Closing a Circuit with a PIR Sensor

Projects General Guidance
1

I apologize in advance for being a bit of a newbie with electronics as a whole.

I am trying to build a rudimentary camera trap using a PIR sensor. The camera itself is triggered by a circuit closing, so I need to find a way for the circuit to be open, and then when the PIR sensor detects motion, have it close, then reopen afterwards. I believe I read that the best way to do this is with a relay, but I am not sure which kind to use, if there is any difference between them.

Thank you for any help in advance!

2

A $0.10 opto coupler could be all that you need.

A HC-SR501 PIR output can drive the opto LED directly between it's output and ground.
The opto transistor could trigger the camera directly.

You could use an Arduino in between if you need more control over the timing.
Leo..

3

You can refer to Motion Sensor Control Relay tutorial

4

Try a H11F1TVM opto FET.

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/on-semiconductor/H11F1TVM/H11F1TVM-ND/1793948

5

Wawa:
A $0.10 opto coupler could be all that you need.

larryd:
Try a H11F1TVM opto FET.

H11F1TVM onsemi | Isolators | DigiKey

Okay so I think it sounds like I should try the opto coupler. I did have a feeling I wouldn't necessarily need the arduino to get it to work, but I will definitely use it for timing, as what I am using it for will definitely need to be timed.

Thanks so much!

~Max