I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark.
More specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket,
and allow a bulb to plug in on the other side.

I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

In article , Timothy Murphy
writes
I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark.
More specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket,
and allow a bulb to plug in on the other side.

I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.


Ah!, its not as simple as that, as consider where would the sensor be?,
somewhere near the light I'll wager, so when the light comes on how's it
going to tell when its dark again?.

You'll need something with a remote sensor, preferably outside like what
we've got here, the sensor being remote from where any lights are, and
it has a delay system so that passing headlights etc don't switch the
lights off!....
--
Tony Sayer

I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.

I had such a device, which came free with my house insurance one year. So
they do exist. It was very simple with no controls at all. Even worked with
low energy bulbs. (This should be an essential feature of such a device,
really).

Christian.

Ah!, its not as simple as that, as consider where would the sensor be?,
somewhere near the light I'll wager, so when the light comes on how's it
going to tell when its dark again?.

When it turns on, it does so only for a period, such as 15 minutes. Then it
turns off again. If it is still dark, it will relight. This appears to the
user as a very brief flicker.

Christian.

"Christian McArdle" wrote in message
. net...
I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.

I had such a device, which came free with my house insurance one year. So
they do exist. It was very simple with no controls at all. Even worked
with
low energy bulbs. (This should be an essential feature of such a device,
really).

Christian.


I also had one free with my insurance about 7 years ago, but mine is
still sealed in its packet. It is branded as "Uni-Com Security",

In article , Timothy Murphy
wrote:

I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark. More
specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket, and allow a
bulb to plug in on the other side.

Would a low energy lamp with built in sensor be suitable? Screwfix have
them at 12.95 quid (quote no. 18491). They claim to come on at dusk and
off again at dawn and would avoid the need for an adapter.

--
Mike Clarke

In article ,
Timothy Murphy writes:
I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark.
More specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket,
and allow a bulb to plug in on the other side.

I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.

You can buy compact fluorescent lamps with built-in photocell
which do this. There is a dependancy that the fitting doesn't
reflect too much light back into the photocell, or it obviously
won't work.

--
Andrew Gabriel

"Mike Clarke" wrote in message
...
In article , Timothy Murphy
wrote:

I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark. More
specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket, and allow a
bulb to plug in on the other side.

Would a low energy lamp with built in sensor be suitable? Screwfix have
them at 12.95 quid (quote no. 18491). They claim to come on at dusk and
off again at dawn and would avoid the need for an adapter.

--
Mike Clarke

I've been using one of these for some time (Osram Sensor Plus) in a
conventional external light fitting. It's a 15w low energy lamp.
Something to be aware of is that they are a bit longer than a normal lamp
(4.5 cm in the case of the one I've got) so check it will go in your
fitting.
Nick.

"Timothy Murphy" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark.
More specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket,
and allow a bulb to plug in on the other side.

I've seen such devices (and in fact have one, by TimeGuard)
but they all seem to be far too clever,
and have various modes switching on and off at random,
but amazingly do not have a mode which simply switches on
when it is dark, and off when it is light.


I've got one of these things (lower half of page) which replaces the
normal light switch.

http://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Ind...Menu_Index/Lig
hting_Controls/index.html

http://tinyurl.com/5g89u

You can get a device to put in your circuit to get it to work with a
fluorescent - presumably it leaks a small amount of current allowing the
sensor to work.

HTH

Neil

Christian McArdle wrote:

Ah!, its not as simple as that, as consider where would the sensor be?,
somewhere near the light I'll wager, so when the light comes on how's it
going to tell when its dark again?.

When it turns on, it does so only for a period, such as 15 minutes. Then
it turns off again. If it is still dark, it will relight. This appears to
the user as a very brief flicker.

OK, thanks - that is probably why my device turns off at regular intervals.
I thought it was just a slightly bizarre scheme to scare off burglars.
So maybe I already have what I want!


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Mike Clarke wrote:

I'm looking for a gizmo to make a light go on when it is dark. More
specifically, it should go into a bayonet light socket, and allow a
bulb to plug in on the other side.

Would a low energy lamp with built in sensor be suitable? Screwfix have
them at 12.95 quid (quote no. 18491). They claim to come on at dusk and
off again at dawn and would avoid the need for an adapter.

Thanks, I'll have a lookout for that.

--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland