This is an Instructable to walk you through how to make a sensor-controlled relay power strip using an IR sensor.
“I am an instructor who teaches Plasma Design in the Scientific Glass Technologies program at Salem Community College. One of the challenges has been finding a reliable and affordable transformer to run small plasma displays. Unfortunately, there are not many products on the market, so I decided to make a device which can be used with any transformer to initiate and control the length of time a bulb is turned on. It works great for student displays, especially with Tech22’s L7020 transformer.
I use this device in my own plasma work, and find it handy to use in exhibitions. The device is designed to minimize the risk of injury or the glass being damaged, uses less power, and extends the life of the transformer. By waving their hand in front of the sensor, viewers can initiate the illumination of a plasma bulb without touching the device itself, retaining the interactive quality that is unique to plasma displays. The timer can be set to customize the output for many different situation, including animating the plasma display.
Although this device was designed for use with plasma displays, the output can be any device that plugs into a standard plug on the power strip. It could be used for many other purposes, including art installations.”
Resource submitted by Amy Lemaire