Originally Posted by
KOC62
Regarding the zero crossing detector, you can do it without a transformer. As I mentioned I used the H11AA1 without a transformer. You will need to be sure about wiring directly to a 240AC circuit and follow good wiring practice.
I used two 1/2W, 10K resistors in series, for a total of 20K for a 120VAC line. This provides about 6ma of current to the H11AA1 opto-isolator diodes. I used two resistors, rather than one, so that pins 1 and 2 of the H11AA1 are not directly connected to an AC line but each pin has a resistor to the opposite line input.
For 240VAC you will need to double the resistance and double the wattage rating for the resistors, (i.e. two 20K 1Watt each, resistors). If the resistors feel too hot then you will need to increase the wattage, say use 2 watt resistors instead of 1 watt, but keep the total resistance at 40K ohms for 6ma of ac current. The diodes can handle up to 60 ma for the H11AA1 but the resistor's power consumption will increase to over 14 watts with no benefit of performance.