FS: SwitcheOn Remote Power Electrical Switch - $199 - $299

[OSUAV8TER]

As winter approaches requiring you to drive out to the airport to plug in your Mooney's Tanis or Reiff preheater to get your engine nice and warm I have a brand new solution to help save you time and money. This device was inspired, designed, and manufactured by a fellow pilot to make all of our lives easier! The SwitcheOn is a 2 or 4 channel remote power solution that you can turn on electrical outlets through a smartphone enabled app from the comfort of your home. I use SwitcheOn to turn on my Reiff heater and hangar lights with the tap of the app, it is that easy. The device includes the first year of service for free and runs off the Verizon network. Yearly service charges of $50 thereafter. SwitcheOn features many great options such as:

 

- 2 or 4 channels and up to 15 amps (1800 watts)

- Temperature sensor

- Bright OLED display

- Local and ZULU time

- Signal status

- Power/port status

- Temperature

- Mobile apps for iOS and Android

- 2 channel $199

- 4 channel: $299

- 1st-year service included renews for $50/year

- Automations for each channel

- Controlled by the box, these function without connectivity

- On temperature

- Off temperature

- On and off by time

- Uses LTE-M and NB-IoT bands deployed as part of 5G rollouts

- Operates much further from cellular towers than normal 3G or 4G

- Warranted as long as service is maintained

- Available custom options:

- World-wide service in 130 Countries

- 8 configurable analog / sensor inputs

- Up to 4 thermocouple inputs

- Additional custom sensor options

SwitcheOn can be bought from my website at https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/switcheon.html

 

 

[OSUAV8TER]

These are proving to be very popular because I have a couple SwitcheOn devices shipping out today!

[AIREMATT]

Looks like a good idea. Need to replace my 2g Switchbox sometime and would be interested to hear what some of this weeks recipients think after they use them a while. Thanks!!

[OSUAV8TER]

1 hour ago, AIREMATT said:

Looks like a good idea. Need to replace my 2g Switchbox sometime and would be interested to hear what some of this weeks recipients think after they use them a while. Thanks!!

Here is a PIREP from a Beechtalker

"

Bought the Switcheon because the (new) FBO owner doesn’t want us fuel customers across the field using their WiFi. Guess I’ll be purchasing my 100LL elsewhere.

Switcheon arrived today. It. Just. Works. And installation/configuration is delightfully simple. Dirt simple.

- Plug-in the Switcheon
- Install the app on the phone
- Launch the app and press the + sign to pair the phone w/switch
- Point the camera at the QR code in the Switcheon display
- Done
- It just works
- Works inside the metal T-hangar with the door closed.
- Positive On:Off control of the two (or four) plugs
- No goofy SMS/text commands to memorize or mis-type
- Programmable for future events/actions

It is a 4G/5G unit. All the aggravating SIM card stuff is already done. $50/year beginning in year two.

My AT&T iPhone does not work inside the hangar with the door closed - Switcheon DOES work. Perhaps it is because Switcheon has a proper antenna? If necessary, you could connect an(other) outside antenna to the SMA connector."

[carusoam]

OSU,

Do you have any power ratings for that?

We have a tendency to plug heaters into them...

That can be quite a load...

The first 2G devices that were available around here... had botched up the power limitations, and covered them with additional solder melted into place... with no method of knowing if. One would work properly, short out, or light on fire...
 

If you have any UL ratings or CE approval... that would be nice to know about...

I’m looking for a new device...

Best regards,

-a-

[OSUAV8TER]

1 minute ago, carusoam said:

OSU,

Do you have any power ratings for that?

We have a tendency to plug heaters into them...

That can be quite a load...

The first 2G devices that were available around here... had botched up the power limitations, and covered them with additional solder melted into place...
 

If you have any UL ratings or CE approval... that would be nice to know about...

I’m looking for a new device...

Best regards,

-a-

15 amps but National Electric Code (NEC) says 12 amps continuous is the limit on a single outlet. The box has a slow blow 15 amp fuse to comply but you should not run it hard per code. More than 12 continuous amps is a fire hazard for the building wiring. A vast majority of hangar electrical outlets are 15 amp but some are 20 amps. My Reiff preheated on my IO-470N pulls about 3.33 continuous amps. The engine block heater on my tug pulls .21 amps. 

[OSUAV8TER]

The box should pass both UL and CE standards but it cost about $20K to meet UL alone. We'll get there but we're just getting this thing started.

[OSUAV8TER]

Here is my PIREP when I was out at the hangar today. I hooked up my 4 Channel SwitcheOn today. Power it on, used the app to snap a photo of the box, and it powered right up. I now have my engine block heater, tug block heater, and work bench light all app controlled through SwitcheOn. Nice and simple!

https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/switcheon.html <--- Order 2 or 4 Channel SwitcheOn here!

[MIm20c]

Thinking about picking one up...  Have battled this issue for over a decade with an old beeper box updated with an old iPhone inside. 

[OSUAV8TER]

5 minutes ago, MIm20c said:

Thinking about picking one up...  Have battled this issue for over a decade with an old beeper box updated with an old iPhone inside. 

This will fix that and it is incredibly simple to activate and use.

[Marauder]

The box should pass both UL and CE standards but it cost about $20K to meet UL alone. We'll get there but we're just getting this thing started.

Is this made by the same guy who made the “SwitchBox”?

Without a safety standard, if you burn down your hangar or the entire hangar complex and they link it to the uncertified box, guess who’s insurance won’t pay.

I did a review on my SwitchBox after I had issues with it and had an electrical engineer look at it. In order to get to the rating he claimed, he soldered extra mass onto the power circuit. That was the way he beefed up the circuit. When I presented him with these findings, he stopped advertising his SwitchBox and the IceBox products here.

Many of us switched to the Chinese made boxes that are rated under CE standard (usually not as robust as an UL or CSA standard). To avoid over loading the unit, the Chinese to their credit put in 10 amp fuses to avoid overloading the power draw. The fix to be able to use it without a lot of risk is to use the Chinese box to act as the trigger for a separate relay that can handle the draw of Reiff Turbo unit or something else like a dehumidifier.

Also, how does he get to $50 per year fee? The cheapest Verizon plan is $35/mth for pay as you go customers. T-Mobile had a nice low cost program which will probably go away with their 2G/3G shutdown plans.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[Marauder]

Thinking about picking one up...  Have battled this issue for over a decade with an old beeper box updated with an old iPhone inside. 

When T-Mobile goes away for my Chinese box, I am going to use the Verizon hotspot device that I run my security cameras off of and add a WiFi switch. If you are a Verizon customer for phone service, you can get a hotspot for $10/mth. It’ll support cameras and other WiFi devices.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[OSUAV8TER]

1 hour ago, Marauder said:

 

When T-Mobile goes away for my Chinese box, I am going to use the Verizon hotspot device that I run my security cameras off of and add a WiFi switch. If you are a Verizon customer for phone service, you can get a hotspot for $10/mth. It’ll support cameras and other WiFi devices.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

Well a lot of those hotspot devices are not certified either so when that burns down the hangars, are you going to accept responsibility? Do you really think the Chinese made boxes are better than this because they have a CE standard? The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 had standards but that was going up in flames. This will go to certification but a UL certification costs $20K. We'll have to sell a few of them to get there first. The SwitcheOn is literally made with 3/4 of its components made right here in the United States. No shoddy construction techniques taken or corners cut.

Sean Mollet is the inventor and is not associated with SwitchBox. Sean is an electrical and software engineer. His full-time job is reverse engineering hardware and software. He is one of the most intelligent persons I've ever met in my life. This is after spending 10 years active duty Air Force as an officer, working at Johnson and Johnson, and now back in the defense industry. He beats them. Sean will be checking on Mooneyspace shortly to provide a more technical explanation to this device.

This is a very well designed product with a slow blow 15 amp fuse. We've already had one guy activate that safety feature because he tried to hook up a massive space heater to warm his hangar... So, the SwitcheOn doesn't scare me at all. It's all the jury-rigged contraptions everyone uses to pre-heat their hangars that scares the snot out of me.

I started my business and I only sell items that I'd put on my airplane and everything I sell is on my airplane. I have one of the nicest Bonanzas in the fleet because of my high standards. SwitcheOn meets that for me.  

[carusoam]

Looking forward to any information you have that indicates that this device is designed to match the needs of our application...

I am the lucky holder of one of the other devices that our MS electrical engineer found the shoddy work in...
 

After I was using it for a year...   every one was different... not built the same way each time....

They didn’t know what they didn’t know...

I understand the expense of getting things certified... UL and CE....

Getting things built for compliance takes the effort of somebody knowledgable... (the most important part)

The other device was a nice idea, but missed on the critical design elements...
 

Wifi doesn’t reach my hangar yet...
 

Imagine having one of these things in a hangar home...    (I am doing some strong imagining....)

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

Well a lot of those hotspot devices are not certified either so when that burns down the hangars, are you going to accept responsibility? Do you really think the Chinese made boxes are better than this because they have a CE standard? The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 had standards but that was going up in flames. This will go to certification but a UL certification costs $20K. We'll have to sell a few of them to get there first. The SwitcheOn is literally made with 3/4 of its components made right here in the United States. No shoddy construction techniques taken or corners cut.
Sean Mollet is the inventor and is not associated with SwitchBox. Sean is an electrical and software engineer. His full-time job is reverse engineering hardware and software. He is one of the most intelligent persons I've ever met in my life. This is after spending 10 years active duty Air Force as an officer, working at Johnson and Johnson, and now back in the defense industry. He beats them. Sean will be checking on Mooneyspace shortly to provide a more technical explanation to this device.
This is a very well designed product with a slow blow 15 amp fuse. We've already had one guy activate that safety feature because he tried to hook up a massive space heater to warm his hangar... So, the SwitcheOn doesn't scare me at all. It's all the jury-rigged contraptions everyone uses to pre-heat their hangars that scares the snot out of me.
I started my business and I only sell items that I'd put on my airplane and everything I sell is on my airplane. I have one of the nicest Bonanzas in the fleet because of my high standards. SwitcheOn meets that for me.  

I’m sure Sean is a smart guy. So was the guy who designed the Ford Edsel.

I welcome Sean to come online and describe his product. We have some smart EEs here too... Please re-read my message carefully. I never said I trusted any of those Chinese boxes. The ones out there that I looked at are all CE certified (that is a self certification process). What I said was that I did not trust the Chinese units to operate other than a switch (i.e. low voltage) to trigger a certified power relay. The Chinese box I have is essentially nothing more than a low voltage trigger which happens to be a hotspot for me to send the trigger signal.

Your response sounds a lot like Scott from CiES. If you need to know what that means, go look for the CiES threads.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[carusoam]

Scott has come along ways from his early days...

 

It pays extra to be honest AND humble...

Best regards,

-a-

[SeanMollet]

2 hours ago, Marauder said:

 

Is this made by the same guy who made the “SwitchBox”?

Without a safety standard, if you burn down your hangar or the entire hangar complex and they link it to the uncertified box, guess who’s insurance won’t pay.

I did a review on my SwitchBox after I had issues with it and had an electrical engineer look at it. In order to get to the rating he claimed, he soldered extra mass onto the power circuit. That was the way he beefed up the circuit. When I presented him with these findings, he stopped advertising his SwitchBox and the IceBox products here.

Many of us switched to the Chinese made boxes that are rated under CE standard (usually not as robust as an UL or CSA standard). To avoid over loading the unit, the Chinese to their credit put in 10 amp fuses to avoid overloading the power draw. The fix to be able to use it without a lot of risk is to use the Chinese box to act as the trigger for a separate relay that can handle the draw of Reiff Turbo unit or something else like a dehumidifier.

Also, how does he get to $50 per year fee? The cheapest Verizon plan is $35/mth for pay as you go customers. T-Mobile had a nice low cost program which will probably go away with their 2G/3G shutdown plans.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

*waves*

I totally understand where you're coming from. That's exactly why I built it.

In short, I added sump heaters to my plane at the last annual and, like your friend, after looking at the available options was disappointed. I knew I could build a much better one and it went from an "I'll build one for myself" to something of an obsession to see how nice of a box I could actually build.

The board was designed to IEC 60950 and the enclosing Box to UL 498A. The box is custom injection molded poly-carbonate. The PCB is a single board that switches only the positive leg. HV and LV are isolated from each other with no connecting copper and more than 10x the required clearance. The power leg for output has a 15A thermally sensitive slow blow fuse, a surge protector (MOV), a safety capacitor, and each of the relays is rated to 16A. The power for the radio has a 0.5A fast blow and a common mode choke for noise filtering. The neutral and ground are tied with Wall-Nuts (NEC compliant). The cords are all 14 gauge and are UL listed.

The power trace is 10mm total on the outside layers of the board. At 12 amps continuous, it will heat up 10C above ambient. At 15 amps, 15C.

It'll pass UL, but my CPA spouse was already going to wring my neck after the bill came for the injection mold tooling and first run of PCBs for my "little project".

By cost, it's 76% US made. The Printed Circuit Board is made and assembled in Lenexa, KS, final assembly happens in Overland Park, KS and I personally program and test every unit before it goes in the box.

The service is $50/yr because I have a decently large business relationship with Verizon.

I have a day-job reverse engineering electronics, so I enlisted James here to handle the sales aspects.

[carusoam]

Welcome aboard Sean!

That is the kind of tech support that is required for such an important device...

Standby for some interesting additional questions...
 

The only one I have is what J&J location were you at? 

 

Best regards,

-a-

[SeanMollet]

4 minutes ago, carusoam said:

Welcome aboard Sean!

Standby for some interesting additional questions...
 

The only one I have is what J&J location were you at? 

 

Best regards,

-a-

Thanks for the warm welcome. Have you ever met an engineer that didn't want to answer technical questions? For hours. Even if they weren't asked?

J&J was James. I've spent the last 20 years mostly building automotive electronics.

Edited September 26, 2020 by SeanMollet
Added a sentence

[MIm20c]

I appreciate the background info. Similar to @Marauder we have the box triggering high quality relays so max current is not a concern.  

[Marauder]

14 hours ago, SeanMollet said:

*waves*
I totally understand where you're coming from. That's exactly why I built it.
In short, I added sump heaters to my plane at the last annual and, like your friend, after looking at the available options was disappointed. I knew I could build a much better one and it went from an "I'll build one for myself" to something of an obsession to see how nice of a box I could actually build.
The board was designed to IEC 60950 and the enclosing Box to UL 498A. The box is custom injection molded poly-carbonate. The PCB is a single board that switches only the positive leg. HV and LV are isolated from each other with no connecting copper and more than 10x the required clearance. The power leg for output has a 15A thermally sensitive slow blow fuse, a surge protector (MOV), a safety capacitor, and each of the relays is rated to 16A. The power for the radio has a 0.5A fast blow and a common mode choke for noise filtering. The neutral and ground are tied with Wall-Nuts (NEC compliant). The cords are all 14 gauge and are UL listed.
The power trace is 10mm total on the outside layers of the board. At 12 amps continuous, it will heat up 10C above ambient. At 15 amps, 15C.
It'll pass UL, but my CPA spouse was already going to wring my neck after the bill came for the injection mold tooling and first run of PCBs for my "little project".
By cost, it's 76% US made. The Printed Circuit Board is made and assembled in Lenexa, KS, final assembly happens in Overland Park, KS and I personally program and test every unit before it goes in the box.
The service is $50/yr because I have a decently large business relationship with Verizon.
I have a day-job reverse engineering electronics, so I enlisted James here to handle the sales aspects.

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I’m not an EE by education so I will let those folks talk dirty with you about your design and components.

I’m interested in whether your box can be built to support a WiFi interface rather than a cellular hotspot. I already have a Verizon hotspot in my hangar and picking up a $50 annual cost, although ain’t lot, can go away (i.e. your relationship with them goes away). That was one of the irritations of the whole SwitchBox arrangement. He wanted owners to go through him to get a new SIM card from T-Mobile. Eventually he admitted I could go direct to T-Mobile. I spoke to T-Mobile and set up a $3/mth pre-paid arrangement with them. With T-Mobile shutting down their 2G/3G early next year, I’m going to need to find another alternative.

And just for entertainment value. When the SwitchBox failed and he refused to help me with it, I took it apart and had some of my EE co-workers look it over.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by Marauder

[SeanMollet]

8 minutes ago, Marauder said:

 

Thanks for the detailed response. I’m not an EE by educational so I will let those folks talk dirty with you about your design and components.

I’m interested in whether your box can be built to support a WiFi interface rather than a cellular hotspot. I already have a Verizon hotspot in my hangar and picking up a $50 annual cost, although ain’t lot, can go away (i.e. your relationship with them goes away). That was one of the irritations of the whole SwitchBox arrangement. He wanted owners to go through him to get a new SIM card from T-Mobile. Eventually he admitted I could go direct to T-Mobile. I spoke to T-Mobile and set up a $3/mth pre-paid arrangement with them. With T-Mobile shutting down their 2G/3G early next year, I’m going to need to find another alternative.

And just for entertainment value. When the SwitchBox failed and he refused to help me with it, I took it apart and had some of my EE co-workers look it over.

 

I don't comment on other people's products, but I might whistle loudly and point

SwitcheOn is a Verizon certified product and each device is registered with them, just like mobile phones. If I ever go away and my account stops, you can reactivate the device on your account using the sim that's already in it. You won't get my deal, but it'll keep working.

https://opendevelopment.verizonwireless.com/device-showcase/device/12484

 

I could build a wifi version, but I didn't think there was any real point. There's tons of cheap wifi switches out there. I do have the temperature sensor and the automations which I think are pretty slick, but I wasn't sure if I'd ever sell enough to justify the cost of another PCB. Even with our so far good sales, it's going to be quite a while before I'm even on this version.

 

You showed me yours.. I'll show you mine. That's the power trace. 5mm on the top, 5mm on the bottom. You can also see the quick connects for all the inputs/outputs, the high quality name-brand fuse (Belfuse), the safety capacitor (the black box) and the surge suppressor (MOV, blue circle). You can also see the UL listing mark for the factory that makes the boards for me. The device as a whole is not UL (yet), but the boards, cables and splices are all listed parts.

[SeanMollet]

The relays are also RU (UL listed components).

[OSUAV8TER]

I have several SwitcheOns shipping tomorrow as they are proving to be very popular!
 
Consider this. I live 15 miles round trip from my airport. The 2020 General Services Administration (GSA) publishes a mileage rate that includes gas, and wear and tear on a generic vehicle of $0.57 per mile. So it costs me $8.55 per round trip just on my vehicle round trip. Now, what is your time worth? $20? $30? $40? $50 an hour? It's a 30 minute round trip just driving. Say you have to drive that to go plug your airplane in the night before. That costs you $40 an hour plus $8.55 for your vehicle. After 7 round trips during the cold winter months you just had yourself a 2 channel SwitcheOn or after 11 trips a 4 channel SwitcheOn.

SwitcheOn saves you time and money!

https://www.gallagheraviationllc.com/switcheon.html <-- Buy here
1-833-425-5288 <-- Call us here
gallagheraviationllc@gmail.com <-- Email us here

[MIm20c]

Just ordered a two channel unit.  I’ll give a full review in the next couple of weeks.