Inside a cheap 3-way remote control switch. (With schematic.)
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- Опубликовано: 20 авг 2024
- The Yam remote control switches seem to be very common on eBay and are surprisingly cheap for what you get. The insides seem relatively acceptable give or take a bit of poor track clearance between mains connections.
The circuitry is pretty much text-book for the application with a small microcontroller doing the decoding and relay control while a discrete RF receiver module based on an LM358 converts the received signal to a level the processor can deal with.
Here's a general eBay search link for this type of unit, but note that most are intended for 220-240V use.
www.ebay.com/sc...
The circuitry looks like it could be hacked to power it from an external 12V DC supply quite easily as long as it is not an electrically noisy supply.
The unit is only really intended for low current loads like light fittings, but again is open to technical modification with things like external solid state relays. (Treat low voltage side as being live at full mains voltage.)
I'm not sure if there is different coding between units. So I've just ordered a couple more to find out.....
If you enjoy the videos on this channel you can help support it with a dollar for coffee, cookies and random electronic modules at / bigclive
By far the best reverse-engineer that exists. It takes me hours to do the same that you do in minutes. Lots to learn from you man, keep the videos coming!
Hi Clive I've just obtained the latest latest version of this device the YAM-803. Almost all the components are now surface-mount types. When I first tested it I was alarmed to find that it consumes about 27W (@245v) on standby! Changing C1 to 680nF (0.68uF) reduces the consumption to about 12.3W and everything works as intended. I finally settled on supplying the DC 12volts via a separate switch mode power supply, of course omitting C1. I simply connected the 12v to the 0.0v and the +ve to one of the 680 ohm resistors, there was no need to disconnect the 12v zenners.. Standby is now just under 1/2 W. As this module is mainly designed for remote controlled lighting circuits, channel 1 is designed to default to ON after a power cut.
You may have been reading the apparent power and not the actual power. Capacitive droppers always give the appearance of high current, but the power dissipation is usually much lower. Probably about a watt in your unit.
Thankyou Clive, I have been looking absolutely everywhere to find something that can doudle my engine, I had almost given up hope :)
Poundland always sounds so much better than any dollar store we have in America!
I guess the extra 42% value due to exchange rates helps.
As strange as it might be poundland is owned by Americans 😂
Yeah, Poundland has all these cool LED lights, meanwhile the Dollar Tree near me has 100 watt incandescent bulbs, which I thought were banned, but apparently they can get away with it because the bulbs are rated for "rough service"
I'd prefer if it was called poundtown
+OriginalSashquatch where does it say poundland is owned by Americans, the CEO is British business man Jim McCarthy
+ManiacGamer definitely british
that receiver is a classic. it's a super regenerative circuit. The op-amp is a new wrinkle though to amplify the output of the receiver. Usually they use a string of 2 or 3 "Self biased" transistors to do the amplification (this is where the emitter of an NPN is grounded, and then a 1M to 10M resistor is connected between collector and base, and then another resistor from base to V+)
At first, I was skeptical about using an iPad for making these videos, but on second-thought, I think it's very logically a good idea. The viewfinder (main screen) is big enough for Clive to see how the final video will look in accurate detail.
My unit failed after 5.5 years. The article made diagnosis and repair a " walk in the park." Great little gadget
"I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam!" - Popeye the Sailor.
Can't believe I stumbled on this. I bought a "traffic light" from aliexpress which had this controller inside. When you turn the power on and off, it will cycle through 1 relay each start.
So, when you turn off and on, green light. Off and on again, yellow.... so on. How cool!
I had noticed many of my remote sockets failing over time: now you've explained why
Here's a video about the way the capacitors fail.
ruclips.net/video/qGc9-ToEiIQ/видео.html
It looks like a ceiling fan remote gone wrong and sold as something else. Love that a thing named life wire would have a live wire hanging out invitingly. Touch me; I'm just an innocent antenna wire.
I believe the microcontroller and remote probably operate on 2.4 gigahertz and are tied to a serial number similar to a wireless mouse. That being said, it most likely won't interfere with other units. But there may be a sync function in the microcontroller and one in the remote. That's probably why there's the extra pin on the microcontroller so you might be able to use a momentary switch connected to that pin and ground.
You are such an expert but for those basic users here just to see how to connect wires, we just need a few seconds of this video from 10:03. You’re welcome.
Thanks a lot Clive for this detailed job. I didn't get to find it anywhere until I came here.
Ah yes, YAM. Their toughest competitor is Sweet Potato, and I hear they can be topped by Butter. ;)
Actually it belongs to Popeye: I yam what I yam.
Aye, Popeye keeps his tool in Olive oil
All of the roads in my neighborhood are named after plants and trees in alphabetical order from east to west. Yam is the road next to mine. The more you know...
Ahso or quite so. What a sirry iriot. With apologies to Benny Hill :-)
Mandrake Fernflower
Good o'l AvE references. XD
The "finger test" reminds me of some gas fitters who came to our house to replace a gas fire which had been leaking CO (and probably would have killed us if we hadn't noticed). I found them waving a lighted newspaper about and when I asked them what they were doing, they told me they were testing for gas leaks. I suppose the idea was that if they lived to tell the tale, there wasn't a leak.
Note about the diode noise, you can even use this for good and make a super simple and cheap noise source for measuring antennas. Since it makes noise on very wide range of frequencies.
Shoul dhave gotten two of them to test whether they're uniquely paired or are just a one-for-all thing, if they were the latter it'd be handy for switching on separate banks of things on different circuits at the same time... :)
We, the public, demand a tear down of that power meter!
They don't have to be matched, just have a unique number in the transmitter. The receiver could be set to just remember the first ID it receives. Given the amount of testing I suspect it would have received, that first ID was probably received during this video.
That's what my cheapo car keyless entry does. The first remote it sees after power up is the one it remembers has access.
A video before 4am? Madness!
Handy unit. it's about $4 shipped to the us in the 110 version. Might get one for the shop so one remote for dust collection, air filter and compressor. Obviously using this unit to switch high capacity relays. I wish we had a pound land here as they seem to have the coolest cheap stuff like those batteries. Those never show up at dollar stores here. Anything under $4 each is a good deal here. Need to make a trip to the UK and go shopping I guess..
I have used a lot of these. They also sell them as 12 volt DC units. twice when I ordered 120 AC units they sent 12 volt DC units marked as 120 volt AC, they burned up quit nicely when I powered up the unit. They also sell them as single channel units, those do have a code for different channels of operation.
i have no fucking clue what this is but i still watch
Finger test :D, i once finger tested a crt television that was only powered down half a minute ...
Clive, i would absolutely love it if you went through the different kinds of voltage regulators in more detail.
I'd love to see more vids on these! controlling LED strip lights, hacking...what else can they do with a little help from soldering and adding some Lego part pre made D.C.step downs etc etc etc
That cap looks a lot like the ones I use to replace on monitors in a casino, they would fail dramatically with a ton of smoke and smoke would then come out of every hole and slot in the machine causing people to panic. Mind you the machines were very hot inside and on 24/7 and they failed only after the monitors were 7-10 years old.
Easily hacked for existing 12v DC applications such as car, boat and indoor 12v L.E.D. lighting. Nice.
Hello Clive, it might be fun to look at the signal from the RF module to the microcontroller on an oscilloscope.
I have several of these YAM controllers. I was initially confused about the mains capacitor size as it is designated CBB22J and an erroneous web search told me that it was 0.22uF. However, it is also designated "400V 105" which is 1uF (one million picofarads). My magic tester says it is 1.2uF which is close enough. Clive may have misread the zero in the 105 as a decimal point. My RX do not have the 4 caps across the bridge or the inductor and only one zener populated. My TX is different, it has an 18 pin AD0369 encoder. The encoding is done by bridging solder tabs - low, high or open, yet the receiver doesn't have matching solder tabs, it has the same pre-coded microcontroller as in this video. Its a shame Clive didn't figure out how to encode the RX as I would like to sync 2 of my TX to the one RX.
I think the weak component is not necessarily the capacitor but the thin neutral trace. Some higher current and it will burn.
23 fucking minutes and already 1 dislike, what the fuck is that guy thinking he must have misclicked, if he actually disliked the video i want to hear why he disliked it...
Probably just another hater kiddy. Sadly a very common thing on RUclips :(
Maybe they were expecting the video to be about a different type of cheap 3-way?
maybe wasn't cheap enough for them? :P
There is ALWAYS that person that dislikes videos no matter who they are from..
so he decided to be cheap himself and vote down xD
Seems like a reasonabley good quality design I'm impressed
Thanks for the explenation, it helped a lot. One question only; how does it works as "toggle" instead of button?
I just got a couple of 2 way switches made by yam and the remotes have different codes on the back also they don't operate each others switches.
No way of learning different codes?
I noticed with mine that they have found a way of further cutting costs. No more 78L05, looks like it uses a Zener for the 5V as well. The remote control board is different as well. Of course, it could be a “clone”...
The way they did the 12V clamping looks odd to me. Why didn't they put the whole 240V rectified signal through the zener and resistor in series (dropping the voltage across the resistor), and then take the twelve volts across the zener? As it is, the 12V rail could be any voltage and any variation in zener current would result in a different drop across the 68R resistor. I know that this isn't meant to be the best designed thing, but I wonder why they wouldn't do that?
I have this switch. I use it for my ceeling lamp, two USB HDDs (i can mount/dismount drives wirelessly) and for my charging station. It's a great solution.
ceiling* you heretic.
jdod64 I'm polish. English is my 2nd language.
+SatanicJamnic excuse me then my polish friend.
Do you enjoy getting invaded?
rccarz5 Ya. It's quite fun. You can't get bored.
The code is fixed by the uC. Cannot find the number on the net. I would like to disable the mode that allows you to turn on the lights by toggling a light switch, this is the reason the first channel lights when the power is interrupted. The floating pad under the uC is supposed to program it by grounding but it does not work. I tried ground and 5 volts but no joy. I guess I will have to redesign it with a 2272 decoder.
i have been using this for quite a while, works a treat !
Apparently, Cliff do sell Quicktests on Amazon, although they're a bit above my price range at US$73 or thereabouts.
Hobo Sullivan They start at £27 on Amazon here in the UK... £34.95 for the same one Clive is using... for some unknown reason, some people are selling the cheaper one for £100.
ebay listing says each unit is programmed so more than one unit per room is possible
Damnit Clive Im tired of seeing all this cool stuff thats not in the states. Now I see a 5 pack of alkaline A23s for a dang pound! They dont even have them at any dollars stores around here! Youre so lucky!
Also got surprised by this. we also have €tdi (euro-tdi) stores here, but they also sell stuff for more than 1 euro, so mayber poundland is also more the 1 pound.
1pound or 1 euro for a big pack of those cells is really cheap !
Cheapest single cell i found at reichelt.de is 60eurocents. normally in stores you pay 2.50 for the then urgently needed cell...
12V - 38mAh is not very much bang for the buck tho..
I looked it up and the 2TY seems to be a standard transistor of the PNP variety.
all the logic in the micro-controller , it got a different coding and switch input "A" automatically when u power up the unit (in case u need to use it with a regular light switch ).
u can't modify the logic ( momentary or latch or whatever ) except after changing the code :(
i got another 4 output unit from the same vendor and it lasts for 2 years now.
my micro controller is more bigger (14-DIP) and got no numbers written on it ... just smooth. and i got a timer to turn off all the outputs after 17 seconds.
looking good Clive, no band aids visible today 🤕
There is a major problem about this device. That is when we turn off the power to the unit (radio signal receiver) and when we give the power again, unit get turned on automatically. That is a really bad design. Imagine there is a power cut. When power goes and come again all the devices controlled by this unit will get turned on. Do you have any suggestion how to avoid automatically turning on the relays when I give power to the unit.
Hello
Major design problem on all models of this design: at start-up, the relay is powered! So the device to be ordered is immediately powered!
On a two-channel module, this known anomaly is almost bypassed by the
written procedure on the object: "1. Connect the power supply with the A
/ 1 ON ... This does not prevent a short action of the relay
Hi jean-pierre legrand, I have a 3ch model, and I am having this same issue of auto power up 1st load on power restore. I am not a circuit expert, how can I bypass this issue in my rf switch model.
Thanks
Technology Explained dude, did u get fix or work around for this problem?
I was trying to decypher the Chinglish instructions this weekend, as I bought 3 units. (1 two channel, and 2 one channel). I was wondering if turning the power off briefly and then on would do anything special like switch first to the first channel, do it again then the second channel, etc? That would be cool if one lost the remote controller for instance. Or just wanted their life a little more complicated...
Edit: I think I found out. On the first off/on it turns on channel A. On the second off/on it turns on channel A and B. On the third off/on it turns on channel A and B and C! This is on a similar 3 channel device. See: ruclips.net/video/sfOxZcCJrgk/видео.html
On a two channel device, the off/on sequence is similar, it goes A, then B, then A and B. There is the video for the two channel device: ruclips.net/video/amBdRraHabM/видео.html
Good job on the video Clive and thanks.
This is common with these devices. It is programmed into the controller chip which is most likely a one time programmable chip. It is to operate the switch without the remote. I have brownouts/blackouts regularly and also consider it a nuisance. The only solutions came up with is to replace the controller chip with an 8 pin decoder (maybe a RF803D)? Otherwise this is useless to me. I don’t like coming home to find my lights on.
you can also get switches that go directly in e27 mount and then you mount a bulb in them, they usualy have a silver remote and you can get combos like 4 mounts and 1 remote or you can get 1 mount one remote. do a review if you can ;)
Maybe you should have a look at the inline remote switches, the ones that plug in between a socket and the device you want to switch.
They just seem very dodgy, especially because you could in theory plug something like a heater into one and I doubt it would handle that sort of power.
Certainly those little wires wouldn't carry much current. Should be safe for CFL and LED's though, maybe a small exhaust fan.
So the two blacks are because one is used for in and the other is common for the outs? And is the black for the neutral, red for hot in? And does the on/off turn all of the three off and all three on? Or can I use A, B and C for individual on/off? If so what is the on/off for then, all at once?
I think that single pin is just support for the RF board.
Great video as always.
Do have a question though: how safe are these relay-switching-live-only setups considered? I ask because I have a Raspberry Pi controlling a number of relay boards (220v 10A AC relays) only switching the live which I use for controlling lights. The high/low-voltage isolation on them is very good (physical cutouts on the board).
I've been told that using them is unsafe but I can't see why - light switches themselves only switch the live feed anyway. Everything is fused and connected to an RCD, the connections to the lights are earthed at the relay end even though the actual light fittings are plastic.
Am I being safe? I was maybe perhaps thinking of using 2 relays to switch both live and neutral for each feed - would this be safer or just overkill? Any opinions welcome!
I have one of these that worked until I had to turn mains off and on.Anyone know how to reset the control do the remote will pair with the light? Thanks
Anyone try to clone the remote for the YAM switch? I assume it's 433mhz (not 315mhz) but I couldn't do it, tried two different duplicator remotes and they blinked but wouldn't accept or send the signal to this switch.
Can you plz tell which IC is used
really fascinated by these capacitive dropper circuits as an alternative for transformers, can you do an in depth video to explain how they work?
We want to know how to connect the wires how to install this..
A clever and very compact controller clive :-D
Hopefully the input capacitor is good, then the device should last :-)
In other teardowns of mains equipment we have seen the 4 diode bridge setup on the mains, but this one has 4 extra capacitors across the 4 diodes, would you hazard a guess as to their necessity, and why in products where cost is the main design feature, they spent the extra on capacitors
This circuitry requires a clean supply with as little noise as possible to increase the sensitivity of the wireless signal reception. Other applications are less critical.
The remote chip will likely be an ev1527 and will have a unique address code. For around £5.50 you can get a USB RTL-SDR dongle and capture the codes. (search for R820T2).
These are great for controlling LEDs using 433mhz, it has a receiver and transistor to switch the LEDs
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201560080763
surprised it didn't blow up with blue and white wires looking like they were shorting.
They#re all outputs. They'd either be floating or referenced to the red wire.
Super interesting! thank you for that.
Hi, Clive, I bought four remote control dimmer units for 12 volt LED lights and they were not encoded so all remotes operated all dimmers; annoying but at the prices hardly surprising.
That's really common with the IR controllers for LEDs. But also quite handy as you can carry one with you and randomly change shop window lighting to your favourite colour.
These were RF ones
see www.ebay.co.uk/itm/322039419332?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
but thanks for the idea, I can't wait to try it out, you wicked man!
Hi clive I like your videos you're a star I watch a lot of them can you do a video on a lost replacement remote for this unit on how to pair the new replacement remote to the existing receiver unit many thanks in advance
If it's a standard unit then a transmitter with the correct frequency should work. Pairing normally involves pressing a button on the unit and then one on the remote. Note that if the button is inside on mains voltage units then I'd suggest pressing it with an insulated rod for safety.
Hey Clive, when PP capacitors fail "interestingly," in _my_ admittedly-limited experience, they have tended to blow their Magic Smoke™ out through a small hole, usually about 2 mm in diameter, and typically in the direction of a component which is easily damaged by hot gas and smoke. We just replaced a bunch of junky German-made fluorescent ballasts on the CNC machines at my father's shop. I think the capacitors were WIMA branded...?
I presume the contacts aren’t clean but switching 240v live supply?
Finger test, LOL, btw I am using same with two button options in my room, and my dad laughed at my laziness. A nice feature it has which I didn't know at time of installation (so i have output wires connected to buttons as well to power on when not having remote) is that if u turn on the button it will power on light A and if u turn on and off quickly it will cycle between B then A+B and then off, so no need to use separate switches. Too lazy to change wiring :P
Update: Mine just stopped working, neither remote nor the power button doing anything, will see if I can fix it.
Im surprised that you havent done a "big clive" teardown of those cheap mains remote switches - the ones where you plug them into the UK mains and then plug your main device into that. They seem very cheap, just wondering if they are also safe!?
Great video with plenty of information. If I wish to have this in line with the current wall switch so that it will also work as well as the remote how would I do this?
Wouldn't it be wiser to do the finger test with the back of your finger? Any charge there will cause your finger to curl, so it curls away, instead of making it clamp harder? Not as much of an issue with capacitors, but probably a good habit to get into if you're going to use a finger test...
Has anybody discovered what the pairing procedure is for the transmitter/receiver units? It's been suggested that the pairing is done when first powered, and cannot be altered afterwards? The transmitter encoder chip is marked AD0369 (could be ADO369) B1515Y. And the transmitter code is determined by solder links on the tx pcb. The receiver/decoder chip is 8 pin, and is unmarked (there is also an LM358 on the RF side of the receiver pcb). Any thoughts anyone? Thanks.
Can you please share the link for the bench tester as I am unable to find the same
Clive, Reading the ebay listings, it appears that each time power is switched on to this unit, it cycles round the 3 outputs, so 1st time on, output A is on, switch on and off and B comes on, and after C, it switches ALL outputs on (I guess this is to allow control if you lose the RC?).
Quoting from an eBay listing:
*3. Manual lighting sequence (wall switch control): A/1 , B/2 , C/3 , the whole circuit will be turned on.*
If your ever playing around with this again, could you possibly check if it's not too much trouble? I want one of these to control a dust collector for my woodworking, but having it come on after every second powercut is a deal breaker! :)
Awesome video as usual, thx Clive.
Hello, theres how way to use two remote control to control only one receptor with 2 lamps over 220v?
I Say, for use one remote control in the door and another control in the bed to control same lamps.
Why mine consuming 0.06amps is it 16amps at 240v ac is it good?
That's one Sweet Potato.
How do you Jack it to use on 12v plz? I want to connect this to my solar panel to light a few garden lights.
Saw another video where this is connected directly to a battery.
Your input will be much appreciated.
There are 12V versions of these.
I would love to Se a teardown og the Sonoff wifi remote controlled switchbox. They have it at Banggood. I'm intrigued to buy one, but would love to hear your thoughts on it First.. 😊
when I first saw this video I didn't notice that when you put mains on the red and black wire you let the white and the blue wire touch eachother. Seems dangerous cause I guess they're output wires of the relays but nothing happened in your video so I guess I'm wrong that it was a dangerous thing to do. I know that you know what you're doing ;)
+bigclivedotcom sorry I already understand they are all negative wires
Seems like it could easily be converted to a DC power supply if you wanted to use batteries.
I wonder if the Engrish writing means Dual Voltage and frequency (120V/240V) 50/60 Hz
Can this YAM remote switch be used to make a 2 way (UK) light switch (or 3-way (US) light switch)? Right now I have a light with one switch. I would like to add a remote switch in addition to the current switch. Can this device be used?... and if so, please make a video showing how to wire it. thank you
Hello I`ve bought similar unit only diffrence is my is one way ( ON/OFF). Can anybody provide me wiring diagram ? Which wires are power/ground and which are switching circuit ? Thanks in advance
Hmm, no fuse, connect it to a hair dryer. A couple of my single socket switchers died ,fixed one with a million amp fuse.
Hi! You might be the right guy to ask the following- I have a similar remote unit for my exhaust valve on car. The remote works pretty bad and also eats up battery very quickly. I am thinking of putting a manual switch to it instead of remote.
What kind of switches and on what wires do I connect? Thank you!
When you see 'with schematic' and you can't click the thumbnail fast enough
You fed 240v AC into that unit right? Straight into the rectifier circuit? No transformer? How did the voltage drop down to 12v after (before?) the rectifier circuit? I missed something obvious I guess.
The large red capacitor limits the current to a controlled portion on each half wave of the mains supply. It's a capacitive dropper circuit commonly used in low power electrical devices like time switches and LED lamps.
Good to learn
Olá!
Comprei 4 dispositivos desses que deveria ser ligado no 220v, conforme informado pelo vendido, no entanto o dispositivo que recebi era 110v e acabei queimando uma das peças. Gostaria de saber se posso alterar a voltagem dos 3 restantes para 220v e o como eu poderia fazer isso.
Can you show us how to connect to ceiling ?
Sir, Already ground is connected to my lamp,will I need to connect the black wire again
Nowhere can I find the RF frequency. Did you see anything on the devices to indicate common 315 or 433 MHz? Though if I judge the antenna wire length it is probably 315 (23cm) rather then 433 (17cm). You know what, I'll order one anyway.
I'm trying to find a replacement remote for my light fitting which obviously has something like this built in. My remote is 433.92MHz frequency - is it likely to be uniquely coded to my light fitting or can I just buy a generic replacement?
It will be coded. Some are compatible and may be paired, but it's not guaranteed.
How to use as monentory mode(push to on) ???
What changes required??
Could I use this to control the speed of a 2 speed inline fan? I would get an electrician for the work, just need to know
If we lost the remote control can we use any other this type of rf remote in the same switch control
I don't suppose you determined what radio frequency it operates on?
Love the finger test - one day...one day...zzzztt Fried Clive!