Gimmick needed...

[Jim Thompson]

Gimmick needed...

New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.

Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.

Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
into the house?

Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
requirement.

(I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, CTO | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona 85048 Skype: Contacts Only | |
| Voice:(480)460-2350 Fax: Available upon request | Brass Rat |
| E-mail Icon at http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

[Tim Williams]

Darlington phototransistor and twisted pair up to an LED+resistor indoors.
Duct tape in place. If visibility at the softener is required, specify
translucent or transparent duct tape. ;-)

Tim

--
Deep Friar: a very philosophical monk.
Website: http://webpages.charter.net/dawill/tmoranwms

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-Th...@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:l12so7lest6l88g2n...@4ax.com...

[MettleBeerStolid]

On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:22:16 -0700, Jim Thompson
<To-Email-Use-Th...@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote:

>Gimmick needed...
>
>New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
>Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
>Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
>into the house?
>
>Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
>requirement.
>
>(I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

Install a light operated wall switch into a box or fixture, and place
it in front of the LED. When it fires, the switch will as well. Then you
power whatever warning indicator you are happy with from that. An IR
switch might work as well.

[Martin Riddle]

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-Th...@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote
in message news:l12so7lest6l88g2n...@4ax.com...

> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?
>
> Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
> requirement.
>
> (I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

Flexible Light pipe?
<http://www.mouser.com/vccflx/>

Cheers

[Jamie]

Jim Thompson wrote:

> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?
>
> Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
> requirement.
>
> (I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

Get a pair of those cheap FRS units and use a PD into a switch
circuit to key the radio. You can put the other radio on standby
else where in the house.

It's just about the cheapest ready made method I can think of,
especially when many of those units have courtesy beeps in them, along
with several channels.


Jamie

[Jim Thompson]

Super! That'll work perfectly. The closet backs up to the hallway
where I set the alarm every evening. So I'll just drill thru.

[bitrex]

On 4/17/2012 8:22 PM, Jim Thompson wrote:
> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?
>
> Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
> requirement.
>
> (I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

LED triggers ultrasonic transducer connected to water pipe, triggers
ultrasonic receiver connected to convenient water faucet in house. No
need to use RF or run wires.

If you want to get fancy, and it gets hot in the garage, you could use
an energy-harvesting IC to charge the transducer's supply from the
pipe-to-ambient thermal gradient.

[P E Schoen]

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message
news:q79so7tfap5lr8761...@4ax.com...

> On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 20:49:39 -0400, "Martin Riddle"
> <marti...@verizon.net> wrote:

>> Flexible Light pipe?
>> <http://www.mouser.com/vccflx/>

> Super! That'll work perfectly. The closet backs up to the
> hallway where I set the alarm every evening. So I'll just drill thru.

If you need something longer than 12", try some Lucite rods. About $2 for
1/4" diameter and 6 feet long. Quite flexible, too.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#acrylic-rods/=h5igw8

Paul

[Winston]

Jim Thompson wrote:
> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?

Ya need one of them refrigerator alarms that
speaks when the light goes on.

'Course that disembodied voice at oh dark thirty
in the morning intoning "Refill the Water Softener!"
might be a little creepy.

--Winston <-- Mr. Helpful

[mike]

On 4/17/2012 5:22 PM, Jim Thompson wrote:
> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?
>
> Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
> requirement.
>
> (I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

I can remember a day, back before I had time on my hands, that I'd just
put a reminder on the calendar to go check on stuff that used
consumables. but I do love my gadgets...

[default]

On Tue, 17 Apr 2012 17:22:16 -0700, Jim Thompson
<To-Email-Use-Th...@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote:

>Gimmick needed...
>
>New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
>Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
>Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
>into the house?
>
>Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
>requirement.
>
>(I don't want to open the case and void the warranty.)
>
> ...Jim Thompson

Small mouse cage located against side of softener, mouse is
conditioned to look for food when light blinks and runs into a pipe
into the house, reaches the end of the pipe launches into space and
lands on a lever with fulcrum that sends a small steel ball up to ring
a bell.

No need to get all Rube Goldberg about it... Keep it simple.

[Michael A. Terrell]

default wrote:
>
> Small mouse cage located against side of softener, mouse is
> conditioned to look for food when light blinks and runs into a pipe
> into the house, reaches the end of the pipe launches into space and
> lands on a lever with fulcrum that sends a small steel ball up to ring
> a bell.
>
> No need to get all Rube Goldberg about it... Keep it simple.

That would be at the 'Whyle Coyote' level.


--
You can't have a sense of humor, if you have no sense.

[Paul Hovnanian P.E.]

If a higher amplitude signal is needed, you could position an elephant near
the end of the mouse's pipe. When the elephant runs through your living
room, scared out of its wits, you'll know its time to perform the needed
maintenance.

There is the possibility of false signals as the November general elections
near and more elephants start running scared.

--
Paul Hovnanian mailto:Pa...@Hovnanian.com
------------------------------------------------------------------
Just say 'No' to Windows.
-- Department of Defenestration.

[Jon Elson]

Jim Thompson wrote:


>>Flexible Light pipe?
>><http://www.mouser.com/vccflx/>
>>
>>Cheers
>>
>>
>
> Super! That'll work perfectly. The closet backs up to the hallway
> where I set the alarm every evening. So I'll just drill thru.
>
> ...Jim Thompson

Well! Sometimes even a non-electronic solution will do the job!
How about that!

Jon

[Ian Field]

"Jim Thompson" <To-Email-Use-Th...@On-My-Web-Site.com> wrote in
message news:l12so7lest6l88g2n...@4ax.com...

> Gimmick needed...
>
> New water softener has a blinking LED when salt level gets low.
>
> Of course it's hidden in its own private closet in the garage.
>
> Any cute gimmicks out there to "watch" the LED and transmit the info
> into the house?
>
> Power is available in the closet, so battery operation is not a
> requirement.

Weather station desk clock with radio outside temperature sender.

Crack the sender open & replace the thermistor with LDR.

[Owen Roberts]

Jim, Industrial Fiber Optics inc, has a head office and plant in
Phoenix...
They sell 1mm plastic optical fiber by the meter, put it on the
led. ... At 1.5 Db loss per meter... You'll need to squint to see
the light out of the fiber..
So get a replacement 10 amp red LED from Phlattlight, about 50$.


Seriously, 16$ 433 Mhz license free remote doorbell at Walmart.
A FET with the gate on the existing LED closes the doorbell remote's
contacts.
.
Change the batteries once in a while.

Steve

[Michael A. Terrell]

What is a Db?

[Nemo]

Optical fibre...?

Let's say your garage adjoins the house. Feed the fibre in to the
kitchen. The blinking light would not be visible in daylight, but when
you switch the kitchen light off at night you would see the blinking
glow from the fibre.

No batteries, software etc needed.

[Owen Roberts]

Quote:    What is a Db?

Its what a dB is when I've worked a 14 hour day, then reply to a forum
late before a hour commute home.

I'm working on a dying lab laser system with over 120 hardware
adjustments in the mirror train. I'm very focused on what I'm doing
and I missed the inversion on the abbreviation. Mea Culpa.

Jim, Seriously, IFO are nice folks and just across town from you. Go
pick up some plastic fiber.

Steve

Steve

[Jim Thompson]

On Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:09:18 -0700 (PDT), Owen Roberts <o...@case.edu>
wrote:

Will do.

[Les Cargill]

A C , same as in town.

( I think he meant dB and got tangled up on the shift key )

--
Les Cargill

[notbob]

On 2012-04-19, Les Cargill <lcarg...@comcast.com> wrote:
> Michael A. Terrell wrote:

>> What is a Db?

> ( I think he meant dB and got tangled up on the shift key )

Dave Jones to the rescue:

http://tinyurl.com/6mud5fv

nb

--
vi --the heart of evil!

[Ralph Barone]

Analogous to the mho, it's 1/dB.

[Michael A. Terrell]

You never know, if you don't ask! ;-)