Hi, Kiera,

Can you explain more fully what you want to do? What kind of thermostat? What's it controlling the temperature of? Do you mean wireless remote control? What distance is the control location from the thermostat? Are there safety implications?

Give as much information as you can.

Dear JohnDG,

I am sorry that did not describe well. The thermostat is refer to the manual thermostat. Is there any way to build a simple remote control to for on/off the manual thermostat? For example, can I purchase a "toy car remote control", then make some modify its to become a "remote control" to control the manual thermostat?Is there this way can work or any other way that you may guide me?Please give advice and teach me. Thank you.

A thermostat is an automatic device - a temperature-operated switch, in fact.

It is still unclear what is wanted to be achieved.....

I don't see a problem with using a model car remote control set-up, as long as you can get enough torque from the actuator to turn the thermostat control. Be aware though that most radio control systems will move to a 'safe' state if the radio signal is lost, so you'd have to keep the transmitter turned on all the time.

This is quite a big project; without knowing a lot more about exactly what you want to do, it would be difficult to advise you.

Have a look at this site (link) to get an idea of what's available in RC modelling. If you have a hobby shop anywhere near, go along and have a talk to the guys - they'll probably be happy to help. If you can afford it, just go ahead and get a model (a second-hand one if you can find it!) and start by looking carefully at how it works, then think about how you could adapt the controls & actuators to your problem.

If you have any specific questions, spell them out here & someone will probably give you a hand.

Good luck,

John

Thank you for your advise. There are elder people recommend me to use the "real car remote control" or gate remote control". Besides that, may i know "what electronic component is consist inside the "remote control car" and "car"?Or "remote control gate and gate".Can I know how the circuit form or build?How can i build this system?Thank you.

I'm afraid this forum isn't the place for a circuit design tutorial covering RF transmission & reception, PWM circuitry & all the other gubbins that goes into such a system - and if it was, I'm certainly not the person to write it.

I suggest you do some research - in your library or on the internet.

You could start here (link).

Dear JohnDG,

I am sorry because I am a new member here, I don't know that this forum isn't for the circuit design. Thank for your advise and opinion. I am really sorry. Thank you for your help.

It's not a big deal - no need to be sorry about it.

Find out all you can by doing your own research - then come back if you have specific problems.

[BTW - welcome to CR4]

John

Alright. Thank you. By the way, nice to meet you. If I got any problem, then I'll assist some help from you. Thank you for your advise.

I'm a ME, not an EE, but what I would do is use a car door remote control. Put a 12 V DC power supply running a relay in the thermostat loop or use the door lock (up/down flip/flow) solenoid to work a mechanical switch. Since the controls are digital in nature, the first would involve a decoder for the solenoid. The second would be more complex mechanically, but easier for my non-electrical brain to put together.

Kiera,

I do not yet fully understand your goal, but please let me try some suggestions.

First, at one point you say that you need only to turn the thermostat on/off. This is easy and cheap: wire a simple switch in series with the thermostat.

Second, if you want to have a remote method to turn the adjustment dial (not just on/off, but actually changing the temperature setting), you need some kind of small motor and controller. I googled "miniature servo motors" and found a hobby robotics site, RobotShop, that sells such items. They cost about USD 15 for the motor and USD 27 for the controller. Now you must research whether this motor has sufficient torque to turn the thermostat dial. (They make larger ones, too.)

Third, but much more expensive, would be to use a process temperature controller which accepts input from a thermocouple or RTD (resistance temperature detector). I do not think this is what you want, so I will not describe it further. There are several types of controllers and sensors, which must be chosen to match each other. Such controllers cost about USD 250, and sensors about USD 50, with a large price range depending on specific needs.

As another poster asked, does your application have concerns about safety and/or is this a critical process? If so, then the first and second ideas are too simple.

What kind of device are you trying to control? At what temperature (or range of temperatures)? How accurate must it be? If there is a failure in the controller, do you need the controlled device (heater) to shut off or to remain on? What sort of fluid (air, water, oil, other) is involved? Is there a chance of corrosion to the sensor? As you will learn in time, these are the sorts of questions to be described at the beginning.

Kiera,

You still have not fully described your problem, and you haven't really answered the questions various people have asked.

It sounds as if you already have a thermostat, but there are many types, and we don't know yet what type you have. For example, is it fixed or adjustable? Probably adjustable, but then how? By turning a dial, moving a lever, or operating a keypad?

What does the thermostat control? Heat in a room, oven, tank, pipe, or what? What is the fluid (air, water, oil, etc.)? How accurate must it be? How far away is the remote control?