Get your Geek on and control your grow room with Arduino!

OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
My first modem was a 300 baud that you stuck the handset into. 9600 was my first upgrade and it was broken out of the box. Luckily I was at BCIT at the time and after 2 days of hair-pulling frustration took it to the computer science dept and a couple days later got it back and was told it was dead. Back to Future Shop for a new one.

I only upgraded here from dial-up 7 or 8 years ago. Max download speed was 5Kb/sec and now I'm getting 800-1000.

I never got my Grade 12 diploma either. My chem diploma is/was good for 2 years university credit and I went into it as a mature student and took a 6 week math upgrade course in the summer prior to classes starting in Sept. Grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 in 6 weeks of 3 hour days and I managed 87% overall. Figured school would be a breeze until I started with 7 different classes and very poor time management skills. Being out of school for 15 years or so leaves you ill-equipped for the rigors of academic life. Not that I was much of a student back then either. I had gone back to high school at age 20 too. Being the only guy in the school old enough to go to the liquor store made me a lot of cool friends real fast. Many of them were female too. ;)

:peace:
 
ilovereggae

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Can anybody recommend a good free online electrical primer/course? 100% honest I have limited knowledge of what all of these components even do in an electrical circuit. I googled enough about electricity basics to wire up my LED/drivers, and can do the math to figure out watts/amps on a breaker, but not much beyond that.

I am a software engineer tho and have no problem spending the time learning if someone can point me in the right direction. I feel like I need a Electrical 101 class so that I can make better use of all this knowledge and be able to think about it on my own. Unless you all think that my best bet is to jump in and learn as I go? I very much prefer applied learning to reading manuals, but I know theres some basic foundation that will help me get a better headstart.

Thanks!
 
M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
ilovereggae said:
Can anybody recommend a good free online electrical primer/course? 100% honest I have limited knowledge of what all of these components even do in an electrical circuit. I googled enough about electricity basics to wire up my LED/drivers, and can do the math to figure out watts/amps on a breaker, but not much beyond that.

I am a software engineer tho and have no problem spending the time learning if someone can point me in the right direction. I feel like I need a Electrical 101 class so that I can make better use of all this knowledge and be able to think about it on my own. Unless you all think that my best bet is to jump in and learn as I go? I very much prefer applied learning to reading manuals, but I know theres some basic foundation that will help me get a better headstart.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
There are so many...its hard to pick just 1, but if you google "electronics 101" theres tons of sites and videos that will explain components, how things work and so on. (not "electrical", but "electronics")
Maybe choose a simple project to build and start learning about its components and then go from there.
In school we built small projects on breadboards and copper clad board that we etched and soldered components to...was lots of fun.
What do you have for components on hand...any old electronics you can rip apart for some parts?
 
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ilovereggae

ilovereggae

Well-Known Member
Mak'er Grow said:
There are so many...its hard to pick just 1, but if you google "electronics 101" theres tons of sites and videos that will explain components, how things work and so on. (not "electrical", but "electronics")
Maybe choose a simple project to build and start learning about its components and then go from there.
In school we built small projects on breadboards and copper clad board that we etched and soldered components to...was lots of fun.
What do you have for components on hand...any old electronics you can rip apart for some parts?
Click to expand...
thanks @Mak'er Grow

Funny thing, I actually have a whole Arduino kit, and when I looked, I think its literally made for what I want lol.
www.seeedstudio.com

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino is perfect for beginner to get started with Arduino programming and understand hardware. The kit includes 13 circuits and each one has a breadboard layout.
www.seeedstudio.com www.seeedstudio.com

Literally printed on the outside of the box is:
"ARDX is a comprehensive Arduino learning kit for beginners who want to easily dive into the world of electronics."

I am definitely going to start my research with your suggestions and some other resources @ChiefRunningPhist sent me just now.

My specific goals for the next few months:

  • Setup Adafruit soil temp/humidity sensor and wire up to Arduino, initially just logging data, eventually adding more sensors and having some type of app logic that turns on a pump to a drip system to add supplemental watering as needed during flower.
  • Setup a PiCam or other cameras in my flower and veg spaces.
  • Be able to control the potentiometers of my Meanwell drivers via an app.
  • Look into possibility of splicing a connection into my AC Infinity cloudline controllers, or making my own controller for them that will allow me to control fan based on my own temp/rh recipes. their V2 controller for the cloudline does not allow you to ramp up the speed based on temps (ie at 70F speed 2, 75F speed 3, 80F speed 4 etc). Once you hit you min temp it just raises it to one specific fan speed. Annoying bc the V1 controller worked as I am describing
  • *** BONUS - be able to build a pulley system for my lights and control w an app that would let me raise and lower precisely to specific PPFD of canopy :)

As far as electronics to tear apart, I have purged pretty much all of my e-waste recently. I guess I could just look on Craigslist for some junk electronics in the Free section and tear those apart.
 
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M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
ilovereggae said:
thanks @Mak'er Grow

Funny thing, I actually have a whole Arduino kit, and when I looked, I think its literally made for what I want lol.
www.seeedstudio.com

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino is perfect for beginner to get started with Arduino programming and understand hardware. The kit includes 13 circuits and each one has a breadboard layout.
www.seeedstudio.com www.seeedstudio.com

Literally printed on the outside of the box is:
"ARDX is a comprehensive Arduino learning kit for beginners who want to easily dive into the world of electronics."

I am definitely going to start my research with your suggestions and some other resources @ChiefRunningPhist sent me just now.

My specific goals for the next few months:

  • Setup Adafruit soil temp/humidity sensor and wire up to Arduino, initially just logging data, eventually adding more sensors and having some type of app logic that turns on a pump to a drip system to add supplemental watering as needed during flower.
  • Setup a PiCam or other cameras in my flower and veg spaces.
  • Be able to control the potentiometers of my Meanwell drivers via an app.
  • Look into possibility of splicing a connection into my AC Infinity cloudline controllers, or making my own controller for them that will allow me to control fan based on my own temp/rh recipes. their V2 controller for the cloudline does not allow you to ramp up the speed based on temps (ie at 70F speed 2, 75F speed 3, 80F speed 4 etc). Once you hit you min temp it just raises it to one specific fan speed. Annoying bc the V1 controller worked as I am describing
  • *** BONUS - be able to build a pulley system for my lights that would let me raise and lower precisely to specific PPFD of canopy :)

As far as electronics to tear apart, I have purged pretty much all of my e-waste recently. I guess I could just look on Craigslist for some junk electronics in the Free section and tear those apart.
Click to expand...
That kit is a very good place to start. It should give you a great start with understanding components and programming Arduinos.
I live in an apartment so I find old equipment around the trash bins sometimes...I only grab useful things tho...vacuums dont have many useful parts...lol
You should have all those projects you want to do completed by next week...lol...no, but really you can do every one of them in time I'm sure and we are here if you need some help along the way. :)
 
OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
ilovereggae said:
thanks @Mak'er Grow

Funny thing, I actually have a whole Arduino kit, and when I looked, I think its literally made for what I want lol.
www.seeedstudio.com

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino

ARDX - The starter kit for Arduino is perfect for beginner to get started with Arduino programming and understand hardware. The kit includes 13 circuits and each one has a breadboard layout.
www.seeedstudio.com www.seeedstudio.com

Literally printed on the outside of the box is:
"ARDX is a comprehensive Arduino learning kit for beginners who want to easily dive into the world of electronics."

I am definitely going to start my research with your suggestions and some other resources @ChiefRunningPhist sent me just now.

My specific goals for the next few months:

  • Setup Adafruit soil temp/humidity sensor and wire up to Arduino, initially just logging data, eventually adding more sensors and having some type of app logic that turns on a pump to a drip system to add supplemental watering as needed during flower.
  • Setup a PiCam or other cameras in my flower and veg spaces.
  • Be able to control the potentiometers of my Meanwell drivers via an app.
  • Look into possibility of splicing a connection into my AC Infinity cloudline controllers, or making my own controller for them that will allow me to control fan based on my own temp/rh recipes.
  • *** BONUS - be able to build a pulley system for my lights that would let me raise and lower precisely to specific PPFD of canopy :)

As far as electronics to tear apart, I have purged pretty much all of my e-waste recently. But I do have a loose connection on the back of one of my Technics 1200's that I have been meaning to find a YouTube tutorial to fix. But that won't be more than a solder or something. I guess I could just look on Craigslist for some junk electronics in the Free section and tear those apart.
Click to expand...
A lot of the parts you can buy online from amazon etc cheap. Been trying for years to get some capacitors to fix a power supply for a nice Viewsonic 24" monitor. Kind of moot now as I've bought 3 monitors from thrift stores and garage sales since but I got a 500pc box of caps online for $15 and 2600 resistors for about the same. Now I'm going to try fixing it using my battery powered heatless soldering iron. Bought that 5 years ago and never had a use for it 'til now. I have a few other soldering irons from 20 to 80W and a soldering gun too. Good wwith all of them.

You have a nice bunch of projects lined up already.

I don't know much about electronics either but in a year from now . . . :)

:peace:
 
M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
OldMedUser said:
A lot of the parts you can buy online from amazon etc cheap. Been trying for years to get some capacitors to fix a power supply for a nice Viewsonic 24" monitor. Kind of moot now as I've bought 3 monitors from thrift stores and garage sales since but I got a 500pc box of caps online for $15 and 2600 resistors for about the same. Now I'm going to try fixing it using my battery powered heatless soldering iron. Bought that 5 years ago and never had a use for it 'til now. I have a few other soldering irons from 20 to 80W and a soldering gun too. Good wwith all of them.

You have a nice bunch of projects lined up already.

I don't know much about electronics either but in a year from now . . . :)

:peace:
Click to expand...
I've wore out 3 soldering pencils in the past year myself...just ordered another from China a few weeks ago...hope it gets here soon the tip on my current one is only about 1/4" long now and cant find a replacement for it.
I have a little USB one too, but tip broke and I haven't ordered a new one yet for it.
Well if you can't fix the monitor you can always rip some good parts from it for projects ;)
 
Timezone

Timezone

Well-Known Member
Mak'er Grow said:
I have tried the DS18B20 and found the readings jump up and down a lot and just didn't seem to stay at a proper reading.
Click to expand...
Sampling too fast for the resolution maybe? Here's a guide for DS18B20 temperature sensor with Arduino board...

Mak'er Grow said:
From what I read the 4 pin boards are 5v and the 6 pin boards are 3.3v, but not sure...is there anyway to figure out what is what?
Click to expand...
While I've never used one, after some quick reading, it is my understanding that the 4 pin boards use the I2C protocol where as the 6 pin boards use the I2C or SPI protocols.

The BMP280 chip is a 3,3Vdc device. When you got the chip on the 4 pin board, the board may or may not have contained a regulator to allow use with 5Vdc. Where did you get it, or what brand?

I haven't worked with pressure yet but may be adding something to my control, I've something in mind...
 
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M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
Timezone said:
Sampling too fast for the resolution maybe? Here's a guide for DS18B20 temperature sensor with Arduino board...


While I've never used one, after some quick reading, it is my understanding that the 4 pin boards use the I2C protocol where as the 6 pin boards use the I2C and SPI protocols.

The BMP280 chip is a 3,3Vdc device. When you got the chip on the 4 pin board, the board may or may not have contained a regulator to allow use with 5Vdc. Where did you get it, or what brand?

I haven't worked with pressure yet but may be adding something to my control, I've something in mind...
Click to expand...
Since the Mega2560 only has 1 set of I2C inputs and I have a I2C RTC I needed to add a 1 to 8 I2C multiplexer.
www.aliexpress.com

1.52C$ 18% OFF|1pcs MCU 9548 TCA9548A 1 to 8 I2C 8 way multi channel expansion board IIC module development board|development board|board developmentboard module - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com
My setup has 4 boxes/tents so I purchased 4 of these sensors.
www.aliexpress.com

2.8C$ |GY BME280 BME280 Pressure Temperature Sensor Module for Arduino 3.3V/5V|Integrated Circuits| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com
www.aliexpress.com www.aliexpress.com
It makes more sense now that the SPI uses 6 pins and I2C uses 4 pins...I didn't even think of that...thanks.
I believe these are BME280 boards now I look back at the listing and it says it can use 3.3 or 5v. Where I will be using them at 5v...well trying them at 5v...lol

As far as the DS18B20 goes I'm now thinking it may be a different model...the ones I bought were 2 wires and waterproof...will go back and find out what I actually bought.
I thought they were analog devices so I used them on analog pins to the Arduino...hrmmm...got me thinking again...lol
 
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OldMedUser

OldMedUser

Well-Known Member
Mak'er Grow said:
I've wore out 3 soldering pencils in the past year myself...just ordered another from China a few weeks ago...hope it gets here soon the tip on my current one is only about 1/4" long now and cant find a replacement for it.
I have a little USB one too, but tip broke and I haven't ordered a new one yet for it.
Well if you can't fix the monitor you can always rip some good parts from it for projects ;)
Click to expand...
What are you doing to your soldering pencils? I've had my smallest for 50 years and it's still fine. Bought it to do a project in grade 8 electricity shop.
 
M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
OldMedUser said:
What are you doing to your soldering pencils? I've had my smallest for 50 years and it's still fine. Bought it to do a project in grade 8 electricity shop.
Click to expand...
I have a bad habit of leaving them on for days. I sometimes forget to unplug them and then notice like 3 days later...yup I know, I know...lol
For some reason the tips started to slowly dissolve/shrink. 2 Did this over the past few years, but came to find out I couldn't buy a replacement tip due to the age of them. I had them for 20+ years tho.
The USB one wasn't made well and the tip snapped...think it may have had a crack in it from the start...over a few months the tip started bending and eventually just broke.
Maybe some day I'll find and order new tips for them all since they still heat up...just no tips...lol
I think I paid like $10 each for the 2 @30w and the USB was like $6 from China...so for the price of $5-10 for a new one I figured I just start again and this time also order a couple spare tips. :)
 

Attachments

Timezone

Timezone

Well-Known Member
I got kits mailed to me when I was eight or ten, one a month for several months. Neat projects like a cat's whisker radio, wind your own motor and run it on a lemon, nickel plating a penny, that kind of kit. I hadn't thought about those... I guess that was my first introduction to electricity, although now that I think of it, there was an earlier event... something to do with a fork and an outlet. ;) Buy the kits if you have the money, especially if it has projects or instructions for the different components. I wouldn't buy kits that are just a bunch of parts that you'll never use. I gave two Unos to a couple of kids I know, for Christmas, maybe stir up some interest in a new generation. @OldMedUser, I can't wait for you to get your Mega.

By the time I graduated high school, back when old school was new, I was a stoner with an old motorcycle and freedom. I've grown cannabis off and on since then and about two years ago had to stop. While I have been waiting for the zone I live in to catch up, I've built a wireless control system for the original specifications shown above (except the water chiller and a water heater), as well as wireless automatic watering system for seven plants. I am working on a version for hydroponics as that's where I shine. It's the same control without the soil sensors, pump, etc., but including the water chiller/heater controls, as well as water level, automatic feeding and ph controls. There may be more features in the future.

I don't know it all by far but I've come a long way in a year and I'm excited. I'm now using C/C++ that the Arduino IDE uses to program the ESP8266s, Python for the Pi, and MQTT and Node-RED.

P3160173.JPG
This is one of my wifi controlled boxes before being labeled. Each outlet is individually controlled and rated (by me) 120Vac 15A 1800W (total) from plug, through box, to outlets. You plug this into the wall and plug two devices, such as an 1500W heater and air conditioner into the two outlets, set a few limits on the Pi and let it run.

P3160174.JPG
This is the inside with an ESP8266 controller and power supply on the green board, and the relays below.

P3310192.JPG
This is the black box containing all the sensors and seven soil moisture sensors on 1M cables (not shown).

P4090204.JPG
and the inside...

P4270225.JPG
and the Node-RED on the Pi.

Later...
 
M

Mak'er Grow

Well-Known Member
Timezone said:
I got kits mailed to me when I was eight or ten, one a month for several months. Neat projects like a cat's whisker radio, wind your own motor and run it on a lemon, nickel plating a penny, that kind of kit. I hadn't thought about those... I guess that was my first introduction to electricity, although now that I think of it, there was an earlier event... something to do with a fork and an outlet. ;) Buy the kits if you have the money, especially if it has projects or instructions for the different components. I wouldn't buy kits that are just a bunch of parts that you'll never use. I gave two Unos to a couple of kids I know, for Christmas, maybe stir up some interest in a new generation. @OldMedUser, I can't wait for you to get your Mega.

By the time I graduated high school, back when old school was new, I was a stoner with an old motorcycle and freedom. I've grown cannabis off and on since then and about two years ago had to stop. While I have been waiting for the zone I live in to catch up, I've built a wireless control system for the original specifications shown above (except the water chiller and a water heater), as well as wireless automatic watering system for seven plants. I am working on a version for hydroponics as that's where I shine. It's the same control without the soil sensors, pump, etc., but including the water chiller/heater controls, as well as water level, automatic feeding and ph controls. There may be more features in the future.

I don't know it all by far but I've come a long way in a year and I'm excited. I'm now using C/C++ that the Arduino IDE uses to program the ESP8266s, Python for the Pi, and MQTT and Node-RED.

View attachment 4455831
This is one of my wifi controlled boxes before being labeled. Each outlet is individually controlled and rated (by me) 120Vac 15A 1800W (total) from plug, through box, to outlets. You plug this into the wall and plug two devices, such as an 1500W heater and air conditioner into the two outlets, set a few limits on the Pi and let it run.

View attachment 4455838
This is the inside with an ESP8266 controller and power supply on the green board, and the relays below.

View attachment 4455841
This is the black box containing all the sensors and seven soil moisture sensors on 1M cables (not shown).

View attachment 4455851
and the inside...

View attachment 4455855
and the Node-RED on the Pi.

Later...
Click to expand...
Looks very nice. I'm still in the construct/testing phases with mine so no fancy enclosures or boxes just yet...lol
As a kid I ripped apart my toys that stopped working to see how they worked and to see if I could fix them...most of the time I failed, but now and then I got lucky...lol
When I hit highschool I took electronics and 2nd year the teacher asked if I wanted to build a Heath kit robot that had been there for a few years. Most of the students in the class were just there to get a credit and had no interest, but myself and 2 other students built the robot and it worked for the most part...was a blast.
 
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