GHL Profilux Thunderstorm Demonstration WITH AUDIO!!

[GDominy]

Ok guys I was in a tinkering sort of mood tonight and decided to take care of some fun aquarium stuff, most notably, Thunderstorm simulation.

I will start off with the actual video of the storm simu running, and will get into more details as this thread grows. This is by far one of my favorite features of the Profilux so I hope this helps inspire some fellow Profilux owners to take the plunge!

Part 1: The Simu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFvxpYdkjQo

Part 2: More details

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF2mQLyd7dY



Here are a couple pictures of the Simu Spots mounted inside the canopy.

And here is the computer and speakers that are driving the Audio for the storm itself.

 

[AQD_ottawa]

Good job Gareth really shows off the real abilities of the feature.

Great work

 

[GDominy]

Profilux Thunderstorm Configuration

Profilux Thunderstorm Configuration

Here is the "How-To" guide to configure a thunderstorm, starting with the lights.

Step One: Program your Simu's (Either Spot or bar)

First of all, you need to configure your Simu's to respond the way you want. In order to program a sSimu device you absolutely must have it connected to L1-2 or L3-4, other L ports do not carry the digital signal to the spots correctly for programming or lightning.

Program your Simu's one at a time if you want them to react differently (this means you can ojnly have ONE of them connected to the Profilux or they will both be programmed with the same options). You can only program one option at a time; IE: Either set the moonlight colour, OR the Lightning behavior. Then repeat the process to configure the opther option.

Step 2 - Define your Illumination Channels for Simu Control

Profilux Simus operate using 2 L port channels per device. The first L channel controls the intensity of the Blue and White LED's and the Second L channel controls the intensity of the red LED's. Lightning control is carried out via a digital signal brodcast on the L1-2 and L3-4 ports and does not need any configuring (just make sure your Simus are on L1-2 or L3-4).

You can operate 2 Simu's on a Single L port using a splitter and have the Lightning react differently as the digital signal is what tells the Simu to react the way it does (this is independant of the L port definition).

Here you can see how my L ports are configured. Ilumination 8 is configured to control the intensity of the Blue and White LED's, and Illumination 7 is for the Red (you can use any Illumination channel you want).

I have also programmed a third LED's bar for use with the Thunderstorm and other cosmetic lighting effects. It is defined on L7 as Illumination 6. This is a third party LED bar operating on 12V, grafted to a Profilux PropellerControl module to vary the input voltage (which in turn creates a pleasent dimming effect).

Step 3 - Configure your Illumination Channels

First I will start with the Moonlight strip I DIY'd.

Here you can see how I have it set to dim after a few hours of on time. This setting is usually overridden by the "Moon Phase" but I have the Dim curve set so I can still manually show off the lighting periodically.

Now we move on to the Simu's, we'll start with the RED LED's only.

The Red LED's are set to create a 2 Hour Sunrise and sunset effect. Currently I have them also controlled by MoonPhase to prevent the red's from overpowering hte Blue and White LED's. Toggling the Thunderstorm and Clouds effect allows for variable dimming during nighttime and thunderstorm events.

Now we move on to the Blue and White LED's.

As with the LED bar and the Red LED's These lights react to Clouds, Moon Phase and Thunderstorm for nice visual effects. These lights are set to be brighter then the LED bar to create some nice spotlighting effects on the rockwork.

 

[GDominy]

Step 4 - Programmable Logic (VERY IMPORTANT)

Out of the box the thunderstorm works very well, but if you don't have dimmable ballasts that can be used with the Thunderstorm effects many of the cool effects simply cannot be seen. To compensate for this I have created a couple of Logic Gates to turn the T5's off during a storm.

If you look at Gates 3 through 6 you can see what I have created. By combining your Illumination Channel, AND Thunderstorm (inverted) this will turn your lights off when the Thunderstorm starts.

For thunderstorm Audio I created a second gate to compensate for "charge time" when the speakers turn on/off. By default the "Thunder" trigger from the Profilux is a little short, which can prematurely cut the speakers off when they are still trying to power on.

NOTE - "Thunderstorm" is the entire thunderstorm event, while "Thunder" is a short event that happens a second or two following each lightning flash

Gate 8 is my solution to this problem. By setting the Function to "Delayed Off" with the Input as "Thunder" I have set the delay to 3 Seconds. This lets the speakers operate for a couple of extra seconds when they turn on. This option has to be experimented with with your individual speakers as some speakers take longer to power on/off then others.

 

[GDominy]

Step 5 - Socket Definition

Last but not least, is the Socket Definition. This is where you can configure your Illumination/Programmable Logic Gates to trigger the Lights and Audio.

If you look at Sockets S17 through S22 you can see how I have a few things set up. I have 4 ballasts set up to respond on different illumination channels attached to the Programmable Logic we defined in the earlier step. S22 is the socket that powers the Speakers responsible for thunder on and off, whereas S17-S20 are the T5's. S21 is Logic I created to turn my canopy fans on and off when the lights are on, or when the tank is overheating (even if the lights are off).

I hope this makes sense, let me know if you want more details!

 

[GDominy]

I just realized I didnt really describe teh actual audio portion of this configuration particularly well. Its pretty simple really, I configured a computer to start a Windows Media Player Playlist that is composed of seval audio files of individual claps of thunder every time it starts up. This playlist loops continuously, and will automatically restart itself if the computer gets powered off/on.

By using seperate files of different claps of thunder it really gives the coordinated feel of Lightning, and thunder when the speakers get clicked on. In the past I used a Long MP3 file of an entire thunderstorm set to play while the thunderstorm was happening but I never got the feeling that the two were linked, it was just missing something.

The only thing that you need to make this setup work (that doesnt come with the profilux) is an mp3 player (iPod etc), or an old laptop, old computer, etc. Some sort of media player is all thats required.

Hopefully this setup works in the long term, not sure how hard this is on the computer speakers, but they are cheap enough to replace if they pop in a year or so.

 

[BigAl2007]

GREAT Thread! in all honesty this is the one "Feature" that got me interested in the Profilux in the first place. I don't have the unit yet (haven't built the house for the new tank for the unit yet LOL) but I have LOTS of ideas. I'm bookmarking this thread because I am confident I'll be using this feature.. a LOT!!..

 

[GDominy]

Honestly, if you are considering a large display tank with some extensive lighting then this is a feature that really sells the tank.

Even non-fish people get a real kick out of seeing something like this in action. This has made for some pretty entertaining displays during social gatherings here!

But I have to say that I am definately a fan of the Simu Spots over the SimuL Bars. They both have their uses, don't get me wrong, but the spot lights give a much brighter focused light then the bars do, giving you some really neat options to highlight certain areas of your display.

If you want a more blanket lighting effect (albeit modestly dimmer) then the SimuL bars do the trick really nicely. I just found that with my 72" LED bar that I already had (and modified to work with the profilux) I didnt need that much "coverage" but I wanted a more spotlight effect.

If you want to do a "Poor Mans Lightning" rig like I used to do, you can also use a $5 strobe light (adjust your timings for proper more accurate results) connected to a socket defined as "thunder". With that kind of rig you can do some Programmable logic to tinker with the firing duration etc, but your lights and sound would fire together (not as immersive).

 

[BigAl2007]

Thanks for the info.

It's funny you mention "Social Gatherings". My current tank (just 90g) is always a hot topic and usually gathers a large amount of attention during such events. I can't even start to imagine the attention and "Wow" it will get with a simulation similar to your set up (I can dream right?).

One other thing I "plan" on doing is instead of having my T5 run left to right over my tank I'm thinking of several smaller fixtures lined up left to right but the bulbs running front to back. This way (I think) I can program random "clouds" and have the lights dim across the tank in a "wave" type action. Also this will let me do a sunrise, noon, sunset effect like this:
Right Hand Fixture : Center Fixture : Left Hand Fixture (all dimmable...)

• 9am rh comes on 40% center OFF lh OFF
• 10am rh to 60% and center on 40% lh OFF
• 11am rh to 80% and center to 60% LH on 40%
• Noon rh to 100%, center to 80% and lh to 60%
• 1pm rh 100% center 100% lh 80%
• 2pm rh 100% center 100% lh 100%
• 4pm rh 80% center 100% lh 100%
• 6pm rh 60% center 80% lh 100%
• 7pm rh 40% center 60% lh 80%
• 9pm rh OFF center 40% lh 60%
• 10pm rh OFF center OFF lh 40%
• 11pm rh OFF center OFF lh OFF

this would (at least in my mind) give a simulation of the sun rising, going to FULL NOON and falling. It sounds good in my head and looks good on paper. I can't take credit for this idea because it came from another well know reefer who was here on RC. I'm just changing it up a tad bit.. .or at least thinking about changing it up!!

Thanks for an AWESOME and VERY informative thread

 

[GDominy]

Totally doable! 2 Foot dimmable ballasts are not that difficult to get and when combined with a Ballast control board (for 1-10v models) or an AC Dimmable power bar (for AC dimmable models like the ones phillips has) you can create a full range of dimming options.

 

[BigAl2007]

Excellent!! I'm thrilled it's a doable idea. If I had the $$$ I could go with a custom LED unit and just dim across the board but I don't so I wont LOL!

 

[GDominy]

Excellent!! I'm thrilled it's a doable idea. If I had the $$$ I could go with a custom LED unit and just dim across the board but I don't so I wont LOL!

Oh I hear ya, I would love to create a giant LED array to do some pretty crazy lighting, but I just can't afford to do that at the moment with everything else on the go.

I can however do just enough LED's to create some fun lighting.. hehheh stay tuned...

 

[BigAl2007]

I can however do just enough LED's to create some fun lighting.. hehheh stay tuned...

You know that one's gonna be too much of a teaser!! :dance:

 

[BigAl2007]

I've said it before but WOW! That's one SWEET Thunderstorm you've got going on there!!

Thanks for sharing your methods and knowledge! It's helped a TON!!

 

[boboxx]

if someone is looking for a embedded way of playing sounds directly without needing a PC, look at the sparkfun MP3 player. It has 18 triggers for different files...

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9715

or this one also:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9534

 

[unbreakable]

ive tried following this thread to setup my ProfiluxSimu i purchased from someone else, but nothing changes? I have one plugged into l1-l2, and nother in l3-l4 and have changed the settings in 1-10v and made Illumination channels for red and blue lights, but both LED lights remain with all lights on and both LED lights dont seem to have the same intensity in the colors.. One might have brighter blue than the other, the other might have brighter Red than the other.

They respond when you start a storm manually, but will not go into moon phase.. moon phase is too bright and too red. I changed this also to blue-white moon.

Not sure if these are just bad LEDs or . I'm using the latest firmware and software

 

[AQD_ottawa]

It is hard to say if there is an issue or not as we would not know the history of the units (have they taken a dip etc etc)

But first thing you need to do is put both on the same set of channels using YL2-1 spillter, this way you can be sure they are getting the same input.

Make sure moon phase is ticked in the illumination screen

Basic set up is as follows from factory default

red responds to odd L ports
Blue white that work only together respond to even numbered channels

So set for example 1-10V L1 to illumination 1 and 1-10V L2 to Illumination 2

L1= Red
L2 = Blue

If you find your ports are opposite you can reprogram them in the 1-10V input screen just follow the onscreen instructions or just reverse your programming.

 

[unbreakable]

Thought i fixed it by swapping the channels. I unplugged both and one by one I swapped channels and thought i got it working. But right now even though theyre plugged into the L3/L4 and have a splitter, I notice in the 1-10v section that L1/L2 is sending signals out exactly the same as L3/L4 and I notice one of the lights responds to L1/L2. I don't have anything in L1/L2

 

[unbreakable]

Okay, got them to respond to L3/L4 only but now the colors for each are inversed. One has odds as reds and blues/whites as evens, and the other has blues/whites odds and reds as even numbers