My aim is to use a readily available transmitter such as a car remote (or cell phone?) to activate a buzzer that will be on a dog collar. Low current small 3vdc buzzers are readily available but I haven't the slightest idea of how to make the receiver and have not found a suitable DIY circuit on the web. Distance is an issue: if possible I'd like the remote to work over 50 yards but I'm not certain what to expect from a car remote or what determines how far a transmitter transmits. I'm no expert in electronics, perhaps only a poor novice but I can follow a circuit diagram and can build a (simple) circuit.
Many thanks for any suggestions,
Burt

 

Google, "cat finder". It won't have a schematic, but you can buy the finished product.

 

There are many available dog training collars.

I am successfully using a pair of these 315MHz modules to remotely control my motorized gate and two garage doors. The receiver antenna is critical in making this work over a distance > 50yrds. I am using a 1/2λ dipole antenna (about 14" long) on the receiver. See post #19 in this thread.

If you purchased the 433MHz version of those modules, the antenna could be a bit shorter. Form the antenna into a loop around the collar.

The addressable decoder gives a lot of security so other miscellaneous signals on the ISM band do not shock the dog. Since you have four channels, maybe you could teach the dog to stop, run, go right, or go left...

 

Google, "cat finder". It won't have a schematic, but you can buy the finished product.

Thanks for the suggestion; looked at these on Amazon: they help owner find the animal, I want the animal wearing the receiver to be alerted and I want it loud enough that I'll hear it if the dog is in range (in an otherwise quiet area). Few commercial electronic dog collars offer a 'tone' option and the tone on those that are offered are much too soft/quiet for the signal sender to hear. I think what I need is info on building a receiver that will switch voltage to a buzzer; I would think it could work on a button battery and be small enough to attach to the dog collar. In the meantime I'll try the 315MHz modules Mike suggested.
Other suggestions are welcome!!
Thanks #12 and Mike,
cheers,
Burt

 

You may have missed the suggestion, but the same modules I linked to (with the encoder/decoder chips) are available for the 433MHz ISM band. They are hard to find on EBay, but they are there... Don't get the ones without the encoder/decoder chips.
433MHz (vs 315MHz) makes for a more efficient transmitter antenna, and a smaller receive antenna.

OTOH, there are likely less interfering signals on the 315MHz ISM band compared to 433MHz.

 

Mike,
Not quite sure what to search for but this came up under search terms 433MHz decoder:

1) http://www.ebay.com/itm/433Mhz-RF-L...609?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4150a85de9

2) http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Ch-Hoppin...654?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cc7343abe

If so, I'm not certain I'd know how to use them; unclear where to hook up a battery, if button battery on receiver would do the trick etc. Unfortunately, I don't know enough about these things to evaluate them but if you think one of these would work I'd buy it and soldier on!
Burt