It’s time for the next Gadget Master competition, and we are taking inspitration from Joel Young’s recent Weird & Wireless post – Does unplugging all your wall-warts really matter? The prize to be won this month is the Plug-In Power and Energy Monitor Meter.
The problems of static-intensive storms were compounded, he writes, by overhead electricity and telephone networks, coursing with very high voltages. He looked to build his own solution – a P.I.R. Detector (passive infra-red).
You can read the circuit schematics used in the modified waterproof solar torch, plus some detailed photos of the modification work.