Anyone good with electronics, like switches n stuff? I have a situation...

[chiwawa626]

Ok so i have an appliance plugged into a socket in the attic. I also have a cat5e wire that runs from the attic to a storage room. I need to have a way to switch that appliance on and off by cutting power to it, but i need the switching device to be in that storage room. How can i rig up something using the cat5 wire to cut the power on/off to the appliance or outlet....?

 

[Colt45]

put a relay on it I guess.

but CAT5 isnt really designed for carrying any kind of half decent power.. its signal wire.

so like.. 12v relay i guess.

12v on the cat5. when the 12v is on, it opens the relay and turns the 120v appliance on.

 

[FoBoT]

is the cat5 supposed to still be an active network cable when you are done? or is it just a handy wire in the vicinity?

you can use a relay to do this, 115VAC on one side and some lower dc voltage on the other side, then use a wall wart and light switch on the other end of the cat5 to trigger it

unless you mean to keep the cat5 sending network traffic, in that case , i dunno

 

[brxndxn]

You can buy wireless radio remote switches at home depot and stuff.. they're like $20-30.. that way, the Cat 5 can be used for network traffic and you don't have to do anything elaborate.

I've also seen them at Target.

 

[chiwawa626]

The cat5 is there because other cat5 runs to that room, it is unused and is just an extra wire. What is this relay you speak of?

 

[loup garou]

X10 is good for something other than popunders! Funny thing is I got this a couple years ago for $5.99 shipped.
The remote should work through ceilings/walls to whatever is plugged in in the attic.

 

[chiwawa626]

The distance is somewhat long and up 3 stories of a cement building, i dont really want to use wireless unless i haveto...id prefer something more physical. Im on google rite now looking at relay "kits"

 

[Colt45]

relay is a magnetic switch,

when you put 12v (or whatever the trigger voltage is) on the coil, it pulls a peice of metal down onto the "magnet" which essentially switches it on.

 

[Colt45]

here

except, the bottom battery will be a wall wart, the top battery will be the AC outlet on the wall. the lightbulb will be your appliance.

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Ok so i have an appliance plugged into a socket in the attic. I also have a cat5e wire that runs from the attic to a storage room. I need to have a way to switch that appliance on and off by cutting power to it, but i need the switching device to be in that storage room. How can i rig up something using the cat5 wire to cut the power on/off to the appliance or outlet....?

What's the appliance? Also, give us the A(current) or W rating written somewhere on the appliance so we can size the relay for you.

 

[chiwawa626]

The appliance is a network swtich. It should be under 5 amps, and its 120volt...thats as specific i can get, i dont know what model it is from where i am rite now... Also i looked up on these relays online, and how the heck do you wire them, they have a buncha pins on the bottom, i dont get it...

 

[chiwawa626]

Something like this looks pretty simple to me:
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=500500&item=SSRLY-10&type=store

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
The appliance is a network swtich. It should be under 5 amps, and its 120volt...thats as specific i can get, i dont know what model it is from where i am rite now... Also i looked up on these relays online, and how the heck do you wire them, they have a buncha pins on the bottom, i dont get it...

Relays come in many many different types. A small one costs a few dollars and there's some that costs thousands. You want a single throw single contact relay, because this is the easiest to connect. There should be four pins coming out of it. The pair that goes to coil goes to CAT 5. The other two, you connect it in series with AC line like a switch. Make sure you switch the hot side. You'll have to use a UL approved relay if you want to be code compliant. Let me look it up on Radioshack site and I'll give you the catalog #.

 

[Colt45]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
The appliance is a network swtich. It should be under 5 amps, and its 120volt...thats as specific i can get, i dont know what model it is from where i am rite now... Also i looked up on these relays online, and how the heck do you wire them, they have a buncha pins on the bottom, i dont get it...

WAY under 5amps @ 120.

my router draws 1A @ 12v.

If the switch uses a wallwart (most likely) you might be able to run the power (LV DC) right through the CAT5, and skip the relay.

wallwart --> cat5 --> switch.

although, probably cant handle and amp of 12vdc. well might work if you tie wires of the cat 5 to + and -, but i dont know

 

[chiwawa626]

Its a 24port switch and uses a regular computer power cord, no wall adapter thingie. I was thinkin about just getting one of those solid state ones from allelectronics or somewhere since i can just screw in wires and forget about soldering...any downside to those?

 

[NeoPTLD]

Ok you need this relay:
Radio Shack. Should be available in stores. You might have to call around a few RS stores. The price is $4

275-248
10A SPDT contacts and 12V coil.

Polarity doesn't matter on 12V side.

For the contacts, you'll see three terminals. Common, normally off and normally on.

Normally off means it's off when the power is off and turns on when power is applied. Normally on behaves just the opposite.

First, you need to cut a 120V cord. Pull the covering off the wires. The white cord or if not color corded, the one that leads to left side(ground pin facing down)/larger prong connects directly to your load. The black cord from power goes to common and load black connects to normally off terminal. Leave the third pin unused.

That's it.

Don't even bother with solid state. They wreak havoc if your load doesn't meet the requirement. (minimum load, maximum peak current and many other factors)

 

[chiwawa626]

Is it ok to run 12v on the cat5e wire though?

 

[chiwawa626]

oh and can i just solder the 120v wire onto this thing? arent those pins kinda small?

 

[NeoPTLD]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
oh and can i just solder the 120v wire onto this thing? arent those pins kinda small?

Yes you can and electrical tape the cords together, so all the stress is captured within electrical tape. If you yank on it, it will break. Actually, build the whole thing in a tapperware.

 

[chiwawa626]

Originally posted by: chiwawa626
Is it ok to run 12v on the cat5e wire though?

 

[etech]

No, Do NOT repeat NOT run 120Vac through Cat 5. Put that idea completly out of your mind. It is dangerous and could get someone killed.

Get one of the wireless switches from Radio Shack or Walmart or even X10.


It might be possible to run a 12v signal through the cat5 to switch a 12v relay. It would work but would not be approved by any city building code as Cat5 is rated for communication only. You would need a 12v power supply and a switch. Put the switch inline with the 12v PS and switch the current to the coil. Wire the 120Vac part of the relay in series with your load. It can be done and would work but I would not recomend it especially if you are not familiar with wiring 120Vac.

 

[chiwawa626]

hmm so i guess the 120v thru the cat5 is the best way to go?..dude nobody is that stupid ....

anyways i ordered the stuff from radio shack....What ill do is hook it up so that if the 12v is on then the 120 is off, that way the 120 should be on most of the time anyways, and the whole point of the relay is just to switch it on/off when its having problems. That way it will only run 12v when needed to cut the 120 so no prolonged usage of 12v on the cat5....trust me the way things work in this world or city, nothing follows any sort of regulation unless its on the exterior.