Must-haves for EASY DIY controller?
- Thread starter der_wille_zur_macht
- Start date
DustinB
New member
The pumps were $170. I also ordered extras on some things in case I kill something. The BOM is on the google site. I also ordered the relay power strip from guitarcenter. I can post a list of everything I ordered with part numbers, but I won't dig the prices up.
Everything for the controller minus extras and the dosing pumps was probably around $150.
It will be able to do more than just what I listed, really just about anything including internet control.
Everything for the controller minus extras and the dosing pumps was probably around $150.
It will be able to do more than just what I listed, really just about anything including internet control.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
IMHO one of the advantages of DIY'ing a controller is that you only have to pay for exactly what you want in terms of functionality and capacity.
mammut89
New member
Here's the new schematic:
hahahha I loved the comment about the flip-flops .....hahahah had me laughing for some time....... mmmm makes me think of a course I did some years ago. good times..
mammut89
New member
how would one go about making this a touchscreen ? the coding would be very simple, you just specify some parameters to divide up the screen in sections. then you have a variable lets say int touched; you have an if statement in the loop if you touched section 0 it prints xx if you touched section 1 it prints yy...
that means that we need a bigger lcd screen for one because the "buttons" are going to take up most of the space on the 20x4.
am I wrong ?
is any of this possible at all ?
can someone give some input on touchscreen capabilities and problems it might bring ?
that means that we need a bigger lcd screen for one because the "buttons" are going to take up most of the space on the 20x4.
am I wrong ?
is any of this possible at all ?
can someone give some input on touchscreen capabilities and problems it might bring ?
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
There are several Arduino-based touchscreen UIs out there:
http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=149
The real issue is that a touchscreen UI involves a LOT of hardware and software resources. Like, nearly every pin on a standard Arduino and a good portion of the software space. We simply don't have the resources in the Hydra to support that.
IMHO if someone wanted to go that route, the best option would be to build a dedicated control board for the UI with it's own AVR. Then interface that AVR to your main processor (or Hydra, or Arduino) via I2C or some other bus. The display driver AVR would have all the code and I/O pins to drive the display and interpret user input, and the main proc would just do it's thing, occasionally sending variables or other info to the display chip.
http://iteadstudio.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=18&products_id=149
The real issue is that a touchscreen UI involves a LOT of hardware and software resources. Like, nearly every pin on a standard Arduino and a good portion of the software space. We simply don't have the resources in the Hydra to support that.
IMHO if someone wanted to go that route, the best option would be to build a dedicated control board for the UI with it's own AVR. Then interface that AVR to your main processor (or Hydra, or Arduino) via I2C or some other bus. The display driver AVR would have all the code and I/O pins to drive the display and interpret user input, and the main proc would just do it's thing, occasionally sending variables or other info to the display chip.
mammut89
New member
I have the hots for this one http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9607 id mess with that thing day and night and I will once I can afford it 
DustinB
New member
Starting assembly when I get home, just wanted to confirm changes/problems to address during construction.
I know the ENC chip needs to be fixed to connect the following:
CS and RESET to Digital 10 and RESET
Did you cut any traces on the board when splicing some jumper wires in?
The only thing I'm not totally sure on is what you did with the 7905. Did you guys have to reverse it, flip it, etc...? What exactly did you do?
Anything else I'm missing? Also, would one of you guys mind taking a pic of your current board for reference?
I know the ENC chip needs to be fixed to connect the following:
CS and RESET to Digital 10 and RESET
Did you cut any traces on the board when splicing some jumper wires in?
The only thing I'm not totally sure on is what you did with the 7905. Did you guys have to reverse it, flip it, etc...? What exactly did you do?
Anything else I'm missing? Also, would one of you guys mind taking a pic of your current board for reference?
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
The two ENC fixes are as-stated a few pages back. What you explained sounds right.
There should not be any other known changes. The 7905 is correct as silkscreened on the board - terahz had something else incorrect when he was troubleshooting his board (iirc). The only other gotcha is the battery holder for the RTC. You will have to play with components in that area to figure out the best order to solder them in, because they can "block" each other's holes if you solder them randomly.
Everything should work except the ENC circuit, and that might just be something that I messed up on my board, as I'm the only one that's tried it (as far as I know).
There should not be any other known changes. The 7905 is correct as silkscreened on the board - terahz had something else incorrect when he was troubleshooting his board (iirc). The only other gotcha is the battery holder for the RTC. You will have to play with components in that area to figure out the best order to solder them in, because they can "block" each other's holes if you solder them randomly.
Everything should work except the ENC circuit, and that might just be something that I messed up on my board, as I'm the only one that's tried it (as far as I know).
DustinB
New member
I thought I had seen you post that you had to do a 180 on U11 as well.
Yeah I saw the post about the battery holder. It will be going in last, I raised one leg of the resistor so I'll be able to get the iron tip in there. I'm about 1/3 of the way done so far. Speaking of the battery, any idea who carries the CR1225 besides online?
I've been setting up everything with connectors so I can use cables to hook up everything leaving the controller, like the relay power strip using a serial cable. (I got that in yesterday and tested it. I'll post some pics and pin assignments later.) I was thinking about the temp probes, I was going to make 2 of them for redundancy. Is there a common connector you can think of that would work well? Preferably something I can buy a premade cable for that has 3 or 6 wires in it? I want all the probes/control cables to be able to be disconnected from the unit in a professional looking way.
Yeah I saw the post about the battery holder. It will be going in last, I raised one leg of the resistor so I'll be able to get the iron tip in there. I'm about 1/3 of the way done so far. Speaking of the battery, any idea who carries the CR1225 besides online?
I've been setting up everything with connectors so I can use cables to hook up everything leaving the controller, like the relay power strip using a serial cable. (I got that in yesterday and tested it. I'll post some pics and pin assignments later.) I was thinking about the temp probes, I was going to make 2 of them for redundancy. Is there a common connector you can think of that would work well? Preferably something I can buy a premade cable for that has 3 or 6 wires in it? I want all the probes/control cables to be able to be disconnected from the unit in a professional looking way.
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der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
AH HA! You are correct. U11 is in backwards on my board.
As far as connectors, it's going to be somewhat personal preference and depend on how/where you mount the final product. If you have a project box to put the controller in, then what I'd do is put a common RJ11 jack (as used for phones) in the side of the box, and connect it to whatever pin you use for One Wire on the controller. Then you can hack old phone cables to splice in any One Wire probes.
As far as connectors, it's going to be somewhat personal preference and depend on how/where you mount the final product. If you have a project box to put the controller in, then what I'd do is put a common RJ11 jack (as used for phones) in the side of the box, and connect it to whatever pin you use for One Wire on the controller. Then you can hack old phone cables to splice in any One Wire probes.
DustinB
New member
Good to know, I'll make sure and reverse it.
Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking, I noticed one of my thermostats has a stereo headphone plug. Would a 1/8" stereo headphone plug work ok? I can at least get that locally without having to do another online order. I may just hack a standard wall plug since I will be using a box. Then the wire wouldn't be able to pull out of the jack.
What was the last part you got to on the ethernet? Was it just not pinging? I figure I will try and tackle the ethernet first, I did a lot of research on common problems with this chip.
Thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking, I noticed one of my thermostats has a stereo headphone plug. Would a 1/8" stereo headphone plug work ok? I can at least get that locally without having to do another online order. I may just hack a standard wall plug since I will be using a box. Then the wire wouldn't be able to pull out of the jack.
What was the last part you got to on the ethernet? Was it just not pinging? I figure I will try and tackle the ethernet first, I did a lot of research on common problems with this chip.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
How many conductors does a standard 1/8" stereo headphone jack have? To use One Wire in parasite mode, you need two (data and GND). To use it in powered mode, you need three (power, GND, and data). I like powered mode, since it makes for a simpler implementation IMHO, and some One Wire devices require it - I'd hate to lock in to parasite mode and then have issues down the road.
Regarding the Ethernet, I had zero progress. I used some common sketches that initialize the chip, give it an IP address, and configure it to respond to pings. These sketches typically include code to blink the status lights in various patterns as the chip is powered on, initialized, etc. I had no blinking. I confirmed via 'scope and multimeter that the AVR was trying to communicate to the ENC chip via SPI, but the ENC never responded and never seemed to boot up.
The software is basically known-good. So, there could be some subtle problem with the hardware, or I could have borked my chip somehow. I would suggest socketing the chip so you don't risk frying it while soldering, and so you can swap it out later on if need be.
Regarding the Ethernet, I had zero progress. I used some common sketches that initialize the chip, give it an IP address, and configure it to respond to pings. These sketches typically include code to blink the status lights in various patterns as the chip is powered on, initialized, etc. I had no blinking. I confirmed via 'scope and multimeter that the AVR was trying to communicate to the ENC chip via SPI, but the ENC never responded and never seemed to boot up.
The software is basically known-good. So, there could be some subtle problem with the hardware, or I could have borked my chip somehow. I would suggest socketing the chip so you don't risk frying it while soldering, and so you can swap it out later on if need be.
DustinB
New member
The stereo plugs have 3 wires: ground, left, right.
I have multiple sockets for everything. I wanted to be able to move right over when the final board is finished.
One last thing I was wondering about. Did you have to cut any traces on the board when you jumpered the 2 pins on the ENC?
I have multiple sockets for everything. I wanted to be able to move right over when the final board is finished.
One last thing I was wondering about. Did you have to cut any traces on the board when you jumpered the 2 pins on the ENC?
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
No traces cut - the problem is the traces simply weren't on the board, so the solution is to "add" them via wires. It should be pretty obvious, but there are pullup resistors on those two lines, so the easiest fix is to solder bits of jumper wire into the (ENC side of the) holes for the resistors. Then you can just stick the other end of the wires into the appropriate female header for the main AVR.
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
IMHO it depends on the exact method you use and how good you are at it. Trace widths are .01 at the finest, which isn't THAT small, and clearance is mostly pretty good. Just keep in mind it's meant for a machine-built PTH (plated through hole) manufacturing process, so you'll have to do things like solder bits of wire in vias, and ensure your components are soldered to the correct side(s) of the board.
