Raspberry Pi With a Motion Sensor

How I made a Raspberry Pi with a motion sensor to capture security camera images.

1) Raspberry Pi

2) 5V PIR motion sensor module (HC-SR501)

3) DC to DC converter (LM2596 is a good one)

4) 1K Resistor

5) Electrical box (2 gang)

6) 2.1mm barrel power connector

7) Wires with female Dupont connectors

8) 4-40 x 1" screws and nuts (or longer)

9) A plastic drinking straw.

HINT: The longer the 4-40 screws are, the easier it is to thread the nuts on. They stick up higher.

1) Take a metal electrical box and-

a) with a nibbler, nibble an opening for the USB and ethernet ports.

b) Drill mounting holes for the RPi and DC to DC converter. (big enough to fit a 4-40 screw)

c) Drill a mounting hole for the DC barrel connector.

d) Knock out the 3/4" knock-out for the motion sensor. HINT: Most of the knock-outs will be 1/2", the 3/4" will be the bigger one.

2) Plug three Female to female Dupont connector hook-up wires to the +5V (red), GND (black), and OUT (any color you want).

Glue the motion sensor into the 3/4" hole with silicone. Glue in with the wires down and the two adjustment pots up.

***LET DRY before proceeding!***

3) Cut a straw into small sections to act as spacers to keep the RPI and DCtoDC from touching the metal box.

4) Using 4-40 1" screws, mount the RPi in the box with the straw sections acting as stand-offs.

5) Solder wires onto the DC barrel connector and mount it.

6) Solder the wires from the DC connector to the inputs of the DC to DC converter.

7) Cut one end off of two Dupont connector hook up wires (red and black). Leave a connector at the other end.

a) Solder the end of the red wire to the OUT+ pad on the DCtoDC module.

b) Solder the end of the black wire to the OUT- pad on the DCtoDC module.

c) Apply 12V to the barrel connector and set the DC to DC module for 5.1V with a volt meter.

d) Mount the DC to DC module in the box with 4-40 screws and straw stand-offs.

e) Plug the red wire into the RPI Pin 2 (+5V)

f) Plug the black wire into RPI Pin 6 (GND)

8) Connect the three wires from the motion sensor to the RPi as follows:

MS +5V ---> RPi pin 4 (+5V)

MS OUT ---> 1K Resistor ---> RPi Pin 29 (GPIO5)

MS GND ---> RPi Pin 30 (GND)

NOTE: The 1K resistor is needed because the GPIO input is 3.3V but the IR module's output is 5V. It's not the perfect solution but, it works.

9) Write whatever script you want to do something when it senses motion.

Google "How to read a RPi GPIO pin in BASH"

My script grabs a image from my security cameras when it senses motion.