Need a 110V switch that turns on with low current

Question

I’m good with electronics, but bad with terminology. Basically, I need a switch of some sort that can pull regular power from my house (110V) to power a device that normally just plugs into the wall, except I need the switch to only close/turn on when low voltage (5V I believe, but I need to test) is applied through a positive and negative terminal.

I have an alarm clock that comes with a small disk with a vibration motor inside of it. When the alarm fires, it powers the vibration motor via a positive and negative wire connected to the clock. I’ve tried dozens of these, and none of them are powerful enough to work for me. I purchased a very large screen sifting vibration motor and I’m going to mount that to my bed frame. It is powered by a regular 110V outlet. I want to be able to signal a power on to the high powered motor via the old power source from the wires that used to go to the small alarm clock motor. I just don’t know what the name of such a switch might be.

Answer 1

is there a specific kind that handles high voltage but switches for low voltage?

That is a relay. You need a relay whose contacts are rated for 110 V and whatever current that motor needs (plus some headroom, since a motor is an inductive device, and inductive devices tend to put more stress on relays). The coil voltage should be whatever voltage is applied to that vibration motor.

You're probably in luck since your alarm clock is designed to operate a motor, so its output is already suited toward operating something similar to a relay coil. You'll still need to carefully wire up the relay, taking extensive care to practice good electrical safety since you are dealing with mains voltage, and your device is going to be close to a bed (with a person as well as flammable bedding). This isn't simply a matter of connecting the right wires to the right places; you'll need to take care that your wiring and assembly workmanship is good enough to ensure no hotspots, shorts, etc even if the device is put under load, kicked around accidentally, etc.

An alternative would be an off-the-shelf device that integrates a relay, all the wiring, and safe construction all in one package. An example would be something like this - while I haven't used it and cannot personally endorse it, and I cannot find a UL listing or similar for it, this kind of off-the-shelf device is likely safer than DIY wiring without experience and suitable design review.