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PaulF007

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Everything posted by PaulF007

  1. Nope apparently for his farm and all the operations ... Maybe just because he has the money ... and it is cool ...
  2. @SilverNodashi I hope that is a mine or something - Hear the premier of Mpumalanga spent something in the region of 1.5 or 2 Bar on a solar installation (Don't quote me on the numbers i just remember it was a boatload of money)
  3. I must have made 100 different calculations and @ R 2.70 per KWh on "proper batts" and then you need to keep the following in mind , You are paying upfront for the batts and will need to start the depreciation on your batts now else how will you finance the next lot? This , for all practical reasons , double's your KWh to R 5.40 - Yes I know on the next run you will then run cheaper but that will be 25 - 20 years from now .... If you got the "real thing" it will / should last you about 10 years so now you need to calculate the risk involved (Batts gets hot , maybe a very HIGH DoD from time to time, a bad cell , missed water levels exctr.) as well - lets add 30% just for in case This put you at R 5.75 per KWh Add inflation to this and hands down Eskom just makes more sense for your bulk needs and a small bank for the times that load shed is around. Any way , my 5c worth ( This obviously excludes the okes that does not have Eskom to start off with)
  4. Cool that could do the trick as well a bit invasive for my knowledge but the sky is the limit with these micro possessors!
  5. Heck you could also use a Bluetooth interface with a android phone ( My next project )
  6. You could use a shield but this will push the costs up considerably and as I already have three phones laying around and only one need this suited me better - Many ways to skin a cat -
  7. Here is a mock up of the setup that I used you would obviously use PIN 10 for the relay but I used the LED just to make sure every thing work as expected.
  8. I thought this could be use full for some else as well. "Disclaimer - This relates to AC current run trough a relay with DC volts so if you didn't understand what this is do not continue!! - I do not take any responsibility for ANY damages or loss of life, fingers , wife and or pets included " (Just to cover my self ) I have some security lights around the house and a fairly high quality perimeter alarm system and to top it off a DVR jut to check in if the Alarm did go off. The power supply for the cameras takes a fair amount of juice to run and we only use the cameras to view remotely , also I dont care for recording as it is useless most of the time , in my case any way. The idea was to create a remote switch that I could switch the cameras on so that I could view what is going on if the need arises. Now I know Vellman has a kit that does something similar but the cost on the kit is quite high and you dont have much flexibility on it either. So this is what I came up with: A Arduino powered Relay controller with a LDR so that you can control the relay with one of those old cell phones that is somewhere in a drawer. Al that the cell phone must be able to do is Have a screen that lights up when you call it Have n call blocking feature that prevent some telemarketing guy switching on your camera / lights The kit costs is around : 1 x Arduino Compatible board ( They are quite cheap) R 190 on BoB 1 x Relay Board R 25 for a Single relay This is what I needed. 1 x LDR any size will do as you will calibrate later. 1 x Strip board to set everything up ( Maybe some one could get us some pc boards made up ) Some wires Now seeing that most of us here is DIY people I am not going to waste time on writing a full tutorial on how to build a PC board , setup Arduino and how this work , there is a massive amount of information available on the net on this topic and as per usual - Google is your friend. What I needed was Be able to turn on the security lights and Cameras at the same time if I wanted to look at the cameras or if we arrive late at home and need to get the lights on (You could use two relays but this will push your costs up as you would need most likely a GMS shield for this. I used a day night switch to prevent the lights to come on in day time.) Be able to turn the lights on or off in the house , else you will need to phone the relay If the alarm goes off the lights must come one and then stay on for a x amount of time after the Alarm is reset This basically works on the principle of the LDR detecting the phone screen light that come's on (Hence any old phone will do) and then trigger the relay, I build in a delay in the code so that if the phone screen does come on when blocking a call it will only be on for a short while , in my case the screen is on for only 2 seconds if it is a blocked number. When I call it I need it to ring for two times and the relay will trigger , you will need to play with the numbers to fit you phone ... Then I have a "Door bell" button in the house that you can push to turn the lights on or off. My Alarm also has a "gate" that closes when it get triggered so that is connected as well but you don not need to use it.You can only use the phone if you need just that. Now for the good stuff: First off , I am by no means a prolific programmer and most of what you see here is a general mashup of bits of code that I got over then net if you can improve on it PLEASE do so as I would also like to learn a bit more on it. This took me almost 4 weeks to figure out (part of it was not knowing what I was doing) so please don't go and try making money of this just share it along ...... (Thought it might be necessary to say that) // Pins that will be used int LDR = A0; // select the input pin for ldr const int LED = 13; // just a status LED to show that the relay is on or off ( You can go and check out side as well const int CheckPin = 11; // This pin is Used to ensure that Timer is only used when the Alarm Relay is activated first const int Relay = 10; // The Relay that Controls the Lights const int WallSwitch = 8; // The main switch that will be wall mounted (Might be a "bell" Push button (*PinButton) const int AlarmTrigger = 9 ; // The Relay that will be triggered when the alarm goes off (* Alarm Relay) //Variables int LDRValue = 0; // variable to store the value coming from the sensor int prev_LDRValue = 0; // variable to store the previous state of the sensor unsigned long LastOnTimeLDR = 0; int stateRelay = LOW; long startOnLDR = 0; // The Last time that input was recieved // Variables for the WallSwitch //int state = LOW; // the current state of the output pin int reading; // the current reading from the input pin int previous = LOW; // the previous reading from the input pin // the follow variables are long's because the time, measured in miliseconds, // will quickly become a bigger number than can be stored in an int. long time = 0; // the last time the output pin was toggled long debounce = 200; // the debounce time, increase if the output flickers // Variables that will be used for the Alarm Trigger int stateButtonAlarm ; // to Chek the state of the Alarm Relay int ledState = LOW; // ledState used to set the LED unsigned long previousMillis = 0; // will store last time LED was updated long OnTime = 100; // milliseconds of on-time long OffTime = 5000; //## milliseconds of how long before the light time goes off ## EDIT CODE TO DECIDE HOW LONG THE LIGHTS SHOULD BE ON## int stateCheckPin = LOW; void setup() { // Asighn the Pins to what they need to do pinMode (LED, OUTPUT); pinMode (CheckPin,OUTPUT); pinMode (Relay, OUTPUT); // Triggers that will give inputs pinMode (AlarmTrigger,INPUT); pinMode (WallSwitch, INPUT); Serial.begin(9600); //sets serial port for communication - you will need this to see what is you LDR's output to calibrate acordingly } void loop() { // LDR Code to Switch the Relay on or off by calling the Cell phone for X amount of time LDRValue = analogRead(LDR); // read the value from the sensor Serial.println(LDRValue); //prints the values coming from the sensor on the screen if (prev_LDRValue<=35 && LDRValue>35){ //first if statement check for LDR has gone from below 35 to above 35, and set startOnLDR to millis. startOnLDR=millis();// Start the Timer prev_LDRValue=LDRValue; } if (LDRValue<35) { startOnLDR=0; prev_LDRValue=LDRValue;} { if (startOnLDR!=0 and (millis()-startOnLDR) >=2000) { // ## EDIT THIS VALUE TO THE TIME THAT THE PHONE WILL BE ON## if (millis() - LastOnTimeLDR > 1000UL) { // To check if the relay was triggered before and to keep the relay on after the event. if(stateRelay == HIGH){ stateRelay = LOW; } else { stateRelay = HIGH; } } digitalWrite (LED , stateRelay) ; digitalWrite (CheckPin , HIGH) ; // This pin need to be set high to prevent other timed code to trigger the relay digitalWrite (Relay , stateRelay) ; LastOnTimeLDR = millis(); } delay(100); } // The code to Switch the Relay on or Off via the Wall switch reading = digitalRead(WallSwitch); // if the input just went from LOW and HIGH and we've waited long enough to ignore any noise on the circuit, toggle the output pin and remember the time if (reading == HIGH && previous == LOW && millis() - time > debounce) { if (stateRelay == HIGH) stateRelay = LOW; else stateRelay = HIGH; digitalWrite (CheckPin , HIGH ) ; // This pin need to be set high to prevent other timed code to trigger the relay time = millis(); } digitalWrite (LED, stateRelay ); digitalWrite (Relay , stateRelay ) ; previous = reading; // The Code to Switch the Relay on if triggered by the Alarm and the lights will be on for as long as the Alarm is sounding and there after still 10 Min stateButtonAlarm = digitalRead(AlarmTrigger); stateCheckPin = digitalRead(CheckPin); unsigned long currentMillis = millis(); if((stateButtonAlarm == HIGH ) && (currentMillis - previousMillis >= OnTime)) { stateRelay = HIGH; // Turn it on previousMillis = currentMillis; // Remember the time digitalWrite (CheckPin , LOW); // Chage to low so that timer can be used to switch the Light off digitalWrite(LED, stateRelay); // Update the actual LED digitalWrite (Relay,stateRelay); } else if ((stateButtonAlarm == LOW && stateCheckPin == LOW ) && (currentMillis - previousMillis >= OffTime)) // Only activate it Checkpin is Low { stateRelay = LOW; // turn it off previousMillis = currentMillis; // Remember the time digitalWrite(LED, stateRelay); // Update the actual LED digitalWrite (Relay,stateRelay); } }
  9. With out a doubt - I will take Eskom for "Batts" any time over proper batts. Still hoping I can get Eskom sorted else off grid it is form me...
  10. @Mark Thank you for the linked , I have joined under "Farm Geluk Machado" Paul
  11. @Manie it is 8 x Narada 6-GFM-170F I was told that they are good quality and also got them for a good price.
  12. That will be up to the boks if I enjoy it , but will enjoy the outing!!!
  13. Hi Jaco, Ah now I see it on the manual as well , man I must have gone through it almost 5 time and didn't see it. Thank you! I will look at it tomorrow morning , almost on my way to the Bok game this afternoon
  14. Thank you Manie, I noticed in the manual that when setup the BMV for the first time you need to select the function but how do you get to that setting after your first setup is done?
  15. Hi Manie nope - as a matter of fact I didn't select midpoint only connected the terminal to the BWV the rest is still stock standard from the box, except for the battery setting that is.
  16. I finally got around installing the midpoint voltage connector but it does not look like the BMV 702 is reading it as mid point voltage rather as n Aux voltage. Is there a setting that I must apply to get the midpoint to monitor? Best regards Paul
  17. Finally the setup is sort of Presentable. I still have a couple of things to sort out but every thing is running well so far and no smoke coming out anywhere. With a bit of luck we will be moving in next week so then we will only be able to put the system through its paces. Thank you @The Terrible Triplett and @edmundp for all the time spend and guidance given with this in stall!! FYI http://pvoutput.org/list.jsp?id=52153&sid=47409 Just for fun
  18. LoL Apologies @TinkerBoy my intention was not to inflate and will as such retract my previous post , it was also sent in haste and maybe a bit uncalled for The brand itself does not matter much as I suspect that they are mostly import - old story of you get what you pay - the whole setup was about R 1350 controller included.From what I could understand was the PM50 is the standard model regardless of the brand and personally I was looking for the smallest possible pump that could deliver about 2 bar of pressure or so. The one I got is very similar to this specks: Model: QB60L-EPS Max Flow rate : 40 l/m Head: 33 m Suction: max ~8m Max Pressure: 3.3 Bar Voltage : 220~240v 50hz Power: 0.37kw, 0.5hp, 2900rpm Rated Flow rate to 15 l/m Inlet 1 inch, outlet 1 inch Price R1,653.00 inc.VAT regards
  19. Man I bought mine at Afgri so it is a local shop. But the guys at www.water-booster-pumps.co.za gave similar pricing. Regards Ps. Google is your best friend : https://www.google.co.za/?ion=1&espv=2#newwindow=1&q=pressure+pump
  20. So far so good. Not issues with the pump running through the day. I will still tweak it a bit but it is well worth the buy if you need a pump that is...
  21. Hey thank you for the reply! I got a tiny 0.36kw pump and installed it this afternoon , man was I surprised! It works like a charm I suspect you wont irrigate the whole yard but for the house it is more than ok and best of all a very small amount of power. I will still need to run it for a day or so but so far so good - O ja the pump is a PM50 Gooi kole..
  22. Among other things - Oh how far have we come ..... FYI - Current Automation is giving very good prices on their panels currently as low as R 8.05 excl. - worth a look ...
  23. Morning Gents Question - I worked out yesterday that I would not be able to gravitational feed water to my house so I will have to use a booster/pressure pump . The question is - any one here use a booster pump? I was looking on the net and found a one that uses about 0.37kw with a head of 10 - 35 max and volume 35l per min. My goal is to get the smallest possible motor. I would not need more than 2 bar of pressure as I would have used gravitational feed if I could. O ja - I currently do have a huge pressure pump (1.2 kw) If I ever wanted to irrigate but that would be off the genny. Any suggestions?
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