I have customer with a weekend cabin. There is no internet or control system. There is a driveway sensor that has a low voltage contacts. He wants to activate a lamp or light switch from that contact closure. In the OLD days it was doable with X-10. Anyone know of a simple low cost way to do it now? Not looking to add RadioRa or the like just to do one or two circuits..

TIA!

[Link: amazon.com]

Sorry, just realized this takes DC to trigger. Something like this though. Shouldn’t be too hard to find.

Can you tolerate using or adapting a device that plugs into an outlet, where you then plug the light into this device? It's a self-contained unit plus an RF key fob. No nasty voltages to deal with unless you want to get fancy and adapt it to control a wire that goes to the light in EMT or whatever.

The key fob goes in the car. Instructions for obtaining multiple key fobs: these things are cheap enough that you can buy multiple sets and throw away the switched part!

Look at this: [Link: google.com]

I first saw this as a remote control for Christmas tree lights. Works great. Cheap.

Right now we have a three-channel version set up in the master bedroom. Each of us has a key fob (obtained through the clever device of buying two sets of switches), so we can control all three lights from either side of the bed.

The master packs of these things have, I think, eight units, each on its own set of frequencies A, B, etc. Want to control them multiply? Get matching frequency units.

Last I looked, the single units were under ten bucks and a three-fer was under twenty bucks. They are my go-to for simple single circuit no-wiring remote light control.

The only drawbacks are that

a)the keyfob has a chain and it you hang it from the chain, OFF is on top and ON is on the bottom, and

b)the manufacturer might change things so that this year's A units don't control last year's A units. They've done that at least once.

Why not just run a low voltage power source through the sensor to the DC trigger?

Find a cheap garage door opener, heck even one where the motor or whatever is broken. Just as long as it can receive the remote's signal and the light turns on. Then just program the remote to the 3rd button of the client's vehicle.

No matter what you do with the driveway based contact system. You'll have to figure out how to keep the light on. Either for a certain amount of time or where the client has to press a button to turn it off. Other wise the light will just flash twice... Once for the front wheels and again for the rear wheels.

KOT

Caseta. Get a router, a Caseta Hub, a lamp module or outlet, a Pico and make sure the WiFi reaches wherever he wants to be when he turns the lights on or tech him how the app works if he doesn't want to carry a Pico.

Assuming the wiring for the driveway sensor goes back into the cabin and has some type of output on it you just need relay that activates on contact closure. Omron makes them and fairly cheap ($15 for relay and terminal block).

You may also need some type of time delay off relay depending on the driveway sensor. If the sensor is only contact closure for the time it is sensing a vehicle the light will only turn on for the 2-3 seconds the vehicle is being detected.

If there is no timer associated with the vehicle detector, you could trigger a latching relay circuit. A button or two on a switch plate could provide manual control of the light.

Im using a Dakota Alert wireless transmitter. It's over a quarter mile long driveway from the road to the house. It has a receiver with contact closure outputs. I have tested the unit on site, and it does work from that distance. I was surprised!

So, I only have that to work with. It's to trigger the receiver chime and some sort of light.

I did just Google X-10, it appears you can still buy it from a random site.

I will see if that pans out...

You can try Insteon. They have a sensor module and they sell light switches and lamp modules. I used it in a job once to open a gate and I didn’t need a hub or anything. The devices link directly together.


[Link: insteon.com]

This

I think caseta requires the cloud to allow you to configure a system through the app

Even if that's required (and I don't remember seeing anything about needing the internet for anything but updates), can't it be configured offsite and installed later?

I googled the question 'Does a Caseta hub need the internet after configuration?' and this quote from the Lutron forum was at the top of the page:

"The Caseta system requires internet for initial setup, and for syncing its time. Once it is set up, you can remove it from the internet, and the Scheduled Scenes will still occur as long as the bridge doesn't lose power. The time on the bridge should be pretty accurate for a few months without internet connection".

I had a Caseta system up and running, house sold, previous owner moved out, terminated Internet service, removed the network, left hub behind, and Caseta continued to work locally.

A Mier driveway sensor would work, too-

[Link: mierproducts.com]

I have one, new in the box but never installed it- not sure if the warranty would be in effect, but I can call to find out.