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Magnetic Sensing — Parallax Forums

Magnetic Sensing

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2001-11-24 20:42 in General Discussion
Hello BStampers,

Anyone familiar with a low cost simple solution to do magnetic sensing
and interfacing with a BStamp?

Specifically, I'm looking at wanting to detect a vehicle in front of a
back gate on our property. I do not need to detect motion, just the
presense of a large metalic object in the area by the gate. I figured
that I should be able to compare the Earth's magnetic field
undisturbed versus the field disturbed by the presence of a metalic
object.

I've looked at the Honeywell stuff which looks interesting but
expensive. I also found some sensors at PNI
(http://www.precisionnav.com) in particular the Vector 2X which is
only $50.

Also, a concern is packaging the sensor. The simplest for me to do is
place it inside an existing metal box which has some gate controlling
equipment. This box will perturb the magnetic field but it sure would
be nice to not deal with placing the sensor outside in a weather proof
box.

Any thoughts?

Jah

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2001-11-24 20:25
    Bury a wire in a PVC pipe under the driveway. You can get a nozzle thingy
    used by sprinkler folks to bore under sidewalks and stuff with a water hose.

    Original Message

    > Anyone familiar with a low cost simple solution to do magnetic sensing
    > and interfacing with a BStamp?
    >
    > Specifically, I'm looking at wanting to detect a vehicle in front of a
    > back gate on our property. I do not need to detect motion, just the
    > presense of a large metalic object in the area by the gate. I figured
    > that I should be able to compare the Earth's magnetic field
    > undisturbed versus the field disturbed by the presence of a metalic
    > object.
    >
    > I've looked at the Honeywell stuff which looks interesting but
    > expensive. I also found some sensors at PNI
    > (http://www.precisionnav.com) in particular the Vector 2X which is
    > only $50.
    >
    > Also, a concern is packaging the sensor. The simplest for me to do is
    > place it inside an existing metal box which has some gate controlling
    > equipment. This box will perturb the magnetic field but it sure would
    > be nice to not deal with placing the sensor outside in a weather proof
    > box.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2001-11-24 20:42
    Check out the home automation site www.smarthome.com. They have several
    modules that do this.

    Nathan

    Original Message
    From: jim@j... [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=zf7BOrZNwIaOrMvUMYOPwS4kWwRkQMZ3HerATddrLH0YA86BgupiqHkRj2FLTTw-NcFC]jim@j...[/url
    Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2001 9:11 AM
    To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Magnetic Sensing


    Hello BStampers,

    Anyone familiar with a low cost simple solution to do magnetic sensing
    and interfacing with a BStamp?

    Specifically, I'm looking at wanting to detect a vehicle in front of a
    back gate on our property. I do not need to detect motion, just the
    presense of a large metalic object in the area by the gate. I figured
    that I should be able to compare the Earth's magnetic field
    undisturbed versus the field disturbed by the presence of a metalic
    object.

    I've looked at the Honeywell stuff which looks interesting but
    expensive. I also found some sensors at PNI
    (http://www.precisionnav.com) in particular the Vector 2X which is
    only $50.

    Also, a concern is packaging the sensor. The simplest for me to do is
    place it inside an existing metal box which has some gate controlling
    equipment. This box will perturb the magnetic field but it sure would
    be nice to not deal with placing the sensor outside in a weather proof
    box.

    Any thoughts?

    Jah


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