Using an Android Phone to Control Real World Appliances - DECOMMISSIONED.

I always wanted to use my Galaxy s3 phone to open my gate or unlock my Front door. I just don't like the idea of carrying around extra remotes for such basic tasks.

Along comes the sainsmart rj45 8 relay device. Using their free app anyone can control devices that can turn on and off.

Please note that this system uses only wifi and not Internet. If you forgot to pay your Internet bill or your drunk neighbor ran down the pole with your Internet line, have no fear! Once you connect to your wifi you have the control you need.

Take a look at my other instructable on how to increase the range of a wifi router with internal antenna.

Also this remote is secure since a phone must have your wifi password in order to connect to the imatic. For example If you give a friend access to your imatic and somehow you don't want that friend accessing your device anymore, just change your wifi password! Super easy.

I used a 6inch pvc box to house the imatic device. It requires 5volts to power up. I soldered extension wires (not required!) to provide ease of installation for my future needs. Normally the imatic plugs directly into the 8 relay card. Once powered a blue led will blink plus leds on the RJ45 socket will light up when the cat5e cable is inserted.

My pvc box I stuck on the wall using double sided tape. Quick and easy.

It's free and you can get for Android and ios. Install and it worked right off the bat for me. Just ensure your wifi router has 192.168.1.1 as it's address and no other network devices uses the address 192.168.1.4 since this is reserved for the imatic.

To control a device you just need to hardwire the relay contacts to the device you have in mind. I wired two relays, one for my gate motor and the other for my door solenoid lock.

The nice thing about using the phone as a remote is that you can password or biometric protect your phone and thereby have a safer universal remote.