Grow controller? (DIY)

[medi-useA]

Hephaestus...What do you think would be the most upgradeable and 'easy' of the Aduino and clone boards?
I'm gonna get one to play and learn with...will want to do lots of things so what is the leader in your eyes?

I think I have a new hobby for those dull spots of waiting during grows....*G*


muA

 

[Hephaestus]

The mega is nice - but the growshields based on the basic arduino stamp... And encorporates a pair of digital port expanders to cover the basics... Yes some extra analog might be nice - but not really needed for a smaller system; and if you get 3 wire float switches (no/com/nc) you wont really need those extra analog inputs...

I'd just grab one of the freeduino sb or other true arduino duemilanove boards...

 

[Hephaestus]

so i wont need the thermaltake fans then?if not il be able to use them for another project. saweet guess i need to start lookn for different fans then.

You could use them - 5vdc makes more sense, but there is a 12v needed on the pH circuit for the growduino - could easily feed that up to the motor control, use your existing fans and have speed control over them...

 

[Hephaestus]

You've got me seriously thinking about this now... Perhaps I really should add fan control to the shield itself... the motor control shield is a bit inefficient in pin use (really we don't need the switchable direction) Could add it to the growshield easily, tied into the 12v feed for the pH circuit, and run 2?4? fans off two of the arduino base pwm pins... Use a jumper to switch fan direction... Then you can tie in 12v PC fans to the base board - really it's only a matter of a couple bucks to add it to the circuit; not really a major change or difficult to setup...


what do you guys think - worthy of addition or?

 

[disfunktional]

that would free up some space also takeing a lil bulk away from it, right?

 

[Hephaestus]

The other thing I'm still pondering, is another backpack shield designed solely to drive high power LED's. Yes buckpucks etc are cheap - but PWM control (ie dimming) could be really handy;install your array of luxeons/cree/?'s then use the controller to be able to adjust intensity and red/blue/white balance... There's a fair number of Reef tanks now run off LED lighting, fairly successfully (still not HID equivalent, but still plenty of par for most growth needs) - I see some people playing with that here, had the theory down for a while, and the ability to monitor current draw (ie burnouts) and shut down the array at a moments notice would be really handy...

Course I think that's way out still, it'd be a pretty intense (big) shield, but the control would be phenominal...



I think i better find me something more indica based this morning... Holy shit my brain wont shut off

that would free up some space also takeing a lil bulk away from it, right?

It'd save you some bulk, little extension onto the growshield - save you vertical space for sure (and possible interference problems). Also save you a pair of digital pins - the true motor control shield takes 4 - two for speed two for direction, really you're not going to be switching direction in our applications, just need to set it once then have the speed control...

 

[disfunktional]

The mega is nice - but the growshields based on the basic arduino stamp... And encorporates a pair of digital port expanders to cover the basics... Yes some extra analog might be nice - but not really needed for a smaller system; and if you get 3 wire float switches (no/com/nc) you wont really need those extra analog inputs...

I'd just grab one of the freeduino sb or other true arduino duemilanove boards...

of the two which is better one to get? or is it a six of one and half a dozen ot hte other?

 

[Hephaestus]

Mega's nice - but unneeded unless you're planning to control a full room sized grow with multiple aeroponic setups to control... My shield is designed on the duemanilove - wont plug into the mega, as is - and would likely block all those digital pins on the bottom...

My advice - Get this one; this is the specific one I'm using:
http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?ProductID=682
I can vouch for hvwtech (I buy lots from them) - great bunch of guys over there... Also you can find the ds18b20's (1-wire temperature sensors) on their website.

 

[disfunktional]

Freeduino sb it is then. thanx for the link!

 

[medi-useA]

Hep...perhaps you should have 2 designs in mind...a base model 'growshield' and a more 'advanced' or 'complex' model a 'climateshield' th@ will have all the extra controls and doodah's...

whaddyathink?

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Nah, I really want to group all the basics onto a single shield as much as possible...

Trust me - already working on followup shield designs; like the LED one... There's a reason kept the stackable design

Once fan control is on - pretty sure this board is complete... I don't see much other discussion on further base needs... Pretty much everyone uses PC fans in hydroponics or in aquarium - be it for cooling ballasts or for air circulation (cooling lights) or something else... Seems smarter to have that as one of the base items... Not really making much impact on the overall price of the design (another 3$ IC) but makes it that much more functional...

 

[medi-useA]

Guys...still looking @ lcd's?

Try this!

Description

Nokia 3310 LCD is low-cost, monochrome LCD with 84x48 display. It is popular for 8-bit AVR/PIC projects, search google for 'Nokia 3310 LCD', and you will find lots of resources.

This Nokia 3310 LCD & Joystick shield can be used for Arduino /Freeduino board and other MCU projects. It has following features:
Use popular Nokia 3310 LCD, monochrom, 84x48 pixels.
Has 4 blue LED backlight for the LCD, so you'll be use it at night.
Has a 5-direction Joystick , but only use ONE ADC PIN on Arudino for reading the Joystick.
Directly plug into the Arduino or Freeduino boards
Can be connected to other MCU projects, via extend connector J5
Supplied with fully functional Arduino library & demo application sketch
What is included

Nokia 3310 LCD shield v1.0 with Joystick (with Nokia 3310 LCD), fully assembled & tested

from http://toysdownunder.com/arduino/arduino-shields/arduino-nokia-3310-shield.html

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Yup - eyeballed that one; programming that is way above my skill level unfortunately... Text based is ok in my world (I'm a KISS believer) suppose once some of the software's done - it might be on look at it list...

 

[medi-useA]

Will ya Growshield accept wingshield or screwshield?

Further thoughts on the subject...

What about data logging? It's got to be important in dialing in a grow...

what about a data logger attached to sensors and an sd card holder pcb...???

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Wingshield or screwshield would work - it should accept any of the standard arduino shields. It is going to run long though - trying to put the connectors inline with the usb/switch end of the arduino; but it overruns the other end of the board by a few inches (still not sure how much - been playing with layout trying to make it nice and simple)

There's already a 256k eeprom on it for datalogging

 

[medi-useA]

There's already a 256k eeprom on it for datalogging

Brilliant!



now, does it have or need a clock and onboard battery?...if it's going to run the timing of lights and pumps it must need a clock, right? Does one of the chips do that already?

muA

 

[medi-useA]

'Nother one...someone else is growin'

Growing plants with the RelaySquid
http://www.liquidware.com/projects/22/Growing+plants+with+the+RelaySquid

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Brilliant!



now, does it have or need a clock and onboard battery?...if it's going to run the timing of lights and pumps it must need a clock, right? Does one of the chips do that already?

muA

DS1307 real time clock w/ 3.6v battery is already on there

'Nother one...someone else is growin'



muA

Yup, you're going to need to build something like this - but you'll need more than 4 outlets I'm thinking...

 

[Hephaestus]

Dumb question du jour... You guys running PC fans - 2 wire or 4 wire units? All of mine are 2 wire; but i understand most are 4 wire???

 

[disfunktional]

my thermaltake smart fan is a three wire fan. hope this helps.