Ocean Row Boat - radar target enhancer alarm advice

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and ask your expertise and suggestions.

I have a special device, a radar target enhancer that detects radar signals from other ships. When it detects a signal, it drops a line voltage from 5vDC to 0vDC. I want a circuit/Arduino system that will detect the drop in voltage and then signal an LED and buzzer. I'd like to be able to program the unit so that once it detects the signal/drops the voltage, that I don't have to hear/see the 'alarm' for a minute or so (or perhaps can vary the delay).

I'm not sure which Arduino component(s) I need, as well as the programming. Can anyone help? My coming expedition is high-profile and could be a great way for someone/small company to gain excellent exposure.

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions,

W. Vidmar

An Arduino sounds a bit like overkill to me - this sounds to me like a 555 would handle it more cheaply.

If all you need is the "Alarm/Display and then disable for a while" function, then AWOL's suggestion is excellent.

IF you need Other Stuff like "how often" and "When" to be saved, that's more Arduino territory...

Thanks guys,

Originally I hadn't thought about when and where, but it would be helpful information.

I do have several sources of NMEA and GPS positioning data. Which Arduino (or compatible) box would be appropriate for this project?

Hi,
For GPS support on Arduino look at:
http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Main/InterfacingWithHardware#location

A nice small implementation may be here:
http://arduiniana.org/libraries/tinygps/

Any of the Arduinos would work for this... If you needed to make it very much smaller and relatively low power, look at the nano:
http://arduino-direct.com/sunshop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=84

DISCLAIMER: I mentioned stuff from my own Shop...