Hi everyone,
I would like to control an AC, 220V horn via arduino and be able to program it to buzz at a given time. I'm quite new to the arduino world, so every beginner advice will be much appreciated.
How is the horn controlled now?
How many amps (or watts) does it draw?
Do you know how to handle 220v electricity safely?
If other people will have access to this project it would be best to get a professional electrician to do the job.
...R
Robin2's right about safety, and perhaps in your jurisdiction a licensed person might be required to advise.
But that said, it would need a relay module signaled by the Arduino to switch the mains to the horn, and if by "at a given time" you mean time of day, you would do that with a Real Time Clock (RTC) module.
If you describe a piece of hardware, but neglect to give details, we can only guess vaguely about its specifications.
I know... it is too vague, but only as it is my knowledge on this subject.
The horn is now controlled by a shift control station in my company, but we are switching to another station that has no possibility to control a horn. We still need it, so I initially thought it would be possible to control it via arduino, maybe getting the time directly from our server.
The horn is so old that all the documentation is lost. I assume the voltage is 220V because it is the standard in Spain and by the types of cables and connections I see inside the old station, but still haven't done the measurements.
We usually work with some qualified electricians in the company, but they don't know about arduino, so here I am, trying to solve this.
My untrained logic says I need an arduino module, connected to the server via ethernet, with a relay module that opens or closes the horn circuit. But at this point, everything else is new to me.
thisisrhun:
My untrained logic says I need an arduino module, connected to the server via ethernet, with a relay module that opens or closes the horn circuit. But at this point, everything else is new to me.
I think an RTC on the Arduino would be a lot simpler than getting a connection into the server just to get the time.
You will need to find out the electrical characteristics of the horn in order to spec the relay.
But you could meanwhile just buy a cheap relay module and use a mains lamp of low current as a proxy for the horn, and get the RTC to switch the lamp on and off. And then once you get the horn's specs, either keep the relay if it's up to the job, or get a better one.