Tampon Alert System

A local business has been having troubles with their sewage lines

backing up. This is typically due to tampons getting flushed down the

toilet and clogging the grinder pump. I was asked to build a text

messaging system on top of their current alarm which consists of

lights and horns. No trouble I thought. I was at least partially

correct. Putting together the electronics and writing the python code

were easy enough. What has turned out to be more time consuming than

expected was working out the cases, wiring, and mounting. Next time

I'm going to stay out of the installation business. My solution was to

use two Xbee modules. The remote module is stealing power from the

existing alarms flashing light and it transmits data to a desktop

computer when the alarm is triggered. The desktop has another Xbee

receiver module and a python script which generates a text message and

alerts the proprietor. Simple enough. Still has a few kinks around

SMTP authentication and resetting the python script after a alarm

incident, but it is pretty much done. Source, schematic, and flow

diagram included.

Done