The sensor i have let’s you set zones which work width wise but not height. What i would like to do, if able, is mount the sensor waist height or a little higher and block the top and bottom of the sensor so i only have the middle 20° being used. Can this be done with foil or metal?
What about a regular PIR sensors? Google is showing me suggestions to put tape inside the lens of one if you want to narrow the beam.
An option no doubt but there’s two reasons i’d not want to go that route unless necessary. First, i already have the device on hand and would like to find a solution to what i currently have. Two, i’d like to keep zone based motion if i’m able. Second of these can still be achieved by getting more sensors and blocking them into the zones i want but for one of my current sensors i’d have to buy three new ones.
What about mounting it sideways?
The thought had crossed my mind but i’d still like to zone if i could.
😅🙌
Can this be done with foil or metal?
Based on a layman’s knowledge of these things, I’d guess that’s probably a bad idea there since the microwave reflectance off the metal could saturate the receiver on the sensor. Best case, the hot signal confuses the sensor making it unreliable for tracking objects at a distance. Worst case, it could shorten the device lifetime if not outright burn out the receiver.
Rather, you’d want something to absorb the microwave energy like, say, paint with carbon black in it. It’ll still covert the absorbed energy to heat (like your microwave oven), but at the power levels we’re discussing you could at least dissipate it somehow.
Edit: just realized I didn’t address shaping. What I mentioned above, I was thinking of sticking a strip of foil across a portion of the plastic lens. You could probably form a sort foil visor for the sensor, like a ball cap, but you may still run into issue with false positives and ghosting of objects as signals would now be bouncing around in ways the sensor wasn’t designed to account for, if they even get picked up.