UK source for this magnetic switch?

wrong. They have to discriminate.

the days of the

wrong. They have to discriminate.

You fill in the order

I understand their terms and conditions perfectly.

Exactly

Do you want them to lose money so that you

I know they do. That is my point. They have to discriminate.

I go elsewhere as I have stated.

--
Adrian C

Dragging this discussion back from the trading pinciples of some companies.

I do not know about the UK but in Australia and I suspect the USA this sort of thing is easy to find at DIY stores like Bunnings (here) or Home Depot/Lowes (in the US) in the build your self a burgular alarm aisle.

There are at least three layman's electronic suppliers in Aus, DSE (about equiv to Radio Shack), Jaycar (a bit better) and Altronics. All have walk in, chose for yourself, super market type shops. Surley the UK has equivelents.

John G.

Unfortunately Maplin have nearly turned into Rat Shack. No blister packed resistors at three for a pound (80's pricing, it would be 3 for five pounds now) but they've got the piles of consumer tat and now have branches without a parts counter. Where they still do parts, their standard stock level for any store stocked semiconductor (and that's not many from their vastly reduced range) is 3 with long restocking intervals. Bit awkward if you are assembling a bridge from discrete diodes or want enough bicolour LEDs to monitor a bi-directional serial link with handshake lines. They are better than nothing but not by a lot. I am not aware of any other chain of retail electronic component stockists, but hopefully someone knows of some alternatives.

--
Ian Malcolm.   London, ENGLAND.  (NEWSGROUP REPLY PREFERRED)
ianm[at]the[dash]malcolms[dot]freeserve[dot]co[dot]uk
[at]=@, [dash]=- & [dot]=. *Warning* HTML & >32K emails --> NUL:

Rapid Electronics have the best terms for small value mail order and post pretty quickly. next day for most things. One shop I know of in London - but haven't used - is Cricklewood Electronics.

--
*Why does the sun lighten our hair, but darken our skin?

    Dave Plowman        dave@davenoise.co.uk           London SW
                  To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On 2/7/2009 3:32 AM Terry Pinnell spake thus:

Sorry, I can't help, being in the US where things like this are trivially easy to get.

Just one thing: did someone here say that switches like this were typically N/O rather than N/C? And that such could be used for an alarm circuit?

Think about it: if you have a N/O switch as an alarm sensor, all the bad guy has to do to get in is to cut it out of the circuit. There's a reason alarm switches are normally closed.

Hard to believe a N/C reed switch wouldn't be easy to buy somewhere in England.

--
Personally, I like Vista, but I probably won\'t use it. I like it
because it generates considerable business for me in consulting and
upgrades. As long as there is hardware and software out there that
doesn\'t work, I stay in business. Incidentally, my company motto is
"If this stuff worked, you wouldn\'t need me".

- lifted from sci.electronics.repair

N/O reed switches are the simlest to build and in alarm systems are useually held closed by a magnet on the other side of the door etc. so it will activate the alarm if the door opens or the wire is cut. But like you I find it hard to believe they are hard to get.

Terry, If you only need one I will post it from Australia if you are desperate.

John G.

IOW, it's a question of how you define "normally".

Reed switches are open in the absence of a magnetic field, and closed when one is present.

For a relay, you would call such contacts "normally open".

But for a burglar alarm, the "normal" situation is for the magnetic field to be present, from a permanent magnet in a door or window which is "normally" adjacent to the reed switch. In this situation, the contacts will be held closed.

On 2/8/2009 10:11 PM Nobody spake thus:

Ah, so. That makes sense.

--
Personally, I like Vista, but I probably won\'t use it. I like it
because it generates considerable business for me in consulting and
upgrades. As long as there is hardware and software out there that
doesn\'t work, I stay in business. Incidentally, my company motto is
"If this stuff worked, you wouldn\'t need me".

- lifted from sci.electronics.repair

Try this link. Of course you would have to wait for Her Majesty's Mail but here is all the info you should need.

John G.

:On 2/7/2009 3:32 AM Terry Pinnell spake thus: : :> Can anyone point me towards a UK source (phone or online) for an :> inexpensive cylindrical, enclosed reed switch, N/C, for use in a :> burglar alarm circuit please. :> :> I'm still googling but so far without success and want to place an :> order for delivery Monday. : :Sorry, I can't help, being in the US where things like this are :trivially easy to get.

Have you been wondering why the OP has not bothered to respond to any of the responses?

I would bet my last cent that he is a troll and many have been drawn to the apparently innocent "come in sucker" question. Nobody is so dumb that he doesn't know that such devices are readily available from any number of electronics parts outlets. They are just as trivially easy to get in the UK as in the US. For example, Maplin is well known to all electronics hobbyists...

and many others carry similar items.

: :Just one thing: did someone here say that switches like this were :typically N/O rather than N/C? And that such could be used for an alarm :circuit? : :Think about it: if you have a N/O switch as an alarm sensor, all the bad :guy has to do to get in is to cut it out of the circuit. There's a :reason alarm switches are normally closed. : :Hard to believe a N/C reed switch wouldn't be easy to buy somewhere in :England.

**Farnell.

--
Trevor Wilson
www.rageaudio.com.au

On 2/9/2009 12:59 AM Ross Herbert spake thus:

Busy? Distracted? Forgot about it?

Pretty polite and straightforward for a troll, if you ask me.

And maybe not dumb but ignorant instead. (One reason people ask questions in the first place.)

--
Personally, I like Vista, but I probably won\'t use it. I like it
because it generates considerable business for me in consulting and
upgrades. As long as there is hardware and software out there that
doesn\'t work, I stay in business. Incidentally, my company motto is
"If this stuff worked, you wouldn\'t need me".

- lifted from sci.electronics.repair

--
And you\'d lose.

Terry hasn\'t been around for a while, but when he was a regular his
posts were always interesting and his demeanor always polite.

:On Mon, 09 Feb 2009 08:59:21 GMT, Ross Herbert :wrote: : :>On Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:01:18 -0800, David Nebenzahl :>wrote: :>

:>:On 2/7/2009 3:32 AM Terry Pinnell spake thus: :>: :>:> Can anyone point me towards a UK source (phone or online) for an :>:> inexpensive cylindrical, enclosed reed switch, N/C, for use in a :>:> burglar alarm circuit please. :>:> :>:> I'm still googling but so far without success and want to place an :>:> order for delivery Monday. :>: :>:Sorry, I can't help, being in the US where things like this are :>:trivially easy to get. :>

:>Have you been wondering why the OP has not bothered to respond to any of the :>responses? :>

:>I would bet my last cent that he is a troll and many have been drawn to the :>apparently innocent "come in sucker" question. : :--- :And you'd lose.

I'm not so sure about that. While there are many replies from others there is not one which points to a supply source. So where is there a response from him to indicate he requires further clarification or assistance? To request help and then not respond is just plain rude in my book. Even something letting people know he was interested in their answers would be nice.

: :Terry hasn't been around for a while, but when he was a regular his :posts were always interesting and his demeanor always polite.

Unlike yourself as we can see from your final epithet in this response of yours.

:--- : :> Nobody is so dumb that he doesn't :>know that such devices are readily available from any number of electronics :>parts outlets. : :--- :It's not so much about being dumb as it is about not knowing something :and asking for help.

The term "dumb" was meant to convey "ignorance". And ignorance in this case as to how to find the part he was looking for. He states in his request that he knows the part is used in burglar alarms and that it is a reed switch which can be operated by a magnet. Now anybody with a modicum of intelligence in using Google can combine 2 of these facts into a search term. For example; burglar+alarm+reed+switch. And if he was aware of Google's ability to search within a locale he would add uk at the end to get results for his country. To be completely correct for a locale search the term would be site:.uk

:--- : :>They are just as trivially easy to get in the UK as in the US. :>For example, Maplin is well known to all electronics hobbyists... :>

:>and many others carry similar items. : :--- :So, instead of just posting the link, (which would have been helpful) :you accompany it with a slap, which does nothing but start trouble. : :Fuck you. : :JF

John, you have just compounded the situation with your gratuitous and uncalled for FU compliment.

I was not intending to deliver a slap along with the helpful link, but simply to prompt the OP to respond in some manner. You took that responsibility for yourself instead of letting him do so.

If the OP has been following the thread which he started in the hope of getting help (why would he have posted if not to follow and read answers?) then why has he not responded with some sort of indication that he requires further clarification or that he welcomes the suggestions? That is tantamount to "trolling" in my opinion.

If you are still having problems contact me. regards Ed

Thanks for the responses and my apologies for not responding sooner.

Yes, as many have pointed out, I was mistaken about the N/C requirement. It was indeed the ambiguity over the meaning of 'normally open' that caused my mistake. I'd forgotten that the accompanying magnet normally(!) kept it closed. IOW I was regarding 'normality' as the state when my doors are closed, not when the potential burglar was gaining access ;-)

I did realise my mistake soon after posting and duly ordered a few from Rapid Electronics

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

Thanks Ed, sorted thanks. (See my post of a few hours ago.)

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK