Remote Control Power Strip

Step 8 Improvements and to-do's

I made this section specifically because of all the ideas I had that I couldn't follow through on because of laziness, poorness, and lack of car or time or the proper equipment. Feel free to add them in to your project! Happy building!

1. Indicator LED's to show whether or not a socket is switched on or off.
2. Indicator LED hooked up to the "Program Status" pin and a pushbutton connecting the "Learn" pin to ground for easier reprogramming.
3. This really should be number one. FUSES!!! My power strip had a built in 15A fuse but PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE make sure to add fuses where you deem necessary. Like if your power supply's transformer output is pretty low. Or if you plan on switching anything close to 3A.
4. Cover. I don't have the equipment in my dorm to cut the holes that I wanted in order to properly install most everything, so for right now the components just sit in the project box.
5. Also, I have yet to ground the actual sockets but that should take about 20 minutes. Normal lights don't need to be grounded but it's a good idea to do it anyway in case one of the sockets gets energized from sloppy construction.
6. Because the relays are inductive loads for the SIS-7C it would be a good idea to attach signal diodes to all the outputs. I asked Simerec about this and they said "you should have a diode across inductive loads if driving directly from the chip pin." Another option of course is to use a signal NPN transistor to control the relay.

Please send me your comments and suggestions so I can add to this list!

Comments

[efletch]

Nice gadget.

Re: step 4
If you are electrocuted, you will have no need to worry about tomorrow. When one receives a *lethal* dose of electric shock, it is termed an electrocution -- death.
==============================================
e·lec·tro·cute (--lk'trY-kyMMt') Pronunciation Key
tr.v. e·lec·tro·cut·ed, e·lec·tro·cut·ing, e·lec·tro·cutes
1. To kill with electricity: a worker who was electrocuted by a high-tension wire.
2. To execute (a condemned prisoner) by means of electricity.

[your_dragon113]

Re: #1

Does it help if you loosen off the tension?

*waiting for the slap while I'm LMAO*

[straightexhaust]

Hey cool project. I was wondering if you could provide some info on whats involved in programming the chip. Im a little new at this, so i just wanted a little more info b4 i drop $20 for the chip. Thanks, Jason

[jwad650]

Jason,

Programming the chip is super easy and is outlined on the second page of the SIS-7C's datasheet here.

You will definitely need a multimeter or other way of figuring out when the "Program Status" (pin 3) pin goes "high." Setup a voltmeter to watch pin 3. Ground pin 12 and you should see about 5VDC come up on pin 3 very soon. If this happens, you're golden and you should continue to follow the instructions on the datasheet. If pin 3 does not go high, it's debugging time.

Happy building and if you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help.

P.S. in honor of your question I'm adding this as a step

[straightexhaust]

Hey thanks a lot. This is a really cool project. Im gonna order me a chip tonight or tomorrow, then let u know how it turns out. I made a simple one outlet one a while back but it never really works right so im excited to see how this goes. Thanks again, Jason

[jeff-o]

Actually, diodes would be a good idea on each of the relays to protect the (relatively expensive) controller chip from voltage spikes produced by the relays (unless, of course, the chip has diodes built in).

[jwad650]

I just contacted SIMEREC and they do suggest protecting the chip with diodes. I doubt that they intended the chip to directly drive inductive loads but as long is its current output is sufficient... why not!

[jeff-o]

Well sure, as long as the specs match up then you're fine.