Portaguard; two thirds ready built!

Advanced Adaptive PIR/Microwave Technology Sensor. (Napco C-100 STLRE)


This sensor combines X Band microwave with Passive Infra Red and operates over a wide arc up to 50 feet.

I picked this one up for £1 at a local rag market (the same one the UK Border Patrol pick up illegal immigrants) in Birmingham; there were a few there last Sunday.

It came in a standard PIR package; the wall-mounted kind you see everywhere, a 12v dc supply powers it (although I managed to get it running on 4AA bats) and it takes about a minute to warm up. Once warmed up it will go for days.

I had a breakthrough with it this morning, managed to locate the pins that tap into the microwave receiver (see pic). Linked them to a set of speakers and it now directly replays every movement as a series of clicks and bleeps, kinda like a bat sounds through a bat detector. I say breakthrough, pointing it out of our third story window produces an incredibly rich soundscape.

First things first, and that is to improve the range, which is about 50 feet now, to a more useful distance of, say, 500 yards or 2-3 football pitches. Next, the PCB needs enclosing.