Gimmick needed...

Darlington phototransistor and twisted pair up to an LED+resistor indoors. Duct tape in place. If visibility at the softener is required, specify translucent or transparent duct tape. ;-)

Tim

-- Deep Friar: a very philosophical monk. Website:

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Install a light operated wall switch into a box or fixture, and place it in front of the LED. When it fires, the switch will as well. Then you power whatever warning indicator you are happy with from that. An IR switch might work as well.

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Flexible Light pipe?

Cheers

Get a pair of those cheap FRS units and use a PD into a switch circuit to key the radio. You can put the other radio on standby else where in the house.

It's just about the cheapest ready made method I can think of, especially when many of those units have courtesy beeps in them, along with several channels.

Jamie

Super! That'll work perfectly. The closet backs up to the hallway where I set the alarm every evening. So I'll just drill thru. ...Jim Thompson

LED triggers ultrasonic transducer connected to water pipe, triggers ultrasonic receiver connected to convenient water faucet in house. No need to use RF or run wires.

If you want to get fancy, and it gets hot in the garage, you could use an energy-harvesting IC to charge the transducer's supply from the pipe-to-ambient thermal gradient.

If you need something longer than 12", try some Lucite rods. About $2 = for=20

Paul=20

Ya need one of them refrigerator alarms that speaks when the light goes on.

'Course that disembodied voice at oh dark thirty in the morning intoning "Refill the Water Softener!" might be a little creepy.

--Winston

I can remember a day, back before I had time on my hands, that I'd just put a reminder on the calendar to go check on stuff that used consumables. but I do love my gadgets...

Small mouse cage located against side of softener, mouse is conditioned to look for food when light blinks and runs into a pipe into the house, reaches the end of the pipe launches into space and lands on a lever with fulcrum that sends a small steel ball up to ring a bell.

No need to get all Rube Goldberg about it... Keep it simple.

That would be at the 'Whyle Coyote' level.

If a higher amplitude signal is needed, you could position an elephant near the end of the mouse's pipe. When the elephant runs through your living room, scared out of its wits, you'll know its time to perform the needed maintenance.

There is the possibility of false signals as the November general elections near and more elephants start running scared.

Well! Sometimes even a non-electronic solution will do the job! How about that!

Jon

"Jim Thompson" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Weather station desk clock with radio outside temperature sender.

Crack the sender open & replace the thermistor with LDR.

Jim, Industrial Fiber Optics inc, has a head office and plant in Phoenix... They sell 1mm plastic optical fiber by the meter, put it on the led. ... At 1.5 Db loss per meter... You'll need to squint to see the light out of the fiber.. So get a replacement 10 amp red LED from Phlattlight, about 50$.

Seriously, 16$ 433 Mhz license free remote doorbell at Walmart. A FET with the gate on the existing LED closes the doorbell remote's contacts. . Change the batteries once in a while.

Steve

What is a Db?

Optical fibre...?

Let's say your garage adjoins the house. Feed the fibre in to the kitchen. The blinking light would not be visible in daylight, but when you switch the kitchen light off at night you would see the blinking glow from the fibre.

No batteries, software etc needed.

Quote: =A0 =A0What is a Db?

Its what a dB is when I've worked a 14 hour day, then reply to a forum late before a hour commute home.

I'm working on a dying lab laser system with over 120 hardware adjustments in the mirror train. I'm very focused on what I'm doing and I missed the inversion on the abbreviation. Mea Culpa.

Jim, Seriously, IFO are nice folks and just across town from you. Go pick up some plastic fiber.

Steve

Steve

Will do. ...Jim Thompson