Is this a joke? Remote-control light switch

[AlbertL]

Trying to be positive, I'm going to assume this was a strictly learning exercise in mechanical design: https://www.instructables.com/Remote-Control-Light-Switch-1/

[PlainName]

There are actual products that do this kind of thing:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SwitchBot-Smart-Switch-Button-Pusher/dp/B07B7NXV4R

One problem with shoving the smarts behind the pattress is lack of a neutral wire. Lack of space can be an issue too.

[themadhippy]

great idea,no modification to the fixed wiring,so no rules broken

[AlbertL]

Seems like a Bluetooth-enabled light bulb would be a simpler solution.

[AlbertL]

There's a product like that made for pushing buttons on electrical switchgear when there's a danger of arc flash.  There were a few times when I was working on boatanchor equipment that one of those would have been nice to have.

[PlainName]

Seems like a Bluetooth-enabled light bulb would be a simpler solution.

Possibly not: lack of neutral wire again. Plus, if you switch off at the switch you can't turn it on with BT. Similarly, if you turn it off with BT you can't turn it on at the switch.

[IanB]

In the hardware store the other day I noticed voice controlled smart lightbulbs as a regular item. So the advantage of bespoke or custom solutions seems to be fading away.

[Gregg]

I believe the X10 system was the first widely available remote control for lights and other mains powered things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_(industry_standard)
I still have a few of these devices and use them for holiday lighting.  If it ain't broke, I see no reason to reinvent it.

[ledtester]

Trying to be positive, I'm going to assume this was a strictly learning exercise in mechanical design: https://www.instructables.com/Remote-Control-Light-Switch-1/

Note what is said in the instructable:

I'm a mechanical engineering student at Utah State University in Logan Utah. It's awesome, except for one thing. I sleep on the top bunk of a bunk bed, ...

He likely doesn't own the building he sleeps in so modifying/replacing the light switch is probably not an option for him.

Besides, he's an ME student -- a young guy looking for problems to solve.

[NiHaoMike]

The mechanism is a bit overcomplicated but I guess that's what engineers do. There's a much simpler design on Thingiverse that simply holds the servo in the right place, using one of the arms supplied with the servo to flip the switch.

[CatalinaWOW]

This is what happens when you silo competencies.  The mechanical engineer comes up with a mechanical solution.  With more time and money than buying a remote control switch at the local big box or Amazon.  Electronics engineers do the same kind of thing, designing in pressure sensors, valves and a microprocessor to do what a burst disk does.

Another way of saying this is when you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.

[xrunner]

The mechanism is a bit overcomplicated but I guess that's what engineers do. There's a much simpler design on Thingiverse that simply holds the servo in the right place, using one of the arms supplied with the servo to flip the switch.

All you need is three eyelets and some string. One string pulls the switch up when it's down the other the opposite way. One eyelet goes below the switch to reverse the direction of the string that pulls the switch down. The other two eyelets route the string to the bed overhead.

Yea, but that's too simplistic ... 

[eugene]

Um... how many of you have never built anything just because you found the process entertaining? All of the women in my extended family spin their own string and yarn. Some knit, others weave. Should I suggest to them that there are other, more practical ways to obtain hats and bathroom rugs?

[amyk]

Definitely overly complicated even if you wanted electronics and wireless. The idea of slowly operating a switch that might arc in transit if it wasn't allowed to go over-center quickly is a little worrying.  A solenoid doesn't have this problem, and switches far more quickly and decisively.

[BradC]

The mechanism is a bit overcomplicated but I guess that's what engineers do. There's a much simpler design on Thingiverse that simply holds the servo in the right place, using one of the arms supplied with the servo to flip the switch.

All you need is three eyelets and some string. One string pulls the switch up when it's down the other the opposite way. One eyelet goes below the switch to reverse the direction of the string that pulls the switch down. The other two eyelets route the string to the bed overhead.

Yea, but that's too simplistic ... 

When I was a teenager ( yes I can remember back that far, barely ) I made a “pull on-pull off” mechanism for my bedroom light switch out of Lego, then routed the string across 2 perpendicular walls with cupboards. “Because I can”. Not everything is about “buy cheap shit from China”.

This is cool, but it needs more Heath Robinson.

[rstofer]

That's a very cool project!  Version 2 should be a walking robot that will turn on any light in the house.  Speech recognition required...  "Flipper - turn off the kitchen lights"  I suppose Alexa gets involved about here.  Computer vision for determining which switch to turn off along with some AI to create a route.  Or just tell the kids to do it!  See which one is easier!

We're only just beginning with human-machine interface.

[eugene]

Obviously, if I were tasked with making a remote control switch for lights it would be entirely electronic. If I were told that it *must* be mechanical, then it would probably include a lead screw and a small stepper motor.

Having said all of that, I can appreciate interesting mechanisms and see a kind of beauty in the exposed rack and pinion gearing. I give the person credit for creativity and a sense of aesthetics. It's clear from the posts in this thread that not everyone appreciates the aesthetics, but I'll bet a lot of the guy's ME friends do.

[AlbertL]

Even if we accept the premise that a mechanical operator is the best way to meet the requirements, it's overly complicated.  Seems like a better approach would be to put the rack above or below the switch, so the rack motion would be directly in line with the switch handle movement.  That would simplify the linkage and reduce the risk that binding of the guide rods would jam the mechanism.

[AlbertL]

Here's the industrial version: https://cbsarcsafe.com/chicken-switch/

[emece67]

.

[PlainName]

That second one is great 

[Capernicus]

remote controlled anything always offers some perk i reckon.

[dkonigs]

great idea,no modification to the fixed wiring,so no rules broken

Yeah, this is what everyone else is likely missing. We sometimes find ourselves in situations where "the rules" prohibit us from implementing the "proper/obvious solution" to a problem. Thus, weird kludges are necessary.

[NiHaoMike]

Yeah, this is what everyone else is likely missing. We sometimes find ourselves in situations where "the rules" prohibit us from implementing the "proper/obvious solution" to a problem. Thus, weird kludges are necessary.

Anyone remember acoustic coupler modems? Sometime in the mid 2000s, I seen one in a hotel room with its own keyboard and a composite cable to plug it into the TV, most likely unused for years if not a decade or more. I guess at one point it was common for business travelers to dial into the office with one of those?

[ataradov]

Yeah, this is what everyone else is likely missing. We sometimes find ourselves in situations where "the rules" prohibit us from implementing the "proper/obvious solution" to a problem. Thus, weird kludges are necessary.

I though of that, but to me it feels like removing a face plate and attaching a custom contraption is already a problem here. This switch can't be operated by anyone other than the creator. What if there is an emergency and you need to have the light on? Will you fumble around for the phone?

Those simpler ones that you stick with a tape are better in that respect.