No body here ever heard of illumra?

Looks very similar in operation to X10. Unfortunately, also appears very pricey considering everything the OP would like to do. Neat product though, I'll keep it in mind next time I'm thinking about moving a wall switch.

OP, attached is the final schematic and bill of materials (BOM). I think I covered everything in the right quantities, but hopefully someone will let me know if they see anything amiss. Note that the costs shown do not include things like shipping, taxes, consumables like wire, solder, etc., etc.

I've assumed you only want one button per room module and not three. Easy enough to add if needed though.

The design includes a bridge rectifier (D4-D7) which allows you to use any wall adapter rated 9-12VDC or VAC without worrying about polarity. I've also selected one of the most common plug dimensions used on these types of power supplies (2.1mm x 5.5mm). In the event one of your patients decides to chew through the power cord, you should be able to find a suitable replacement without trying to match it exactly.

Also attached is a picture of the enclosure I have in mind. It includes flanges on the side so you can easily mount it to a wall. It is light in color so I can more easily add labels (black on clear) to each module indicating which LED represents which room as shown in the drawing in my last post.

I'll shoot you a PM with a total cost and you can decide what direction you want to go.

 

I speak truth.
I think it is cRaZY too. People are not born with personality, knowledge or language.
But some doctors are trying to prove that we are.

'Born this way'

PM me a link. Still not buying it.

 

Another thought occurs to me . . . would you prefer one button per room station? In other words, all exam room stations would have one button corresponding to that room only. I think it would simplify operation, so someone in room 1 doesn't accidentally make a call for room 2 (or turn off a call for one of the other rooms). The only caveat I see is you have to be in that room to turn on or off the call, but since this is how the system should operate, I don't see that as a problem. Thoughts?

Yes, one button per room would be fine, it would not be a problem to turn off the indicator only in the room where one "originated the summons".

 

PM me a link. Still not buying it.

The guys in the mental hospital told me about it

The food is really good in my local mental asylum.

Try some

 

Looks very similar in operation to X10. Unfortunately, also appears very pricey considering everything the OP would like to do. Neat product though, I'll keep it in mind next time I'm thinking about moving a wall switch.

OP, attached is the final schematic and bill of materials (BOM). I think I covered everything in the right quantities, but hopefully someone will let me know if they see anything amiss. Note that the costs shown do not include things like shipping, taxes, consumables like wire, solder, etc., etc.

I've assumed you only want one button per room module and not three. Easy enough to add if needed though.

The design includes a bridge rectifier (D4-D7) which allows you to use any wall adapter rated 9-12VDC or VAC without worrying about polarity. I've also selected one of the most common plug dimensions used on these types of power supplies (2.1mm x 5.5mm). In the event one of your patients decides to chew through the power cord, you should be able to find a suitable replacement without trying to match it exactly.

Also attached is a picture of the enclosure I have in mind. It includes flanges on the side so you can easily mount it to a wall. It is light in color so I can more easily add labels (black on clear) to each module indicating which LED represents which room as shown in the drawing in my last post.

I'll shoot you a PM with a total cost and you can decide what direction you want to go.

Got the PM, see reply. The audio....is that the same as in your youtube video? "Assistance needed in room 1", etc.? Can that be changed? I like it, but my business partner might not be sold on it.

So in summary:

1) There is one button per room that functions both as an on and off switch for that LED and audio sound. These buttons are connected wirelessly to the receiver stations.

2) There are two receiver stations with LED and audio and one receiver station with LEDs only.

3) Each receiver station will need a power supply, as well as one for each of the three room transmitters.

4) No wires from the transmitters to the receivers...the connection is wireless.

Do I understand correctly?

 

The guys in the mental hospital told me about it

The food is really good in my local mental asylum.

Try some

Eh, ours closed fifteen years ago. Now to be a shopping center.

 

Eh, ours closed fifteen years ago. Now to be a shopping center.

In Australia, the budget for mental health is 2 billion, but for general medicine it is much less.

It is like this plauge in Australia. One in five people suffer depression. Then there are other disorders such as bipolar and schitzophrenia.

We have many mental hospitals in Australia.

 

The audio....is that the same as in your youtube video? "Assistance needed in room 1", etc.? Can that be changed? I like it, but my business partner might not be sold on it.

Yes. The audio device accepts audio files, so could have it play music, change the phrase using the link I posted earlier, record someone's voice on a computer and play it as an audio track, etc.

1) There is one button per room that functions both as an on and off switch for that LED and audio sound. These buttons are connected wirelessly to the receiver stations.

2) There are two receiver stations with LED and audio and one receiver station with LEDs only.

3) Each receiver station will need a power supply, as well as one for each of the three room transmitters.

4) No wires from the transmitters to the receivers...the connection is wireless.

Do I understand correctly?

I think that's it. Refer to the bottom half of the attachment in post #78. Six stations total, all six with LED's. Three go into the rooms and each one has one button corresponding to that room. Of the remaining three, two have audio modules.

Yes, all will require wall power, included in the BOM. These don't take much in the way of power, so batteries could be used, but then you'll have to keep batteries handy and electronics may do strange things as the batteries get low.

 

Don't think you caught on to what I was saying about the illumra products
I use them but don't sell them!
You can screw a light switch on to a tree if you want!

 

Don't think you caught on to what I was saying about the illumra products
I use them but don't sell them!
You can screw a light switch on to a tree if you want!

As you're familiar with Illumra and I'm obviously not, if you can find an Illumra product that does what the OP is looking for - specifically three remotes to control six receivers with three channels each - please go ahead and post links and describe it to the OP. Also let us know where it can be bought in the U.S. and a rough price so the OP can decide which option works best. You may very well have a better or simpler solution and I'd be interested in it as well.

 

Can I run one power supply to two (or more) different sender or receiver units, or do they all have to have their own power supply?

 

Can I run one power supply to two (or more) different sender or receiver units, or do they all have to have their own power supply?

Anything is possible. I'd have to run a test or two to verify exactly how much current is required by each module, but once determined, you could potentially purchase a single power supply with a large (enough) output current rating and use that. You'd then have to run two wires, such as a lamp or speaker cord, to each module.

May I ask you to elaborate on what you have in mind? I figured it was simplest to hang each module in its respective location then simply plug into an available wall outlet. If, however, you have existing unused cables in the walls or a drop down ceiling and want to run wire, you could use fewer (or even one) power supply.

 

We have a shortage of outlets in the exam rooms, at least they are in places where we would have to run cords. Two of the exam rooms have a split-cabinet between them and I'm thinking those two exam rooms senders could (maybe) share one power supply.

The receiver units would all be located near an outlet, and the third exam room we can figure something out.

 

The OP and I have worked out an agreement to have me make this. I'm going to continue to post progress here to help others who may want to do something similar in the future as well as to invite constructive criticism in case someone sees a different/better way of doing something.

To the OP, attached is a close drawing of the final product I currently have in mind. The actual color of the enclosures is shown in a picture on the bottom right. I tried to visually match the color in the drawing and I didn't bother to show the mounting flanges. I can of course change the color with some paint before mounting everything if the current color clashes with anything.

I've drawn all six modules - three that go into the rooms with one button corresponding to the that room, two that go outside the rooms with audio announcers and one with LED's only for reception. All six modules have three LED's, so someone in room 2 will know, visually, when someone in room 1 needs help. If this is not important (or distracting), we can use just one LED in the room modules to correspond to that room only.

Regarding the PDF attachment, the module drawn at the top is drawn to scale (approximately 3" x 5"), so you should be able to print it off, cut it out, and place in each of the six locations to get a better feel for size and visibility. The others are drawn smaller just to show how they'll look and to fit onto a single sheet of paper.

On concern is the size and visibility of the LEDs. As well, can we adjust the volume of the audio "help needed in room X"?

I think the LED's will be okay, but let's discuss this a bit so you know where I'm coming from. We're going to stick with through-hole LED's so we can easily attach these to a panel. There are generally three (common) sizes of through-holes: 3mm, 5mm, and 10mm and two lens types: diffused and non-diffused.

Non-diffused typically have smaller viewing angles and a lot more brightness for and are often used in outdoor displays or anywhere you need a lot of light - fighting the sun or a flashlight for example. Indoors and up close, we want people to see the LED's but we want to be careful not to blind them. Diffused can also be seen from a wider viewing angle. In this case, diffused is the way to go.

Now size. 3mm is a wee bit small. 10mm aren't bad, but they'll physically stick out farther than 5mm and you can lose some brightness with the larger area they disperse light vs. 5mm (given the same mcd or brightness rating).

Add to the fact we're trying to keep the circuit as small as possible and have the LED's blink without requiring extra circuitry and we're very limited in options. However, I think the 5mm blinking LED's I found will work well. However, to be extra safe, I will take some videos of the first module I make on my shop wall which is lighted with T8 bulbs (very bright fluorescent bulbs). If it shows up well in the video, you should have no problem seeing them in your office. To be extra, extra safe, I can make one or two and ship them so you can test them before we go too far ahead if you'd like.

The sound modules have a fixed volume. There are a couple of ways around this. If they're too loud, I either put fewer holes in the enclosures or none at all. This won't allow for tweaking later, so a decision should be made if you're okay with having the volume the same all the time or if you have a need to change the volume from time to time. For the latter option, I could add a potentiometer (volume knob) to one of the leads (I'll have to test this first as I'm not 100% positive it will work). If they aren't loud enough period, an amplifier will have to be added which adds to circuit complexity and cost.

These modules are primarily designed for use in greeting cards, so picture hearing one of those singing cards in the lab and pharmacy (or test this if you have one of these cards handy) and see if that is loud enough. Quieting them down is straightforward. Making them louder is more involved. I think we're okay on loud enough, but I don't know how big the areas are, how far away you need the techs to be able to hear it from, or how noisy the office is at a peak time (customers, animals, lab equipment, etc.). If you have that information, I can try to simulate it and perform some tests.

I'll wait to hear back from you about the overall look and any additional questions or concerns you have. If you approve, I'll order parts and get busy.

 

Looks good, elec_mech! I'll continue to follow your and drjsp's project with interest.

 

drjsp - just wondering if you've had a chance to look and comment on my last post?

 

Well, after many months of inactivity on my part due to financial limitations, I've build all six units for the OP. Unfortunately, I've run into a bit of a snafu I'm hoping those who are still following this thread may be able to help with. The modules work most of the time, but not every module seems to receive a signal every time and it's not consistent, i.e., not a specific signal nor specific module.

A quick recap, inexpensive 4-channel Chinese RF modules pairs are used to send and receive signals. There are six modules and each contains a receiver that is powered by 5VDC through a 78L05 regulator which is powered by a 9VDC wall wart. Three of the modules contain transmitters with a single N.O. momentary switch added in parallel to the existing tactile switches. The transmitters originally used 12V batteries, but I've connected them to the 9VDC from the wall wart (after a bridge rectifier) as the actual voltage is often much higher than 9VDC anyway - 12VDC wall warts were looked at, but the output voltage even under the small load I'm using was well above 12V, so I didn't want to chance damaging the transmitters.

When a button is pressed, all six receivers should light the appropriate LED and play an audio file (two of the six anyway). When the same button is pressed again, the LED should turn off. However, more often than not, one or two of the modules doesn't appear to receive the signal. It may miss it the first time the button is pressed, but then catch it the second time the button is pressed, turning on the LED when it should be off.

At first I thought the enclosure might be blocking the RF signal or at least dampening it, so I added a solid gauge wire to each receiver (they had an unpopulated ANT pad) and ran the wire outside the enclosure. No dice.

Then I thought it might be switch bounce, so I connected the switch to my scope, but I didn't see any bounce, but that is more than likely due to user error on my part. But then I thought perhaps I'm pushing the button too fast sometimes. I tested that on two units and thought that was the solution - hold the button down for a full second or two to ensure all the receivers see the signal. I tested that with all six and the problem persists.

I did notice that if I held a button down for several seconds, the audio file started to play then stopped then started to played and so on. So now I wonder if indeed there is a sort of switch bounce problem where if the signal is transmitted too long (beyond a second or two) the receiver acts on the signal as if it were a clock and not a steady high signal (unless something else is causing the signal to appear as clock signal to the receiver). Perhaps more than a split-second button press is read by receiver as multiple signals?

So I don't know if I need to attempt to add a debounce circuit, a T flip flop, and/or a one-shot circuit to eliminate this problem. Or perhaps something else altogether? I'm open to suggestions and thanks to everyone in advance.

 

The caps on your power supply are smallish. I'd be tempted to put a larger cap in there. For testing to eliminate power supply issues, I'd use a battery and see if performance improves.

If that makes no difference, I'd look at the output of the receiver to try to determine if the problem is in the receiver or in U2.

Just throwing out ideas.

 

Thank you wayneh - I appreciate the advice. Should I put something like a 47uF electrolytic on the input side of the regulator? I just went with what the 78L05 datasheet recommended, but I recall now that there should be a bigger cap somewhere, especially with long leads to power supplies. I don't recall exactly where (before or after the regulator) they go nor an ideal size.

Excellent suggestion on battery power. I'll wire up some 9V battery connections this weekend and give that a shot to eliminate the power supply as a variable.

I'll also put the scope on the receiver and U2 output and try to see how the signal is seen on short, moderate, and long button presses. I'm guessing I need to figure out how to use the trigger function to try to capture momentary bounce.

Thanks again, great suggestions all around.

 

So I've had some success, but I'm not quite there yet . . .

I learned using a 9VDC wall wart doesn't quite give the transmitter enough voltage to transmit reliably. I learned this by following wayneh's advice and testing with 9V and 12V batteries. One module worked okay with 9V, one hardly worked at all, so then I examined the voltage going through the transmitter switch. I used 12VDC wall warts with the transmitter boxes and I'm getting much more consistent results.

As a good measure, I've added a 47uF capacitor to the input side of the voltage regulator and a 1uF capacitor to the output side.

When I have all six side-by-side everything works well.

When I move them about 10-20 feet from each other, they all seem to work pretty well except the receivers with the sound modules. Those two modules, one in particular, seems to briefly light the LED then goes promptly off (when it should stay latched on) and the sound file plays nearly every time (when the LED should come on and stay and when the LED should go off).
After my wife talked me me out of a panic (got a lot going on right now), I suspect that the sound module is pulling just enough current from the 78L05 regulator to force the 5V down enough to effectively cut power to the receiver (which performs the latching). The 78L05 is rated for 100mA and last time I checked one of these sound modules, they pulled between 30-50mA, so I didn't think there would be a power problem, but I haven't checked these modules in particular. I'm going to try to replace the 78L05 with a standard 7805 this evening and see if that helps.