Convert Your Old Nokia Phone into a Remote Switch using Arduino

MAKER: Vishwas Navada / Translated by: Cherry

Today we bring you a remote switch made from an old phone (yes, the kind used in movies to remotely control bombs). I can’t help but ask if any of you can still find an ancient artifact like a feature phone? If you can find one, hurry up and try this project! (Just a complaint about my boss, who still uses a Nokia brick phone, showing its excellent quality conquered my boss. :))

In the past decade, the emergence of smartphones has made all feature phones obsolete. Although they can last a week on a single charge and look good, their advantages become less obvious compared to smartphones with large screens and powerful features. I have many such phones lying idle. Five years ago, when I was still in school, I made a project like this. When I saw this old project again, I made some improvements. I will use an old basic phone as a remote switch that can turn on and off anywhere in the world. (P.S.: as long as there is mobile network coverage.)

In India, many rural areas cannot provide electricity 24 hours a day. Water shortages can lead to reduced crop yields, and farmers must supply water to their fields. Typically, fields are far from their homes. Therefore, this project can help farmers switch pump sets remotely for irrigation. Meanwhile, this project can be used to remotely control anything.

Step 1: Prepare the Required Parts

1. Feature Phone x1 (I used a Nokia 3310) 2. Soldering Iron 3. Several Jumper Wires 4. Arduino Nano (any other microcontroller can be used) 5. A Relay Module (5V 10A) 6. Several LEDs 7. 16×2 LCD Screen, LCD1602 (optional) 8. Breadboard

Step 2: Disassemble the Old Phone

Disassemble the old phone to connect it to the vibration motor. I uploaded a video on disassembling the Nokia 3310. However, this procedure is the same for almost all basic phones. Follow the steps, and you will quickly find the PCB and the vibration motor.

Step 3: Find the Vibration Motor

The vibration motor provides tactile feedback to the user when there are messages or calls. There are two types of vibration motors: 1. Coreless motors with unbalanced weights on the shaft. The change in moment of inertia causes swinging and thus vibration. 2. Sealed button-type vibration motors. We need to find the connection points for the vibration motor. Use two wires to solder the connection points for extension. Almost every basic phone has one of these vibration motors, some even have both.

Step 4: Connect it to Arduino

Connect one of these wires to the GPIO of the Arduino. Here I use pin A0. The negative pin is grounded. The LCD connects as usual. The relay module signal pin connects to pin 4, VCC, and GND connects to the Arduino’s VCC and GND. You can use jumper wires here; I have made a breadboard circuit by soldering all components.

Step 5: Upload the Code

Here, I will read the analog port and monitor the high level, then switch the corresponding pin. As long as it reads a certain voltage on the analog pin, it will activate the switch. This allows control of the switch by calling again or sending a text message. The complete code used here is provided for download in the project library. http://maker.quwj.com/project/53

Step 6: Working Video

Here, I will attach a working video demonstrating the entire process.

I have applied this project in the following scenarios: 1. Starting agricultural pumps 2. Switching room heaters before returning home 3. Switching your water heater for easy bathing 4. Remotely controlling the main switch at home

The best part is you can trigger these switches by making a call from anywhere in the world!

Translated from: instructables.com/id/Convert-Your-Old-Phone-to-a-Remote-Switch/

Links in the text can be clicked to read the original article at the end

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