Replies

1. 
   Dinosaur | Oct 19, 2009 07:33am | #1

   What sort of problems have you been having with the ones you've tried so far?

   Most household units are cheaply made overseas, and sell for about $10-20. They're non-repairable, housed in plastic casings that degrade in sunlight, and the electronics will last about a year or three if you're lucky. The biggest problems most people have with them--aside from replacing them when they blow out--is adjusting them correctly.

   The better type has an adjustable photo cell as well as an adjustable timer and motion sensor; the cheaper ones have a photocell that is preset at the factory and won't close the circuit until the ambient light is dim enough. For that sort, you need to do the adjustment after dark.

   To adjust the motion sensor, you'll need a second person to walk around in the target area so you can adjust the sensor to trigger the light when he's at the right spot. Otherwise, you'll spend an hour or more climbing down and up the ladder, adjusting the sensor by trial and error.

   If you want better quality than that, you're going to have to go to a commercial security equipment supplier and pay 20 to 30 times more, plus installation.

   Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not brought
   low by this? For thine evil pales before that which
   foolish men call Justice....
   

   

1. 
   popawheelie | Oct 19, 2009 06:56pm | #7

   Not to change the subject. But I have been looking for a motion sensor.

   I have low voltage (12) lights that I would like to control with a motion sensor.

   The problem I have is that when I do a google search I come up with ones that are exspensive. Like a $100.

   All i want is a sensor that contols 12V. It would have to be adjustable for distance.

   I did find one recently as a part for an assmebly. But will it work? At 9.99 i could just get one.

   I just don't know enough about electronics and don't know anyone who does.

   http://www.solarilluminations.com/cgi-bin/sh000001.cgi?REFPAGE=http%3a%2f%2fsolarilluminations%2ecom%2facatalog%2finfo_118%2ehtml&WD=sensor%20motion&PN=Spare_Parts%2ehtml%23a513#a513

    

    "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers

1. 
   gfretwell | Oct 19, 2009 07:25pm | #8

   Why not control the 120v input to the 12v lights (what I have done with the LV lights on my pool deck) ... or you could use a relay with a 120v coil, plugged into the motion head.

1. 
   popawheelie | Oct 19, 2009 08:12pm | #9

   I'm trying to keep everything 12V. I want to use a solar panel for collecting 12v, store it in 12V batteries, and then use it in 12V lighting.

   It seems to me that keeping everyhting 12V would be the best?

   Do 120 volt motion sensors step down to low voltage for the sensor and electronic controls?

   The lights are 120V but everything else is low voltage. Right? "There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers

1. 
   gfretwell | Oct 19, 2009 08:37pm | #10

   I suppose it counts on what brand and model it is to determine how they work internally. That might not even hold true if the manufacturer/importer changed Chinamen

2. 
   Dinosaur | Oct 19, 2009 09:26pm | #11

   I was going to suggest the same thing--use a 120V relay to control your 12V lighting circuit.

   I don't know if the control circuits run on 120VAC, but I tend to doubt it. Most consumer electronics use very low voltage, like 300mv. Betcha you've got at least four or five old .3V plug-in transformers lying around from old cell phones that no longer work....

   Dinosaur

   How now, Mighty Sauron, that thou art not broughtlow by this? For thine evil pales before that whichfoolish men call Justice....

3. 
   Stuart | Oct 20, 2009 02:10am | #12

   Here's a 12v motion sensor for $22.95. http://www.hobbytron.com/ce-ck0206.html There are a few more here: http://www.google.com/products?hl=en&q=12+volt+motion+detector&scoring=p (you'll have to sort through this list, some of them are 12v and some are 120v.)

1. 
   popawheelie | Oct 20, 2009 02:23am | #13

   Thanks! I'll look later. gotta go!"There are three kinds of men: The one that learns by reading, the few who learn by observation and the rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves."Will Rogers

1. 
   archie | Oct 22, 2009 06:20am | #14

   Thanks for all the responses. I'm off to Costco to have a look.

2. 
   Karl | Oct 19, 2009 07:37am | #2

   The cheap ones at Costco have been surprisingly reliable for me. Ten or so years ago I couldn't find anything reliable for a low price so the costco ones were a pleasant surprise. I think they are less than 20 dollars.

   Karl

3. 
   Luka | Oct 19, 2009 08:17am | #3

   Karl has exactly the answer I was going to give.

   I have bought a couple of them at Costco. Less than 20 bucks apiece.

   They have outlasted at least 6 of the ten to 15 dollar jobbies from the lumberyard.

   ..It's all fun and games, until someone puts an eye out..You are always welcome at Quittintime

4. 
   gfretwell | Oct 19, 2009 08:38am | #4

   I have about 20 of these around and inside the house. What I find is the sun will kill even the best ones. Try to put them where they don't get direct sun light. They will last a lot longer. I think it is really the lens that goes bad.
   The ones in the house last forever it seems. The one that looks at my great room has been there for almost 20 years. The ones on the south side of the house won't last more than a year or two before they start losing sensitivity significantly

5. 
   GregGibson | Oct 19, 2009 04:21pm | #5

   Totally beside the point of your post . . . I bought a motion light very early, when they first came out, probably around 1982 or so.  Most of my friends had never seen one.

   We had a party one night, lost of beer, lots of people.  So they guys would just go out in the back yard and let fly.

   One of my buddies came back in one time, said "Every time I go out back to take a leak, somebody flips on that dang light !"

   Greg

6. 
   YesMaam27577 | Oct 19, 2009 06:17pm | #6

   Best I can tell, the circuitry in motion sensors is sensitive to spikes and surges and static charges.

   I've had a few go bad during lightning storms, and one that went bad when my house took a big surge that killed my Bose Wavetable.

   Dunno how you might protect any single installation against such, but I'll bet that you'd be better off.

   I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone,
   And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone;
   I can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone,
   So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here. (Phil Ochs)