This is a pretty poor picture, but it is all I have right now. This is NOT the sensor end, but the LED display that tells the driver to GO, SLOW or STOP depending on fht color of the LEDs lit.

This one is a fairly simple project, but one that might come in handy for you too.

We have a small garage with a freezer at the back end, and it is very difficult to park the minivan and leave enough room behind it so that I can get around it from the 2nd bay with the garage door closed.

I had origianally seen a Park-Zone ultrasonic detector at K-Mart that turned on Red, Yellow or Green lights depending on how deep you got into the garage.

In theory, it all sounds great, but apparently this detector had problems with the engine noise from our Ford Windstar because it would go bonkers we it drove into the garage. (particularly driving in forward, but even in reverse to a certain extent)

So, although I liked the idea, the K-Mart special device just didn’t cut it....but, having seen these very reliable Sharp GP2D02 IR range detectors, I thought I could do a little better. (driven by a Basic Stamp, it was a project that could be tackled in a single day)

Anyways, I decided to start with a Basic Stamp Rev D., and a wall-wart power supply, and a GP2D02 and roll it all together with a small bit of code, and viola, it all worked. (and much better than the Park-Zone)

(NOTE: I updated the code on 6/10/00 in order to blank the LEDS when the car was STOPPED for some length of time. It was sort of disturbing to walk into the garage and see the LEDS on all the time. This makes it exactly like the Park-Zone which also blanks the LEDs when it times-out. Here is this new code if you are interested.)

I added a set of red, yellow and green LEDs at the front and back of the garage so that they would be easy to see parking forward or in reverse.

If you have not picked up on the links in the text, here is a list of links to help you do this same project yourself.

• Park-Zone
• Basic Stamp Rev D.,
• Sharp GP2D02 IR Distance Sensor
• Code for the project

Enhancements To Be Made:

None right now...looking for ideas. If you have some, send them to me at my email address.

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