Interior Cabinet Lights

[jaredharley]

I'm working on an idea I have for LED lights inside of my kitchen cabinets. As you can see in the picture, the LEDs will be mounted behind the center divider, one set for each shelf. I haven't decided if I'm going to make it battery powered or if I want to run some electricity up there.

Where I am stuck at, though, is how to activate the lights. I need some type of switch (possibly magnetic) that will close the circuit (turn on the lights) when either of the 2 doors are opened, and then turn off when the door/doors is/are closed.

Any ideas? I'm completely stumped about how to proceed at this point.

[BronzeG3]

What I think you are looking for is called a reed switch http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_switch. It uses a magnet to open or close the switch. Mount the magnet on the door and the switch on the cabinent.

You could also go for the cheap alarms that you mount on windows and doors. When you open the window or door, they make loud noises. Hacking one of those should be pretty easy.

[Alan]

I would agree with Bronze, the most common use for these are in the security field. And ones that are used for security are usually N/C (normally closed) contacts. You will need both to have a N/O contact if you don't want to have any other control circuitry.

Seems that Radio Shack has them:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?parentPage=search&summary=summary&techSpecs=techSpecs&currentTab=summary&cp=&custRatings=custRatings&features=features&accessories=accessories&productId=2103012&origkw=magnetic+switch&support=support&kw=magnetic+switch&tab=summary