After Santa had dropped off some project components from AliExpress, or wherever he gets them, I find myself with an exciting backlog of things to fiddle with during the wet and windy nights. Many, many projects in fact.
I wanted a remote power switch for my radio gear, so that on the odd occasion I want to use my Yaesu remotely, I don't have to leave the PSU turned on - in exactly the same way the club shack power-switching works. Fortunately, I don't need a switch for the radio itself, as the Yaesu remote software and LAN hardware handles that, and I'll add an antenna relay at a later date.
I also wanted a plug-in mains power meter, so that I can test all the heavily-laden 13A sockets in my home. Apparently, one of the best buys is the budget Keweisi AC300 meter. Mr Christmas supplied me the 20A version, and it needed to go into an enclosure for safety reasons, as it's mains powered and I have the memory of a goldfish when it comes to remembering not to touch dangerous stuff.
You can see where this is going. I decided to combine the two mini-projects into one, so that once I've finished my analysis of where the money is disappearing in various parts of the house, it can live in my 'shack', performing switching duties as well as monitoring power usage there in the future. This room is probably the worst offender in terms of 'unnecessary but nice-to-have' electrical equipment that is powered-on continually.
I managed to pick up a NOS expensive Spelsberg TK PS Polystyrene IP66 enclosure from eBay for a tenner. It's a little bit too large, but it was a bargain.
The lid, after Dremel surgery to exactly accommodate the sockets and digital meter, leaving the maximum material and therefore strength in the box...
I got the same Sonoff 4 channel switch (model 4CHPROR3) that Phil used in the club controller, because I was told it was simple and reliable, and that has been my experience too - plus I also have the relevant app already installed on my phone to operate the MSARS Flex. Also shown is the Keweisi 'Digital Fuel Gauge' model KWS-ACS300 (20A).
Two cheap MK single DP sockets and some 1.5mm2 cable from TL Carr Electrical Supplies in Burgess Hill, plus a couple of Wago 221 connectors, and we're off and running.
Switched socket with neon: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/MB2657DP.html
Mains cable: https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Products/CA1dot5F3.html
I'm not going to walk you through all the tedious details, but the instructions supplied with both the switch and the meter are of course painfully mangled from Chinese, though are understandable after some head-scratching. Top tips here are to use your common sense when wiring the mains cables, to make sure that when it comes to pairing the Sonoff switch that you only attempt to connect it to a 2.4GHz WiFi point and not a 5GHz one, and to remember to connect the supplied temperature probe to the meter if you require temperature measurement, though mine is just sealed in the box and so won't be accurate.
Here is the inside of the lid after fitting and wiring the sockets:
As you can see from the wiring diagram on the rear of the meter, it's easy-peasy, though someone will likely tell me that I've violated any number of IEEE standards.
Likewise the Sonoff switch, which comes after the meter in my configuration:
Note the use of the amazing Wago connectors to bring together the common neutral and live connection points (the earth connection bypasses both the meter and the switch and goes directly to the sockets). Wago 221 connectors are the best thing since, well, ANY kind of bread. Just get some. Way too many years went by before I discovered these.
And so after a triple-check of my wiring and screw-tightening, the lid goes on and it's time to test, by literally putting the kettle on.
I was impressed with the quality of all the components, apart from the terrible MK Base 13A plug on the other end of the cable, which seemed to be made of the nastiest and most brittle plastic known to man, as the cable grip shattered into fine shards when I tried to pass the cable through it. I won't be buying any more of those! The sockets are decent enough though.
The menu button on the meter switches between Power Factor and Kwh, as well as (press and hold) to reset the energy usage and elapsed time indicator (which thankfully aren't reset on power-down).
If you want to know about anything I've omitted, you can always give me a shout.
Interestingly, I note that there is an RF remote control available (though I can't find one for sale anywhere). More interestingly, it operates on 433.92MHz. If I do ever find an original remote control, I'll definitely be pointing it at my HackRF One.
Onto the next one. Will the wife ever get her dining table back?
Berni M0XYF
