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Smoke detector using IR sensors?

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johnjameson

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Just wondering guys how hard would it be to make a smoke detector using this development kit?
**broken link removed**

They even give you a pdf on the topic
**broken link removed**
 
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I guess if you want to develop something using IR for smoke / fire detection on a commercial basis they may be worth looking into. The kit prices are about $50 USD which depending on where you want to go with this isn't that bad. They do tell you in the pdf file the actual sensor part number and manufacturer so it comes down to investing $50 or buying the sensor and a PIC chip and developing on your own. If it were me and I were looking to develop a commercial system I would likely pop the $50 and see what shows up in the mail. :)

Just My Take
Ron
 
It wasn't clear to me how much programming was included with the device and how much you would have to do. The application note gives set up code and then describes a flow chart for a smoke detector. Maybe they provide the code for that too. If not, whether it is easy or difficult to do will depend on how good you are at coding.

One thing to consider, assuming you get a working detector, is whether your insurance company will accept it in lieu of a certified/approved detector. I have read the UL certification is expensive and doubt an insurance company would accept using non-certified smoke detector.

John
 
I should mention I'm not getting this to develop something for commercial use,more of a hobby but I must admit my knowledge is limited.So right now the only kit I have is the slider EK board.
So do I need to make my alarm/leds on a separate bit of stripboard and then connect that to my IR sensors?
 
First heed what John mentions. That said reading the si1142 IR Slider Demo Kit User's Guide there are a few caveats you should be aware of. Enough caveats to make me recant some of my original thinking.

The kit is built around two main pieces of hardware, the IR Sensor portion and the uC (micro-controller. This is a link to the uC they use made by them. Should the embedded link not work then a simple Google of "c8051f800" will find the pdf on the uC.

My understanding is the kit itself gets you the uC with a basic loaded program. Reading my first link they will be happy to sell you anything and everything else for additional programming. Thus, the caveat. I suggest you read the IR Slider Demo Kit User's Guide with a focus on software. Enter all of the "optional tools" which are pretty much needed. :(

Based on your post here is what I suggest you try doing. There are a dozen or more little uC kits out there that teach you micro controller basics. There are no shortage of assorted sensors out there that can easily work with micro controllers. There is also no shortage of analog/digital IO kits out there that will work with sensors doing just about anything you could want. I would begin looking in those directions as it would seem much more open and cost feasible.

For example I can go to a local brick and mortar shop and buy for example a Velleman® K8048 PIC® Programmer & Experiment Board or a Velleman® K8055 USB Experiment Interface Board Kit, including my local Radio Shack of all places as well as a host of online suppliers. The latter not being a bad little kit for the cost.

This forum also has a very good micro controller section with many really knowledgeable people. The question becomes do you have any programming skills?

Ron
 
With regards to my programming skills I would say limited,its been a while since I programmed anything really.
I used to do small projects like where'd I have some stripboard,some sensors and and output based on the sensors.for example I did a small greenhouse monitioring system before with 3 sensors(temp,humidity, light) which sent there information back to 8051 mircontroller which in turn switched on/off an output.
I'd do the coding on keil uvision which was just a matter of settings parameters really(should a sensor go above/below a parameter it would turn on/off an output).
So like I say my coding would be limited to stuff like that
 
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