Hello, I have been put into a situation at my job by my boss and owner of our plantation. He wants me to put in a bark activated sprinkler system in our dog kennel of fifty plus dogs. I put in the sprinkler system which works off of two 110 volt water valves, but now I have to find away to energize the two valves when a single dog barks. Help... I have tried to search online and I just keep comming up short.. My boss is on me every day about this project and I need Help. I would really appreciate any help I can get , I have no source for parts so one would be a help as well..
Thanks Ray

 

Tell your boss to chill...we are on it....

in the mean time check out:

http://www.quasarelectronics.com/1047.htm

http://www.lashen.com/vendors/bogen/VAR.asp

Lefty

__________________
Measurement changes behavior

 

The sprinkler will be activated by sounds, not just by barks.
Jet airplanes flying by, kids in their little cars without mufflers, kids with white beards on motorcycles without mufflers, grandma playing her ghetto-blaster, thunderstorms etc.
Poor dogs will be soaked.

__________________
Uncle $crooge

 

You could use "The Clapper" to control a couple of 110v devices. But instead of giving a squirt, you could dispense a treat and turn on some soothing doggie music?

 

Note: the system will be used at night so the guest at the lodge can get some sleep. And in the middle of the woods where our plantation is located there are no kids or cars nor any major airports to activate system. The idea is to have the dogs to go in their nice houses instead of barking . Thanks

 

For bark sensing, you can start with a Bark Smart such as this one:

http://www.smarthome.com/61392-stop-dog-barking.html
(they have several, keyword search "bark")

If this alone is not enough to do the job, you can hack into this device and interface from the point that turns the ultrasonic tone on and off to a time delay relay like this one:

http://relays.tycoelectronics.com/datasheets/CB_DS.pdf

from Digikey.

__________________
RadioRon

 

RadioRon, I want to say Thanks for your help.. I bought the bark smart deluxe unit, with no results. So then I took it to a local radio professional shop and they told me the unit only puts out 2.1 volts and this was not enough to work any relay.. Help. My boss is still down my neck ..

 

2.1V is more than enough to turn on a transistor that can drive the relay.
A rectifier, filter capacitor and a series current-limiting resistor are also needed.

EDIT: and a diode across the relay's coil.

__________________
Uncle $crooge

 

Thanks Audioguru.. I will take this info to another shop that maybe they can help me. Thanks again, Ray

 

As Audioguru advises, it is fairly easy to interface the device with a relay, but a bit of electronics knowledge is needed. If the output is 2.1 volts DC, then I would take one approach, but if it is 2.1 V of ultrasonic AC, then I would use another. I'm assuming that it is 2.1V DC that turns on an ultrasonic sender.

I also assume that the output of the bark sensor is only on during the actual barking, not when the barking stops. In this case, you will probably want to add a circuit to extend the operating time of the sprinkler. How long would you want the sprinkler to run for? A timer circuit would be needed that is triggered by the bark sensor and then turns on the transistor switch that audioguru suggests, for a certain wait time. Alternatively, you could simply use a "time delay relay" which has the timing function built-in. This might be more convenient, but the time delay relay will cost a few dollars more than a basic relay.

Let us know what the fellows in the shop suggest. Another alternative is to have an electronics student built this up for you. It is simple enough to be within the capability of any second or third year college student in engineering or electronics tech. I would be happy to build something for you, but being in Canada makes the shipping annoyingly expensive. PM me if you want to follow up.

I'm also curious to know whether the Bark Smart seemed to do anything or not. Could you tell if it was detecting barking. Is there a lamp that lights up when it is sending?

__________________
RadioRon

 

RadioRon , I would like to Thank You as well as Auidioguru for the most helpful information on this system. I have a mechanical background and I am lost in the world of electronics. I am most Thankful and will keep you two posted on the out come. Thanks Again, Ray