Make a Talking Security Alarm With a PIC16 and ISD1820

Alarm circuits are common in the field of hobby electronics, typically utilizing a switch (such as a reed switch) and a speaker to produce an alarm. However, the alarm system in this project has several unusual features that will be able to fool most intruders.

In this Maker Pro project, we will make a security system that will fool intruders into thinking that someone is around!

Warning! Atchung! Attention!

Talking Security Alarm Schematic

How Does the Talking Security Alarm Work?

• Once a detection has been made, the relay is activated and turns on a light.
• After a few seconds, the ISD1820 is triggered to play some audio (“Hey, what are you doing here?!”).
• An alarm is then raised and plays for 20 seconds.

The ISD1820 module is a single IC solution that can record and play back up to 10 seconds of recorded audio (picked up by the microphone). What makes this module very useful is that the record and playback features can be controlled via an external circuit including microcontrollers. Two I/O pins control how the sound is played back. PLAYE plays the entire recorded audio upon a clock pulse (active high), while PLAYL plays for as long as the input is on. For our project, we need the PLAYE pin and not the PLAYL pin. The PLAYE pin is connected RC2.

Everyone reading this project will be happy to hear that I have switched from MPLAB 8.92 and Microchip C18 to MPLAB X and XC8, which means most of my projects and code will work for all PICs in the PIC16 and PIC18 series of microcontrollers. One nice feature about this is that all code for PIC16 chips can now be in C, and many PIC16 chips are very cheap. The microcontroller in this article, the PIC16F1516, has to be the best bang for its buck. It comes with the following features:

• 16MHz internal oscillator
• 8K ROM, 512 byte RAM
• 28 DIP package (plenty of IO)
• 3 timers (timer 0, timer 1, and timer 2)
• ADC, UART, SPI, and I2C

Construction

You may notice the white layer on the PCB; this is an experimental silkscreen (also known as a component legend). When making PCBs at home, they can be difficult to construct without both the schematic AND PCB layout side by side. On a laptop, this is very impractical, as the screen is not very big. So, instead, I am experimenting with component legends by printing out the silkscreen onto paper, gluing it to the topside of the PCB, aligning it correctly, and then cutting the overhanging paper off using a sharp knife.

The results have been acceptable, but it turns out that my CNC needs some scaling adjustments to make it fit perfectly with the printouts. The paper can also get dirty and smudged, so it's important to use a laser printer and not an inkjet. I plan to purchase some colored cardstock to produce a thicker layer that is more sturdy and that looks nicer (white shows dirt too well). Paper is also rather thin and can come up on the edgesn but in terms of functionality, it worked really well.