Foxy Brown
New member
Hello all.
First, allow me to introduce myself. I'm named after my favorite fish, but I'll leave it up to others to figure out which. I'm a PhD chemistry student, and an old-school robot builder who loves his reef aquarium, and who'd like to contribute something back to the hobby, based on my skills/background. I've noticed that many (including myself) would like to use the nice 12V Koralia powerheads, but without shelling out $300 for the controller, so I'm going to build my own.
I think I have the motors figured out... My bet is that they are 12V AC (or pulsed DC). Due to the fact that there is no commutator or feedback system for stator position without which no CD motor (brushed or brushless) can work. I know some people find this annoying, but it's mechanically simple which makes it less likely to fail, and is therefore smart. Looking at the resistance of the motor coils has also backed-up the idea that they are set up like an AC
My plan is to create a psuedo-AC signal using 12V DC and a cheap over-the-counter micro-controller. The output will be a high power AC +/- 12V signal with variable duty cycle and frequency, so should work well for giving soft starts need for a wave-maker. Here a link to the controller: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8316
Total cost is ~$50 + power heads (nanos in my case). The same controller will also handle lighting (LEDs), temp control (thermoelectric heating and cooling) and dosing pumps for my system.
I will be sharing instructions, schematics, photos, and programming code for all of my equipment, so that everyone can make their own. I already have 2 pumps, but what I could really use is anyone who has experience with commercial controller unit. Ultimately, what I would like is for someone to hook one to an oscilloscope, (or if I could borrow one, I'll hook it up to mine) but short of that - taking of the cover and snapping a few photos would be a huge help.
So let me know what you think, and I'll try to put out regular updates. And please anyone who has this controller, give me a shout.
Thanks!
First, allow me to introduce myself. I'm named after my favorite fish, but I'll leave it up to others to figure out which. I'm a PhD chemistry student, and an old-school robot builder who loves his reef aquarium, and who'd like to contribute something back to the hobby, based on my skills/background. I've noticed that many (including myself) would like to use the nice 12V Koralia powerheads, but without shelling out $300 for the controller, so I'm going to build my own.
I think I have the motors figured out... My bet is that they are 12V AC (or pulsed DC). Due to the fact that there is no commutator or feedback system for stator position without which no CD motor (brushed or brushless) can work. I know some people find this annoying, but it's mechanically simple which makes it less likely to fail, and is therefore smart. Looking at the resistance of the motor coils has also backed-up the idea that they are set up like an AC
My plan is to create a psuedo-AC signal using 12V DC and a cheap over-the-counter micro-controller. The output will be a high power AC +/- 12V signal with variable duty cycle and frequency, so should work well for giving soft starts need for a wave-maker. Here a link to the controller: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8316
Total cost is ~$50 + power heads (nanos in my case). The same controller will also handle lighting (LEDs), temp control (thermoelectric heating and cooling) and dosing pumps for my system.
I will be sharing instructions, schematics, photos, and programming code for all of my equipment, so that everyone can make their own. I already have 2 pumps, but what I could really use is anyone who has experience with commercial controller unit. Ultimately, what I would like is for someone to hook one to an oscilloscope, (or if I could borrow one, I'll hook it up to mine) but short of that - taking of the cover and snapping a few photos would be a huge help.
So let me know what you think, and I'll try to put out regular updates. And please anyone who has this controller, give me a shout.
Thanks!
