PING))) sensor temperature

jmspaggi

Hi dear crazy friends [noparse];)[/noparse]

I'm looking for a solution to detect when I'm in front of my outside door or not. I'm not very good in electronic so I choosed the PING))) sensor. Very easy to use, and also can tell me if I'm really in front of my door, or in front of my wall (useful after few drinks )

My only concern is that I'm living in Quebec and the outside temperature can go lower than -20C in winter. PING))) documentation is showing "Operating temperature: 0 – 70° C.". So I'm fine with the maximum, but is there no way to have it works under 0C?

If this sensor can't works for my project, what should I use to replace it?

Thanks for your suggestions.

JM

SRLM

If you have a front door light, it might emit enough heat to keep things above freezing. Now (during winter) would be a good time to check. If things are warm, then you can just put the ping close to it. Just make sure that it doesn't get above 70 in the summer, and that it's a dry spot. Also, you could have a temperature sensor so that the uC knows what the temperature is, and can turn the ping on and off. Just a thought.

jmspaggi

Hi SLRM,

Thanks for the idea. The only outdoor light I have is a low power one (27W) and is to far from where I need to place the sensor. Regarding the idea to de-activate it, I can't. This is the system to open my door, so I need it every days [noparse];)[/noparse]

Do I have a way to use a "light" beam or IR or something like that, and put the light on a side of the door acces, and the sensor on the other side? But I have now idea how to do that and which components to use [noparse]:([/noparse]

JM

Mike Green

1) The PING))) would probably work, just not accurately. How about experimenting with it? This is the season.

2) You might want to use IR sensing as an alternative. This is described in the "Robotics with the BoeBot" tutorial.

Ultrasonic and IR distance sensing is very dependent on the materials that make up the object to be detected.
Often one will work when the other will not. You may want to use both methods.

jmspaggi

The problem is that I'm not sure if I want spend $100 if it's not working at the end [noparse];)[/noparse]

The distance accuracy is not important for me as long as it can detect if there is something new in front of the sensor. So I will take a look at the IR alternative, and maybe by the 2 just to be sure at least one of them will work.

JM

SRLM

You might be able to use a PIR sensor from a commercial security light set (from Home Depot or the like), and simply just use the sensing part. If you get it locally it will probably work in the cold.

kwinn

If the circuit is not battery powered you could put it in a case with a resistor or two to provide a little heat. If you wanted to get fancy you could use a thermistor and transistor to increase the heating as the temperature drops.

pwillard

I have done a little work on making the PING adjust to the temperature in the vicinity of the sensor.



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There's nothing like a new idea and a warm soldering iron.

Pixelator

Try using the sharp IR detector, i dont know abot it's temperature range but i think it can do -20C

a webpage about it : www.societyofrobots.com/sensors_sharpirrange.shtml

jmspaggi

Thanks all for the useful suggestions and links.

I did not get a chance to do the test yet. So I will try next winter with the PING sensor.

JM

SRLM

Why wait until winter? You can use a freezer instead [noparse]:)[/noparse]