Alas, my box of things electr(on)ic that might come in useful took a powder at some point in the last 30 years, and the handy little shop in Haguenau that had a vast selection of bits died with the rise of the Internet, so obtaining the odd 0.80 € item now comes with a 6 € bill for carriage. The rectifier/optothingmebob course seems attractive, though.
Anent the leaf switch, the thing is so damned sensitive that when I had it lying on the desk it went off from the vibration of MrsT closing the front door, but when I wedge it into the bell mechanism where the solenoid core will whang it it stays schtum. It's as perverse as plumbing.
