need assistance

[rattler]

hi ,
this is jahanzeb here,
i am doing a project on controlling electrical appliances and circuits through
computer by using serial port. i am an IT student and does not have much
knowledge about electronics.Can anyone guide me in this regard as what
devices or circuits,IC's or microcontrollers would be used.Kindly let me know
thx.

 

[Sceadwian]

Any devices currently available on the market. Your question is too vague to properly answer.

 

[RadioRon]

If you are not comfortable building custom electronics, then consider buying ready-made interface devices and do the software yourself. one place that has many remote controllable appliance switches is X-10.

https://www.x10.com/homepage.htm

While thier prices are reasonable, regrettably they have the worst website I have ever seen and it is difficult to find what you want. But persist, they do have them.

 

[rattler]

my question was a bit different! may be i couldnt make u guys undertstand what i need from u guys.
what i wanted to ask is that i have to make the software part alongwith the hardware one too.the hardware from scratch . designing the PCB board and then soldering it .all from the begining .so how can i do that or where do i start from. as i have told u guys i dont have much knowledge about electronics. by the thx 4 ur replies. do reply again . thx again

 

[RadioRon]

hi ,
this is jahanzeb here,
i am doing a project on controlling electrical appliances and circuits through
computer by using serial port. i am an IT student and does not have much
knowledge about electronics.Can anyone guide me in this regard as what
devices or circuits,IC's or microcontrollers would be used.Kindly let me know
thx.

If you must design and build the hardware from scratch, then I am rather surprised. You see, the interface to electrical appliances involves high voltages and high power levels, and can be dangerous for the beginner to work with. This safety issue should prevent a teacher from requiring that a student who "does not have much knowledge of electronics" work with such components. A mistake can kill you. This is why I assumed that a modular approach was most suitable.

It is possible to break the hardware up into a low voltage control function which then connects to the high voltage switch function. In this way, the high voltage switch can be purchased as an off-the-shelf (and presumably safe) item and your design is then limited to the low voltage controller. This would be quite appropriate. So let's proceed with this approach in mind. You will need to select a modular Mains switch with a low voltage control input. Then you must design a controller that converts RS232 commands into binary control lines. The hardware for this is probably best done using a PIC that has a serial port and several I/O ports available.