Seeking advice/wisdom - new to the teensy world

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JustJoe

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The size and cost of the device as well as the potential uses is what has peeked my interest; I have no idea of the full capabilities of the device, but may decide to put my tinkering hat on and delve into the teensy world.

I would like to do is use the device as a parcel intrusion detection tool; can I hook up a wire inside a parcel connected to this device in order to record the date and time that the wire is broken (closed/open circuit). I would probably send several test pieces through in order to gather data. Then I would attempt to upgrade to a live test in which I would want to receve a signal when the wire is tripped. I may even attempt to progrees to include a gps signal depending on how cost and size would affect the overall project.

Any and all commments/help/assistance is welcome.

Thanks in advance.

Joe
 
Sounds pretty simple, but then most projects do at the outset! You could also use a magnet and a small reed switch to detect opening a package. That can be used repeatedly to detect multiple openings vs breaking a wire once:). See what I mean? The idea just got a little more complex but maybe also a lot more useful. You'd want the crystal and a backup battery to run the Teensy onboard clock to log the time of each event. You could make a pretty small package with AA batteries powering it. Power management and battery life would take a bit of thought. Just to prove the idea there are converters such as http://www.bodhilabs.com/ which would help prove the idea.
Bruce

Bruce
 
Sounds pretty simple, but then most projects do at the outset! You could also use a magnet and a small reed switch to detect opening a package. That can be used repeatedly to detect multiple openings vs breaking a wire once:). See what I mean? The idea just got a little more complex but maybe also a lot more useful. You'd want the crystal and a backup battery to run the Teensy onboard clock to log the time of each event. You could make a pretty small package with AA batteries powering it. Power management and battery life would take a bit of thought. Just to prove the idea there are converters such as http://www.bodhilabs.com/ which would help prove the idea.
Bruce

Bruce

A magnet would work if the package is opened normally. If the package is comprised through cutting or tearing. then the magnet could be avoided which would mean no data gathered. I was thinking of powering the unit with small round, flat batteries in order to keep the size down. I was wondering if I could connect two points with a wire - i.e. one point to another (ground) so that there would be a closed loop with the wire intact and when the wire was compromised an open would trigger the saving of the date and time. As far as timeline for the test, I would need the power to last min 24 hours to possibly 72 hours. If the unit loses power, will the data (time and date stamp) still be stored or do I have to make sure the unit can hold power until I can retrieve the data?

I currently use something the size of a credit card for live tests; however, I want something smaller (easier concealment) and cheaper (less concern for loss/missing unit) in order to do multiple tests that do not need first hand monitoring. I am trying to gather data in order to increase my success for a live test.
 
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