Total beginner here with a couple of specific questions pertaining to a remote-control nestbox (bird) trap. The trap design (which did work for the designers) calls for one 9V battery (pack with switch) boosted to 12V with MT3608 module to power 12V 433Mhz RF remote receiver and connected ZEY1-0530 solenoid (specs: 12V DC 1A 10mm push pull). Tiny trap door with torsion spring (door size/gauge and spring size/tension are to design specs) is held open under end of solenoid plunger until remote is used to trigger solenoid to retract, releasing door to spring shut over box entrance. Receiver wired as follows:
V- terminal: black power supply wire and one solenoid wire
V+ terminal: Red power supply wire and wire coming from
Common terminal. Common terminal: one wire that is connected to V+.
NO terminal: second solenoid wire.
I connected the 9V to the booster inputs and the booster outputs to the receiver. Confirmed with tester that booster output to receiver was 12V. Connected the other wires (solenoid wire 1 to V- and wire 2 to NO, and wire from Common to V+) as described above. Switched 9V pack to On, then hit the transmitter button to see if the solenoid, which was not holding the door open yet, would activate. It did. Every time I pushed the transmitter, it retracted. It seemed strong, so I was surprised when, after placing the plunger end over the trap door edge, it was not strong enough to retract. It was just too weak, despite tension from the .4 mm torsion spring being almost nothing.
Since the boosted 9V did not produce a strong enough pull to release the door, I decided to try 8AAs in series. Tested output with meter first to confirm 12V, then connected power directly to receiver (no boost module, since supply was already 12V). The solenoid worked while free as before, but was again not strong enough to pull off of the door, and after several tests, stopped retracting altogether. I then decided to give 6AAs in series with booster a try, but in haste forgot to hook the booster back up. Tested output of the 6AAs was 9.5 Volts. The 6AAs without booster not only worked, the solenoid was actually strong enough to release door on most tries, so long as plunger was at very edge.
Question 1: If I had remembered to reconnect to boost module, would the 6AAs have delivered a bit more oomph to the solenoid, or would the extra 3 volts not impact the current or whatever it is that increases the strength?
Question 2: The 6AAs, unboosted, got the plunger off of the door, but only if I set it to just barely hold the very edge of the door under the very edge of the plunger. I still need just a bit more strength to be sure it will work and that I can set it so the door won't slip off the edge before I hit the remote. The remote control module instructions included the wiring diagram I used, which has the single power supply, and an “external power” wiring diagram, which has two. Could the "external power" wiring (below), with boosted 9V to power the receiver and 6AA series to power the solenoid, provide a bit more oomph to the solenoid than the single supply set-up, since the receiver would not need to draw from the 6AA to switch on? The wiring would be as follows:
Boosted 9V red wire to V+ terminal
Boosted 9V black wire to V- terminal
6AA series black wire to Solenoid Wire #1
Solenoid Wire #2 to NO terminal
6AA series red wire to Common terminal
Also wondering: Why the unboosted 6AAs, which had 9.5V output, worked when solenoid is 12V and remote module is 12V?
and
Why the 8AAs, which had 12V output, produced a weaker result than the 6AAs, which had only 9.5V, and then petered out after just a few tests.
Thank you.
Home
Help
Search
Login
Register
