A device has been developed; it is hermetic to avoid tampering and weather.
It turns itself on dusk-to-dawn with its solar panel and loong life rechargeable battery.

How to turn it off during shipment ?

Thought of a reed switch with an attached external magnet to be discarded at installation. Implies less reliability, something else to fail at operation.
How would you do it ?

 

A device has been developed; it is hermetic to avoid tampering and weather.
It turns itself on dusk-to-dawn with its solar panel and loong life rechargeable battery.

How to turn it off during shipment ?

Thought of a reed switch with an attached external magnet to be discarded at installation. Implies less reliability, something else to fail at operation.
How would you do it ?

How about a sealed switch such as https://www.digikey.com/product-det...switch-switches/1825032-1/450-2129-ND/1202182

 

Hello,

Is it to connect the battery to the circuit?
Does it need to be waterproof?
If does not need to be waterproof, put a plastic tab between the battery and its contact, sticking outside of the box.
Pulling the plastic tab away will let the battery make contact.

Bertus

 

Thanks.
Yes, waterproof, and hermetic.
Disconnecting/re-connecting the battery would be the task.
A 'sealed switch' would allow unauthorized persons to shut it off during operation

 

What's the problem with leaving it operational from the factory?

 

Time left on shelves, transit; opening a box with a discharged battery that can be detrimental, non-operational until recharged for a solar day or two...

 

There is the Hamlin Firecracker series of Prox switch, just requires a sealed hole for a small magnet rod actuator.
Also Littlefuse sell the same type.
Max.

 

How about a magnetic switch, but such circuit that it can only be activated once and any further changes have no effect? A little bit more circuitry, but worst case is that the device starts running early.

 

Maybe a push for on, pull for off type of switch with the button recessed so that it can only be pushed. Once it is turned on, it can't be turned off.

Another possibility is a CMOS flip-flop set by an external push button switch to turn the unit on (an internal reset switch would be used to turn it off before shipping). The F-F could be powered by a small lithium coin cell giving years of shelf life. The switch could be some kind of membrane switch to get a weather seal.

 

Time left on shelves, transit; opening a box with a discharged battery that can be detrimental, non-operational until recharged for a solar day or two...

Search around online for the DSE ESR meter kit schematic - it has a power management transistor that you latch by pressing a button, when the micro fires up it switches a level that simulates button still pressed. The usual energy saving auto shutdown drops that pin and releases the transistor. The old 6818 compatible RTC modules with built in lithium cells were inactive till you fired them up for the first time - I don't know how they did that.

Use a MOSFET power management transistor for low sustain current in a latching arrangement and a reed unit for a one time activation with a magnet.

 

Thank you gentlemen, excellent suggestions.
The 'firecracker' thingy is something I did not knew existed. You taught me something else today !

 

I have a few suggestions for the task.

What kind of intelligence is there in the product?

Because if using a microprocessor, I could suggest that after the factory test, a light code was sent to the products solar panel, which closes everything down for half an hour. This half hour you have to pack the product "lightproof". When the end user unpacks the product, light on the solar panel will reenter normal operation.

Without microprocessor, I could suggest an infrared receiver (maybe just a photo transistor) on the back of the product, to switch to shipment mode. A few years ago, I made some preliminary test to send IR signals through a 3mm thick light gray plastic box, and it turned out that I could actually get a useful communication with a "regular" 5mm IR LED.

 

The advantage with the reed switch is no power is consumed when the disable is active.
Max.