• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Ignition key enhancements on the cheap.

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Hello.

I came up with this based on what was said on HEF.
What I came up with is a very simple circuit based on a "hidden switch", but in plain sight.
This is nothing more than a reed switch (a switch that operates in the presence of a magnetic field) and an SCR, (a solid state switch), and a keychain magnet.
You place your key in the ignition like you normally do and turn it on.
The magnet only needs to be near the reed switch to operate so if it is mounted near the keyswitch it will operate from the keyring magnet.
The SCR acts as a "latch" preventing the circuit from cutting out as the magnet moves about.
And, again, the reed switch could be mounted almost anywhere.
Once triggered, it stays on until you turn the ignition off for anywhere from instant to several minutes, your choice.
Keychain magnets are cheap and the circuit itself is under $5 complete.
The circuit itself is a reed switch rated at 200 mA, a generic SCR rated at 7 or more and 50 volts or more, a 50 to 2300 uF electrolytic cap, a diode rated at over 1/2 amp or more and 50 volts or more and a resistor rated from 1 to 22k.
The cap and resistor are how you select time delay, anywhere from 1/30th of a second to around 150 seconds is a valid value.
I can provide a schematic if need be, but with only 5 parts there is very little to it.
 

Speedpup

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
1,214
Location
New York
Occupation
President and all else that needs done!
so when are you going to start selling them?
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Selling.

so when are you going to start selling them?

Hello.

I am not at the point of selling this.
But, I do plan on giving a few away to beta testers.
At this time I think of this as nothing more than a "secret" switch, not unlike what people do now, except hidden in plain sight. :D
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Magnet problems.

Hello.

A keychain magnet will create no trouble whatsoever.
Most equipment now has quite a few magnets on board, including the oil drain plug.
 

CM1995

Administrator
Joined
Jan 21, 2007
Messages
13,250
Location
Alabama
Occupation
Running what I brung and taking what I win
What do you do when the thieves start carrying magnets with them?:cool2
 

Burnout

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,448
Location
Edmonton AB
Occupation
Operator at Sureway Construction
Why bother with it at all? How much does it take to wire in a small electrical cut off switch to the starter, ignition etc. Or How about what my old man does... pull the power wire off the electric fuel solenoid on the fuel shut off? Or master battery switches mounted in a different location?

By the sounds of your switch you are just cutting power to the ignition right? What happens if I have some mechanics wire and a screwdriver and jump it?

The company I work for now wires in vandalism switches on equipment. With these switches there is no power to the starter. In our 973's the switch it in a different spot in each machine, and what did that cost to wire in? It's a 3 dollar toggle switch.... 6ft of wire?
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Switch.

Hello.

A switch, that is all this is.
There are 2 advantages that a magnet operated SCR switch has.
The first, it can be hidden from view and requires no effort whatsoever on the part of the operator if the switch is near the key switch and the magnet is on the keyring.
The second is that it is self-resetting, turn the key on and the magnetic field triggers it.
Remove power and you must again trigger it, again, no effort on the part of the operator.
There is no hidden switch to find or remember to turn on or off.
But, yes, nothing more than a switch.
 

Burnout

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,448
Location
Edmonton AB
Occupation
Operator at Sureway Construction
So what happens when you put your cellphone in the same pocket your keys are in? Or your ipod. While im sure the electronics in your machine are shielded... ever put your cellphone near a speaker? I killed my old nokia cellphone leaving it near the sub in my Jeep.

As for the switch in a machine.... its nice having those switches there, you can leave the machine at lunchtime if need be.

If you want to get real creative with the vandal locks you can do what I saw on a friends backhoe. He had a switch wired in on the dash to cut power to the starter. He got tired of his neighbor using his machine (me) and decided to conceal it even further. He wired that switch to the aux. hyd switch. Unless you had the aux hyd switch in the on position you couldn't start the machine. It was creative and it kept me out of his backhoe for a few months.
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Neighbor.

Hello.

In the case of the neighbor, he used the wrong kind of switch. :D
 

Burnout

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,448
Location
Edmonton AB
Occupation
Operator at Sureway Construction
Hello.

In the case of the neighbor, he used the wrong kind of switch. :D

Not really... it was free. Plus it kept other people out. I used it because his backhoe was newer than the one we kept around the house.
 

Speedpup

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2007
Messages
1,214
Location
New York
Occupation
President and all else that needs done!
Hello.

A switch, that is all this is.
There are 2 advantages that a magnet operated SCR switch has.
The first, it can be hidden from view and requires no effort whatsoever on the part of the operator if the switch is near the key switch and the magnet is on the keyring.
The second is that it is self-resetting, turn the key on and the magnetic field triggers it.
Remove power and you must again trigger it, again, no effort on the part of the operator.
There is no hidden switch to find or remember to turn on or off.
But, yes, nothing more than a switch.


plus if their are others on the job like my masonry crew you cannot let them see you crawling around the machine the secret will not last long.
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Keys and phones.

Hello.

If you put a magnet right next to your electronics, yes, you may have a problem.
But, you would have to put your phone and your keys in the same pocket.
Quite a few carrying cases use a small magnet to close the cover, so I am not sure even about that.
Again, this is just now being tested, so I simply do not know.
But, again, the advantage we have here is that this is a simple and cheap hidden in plain sight solution.
Total cost may prove to be little more than a switch itself.
And, what I had intended about the other switch was a stick to ones behind. :D
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Magnet and Electronics.

Hello.

I had a chance to speak with the reps at Nokia.
Yes, perhaps an 8 to 10 ounce magnet from a subwoofer might cause trouble.
But, a 1/20 of an ounce magnet can do no damage, even if you were to tie the 2 together.
iPhone? same thing.
This is a key chain magnet.
 

swampdog

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
393
Location
Canada
Arabhacks, your idea sounds interesting. It may also have a market among owners of collector cars. If you decide to make up a few test units, drop me a PM.
 

Arabhacks

Banned
Joined
Nov 9, 2009
Messages
146
Location
Texas
Occupation
Underemplyed Operator
Test units.

Hello.

I have made 23 test units so far and everything looks good.
I do not plan on making any more for at least another month, remember that this is a test.
 

Burnout

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 20, 2008
Messages
1,448
Location
Edmonton AB
Occupation
Operator at Sureway Construction
So hacks...are you putting this system on your excavator and truck?
 
Top