Stupid question for a stupid idea. I want to make a motorized/remote control pulley system that descends from the ceiling. Basically I want to have an extra shelf in my living room which descends in front of my on command. Any ideas??? I have an x10 setup with and IR543, how could I go about this????

Not stupid at all. Dangerous but not stupid. The control part - up and down - is the easiest part of the system. Limit switches, relays and two x-10 controllers is all it takes. The mechanical part will be the challenge. I built two 25 foot wide by 18 foot high roller blinds and, the biggest challenge was the mechanics behind it all. You don't want the shelf to come down on someone at the wrong time so, have you figured out the mechanics yet???

I have some ideas for the mechanics of it, but really was waiting to see what kind of remote motor I would be able to use, but basically you're saying I could use just about any motor as long as I use the right switches/relay. I will have to give it some more thought.

You might be able to adapt an X-10 curtain-motorization system. Limits and other interfaces already built-in.

Larry
www.fineelectricco.com

I have never used or handled an x-10 curtain motorization system so I don't know its limitations or capabilities. If it can be adapted to your project, go for it because home-made requires much more than just a simple motor. I used a reversing motor with gearbox.

[Link: leeson.com]

There are X-10 drape controllers that might work.

Look at [Link: smarthome.com]

Good Luck
Bob

Thanks for the advice guys, I do think the drapery controller may work for what I need, I will need to work on my plans a little bit. The thing about the drape controller that worries me is the weight. They say 60-75 pounds for drapes, but I wonder how much that would translate into vertical/ against gravity.

I'd look for a proven TV lift/drop design. I've seen some that drop from the ceiling. They would be engineered to handle the weight and have limits built in. Then all you'd have to do would be to hook in one or two x-10 controllers to give you X10 control.

What are you going to have on that shelf?

DBrown

I used a garage door opener (not via X10) to open and close the 8 foot long (x 4 windows) verticle blinds in my front room. Cheap and works great. Maybe overkill for your application, but I thought I would mention it.

go to harborfreight.com they have winches for about $40 -80 that will do several hundread pounds I am going to make something similar to lift my hot tub top.