Hey guys,

I am working on making an automatic Dog Door, one that will open when my dog walks up to it, but won't open for other animals. I know how to get it to open but I have never done any wireless stuff before. So I was wondering how would you recommend I get the door to detect my dog, I thought about using IR LEDs (on the dog collar) and sensors on the door but that won't really work in bright light.

As RFID and RF seem like two viable options can you guys link me to a good tutorial or something to get me started as I don't know anything about them.

 

Have you tried Google? Try "RFID dog door". Lots of stuff to see.

IR isn't as good a strategy due to the power required to keep the LED lit. With RFID, power comes from the door, not the pet.

 

I have a magnet on my cats collar. And a magnetic lock on the door. It's funny to see when my cat is being chased by another, and my cat gets in, but the other don't...

 

I have a magnet on my cats collar. And a magnetic lock on the door. It's funny to see when my cat is being chased by another, and my cat gets in, but the other don't...

What detects the cat's magnet? I'm a little surprised this works reliably. Great if it does.

 

It's a small metal plate. When the magnet is close enough, the plate is forced to the magnet, and a little hook is letting the door go in. It's all mechanical. When the cat, which has the name Carmen, goes away, the weight of the metal plate is pushing the hook up. The same thing happens with Carmens daughter, Electra....

 

You named you cats after Carmen Electra?? Nice

 

You named you cats after Carmen Electra?? Nice

Well... Um... Oh, I'm so busted...

 

Hey, nerdegutta, did you make or buy your magnetic cat door? I'd like something like that so we can keep the stinking raccoons out of our garage. I don't trust an electrical solution, as I don't feel it would be reliable over a long period of time. But if you can provide some pictures or a link, maybe one of us could design one (that's always more fun than buying one).

Hopefully, this is enough on-thread to not be considered hijacking...

 

Hi,

It bought something this.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

You have a magnet strong enough to do that from that distance? What kind of magnet is it?

 

It's a small magnet on the cats collar, and when the cats stick their heads in, and start pushing the hatch, the magnet is maybe 2-3 cm from the metal plate.

It's working great.