Powered chicken hatch with remote control
These are my backup project notes - please email me if interested
Objective
Control the hatch between the chicken hutch and the outside compound via a web page.
Method
An old 12 volt electric drill (with failed battery) drives a threaded rod.
It was necessary to connect to the motor directly and remove the drill's speed control circuits.
The power supply was actually a 13.6 volts supply feeding a lead-acid security battery - this provided the surge of current needed by the motor.
On the rod is threaded a nut fixed inside an assembly that drives a metal sliding door covering a hole in the hutch wall.
When the door is fully close a microswitch turns off the motor power.
The current can then be reversed to open the hatch and a second microswitch
stops the motor when the hatch is fully open
LEDs indicate the state of the hatch. The power diodes are within a recycled power diode bridge.
So that both LEDs can be earthed (at the remote display site) the + current for one comes via the motor.
The microswitches are shown in the positions they occupy when the hatch is half open or half closed.
Comments? email me