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    zboblamont

    @zboblamont

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    Best posts made by zboblamont

    • Temperature sensor housing DS18B20

      Hadn't seen this mentioned but perhaps I missed it, more plumbing hardware than electronic, but perhaps useful for others.
      Having tried a variety of plates and heat-sink compounds and tie-wraps to hold these little chips in position on small sections of metal pipe (my rads are fed with fused plastic pipe), I came up with the solution of using pipe clips, the cheap plastic variety from DIY stores and hardware merchants.
      The first problem hit was with attaching plated sensor the the boiler clamp nut, it was off by 10c and no way could I get a more accurate reading, presumably angle? Finally found a pipe clip which got hacked in half to fit in the tiny gap in the photo... Some hacking with a Dremel, some soldering to a pin connector, some fiddling around with epoxy and voici....
      20200212_0917332.jpg
      The gap 20200212_094248.jpg
      The tie wrap in the top of the photo is the original plate mounted version which was "off"..

      Having scored on that front with more reliable readings I looked at the roving radiator test kit and realised the same solution might apply so epoxied the chip on the end of some telephone line in a 22mm clamp and it works a treat. Cable and chip fit neatly into the screw-hole, flood with epoxy and done. The pipe it fits is 21.5mm so tighter than a duck's rear end...
      20200218_173908.jpg
      As said, a tight fit to a twinwall radiator feed pipe, and a complete swine to get back off even with pliers, but no broken wires or oopsies to contend with, and so much faster to fit.
      For those looking to measure metal pipe temperatures, possibly an unusual if fiddly solution, but no need of tie-wraps in the latter case...

      posted in Hardware
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      Not so much a MySensors build as an example of how even the most basic information can inform changes for the better, in this case space heating.

      The system here is fairly basic, an array of DS18B20s, some ultrasonic tank probes and a gas reed sensor, temperature is updated every 5 minutes, the gas updates every 0.05m3...
      With winters here down to -20, the first priority last year was insulation, and even though a modern house, the gas bills essentially halved over the year, effectively funding not only the insulation, but replacement axial radiator valves and thermostat heads (Heimeier) to replace the typical arrangement of unknown origin, with spare... But now the MySensors impact..
      This autumn's attention turned to the central heating unit, a modern combi unit of good manufacture, installed by a 'certified' heating engineer, but aside what little I knew about condensation boilers and the steep learning curve that followed, I was bemused by the return from the radiator loop almost burning my finger within 10 minutes of the system being fired up. This did not make sense for what I understood of a condensing boilers, which compelled a look inside for the first time, the manual and some googling.

      The boiler is a 25kW combi with minimum output 7.6kW, the radiators account for ca 13kW at Delta 60 set for 15c drop (previously set ca 20c drop), settings since day one were 65c and the pump was set at max output of 3, last year's -20 resulted in 13.5m3/day gas consumed, not crazy by historical records, but hmmm.
      So now comes tinkering with data from MySensors via Domoticz to inform...
      Currently the boiler is set at 55c, the pump is on Low (40 v 84w), but the results are surprising - Slower rising temperature when ON, 42 minutes v 25, but gas use dropped from 0.75 to 0.6m3, but here's the kicker from that longer heating time, not only less energy used per cycle, but longer and thereby fewer cycles per day. Current evaluations are between 15 and 20% savings, so thank you to all the MySensors community and contributors.. 😉

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • An ultrasonic measurement saga finally over...

      Surprised I'm not bald will all the hair pulling and failed attempts to get there but after a year it is finally working...
      The task was simple enough, to measure fluid depth in two tanks, one a sewage holding tank, the other a bulk water tank. Just figuring out which method worked with which board was an exercise in frustration, but the JSN-SR04-2.0 turned out the only one of the two I could get to reliably work.

      Despite the industrial look, these waterproof light switch enclosures proved ideal, as the batteries in holders fitted beneath the clear plastic. A little hacking out of the switch 'fingers' with a Dremel gives plenty of space in the base area.
      Battery holders are held in plastic conduit which are hot glued to the back of the box poking through the front section aperture.

      The top case is a 3v3 WhisperNode with onboard RTC and RFM69, and tucked under the spaghetti in the top left back corner is a level converter. The RTC wakens the Node every hour to initiate readings, and despite a few hiccups seems to be reliable. The WhisperNode is allegedly capable of draining the 2 AA cells down to 0.9v, time will tell...
      0_1528540226816_20180609_124626[1].jpg
      The lower box holds the 5v ProMini, a small latching relay, and the ultrasonic board, the button type ultrasonic (like parking sensor) is mounted on the end of a 3/4" collar to 1/2" galvanised steel tube drilled centrally through the roof of the 1.34m x 1.67m tank area.
      0_1528540340305_20180609_124611[1].jpg
      Connection between the cases is via Cat5e in 16mm conduit, 2 cores for I2C, 3 cores for relay control and 3.3v power, 2 cores for 5v and ground to the level converter.
      0_1528540419630_20180609_124653[1].jpg
      Despite worries over echoes in the resulting space, the tank was emptied last night, and the reading is coming in with the occasional glitch at 1620mm depth from the head, which I believe has a cone angle of 45 degrees.
      The Node control of a Relay by On/Off pins to Mosfets may seem wasteful, but I had them anyway. The 5ms on/off of this small latching signal relay boots up the ProMini and seems reliable.
      Still to incorporate a WDT/Reset on the 5v as it periodically hangs, and a time limiter on the Node to complete the task, but glad it is all all working semi-reliably, even if some of the programming side I still don't understand...
      The 5v tests for 2 consecutive identical readings, the 3.3v tests that it fits within acceptable range, and if not calls for a further reading.

      Once delivery of a second identical board from China is done, the water tank should be a lot easier. This one is the more important, as ran out of water previously due to corrosion of the level probes in the tank (3 core cable and short bolts) which stopped the borehole pump topping up the tank, and the hidrofor hit it's cut-off electrode. The level monitoring will give early warning to go investigate long before the bulk tank is 'empty'...

      Postscript 12/7/18 - Water tank worked flawlessly from first deployment, but led to concerns over dropping battery voltage.. The problem appeared to lie with the Master sinking power through the I2C lines, but a routine to null the SDA/SCL lines prior to sleeping seems to have halted the decay.
      One of the unexpected results of the Sewage Tank deployment was detecting a dramatic rise in level during a heavy storm (85mm in 24 hours) initially thought to be ground water intrusion.
      Excavation to the incoming pipe connection to the tank found a round pipe in a square hole (not exactly an unexpected building practice here, now packed out and sealed.
      Losing 30% of storage capacity would otherwise never have been detected, so it the deployment has already paid for itself handsomely...

      posted in My Project
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: 💬 Arduino Pro Mini Shield for RFM69(H)W

      @pepson This reminds of that famous quotation "Any ship can be a Minesweeper..."
      "Once...."

      posted in OpenHardware.io
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      @neverdie Would this work ?0_1515601479151_25004235-474d-4c6e-9a85-5a60dc350f58-image.png

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      @sundberg84 Yeah, this brings back memories, particularly of quite a few hangovers.
      I used 3 and four wide fireclay pipes for bottle storage, they were used for ducts back in the day before plastics took over, cable went optic fibre. I noticed recently here they are back in stock in stores as....yep...wine storage racks.... but wacko pricing relatively...
      The beauty of the fireclay was it's slow temperature and humidity change, and this formed the bulk of the thermal mass in the cellar I made below the floor.
      I used a 150mm glazed ceramic drainage pipe dug in under the garden as a loop (rope caulked joints - anybody remember them), from memory down about 1.5m, both avoiding frosts and baking sun, don't think the temperature varied over a degree all year round, the ground acting as a massive heatsink which maintained a constant temperature all year round.
      Only when the hatch was opened did the temperature jump, a small fan kicked in when the hatch was closed and ran for 30 minutes, a second contact switched on the lights and shut them off, long before LEDs were so prevalent, old reliable (until you were depending on them) incandescent bulbs.
      That was it really.
      Biggest problem I found was humidity in the early days, probably the fresh construction...

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Fewer home automation postings? What's behind it?

      @tbowmo Hah, you were lucky, I finally upgraded from the monochrome to colour...
      0_1525331364710_d5c5d792-8ab2-479d-a01e-31f43f794f0b-image.png

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      @sundberg84 Easy, one is disconnected... 😂 At 90 degrees? 😜

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      Finally the round-tuit UPS got built after the last power cut clobbered the Controller/Gateway system, lesson learned...
      Meanwell AD-55A, 7.2Ah Acid gel battery, two usb 5v buck converters, a spare socket for raw volts, and a 15 euro IP66 box from the local shops.. Some drilling and filing to the lid, couple of brackets, spare bolts, banding, soldering and hot glue...
      A bit bulky, but disappears in a void under the stairs, two tiny drill holes let the buck converter leds shine threw...
      No monitoring as yet, but sailed through a power cut this morning and the Pi didn't skip a beat.. First up is the Pi's RTC then can put the cover back on the Controller...
      0_1563789698294_20190721_074129[1].jpg
      0_1563789869238_20190722_001114[1].jpg

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: What did you build today (Pictures) ?

      First of the winter projects done, just the programming to finish and replacement temperature chips to get (broke the legs off both DS18B20s through clumsiness).
      With mains/battery backup and RTC, it will record boiler start/stop and run times as well as feed/return temperatures, and as an aside the inevitable power cuts which plague this part of the world.
      The MCU plugs into a socketed backplane hot-glued to the back of the box should removal prove necessary, but quite pleased it is sturdy and all fitted into a slim 25mm deep standard (cheap) box.
      0_1572107113418_20191026_182803[1].jpg

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont

    Latest posts made by zboblamont

    • RE: Temperature serial sketch

      @Olaf-Jacobs Good.
      I did read short spurs CAN work and the waterproof versions are on pre-made cables, but not sure of the limit.
      If you hit occasional problems it may be worth trying cross wiring the Cat5e to maintain a series connection and see if that fixes it, that's what I did to stitch in an intermediate sensor and it worked fine.
      Good luck.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Temperature serial sketch

      @Olaf-Jacobs DS18B20s are usually reliable, but seconded on the comment from @Grubstake regarding cable type and topography for reliability, although generally if working at the start it should continue uninterrupted.
      To illustrate the point, all of mine are connected to a Node rather than a Gateway on a single line of Cat5e for the house, and a short length of phone wire for two on the boiler. A random weird reading on all the house sensors (not simultaneously) turned up when I'd extended the last sensor on the Cat5E with a length of phone wire until I got some more Cat5E. Uniform cable characteristics seem important.

      You might also check the Arduino version and libraries being used, have seen strange things happen with mismatched libraries etc..

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: JSN-SR04T (distance sensor) Reliability Issue Fix?

      @mrdisco Ok interesting, may have a play with that, a couple of spare boards doing nothing in the spares.
      Situation here is a below ground 3,000 litre tank, the head mounted in a 3/4" reducer on the end of 1/2" gun barrel, no false echoes, surprising given the moulded tank has internal shoulders.
      Though the gun-barrel proved robust, what I neglected to consider was condensation forming on the pipe when temperatures drop, occasionally forming a large drip on the sensor face, notably when it drops below -10c. Water is usually ca 5c.
      Fitted a little formed foam this year held by a tie around the head to see if it cures or limits the issue, no fun wiping a drip off in winter.

      I let the Arduino Node work out litres available and % used which it sends in every hour to Domoticz, now on year two of 2xAA so pretty happy with it.
      71a07e1f-5b67-4009-8134-c6fd62ba879d-image.png

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Integrating NRF24 to Raspberry Pi

      @skywatch Perhaps I'm not understanding the problem of using a serial gateway for radio other an additional component such as a pro-mini?
      Here the Pi3 Controller and Arduino 3v3 Gateway/radio are adjacent and direct wired on serial and power/ground to the pins.
      From vague memory the default configuration on the Pi had to be swapped for wifi, found relatively simply instructed on the internet.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: JSN-SR04T (distance sensor) Reliability Issue Fix?

      @mrdisco Would you mind expanding on this as I'm curious - A stilling well, typically 100mm plastic pipe is frequently used in industry with the US firing from the top and the pipe submerged below the surface..
      When you refer to using 32mm pipe, how high above the fluid surface is the sensor within the 32mm pipe and what in the sensor the range you're measuring ?

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: JSN-SR04T (distance sensor) Reliability Issue Fix?

      @Thomas-Weeks Interesting comment on enclosed spaces, I had no such experience - two v2s in separate fluid tanks one of which failed after a year having otherwise worked flawlessly. I looked for 3 consecutive matches on a reading before radioing in.
      One tank is concrete so smooth sides, perhaps 1.5 by 1.2m in plan, depth 1.7m.
      The other is a circular section plastic moulding depth to the bottom ca 1.5m but with internal shoulders I expected to give reflection problems, yet no issues and it's still banging away 2 to 3 years later on 3v3.

      posted in Troubleshooting
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Electric fence tester

      @NeverDie This may well be a different scenario, but most agricultural electric fences generate the HV from a 12v battery, and have an inbuilt indicator if the fence is live.... Viz you could tap into the indicator...
      Some I've seen running 24/7 for years in remote locations (deer fences) kept charged up only by DC wind generator..

      posted in General Discussion
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: 💬 The Sensor Network

      @frydrik For a population of 500,000, say 200,000 customers, you are into commercial scale data gathering such as EON etc might deploy, a principal driver for the power companies fitting smart meters.
      I would have to guess in a city of the size you mention, smart meters are already in place...

      posted in Announcements
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Which radio / wireless module to choose? Please recommend

      @NeverDie Short blasts while keeping an eye on the bag, the steam vents off quite vigorously stretching the porous bag but having only one perhaps I'm overly cautious with 15 second bursts...
      If I ever get spares may test one to 'destruction' in the micro, but it is way faster re-generation than traditional slow oven, 10 mins v 2 hours..
      Clay grains survive the nuking intact, silica beads don't 🙄 ...

      posted in Hardware
      zboblamont
      zboblamont
    • RE: Which radio / wireless module to choose? Please recommend

      @tssk So long as your box is near enough sealed, dried gel or clay packs are effective in drying the trapped air even if the box is occasionally opened for say reprogramming.
      If the packs are permanently exposed to external air they will quickly saturate and cease to be effective.
      I prefer clay packs as they can be quickly regenerated in a microwave if you're very careful.

      posted in Hardware
      zboblamont
      zboblamont