I need a sensor to detect up to 15 feet (4.5 meters). It does not need to be accurate, however, it does need to be consistent. Most of the devices I have look at are only good to 1-2 meters. The only exception is lidar which way out of my budget. Anybody got some ideas?
I need a sensor to detect up to 15 feet (4.5 meters).
Detect what ? Goats, Humans, Extra-terrestrials ? Heat ? Motion ? Rising taxes ? Drones ?
Would a PIR work for you ?
It does not need to be accurate, however, it does need to be consistent.
Accurate in distance or direction ?
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.
Check Amazon. They have a waterproof Ultrasonic sensor ($16.99/2) that said it would do slightly longer distances than the normal SRO4 ones. One place in the text description said 25 cm to 4 M. In the pictures on the left side, it shows 20cm to 600cm. I have not personally used this item. Just noticed it when browsing the site.
You could ask the Amazon vendor a question about what the actual distance specification is. One person in the FAQ's answered it was not good at detecting soft items. I'm not sure if Extra-terrestrials are considered hard surfaces or soft surfaced?
RCC1
@rcc1 That would work but I only need 1 and was hoping to keep it under $10.
Also worth watching, is the DroneBot Workshop video about that sensor as compared to others
Waterproof Ultrasonic Distance Sensors - JSN-SR04T & A02YYUW 💧☔ - YouTube
You still have not explained your application. There may be other sensors that fit.
RCC1
@rcc1 Its just a stop signal for parking the car in the garage. The garage has objects in the front of the garage, so it is not obvious when you have pulled in far enough but not too far. I am guessing the distance is 10 feet, but it could be farther. Since it is inside a garage it need not be waterproof.
Just hang a ping pong ball from the roof of the garage so that it just touches the windshield of your car when it's at the proper distance into the garage.
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.
@will That only works if you always pull in forward. I need this for backing in too.
Hang a second one (different colour) for reversing in.
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.
You sure are a hard guy to please ... 🙂
OK, build a small wooden frame out of 2" thick wood (so that a car wheel or a shotgun can move over the top of it and have the interior protected). Cut a notch in it to allow wiring to pass underneath it to power the sensor pack.
Inside this frame, place an Arduino and a HC-SR04 sensor pointed UP at the minimum distance from the FRONT wall for the longest vehicle to be placed in the garage and glue the cord into the notch. Run the cord to a convenient power source.
Set the Arduino to flash the overhead lights, sound a siren, fire a cannon ... your choice of attention-getting devices. Set the Arduino to do all of this when the HC-SR04 finds an object within 14" above it (well within the capability) because that means a vehicle has just arrived at the minimum safe distance from the door of the garage.
If you restrict the locations to one specific slot for each vehicle, then place the sensor at a convenient distance from the front door to allow it to close safely in front of that specific vehicle. Doesn't matter whether you drive, back or push it in, the car's the same length in both directions.
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.
Still not the best answer.
Well then, have a happy life.
Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're talking about.
Hi @sj_h1,
I have no relevant experience or recommendation to offer, but on searching I noticed:
The data sheet (click tiny red PDF button in middle of page) on the web page
mentions range to over 6m (245 inches) ----
LV-MaxSonar®-EZ™ Series High Performance Sonar Range Finder MB1000, MB1010, MB1020, MB1030, MB10402 With 2.5V - 5.5V power the LV-MaxSonar-EZ provides very short to long-range detection and ranging in a very small package. The LV-MaxSonar-EZ detects objects from 0-inches to 254-inches (6.45-meters) and provides sonar range information from 6-inches out to 254-inches with 1-inch resolution. Objects from 0-inches to 6-inches typically rangeas 6-inches1. The interface output formats included are pulse width output, analog voltage output, and RS232 serial output. Factory calibration and testing is completed with a flat object. 1See Close Range Operation
The data sheet discusses several different versions ... how this ties up with the single adafruit part offered by digikey is unclear.
I have no idea if it is supported by any of the Arduino libraries.
It might also be over budget. And it might not work...
But it might be worth a look if you don't mind doing some R&D!
Good luck, Dave
@davee The link you gave point to a sensor that has a range of 20 inches, however, the data sheet also includes the MaxSonar version which does have the distance, however, I have been unable to find them on Digi-key or amazon.