Grow controller? (DIY)

[Hephaestus]

LOL - I swear one day I'll understand this stuff well enough that I don't second guess myself ten times

Or maybe that's just the ocd kicking in and I need to

Then again, with C15 passing... 9 month minimum sentence even for one lil plant... I may have to rethink...

 

[medi-useA]

LOL - I swear one day I'll understand this stuff well enough that I don't second guess myself ten times

Or maybe that's just the ocd kicking in and I need to

Then again, with C15 passing... 9 month minimum sentence even for one lil plant... I may have to rethink...

Th@'s why this shield is potentially so damn useful!
With a bit of effort one could Automate a grow even down to internet/phone/RF/WiFi control!

Once one of us writes a thread on building your own GrowBot and GuardBot with both independent on-board control and Virtual Control....

THEN we can research intergrating a bugs brain as a chip on a board!



muA

 

[medi-useA]

Hep....found a unit that does a lot...the write up on it has some interesting comments....

Metal Halide control with "Sure-On"
Just like the RK1 and RK2 the RK Elite system will make sure your Metal Halide bulbs come back on after a power interruption. Sure-On is a 15 minute delay that gives these expensive and sensitive bulbs time to cool which insures safe, continuing usage over time.

from http://www.digitalaquatics.com/saltwater/RKE

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Very familiar with the reefkeeper - great little unit - but it's very saltwater specific...

 

[disfunktional]

i was dign through ebay and found this. does it look like a good deal and is it what im looking for?

 

[Hephaestus]

Yup that's one option; Personally I'm using this one:
http://www.hvwtech.com/products_view.asp?ProductID=682
Note it's cheaper, comes with the atmel 328 chip (more memory) and a few other upgrades over the base arduino



Hmm... Why do I have seeds hanging in air? hehehe... That'll mean valentines will be a good time

 

[medi-useA]

A question....
the Alcohol Gas Sensor MQ-3

and the Methane Gas Sensor MQ-4

and even a CO2 sensor are available.....


I wonder......could one come up with the specs for a terpine sensor?

muA

Wouldn't that be shit-hot!
muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Yeah I've been eyeballing the CO, CO2, and other sensors; but now you're beyond my knowledge level as to what the needs/uses are...

 

[medi-useA]

I was surfin' and found this page...
Does the shield or board need something like this?...is it something th@'s been missed or was considered and left out?

http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Learning/ArduinoSleepCode

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Nope, we wouldn't want the board to go to sleep at all - would want the board to be operating 24/7/365; as we need it up and running to be monitoring sensors and making corrections...

 

[Hephaestus]

Woohoo... 1 more IC left to arrive then I can start testing!

Found another arduino project to play with too Thinking http://www.contraptor.org/ as a base; Mount a bracket for both a dremel & an extruder (ala http://www.reprap.org/ ) Then I can rapid prototype & cut & drill circuit board in house

Yeah, the weed sucks this week; my brain is working too much... I really need to get going on the cabinet

We wont discuss what happened to the first seedlings...

 

[medi-useA]

Yeah, the weed sucks this week; my brain is working too much... I really need to get going on the cabinet

Got 2 giant cabs m'self...some pics in my album if ya wanna peek...

Post some pics of the build, will ya?

RepRap looks interesting, don'it!

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Pics of the build are coming (different thread) not much to look at right now; just hacked out the bottom of the fridge to make space for the tank, did some testing this weekend with lights running seeing how bad temps would get - gotta sort out ventilation this week... Then the girls will have a home...

reprap definitely has its uses - same with the cnc mill (have the parts here for a big un - but figure I'm doing more little parts) Dual tasked - same drive systems; if I run a dremel back to back with an extruder - even more useful

Hating this mix; I've got some sativa that makes me bounce off the walls and some indica that'll put me to sleep with the joint still lit... Need something more inbetween - slow the brain down to a crawl; deal with the gi issues from the prednisone and if it helps a bit with the RA - better still... Weather change we just got nailed with has me on crutches for the better part of the day - still gotta get through the work day though (Don't really want them to know all the medical issues right now - in this economy; don't need a target on my back).

 

[medi-useA]

Hephaestus, I feel for ya...just started using a w/stick around the home...usually I just use the crutches when out'N'aboot {love the Canadians!} doing the shopping...but when it's bad enough to need help 'round the home...it really makes life a bit more miserable...

I have found mixing diff. strains helps if you can tweak the mix right...


muA

 

[disfunktional]

hey guys hows it going? iv thought of another area that can be monitored. the air lines from the pump to the res. it would need the tank level sensor mentioned earlier in the thread. what would need to be done is install a T into each airline after the air pump and install the sensor in the T. leave the other half of the sensor to read atmospheric pressure. when the air stones begin to plug up it will appear to the sensor that the level is riseing. then you would know when to change out airstones and which one. thiswould also wourk with a pressure sensor but i havent been able to find one that works under constant pressure. idk just an idea

 

[medi-useA]

A most interesting idea Dis...gonna lookup some sensors now....

muA

 

[Hephaestus]

Could do that; but really - never seen an air stone clog up (and I've had hundreds running at once); seen them disintegrate - but not clog... With most of the more modern pumps and airstones - likelyhood of clogging is virtually nil...

Suppose if you really wanted to you could monitor it - but I'd be more watching for pump degradation (those diaphrams need replacement semi regularly) than airstone failure...

 

[disfunktional]

oh ok. i thought they clogged. forgive my igorance but what is the reason that people have to change their air stones?

 

[Hephaestus]

They degrade; bubbles get bigger - debatable whether that's a bad thing - bigger bubbles = more movement... smaller bubbles aggitate the surface more for better o2 exchange... But a good rolling boil of bigger bubbles makes waves that does the same to the surface - thus...

Pretty much when they break apart you replace them - at least in my world

 

[disfunktional]

thanx bro all this time iv been worried about haveing to change them often dureing a grow. im guessing that they wiil last an entire grow right?