Intro
Ever want to build an alarm system?The RCWL-0516 is a human body motion detection sensor. A sensor, that detects, through induction, human body movement. So it should only react if a body movement is detected. Moving objects should be ignored. How cool is that?
Wiring
Straight forward.
GND => GND
5V => VIN
D2 => OUT
Pin 3V3 on the RCWL-0516 is an output. And the CDS-pin you can attach a light sensor. I will cover it in a later video.
Videos
Wiring & Use
ESP & detection tests
Code
Seriously? You set the pin, the RCWL-0516 is attached to, as an input. And if you register a 'HIGH' signal, you do stuff. Watch the video. Coding is done in 2 minutes.Q&A
Update 29-05-2017This sensor seems to get quite an attention. There are some questions that some of my viewers asks. Here is what I found out.
Q: Can you use the RCWL-0516 with an ESP8266? Or will you get randomly false positive results?
A: I've done a short term test with the ESP8266 on a NodeMCU board. It seems to work just fine.
The ESP greater Version 12-E is shielded and is FCC certified. So it should, by definition, not interfere with other electronics.
However one viewer reported randomly false positive results on a long shot.
Q: Is the water in the human body responsible for the detection?
A: Probably. I tested it with an empty and with a water filled bottle. And even with a cat. And it seems that the bigger the object the further away it can be detected.
Q: Can it be mounted mobile to detect persons?
A: No. The sensor seems to be quite sensible to movement itself. Any movement of the sensor itself seems to trigger the output.
Q: Does the radiation of the sensor harm you in long term?
A: No. The Sensor uses about 30 milliwatts (mW). The radiation output is limited to that value. That is far less than your smartphone emits.
Links
Amazon
RWCL-0516NodeMcu
Arduino Uno
