Electronics - Design Forum  »  Light timer/dimmer?...
Page 1 of 1    
Author Message
Calab...
Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:51 pm
Guest
I have a need to control a light fixture in my home. At a certain time I
need the light to come on and later on the light should go out. The problem
is that I need it to change states slowly. Load could be anything between
100 and 600 watts.

It would be nice to find something that fits in a 1 gang electrical box, but
I haven't been able to find anything.


I also have the need for something similar, controlling about a dozen LEDs,
for the lighting in a fish tank.


Does anyone have any idea how I can do these?
DaveM...
Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:11 am
Guest
"Calab" <myspam at (no spam) csd.ca> wrote in message news:4dCbk.56339$Jx.13974 at (no spam) pd7urf1no...
Quote:

I have a need to control a light fixture in my home. At a certain time I
need the light to come on and later on the light should go out. The problem
is that I need it to change states slowly. Load could be anything between
100 and 600 watts.

It would be nice to find something that fits in a 1 gang electrical box, but
I haven't been able to find anything.


I also have the need for something similar, controlling about a dozen LEDs,
for the lighting in a fish tank.


Does anyone have any idea how I can do these?




The very last circuit (Varying brightness AC lamp) on the page at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Bill_Bowden/page4.htm looks to be
straightforward and easy to build. No expensive or exotic parts; give it a
look.

If you'd rather have a kit, look at the slow dimmer kit at
http://youdoitelectronics.com/Kits/id1226.htm, kit #K8029 (SLOW ON-OFF DIMMER).
Oopsss.. that one will only handle 200 watts. You could probably replace the
triac in the kit with a higher current type... and you might have to put it on a
heatsink for the higher power loads. You can probably find that kit at a number
of other web vendors.. just Google for Velleman K8029. Looks like the PC board
might fit inside a box... but you need to measure to be sure.

The dimmers above are the slow dimmer portion only, they will not control the
times your lights turn & off. For that, I recommend that you look at an
appliance timer from your local home improvement or tool center. Something like
the timer at
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95205.
That should get you going in short order.


--
Dave M
MasonDG44 at comcast dot net (Just substitute the appropriate characters in the
address)

Experience: What you get when you don't get what you want
Calab...
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:58 pm
Guest
"BobW" <nimby_NEEDSPAM at (no spam) roadrunner.com> wrote in message
news:o8mdnaMoq-ZMLPLVnZ2dnUVZ_rjinZ2d at (no spam) giganews.com...
|
| "Calab" <myspam at (no spam) csd.ca> wrote in message
| news:4dCbk.56339$Jx.13974 at (no spam) pd7urf1no...
| >
| > I have a need to control a light fixture in my home. At a certain time I
| > need the light to come on and later on the light should go out. The
| > problem
| > is that I need it to change states slowly. Load could be anything
between
| > 100 and 600 watts.

| I used to be an X10 fan, but now it's Zwave, for me. It's very cool
| technology.
|
| The Home Settings line from Intermatic stuff will do exactly what you want
| it to (timing, soft on, soft off).
|
| http://www.homesettings.com/

Thanks!

The modules are a bit pricey, but I don't need many. I'm going to try the
Zwave stuffs.
 
Page 1 of 1       All times are GMT - 5 Hours
The time now is Sat Nov 22, 2008 4:14 pm