Thread: I need better triggers

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i am tired of all of my homemade triggers not working like i need them to. most of my props use a prop1 for control and work great with push button triggers while i test them but when i hook them up using either homemade mat switches or PIR sensors in PVC and I am tired of the mat switch either being to flimsy and wearing out or to stiff and hard to trigger. and the PIR's are another constant pain in the butt wont go off when they are supposed to or constantly going off when their is nothing there. so i am looking to find another way to control my props. I know i will still need some mat switches but I don't want to use homemade ones anymore. years ago long before i started this demented hobby we all have there was a surplus store in town that used to sell the mat switch material on a roll but they don't carry it anymore and i cant find it anywhere else. I am also intrerested in break beam sensors but that would be a new venture for me and i dont even know how they would hookup.

What type of PIR sensor are you using?

I had a similar problem this year with my x10 EagleEye motion sensors. I ended up taking down the sensor, deleting the macro from the interface, and controlling it manually via x10 remote control.

I've never had issues with the PIR senosrs that came with my HauntMaster controllers, their just those small 1" x 1" IR types. I also use the cheap motion light hack and the ones I have have worked flawlessly for a few years. You can see an example here: Cheap/ easy motion sensor

We switched from PIR sensors to X-10's this year and the worked very well.

I am uesing the parallax pir's that you can get from efx-tek

I've never had much luck with the motion light hacks. they didn't have the timing adjustment needed and were not reliable.

I made my own PIR trigger and used a PIR similar to the EF Tek ones but I coupled it to a board from simple circuits this allowed me to have three seperate settings. 1. Delay after pir trip 2. Activate prop time on 3. Delay after prop activity is completed. For me it worked very well as the delay before allowed the tots to get in position the activate triggered the prop and kept it going for the desired time and the delay prevented any retrips.

I used the PIC event Timer board. The Pir wired directly to the board and was powered by the board. http://simplecircuitsboards.com

You can also use the TTL relay board and wire the pir to it but there is no options for any delays. I made a couple of these and they worked will also. http://simplecircuitboards.com/1A%20Relays.html

If you're interested I can take a couple of pics and email them to you.

There was a thread awhile back in the EFX-TEC forum about a rash of bad PIR's. Those are actually made by Parallax. You might try contacting them about a replacement/upgrade. Could be you just have bad PIRs.

This year I tried mat switches for three of my props. Two of them were from Fright Props and I loved 'em! The third prop came with a prop I bought (still high quality but not sure of manufacturer) Threw a thin garage floor mat over them and they worked. every. time! http://www.frightprops.com/controlle...sing-mats.html

Next year I'm thinking of using all floor mats. I do use them in conjunction with DMXorcist/eXorcist on the computer to keep them from re-triggering for a timed cycle. That keeps problems from happening when a kid stands on it too long or figures out the mat is what's triggering the prop.