Hello everyone,
I have a chicken coop with a sliding vertical door. Every morning I need to get up at 6am to open the door, and every night I need to close the door to protect my chickens. I have looked at commercial coop door openers, but they all retail at around £100 ($200). They look like fairly simple devices, and I would like to try and make my own (with some help from an electronics expert or two!)
Here is an example of an automatic coop door so you can get an idea of how the thing should function:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXLPdCbk8dA
I have a rudimentary knowledge of electronics and mechanics, but this is beyond my capabilities. Here are some ideas that I had:
1) There is no mains electricity near my coop, so the device will need to run off batteries.
2) I have a low RPM battery-powered disco ball motor. This could be used to turn a spool of fishing line, thereby opening and closing the door.
3) A 12v timer could switch a relay at the appropriate time, sending the door up/down.
However, I can't get my head around how would I switch the motor polarity so that the door will both open and close, short of having two timers and two relays.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! If you need to know any more information then please do ask!
Jack
I have a chicken coop with a sliding vertical door. Every morning I need to get up at 6am to open the door, and every night I need to close the door to protect my chickens. I have looked at commercial coop door openers, but they all retail at around £100 ($200). They look like fairly simple devices, and I would like to try and make my own (with some help from an electronics expert or two!)
Here is an example of an automatic coop door so you can get an idea of how the thing should function:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXLPdCbk8dA
I have a rudimentary knowledge of electronics and mechanics, but this is beyond my capabilities. Here are some ideas that I had:
1) There is no mains electricity near my coop, so the device will need to run off batteries.
2) I have a low RPM battery-powered disco ball motor. This could be used to turn a spool of fishing line, thereby opening and closing the door.
3) A 12v timer could switch a relay at the appropriate time, sending the door up/down.
However, I can't get my head around how would I switch the motor polarity so that the door will both open and close, short of having two timers and two relays.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! If you need to know any more information then please do ask!
Jack