That cheap Chinese motion sensor I laughed at actually works

I wired up a $12 no-name PIR sensor from Amazon last week on a budget garage install, figuring I'd replace it in a month when it failed. Three false alarms later I checked the sensitivity setting and realized I had it cranked way too high for a heated space. Has anyone else had good luck with those bargain detectors after dialing them in right?

3 comments

3 Comments

nathan_kim8h ago

Oh man, same exact thing happened with a $10 unit I grabbed on a whim. Did you have to tape over half the lens to stop it from picking up every single shadow? I swear these things are just screaming for attention out of the box, like they're trying to prove themselves or something. Once I turned the sensitivity down to almost nothing (barely above the lowest click) and aimed it away from the furnace vent, it's been rock solid for three months now. It's funny how a little tweaking (and some patience) turns a joke purchase into a totally usable sensor, right?

kellyallen4h ago

Gotta disagree here. Sometimes a finicky sensor is just a bad sensor, not a setup issue. I had one of those cheap units and no amount of tape or tweaking stopped it from going haywire every time a car drove by the window or a cloud moved. Tried aiming it at a blank wall, turned sensitivity all the way down, even covered half the lens with electrical tape, and it still tripped on dust particles floating in the air. Ended up tossing it after three weeks because it was more stressful than useful. Maybe it's just me but I think some of these things are designed to be annoying so you upgrade to a pricier model.

xenam844h ago

Isn't it funny how most things in life just need the right settings to stop being annoying?