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I have a wireless remote control for a light. It runs with a 12V battery. It has two mini Omron type B3F momentary ON switches (mini push-button switches).

One button is for Light ON, the other for Light OFF.

I wonder how to connect my Arduino to that switch so I can control the on/off states.

I was wondering about relays, or maybe hacking direct the board which seems pretty rudimentary (was a cheap control system).

In the picture, you can see 6 switches because it controls 3 receivers.

enter image description here

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1 Answer

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Get your multimeter and find out how the switches are connected and if they are pull up or pull down. Also measure the voltage. So if a switch does a pull up to 5V you can just connect your arduino and output a HIGH. If its a 12V signal or sth that isn't supported by the arduino make the arduino turn on a transistor which then switches 12V to the switch. Vice versa for a pull down.

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sorry for my newbie question: do i have to remove the 12v battery right? – Francesco Apr 24 '12 at 2:41
You need the battery to be connected while using your multimeter, if that is what you are asking. – Shungun Apr 24 '12 at 8:49
right i checked and it sounds it keeps 12v at the button...so you are saying of using a transistor..is a mosfet a transitor? i'm a total newbie...any links or website suggestions would help – Francesco Apr 24 '12 at 22:15
yep, a MOSFET is short for metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor. You'll connect the output of the arduino to the base of the transistor, and the collector and emitter to the 12V supply and the button. So when you output a HIGH, there is 5V to the base and the transistor will connect the 12V supply to the button (if thats what you want). If I find any links, i'll paste it here. – Shungun Apr 25 '12 at 3:41
found a link : tat-tvam-asi.in/electronics/hacking-a-toy-train-with-arduino you could follow the same, and on hindsight using a optocoupler might be a good idea! :) – Shungun Apr 25 '12 at 3:45

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