NEW Multi DIY electronic project

[Mark J]

Hi guys,

If you read my old thread, I said that id start a new one when I got my new USB PIC programmer and guess what? It arrived this morning :hurray: so the project is GO!!!!

Phase 1 is to get a DS18S20+ temp sensor sending temp data to a PIC18F2455 and displaying the results in both C & F.

Here is a pic of it breadboarded and working :14:

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(The little black blob in the bottom right is the actual sensor)

The C temps are in 0.5C steps as the sensor limits are 0.5, but I read in the datasheet that you CAN get finer readings, but not really sure if thats really necessary (chirp in if you guys think it is and i'll have a play)
The F temps dont have any partial degrees but again let me know if you think you want it etc.

At any stage let me know if you would like a schematic etc, as some of you might only want to have a temp sensor project.

I will be adding buttons etc as I will be having it so that you can set a min/max temp alarm setting so that it can warn when the temp is out of the limits (my old one used to switch a 12V PC fan on when the temp went over the max setting)

Next phase will be to add the buttons so I can set the min/max.

Mark

[cl0wn]

looking good, so jealous of people who can do things with electronics.

[Mark J]

I'm still learning myself. The hardware side is the bit that confuses the hell out of me as in knowing what resistors and capacitors are needed and worst of all are the internal fuse settings for each type of pic chip!!! Wheras the actual coding side isn't that bad.
Tend to scratch my head a lot more on the hardware than the software as the datasheets for the pic chips are seriously Einstein reading lol.

[reefergeek]

looking good, only thing i knew about the chips was dont put them by uv light thats the mirror type prob outdated now

[Mark J]

lol yeah the ones with the little window on top!! lot easier to reprogram them now as the photo above is my breadboard resting on the arm of the settee and the wire leading from it is to the usb programmer plugged into my laptop so I can sit on my backside in comfort with one eye on the telly and the other on the coding (maybe not a great idea for mistyping stuff and ending up with a program that wont run for some unforseen reason LOL!!!!)
Just a bit of a bugbear when I need to add another component to the breadboard as my box 'o' bits is in the kitchen....

Will be cracking on with the button bit tomorrow so will be adding a few settings screens for displaying temp in either C or F (or both where it cycles between them) and also adding the min/max settings even though they wont be used for anything yet.

[reefergeek]

only re-flashing i have done is the ecu on the peug hdi, bought a ecu flasher for a laptop found the tuning file then backed up the old map from the ecu then re-flashed by what a difference on performance was well worth it

[Mark J]

Right time for another update.

Not a lot to show but after playing with the buttons and trying to get it so I could swap through different screens to set things like the display type (ie in C, in F or alternate between both) and also to set the Min/Max for the temps for possible alarm/fan control etc, I hated how it seemed 'clunky' etc, so I decided to have a go at seeing if I could get the USB side working and after LOTS of head scratching and hair pulling I have got the USB working so that the PIC now is recognised by the pc and it will send whatever data I want across (WAHOO!!!) BUT........ that means I need to learn how to write in Visual Basic or similar to make a nice PC interface which will allow monitoring of the controller AND also allow you to change the settings direct instead of having to use the limited display of the LCD.

So anyone have any tips on visual basic? I have coded in C before, but to be honest when it came to MFC32 (or whatever its called lol) coding so I can have a nice window etc it always stumped me (Originally from a gaming coding/gfx background so I tend to hate all things like the template wizard things as I hate trying to figure out how the hell to interact with the dumb window with boxes/buttons etc!)

Mark.

[Mark J]

Here's a pic with a few extra bits on like the buttons and the USB port :smilewinkgrin:
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I think I might need to tidy the breadboard up a bit lol :rofl:, might breakout the LCD onto my small board which will free up a large chunk of breadboard.

[cl0wn]

what are your future plans. ph control? lighting control? swmbo control?

[Mark J]

what are your future plans. ph control? lighting control? swmbo control?

IF ONLY you could write a SWMBO control!!!! id be a gazillionaire if I came up with THAT! lol....

I will be looking at PH and lighting (LEDS with dawn/dusk etc) and also looking at controlling my JAD wavemaker powerheads as the controller that comes with those is very limited as id like them to ramp up and down rather than just start and stop (also dont like the idea of it stopped because later on I might have a blenny again and I know what theyre like for sitting anywhere they can!) also might see about adding a sort of random element to them too so they might not always got fully to the max setting I set them to or same with the min etc, but thats still a vague idea and the coding/testing for that is still way off down the road at the mo.

[reefergeek]

had a near miss with an blenny in the power head but it did get the false gramma chewed the poor lad to bits bless him

[Mark J]

had a near miss with an blenny in the power head but it did get the false gramma chewed the poor lad to bits bless him

Yeah in my old 5 foot tank whenever I turned the powerheads off my starry blenny was in there like a shot with his head sticking out surveying the area lol... hence why this tank if all goes to plan i'll be taking control of the powerheads so then can have them set to a low speed rather than off as that should deter the little blighters from trying to climb in!

[Mark J]

Ok another quick update as I've not updated for a couple of days.
I've rejigged the precision on the temp readout and now it goes up in 0.1 degrees C and have fractional degrees in F too.
I was hoping my uncle would write the pc side for me but he's busy so I've had to dust off my C/C++ IDE and start relearning how to code in C again lol.
Luckily the HID utility I use spits out C++ code which I managed to get running and displays when my breadboard is plugged in which is good news.

[reefergeek]

You cant make 240v power heads go slower can you unless you can find a way to adjust the voltage frequency or run dc powerheads

[Mark J]

Erm. Not 100% sure on the 240 powerheads. You could use pulse width modulation on a relay that's rated for mains etc but first thing that springs to mind is the rattle on startup etc and I remember reading somewhere that they don't handle been turned on off all the time (only a vague recollection on that info though)

[Mark J]

Luckily the powerheads on the jad wavemaker thing I've got they're dc so they're good for playing with etc.

[reefergeek]

Had a jad uv filter once well two of them, one leaked all over the laminate floor in the room grrr where did you get the wavemaker from

kev

[Mark J]

PM'd as not a sponsor.

[Mark J]

Jeez my head hurts!

MFC dialog stuff in C++ takes some noodle power thats for sure, BUUUUT here's a screenshot of where im upto at the mo (Just before its time for bed lol)
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It is constantly fed the data from the PIC chip and once its got the first reading, it only updates the current temperature.
I can change the Min/Max temp settings and adjust the sliders and they get stored in an outward bound buffer ready for when the Update Settings button gets pressed (need to add the code on both the PC and the PIC to do that stuff yet)

Ignore the fishy lol, just grabbed a pic off the net to lob in there until I get round to designing a proper logo across the top and also need to design the icon too (PHEW!)

MUST remember to add Icons to show when either the Min or Max temps have been breached showing that either the heater or the cooling fan(s) are activated etc.:48:

Tomorrow I think i'll be heading back onto the PIC side and adding some more bits on that and finalizing the order of the buffers. Oh, and see about adding the recieving code for the data been sent by the PC.

[cl0wn]

this is fantastic, keep us updated, great work!!!

[Mark J]

Cheers :)
One thing I noticed I forgot to add for the wavemaker settings is the actual length of time they're on for lol. No biggy though as that won't take much to add. The overlap % is for when the powerheads are ramping up/down and for how low the currently active PH gets before the other one starts to ramp up the power so as an example if the % is 0 then the waiting pump will wait until the active one reaches the min power before ramping up. At 50% it waits until the active pump is half way down it's ramp down and at 100% it starts to ramp up while the active one is still running at it's max setting. This will be subject to change depending on how well it works etc.

[cl0wn]

you could power a cheap wavebox with this. resun wavemakers are dirt cheap, your controller and a acrylic box.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXmvXOTjtF4&feature=related

[Mark J]

Hadnt thought of that lol.. I suppose with the settings I will have it would run as a wavebox. Reason I never thought about those is with my tank not been overly big a wavebox would be a bit of an eyesore and the reason I built the new tank was so I could go a bit bigger and then built a sump to get rid of all the stuff from the main tank ie. heater, filter box and skimmer etc.

[cl0wn]

would you be able to program it in as an option?

[Mark J]

I shouldnt need too as the time settings for the wavemakers can be as low as 1 second lol!!!! and im sure 1 second is more than quick enough for the on/off cycle.
Ive just added the duration boxes to the project about 10 mins ago lol.... there are 2 boxes, 1 for minutes and the other for seconds ;)

Been blocking out the other stuff too, but not happy with the time settings for the lights, so will be having a play on better ways to implement those.

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[cl0wn]

waveboxes do need to be adjustable in fractions of a second.

[Mark J]

fractions? hmmm not sure I would be wanting to go that deep etc, i'll have a think about it as personally its not something that id ever use, but will have a ponder. Just thinking about it, im not sure it would work anyway as the way I intend to control my powerheads is to ramp them up and down and not just have them at the min setting and then jump directly to the max setting, which means i'd need to add another bit of data to then flag whether to ramp up or to just go from min to max directly, which as a little box on the screen is easy enough, its then extra code on the PIC chip.

[reefergeek]

does a wave box have to be ramped up or is it flat out simple on/off this can be done by simple 555 circuit maybe a build in the future for me lol

kev

[Mark J]

I think theyre just simply on/off which is why I mentioned about the extra stuff thats involved which to be honest wasnt in my plans originally and as you said, a simple 555 circuit MIGHT be possible depending on if you can tweek the timing fine enough if fractions of a second are needed (never actually used a 555 myself as yet lol!! I did the usual jump in at the deep end with coding pics rather than playing with things like the 555 timer chips etc LOL!!!!!)

[reefergeek]

lol hardest first, will look in to the circuits

[Mark J]

The 555's should be ok as I think you would add a pot to one of the timing pins to fine tune the timing etc, probably a quick search in google will turn up around a million or so tutorials/samples for using 555's and also the datasheet for them, so it shouldnt be toooooo hard.

[reefergeek]

wonder if 0.5 secs will be enough

http://www.esr.co.uk/velleman/products/index_minikit.htm

[Mark J]

I think the reason for such minute timings is to do with the size of the wavebox and pump power etc, as when using them I presume you would want to get the maximum water thrown out but also fine tunable so that you dont end up with a tsunami throwing water all over the room lol...

[cl0wn]

sorry to hijack, we did have a thread on this not so long back.

http://www.reefcentral.co.uk/showthread.php/20078-who-s-good-with-electronics?highlight=resun

[reefergeek]

Did you get one done Pete ? forgot al about that one

[cl0wn]

Did you get one done Pete ? forgot al about that one

just never had the time kev, will get round to it sometime just can't be more specific.:)

[Mark J]

Sorry for not updating for a couple of days, not a lot has been happening really.
Main things are a rewrite from scratch of the PC interface as the skeletal framework that I used for the first one was a pain in the backside, and also as im relearning C/C++ etc, and having to delve into the deepest darkest recesses of the MFC foundation classes etc, I have found a better way to control all the boxes/sliders etc etc on the screen (YAY!)
Also, on the PIC side, I have got the hardware pulse width modulation (PWM) working (just pulsing an LED at the mo for a visual guide) and that took a bit of brain cell use lol, as on the sliders on the PC, the values go from 0 (min) to 100 (max) but for the PWM it needs a range from 0 to 255, so had to convert from the 0-100 to 0-255 which turned out easier than I thought! and also I have the Powerheads ramp up/down in 4 seconds rather than going from min to max instantly.
The real head scratcher was to work out what the PWM step rate needed to be based on the calculation of the range from the min value to the max value so that even if your min was 0 and max at 100 or your min was at 70 and your max at 90 they ALL take 4 seconds to ramp up/down regardless of how much of a range they have :hurray:

Anyhows, will update a bit more when theres another bit of news to give :smilewinkgrin:

[Mark J]

Ok, time for a new pic of V2 of the PC software, OK it dosnt look much different but its a lot tidier under the hood :thumbsup:

What i'll probably do next is to finalise it as it stands with the PIC side, so then I can see about getting the heater/fan bits working etc and then when its all tested etc i'll load up the schematics/PIC hex file and PC software so that if anyone wants to make one then they can.

The next phase after this lot is all tested etc will be to start adding the light controls or possibly the PH probe side (all depends on money as per usual lol!)

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You will note that I have set maximum values for Mins/Secs & Millisecs etc, obviously seconds are upto 59 as 60 = 1 min lol. and Milliseconds are limited to 999 is YUP, you guessed it 1000 = 1 second :rolleyes5:

[Hornrob]

how and when can i order mine :smilewinkgrin:

[Bradlowes]

What are you using for that? visual basic?

[Mark J]

Lol no not visual basic, it's C++
Erm you'll probably find one to buy in the wire bins you find all the cheap cd's from people you've never heard of at the petrol stations in the middle of nowhere hehe.

[Mark J]

Quick note:

Has anybody noticed the glaring omission from the PC code? :booboo: hehehe...

[Mark J]

LOL, obviously no one has spotted the ommision! ah well, i'll leave you guessing for now as its something seriously obvious!!!

Anyhows, been working on the PIC code for the overlap stuff and holy cr*p has it fried my brain to get all 4 modes operating how they should! But they all work nicely now, and are ramping up/down a couple of LED's for visual reference.

Next step is the Min/Max temp PIC code so that when it hits the Max, it turns a pin high in the PIC chip which will then be used to control a fan, and also to disable the heater :) and then when it hits the min, it'll turn off the fan and reinstate the heater (Might reinstate the heater when it reaches the ->MISSED OUT OMMISION!!:smilielol5:<- instead. (BIG hint on what the ommision is there guys!!!! :thumbsup:)

[Mark J]

wavebox mode set to only run opposites.

IF I get chance tomorrow ill be writing the code for the fan/heater control and once thats done i'll see about sorting out a test PCB and seeing if it all works (Gulp!)

[Malc]

Mark, finally made it here.

Nice project, and love the PC application... I just might get you to do a version for my 4ch Reptile Thermostat project :)

Other than the messing about we did with the conversion of that USB joystick project, I've not really palyed about with USB comms much. Does the communications work in the same way as serial (RS232) in that you send a character to the PIC and it responds by sending data ?

The chap I'm working with, has his PC application (written in Liberty Basic) send a C to check for the controller, the PIC then responds by sending R back to the PC when connected. The PC then sends Q to the PIC wich responds by sending 100 odd characters that are the current values from all the variables (most are word variables, using three digits to represent temperatures, eg 347 = 34.7 degrees). Then when updating the PIC the user types in the values and times in the boxes on the PC application and hits the "update" which causes the application to send S to the PIC followed by 100 odd digits to update the variables in the PBP code.

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Seems your wave maker has had a lot of interest, so when you come to making units for all the guys here, may I recommend PCBWing in China. - I know you've seen the PCB, but for the chaps here, here is my prototype unit almost completed

http://micro-heli.co.uk/pcb4.jpg

(file is too large for this forum :( )

So when half of the country plunges into darkness later on, we know you've hooked up your powerheads and thrown the switch ! :) :)

[Mark J]

LOL!!!! hope i dont cause a blackout! as everyone will know whos to blame!!!!!

The USB can send a max of 64 bytes in one packet, but you dont have to send queries etc, as both sides have flags that get automatically set when data is sent/recieved etc, and because some of your data is words you would need to split them etc and also probably send 2 packets as I know your packets were over 100 bytes in length etc.

I can have a look at the PC side for you no worries, if you can send us your packet info ie the order list of whats sent in what order etc. Im currently trying to stabalize the interupts as at the mo for the powerhead control pwm im using an interupt to keep it constant, but its not !! will pop a post up I think and hopefully Darrel might have some ideas etc.

[pak1802]

Is it just me , or is this way above anyone elses head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still will keep reading ,to see if it will go in my thick head.

[cl0wn]

Is it just me , or is this way above anyone elses head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still will keep reading ,to see if it will go in my thick head.

nope, it's not just you!!!

[Mark J]

LOL!!!!!! how do you think MY head feels!!!! especially when I was having to flit between the PC code and the PIC chip code!!!! 2 seperate completely different languages at the same time..........

Ive got the Fan/Heater code written, so just a matter of adding to the schematic and once I can sort out the slight timing issue ill see about making a PCB and testing it out!.

[Malc]

Is it just me , or is this way above anyone elses head!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still will keep reading ,to see if it will go in my thick head.

LOL - keep up guys... it's simple really :)

In essence you write code for the PIC in a form of language, in our case its PicBASIC Pro - This is then compiled into a HEX file which is then taken and programmed into the Flash based PIC microcomputer. These have built in functions such as USB, serial coms, analogue to digital conversion etc... Attached to the PIC micro are switches, sensors etc which in this case read the temperature and send the result to an LCD display and via USB to a computer. Here Mark has used a package to write a program in a similar way to the PIC code, which then gets compiled into a windows EXE file. This application talks to the PIC micro via the USB ports to control the powerhead settings and to read back the temperature value.

As Alexandra says... Simples ! :)

[pak1802]

LOL - keep up guys... it's simple really :)

In essence you write code for the PIC in a form of language, in our case its PicBASIC Pro - This is then compiled into a HEX file which is then taken and programmed into the Flash based PIC microcomputer. These have built in functions such as USB, serial coms, analogue to digital conversion etc... Attached to the PIC micro are switches, sensors etc which in this case read the temperature and send the result to an LCD display and via USB to a computer. Here Mark has used a package to write a program in a similar way to the PIC code, which then gets compiled into a windows EXE file. This application talks to the PIC micro via the USB ports to control the powerhead settings and to read back the temperature value.

As Alexandra says... Simples ! :)

I,ll just take your word for it ..................

[Mark J]

hehehe... im guessing then that when I upload the schematics etc you wont be attempting to have a go and building one for yourself then? (mind you, saying that, I know a few years ago i'd have been in exactly the same situation and just sit in a corner blubbering trying to work out what im supposed to do with all these bits lol!! (A bit like now to be honest LOL!!!!)

[Mark J]

:party::5::party::hny3:

YAAAAAAY!!! As you MIGHT notice im a happy chappy lol!!!!

No, it dosnt mean I made a PCB and tested it all 100000%, ive JUST this minute clobbered a timing issue I was having with the PWM (Pulse width modulation) code that controls (well, WILL control) the powerheads!!!!
It was giving me grief by not been 100% stable, as it would sometimes slow down and mess about etc, but after almost a full day of trying different code etc, I finally got the thing STABLE!!!!!!!

Phew, right, time to plan the Schematic properly and then I can see about making a prototype PCB (once ive been to Maplins and picked up some PCB board and etching fluid!, oh and any other bits and bobs i'll need!)

Mark.

[pak1802]

hehehe... im guessing then that when I upload the schematics etc you wont be attempting to have a go and building one for yourself then? (mind you, saying that, I know a few years ago i'd have been in exactly the same situation and just sit in a corner blubbering trying to work out what im supposed to do with all these bits lol!! (A bit like now to be honest LOL!!!!)

No I wont be building one ( not sure what it is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) I,ll just let you build one for me ...

[Mark J]

No I wont be building one ( not sure what it is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ) I,ll just let you build one for me ...

Lol thats ok as im not 100% sure myself!!!
Hopefully when I get the prototype built and working i'll try to get a video of it working etc.

[pak1802]

Lol thats ok as im not 100% sure myself!!!
Hopefully when I get the prototype built and working i'll try to get a video of it working etc.

Thanks look forward to it .
Just had another scan through thread , and if I have it right , you will be controlling your wavemakers and heating via your comp . ( is that where the USB port comes in ????? ) See Im trying to understand.

[Mark J]

In a nutshell, what it does (or will do!) is it will monitor the tank temperature and if it goes above the maximum temp it will turn on a 12v fan to cool the water and also it will disable the heater so that it cannot turn on if the temp is higher than the max temp. When the temp has reached the minimum (well actually .1 degree under your target temp) it will turn off the fan and re-enable the heater.
You dont have to have the PC connected all the time, only when you want to change the settings.
And yes, it will also control 2 powerheads (DC ones) in either of the 4 modes (the overlap settings) OR if you have either 1 or 2 powerheads in a wavebox (like in the video Clown posted earlier in the thread) you can have those making waves and are finely adjustable to get the timing right so you dont over empty the box and throw air all in the tank etc) but you cant have the overlap modes in the wavebox mode as that would defeat the purpose of the waveboxes etc.

Also, if for any reason the temperature sensor dies or stops sending the temperatures, the LCD screen will display a 'SENSOR ERROR'. Because I will (presume most people would too) use a normal heater that has its own thermostat in and set so it only goes slightly above thier target temp, the tank will keep heated but wont just keep getting hotter and cooking everything in the tank.
I did think about doing it so the directly controlled heaters could be used, but to be honest, if I keep trying to add every possible scenario, id never get it finished, and it would also mean a fair bit more coding etc.

PH probe will be added at some point, so i'll be adding extra tracks to the PCB so it can be added later and then all it would be is a swap over of the PIC in the final build (will be in a socket so easily removed for upgrading etc (keep that in mind if anyone does build one themselves ;) ))

[pak1802]

Thanks for that , I nearly got there in the end . Will look forward to the finished result . Paul

[Mark J]

No worries :), fingers crossed it wont be too long before I get a prototype up and running and dont blow myself to smitherines when I plug it in lol!!!!

[Mark J]

Ok I was bored tonight so started to block out the PCB design.

The more electronically minded will probably shout that certain parts are NOT the ones I need to be using etc, I just grabbed the first things that were what I needed just to get a feel for how the board will probably end up looking like etc.

Takes a bit of jiggery pokery to get all the tracks on one side of the board only as DIY double sided PCB's arnt that easy to get right (Malc knows what I mean!)

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Will be sorting out all the correct parts required for the layout tomorrow if I get time etc, but for now its a little something more to look at lol...

i'll probably move the mains input onto its own seperate board so that IF it ever packs up, its simple to change!

[Mark J]

Right time for another update.

Ive decided to create a schematic for the project that dosn't have the heater control because for that it will require an AC mains input and a power transformer making which to be honest makes me nervous because with offering the schematics etc and someone who isnt that knowlegable about electronics etc wires it up wrong it could be potentially fatal etc...
Also, the heater side is not a necessity and im sure most people would be fine with the temp reader/checker that turns on a 12V fan and controls the 2 powerheads/waveboxes etc.
For this non heater version, all you will need is a decent 12V DC adapter to plug it into, which means you dont have to mess about building the AC - DC transformer/converter etc.

Obviously I will be doing a version WITH the heater included, but if you DONT fully trust yourself to build one correctly etc, then DONT! as I take no responsibility if you do and do something wrong and get thrown across the room or worse!

Before I release the schematic and code/programs i'll be prototyping it myself first to make sure it works as expected and then once I know it all works i'll release the schematic and hex code for the PCB stuff and also package up the PC program into an installer package.

[Mark J]

Etched the prototype board yesterday and put on what components I had and apart from my LCD finally popping it's clogs as it was on it's last legs, it worked in that the pic was running and when I touched an LED to the powerheads output pins they were pulsing away so the next step is to finally get the other parts so I can hook up some DC motors to check the things running smoothly etc. Well once I can afford another LCD first though.

[Mark J]

Etched V2 of the PCB today, as thanks to Malc, changed a few components which will be better so now just waiting for a couple more bits to arrive which should be here tomrrow (not a clue when the LCD will be here though!) but even without the LCD I can still test the board as the LED's will show the pulsing for the powerheads etc.

Anyways, here's a pic of V2 of the prototype board :D (Scuse quality as took with my phone in the kitchen under halogen type lights)

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[Mark J]

Got bored after tea so decided to etch the LED panel board.

Scuse it not looking sparkly clean, as had only just etched it and removed the toner from the copper side etc.
LEDs are (From left to right) Power, Powerhead1, Powerhead2, Fan
Will drill and populate it tomorrow as couldnt be ar5ed to goto the shed for my dremmel drill thingy lol... (plus it was dark so cant see naff all in the shed)

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[Mark J]

Right, finally got round to doing a quick video of it.

For some reason I completely naffed up the LEDS and where the 2 yellow ones were supposed to be the powerhead pulsing visuals, the fan one (on the right) is one of the powerhead indicator lights lol, so for the powerheads, watch the 2 LEDS on the right, and the fan one in the left yellow LED.
My new LCD came today, but wasnt until after id shot this video so nothing to show on a screen, but you can see the lights pulsing and the fan turn on, then off all controlled via the temp sensor (sorry it took a while to turn the fan on, but the kitchen was probably 19C wheras my max temp setting is set at 26, so took a bit of time for my fingers to get it over the max setting!)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPS0pEK_cRU

[TerraC]

nice one m8 makin good progress! :D

[Mark J]

Yeah its definately getting there, im just working on the layout for the LCD screen at the mo, trying to make it look nice etc, as with now having 4 lines of 20 chars, its looking a BIT sparse lol!!! Just reading up on creating custom characters for teh display as thinking of having a bar graph type thing showing the current output of the powerheads etc. (not sure if it will make it to the final version yet, but will see what it looks like if I can suss it :)
Hope youve had a good birthday mate, get anything cool?

[reefergeek]

Looking good keep up the good work

[Mark J]

Cheers :)

Just got the bar graph working on the LCD display hehehe... looks cool as if the mode is where it alternates, one bar goes up, then other goes down.
Will grab a video of it tomorrow as bit late now to be filming/uploading etc.

[Mark J]

Ok here's a quick pic I just took of the screen :)
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[cl0wn]

this build just keeps getting better and better!

[Mark J]

Lol your making me blush hehe.
The PM part is the powerhead mode they are currently running and are:
Linear
Ramp
Overlap
Sync
Wavebox
And the bars realtime adjust to what's happening to the powerheads and display the power output (each block represents 10% power)
Will try to add a video later when I get chance to show each mode.

[Mark J]

Finally after AGES waiting for it to upload, the video is on youtube at last lol!

Not great quality, but you can see the various different modes as it cycles through them.
The duration for the none wavebox modes are 10 seconds (if memory serves me right lol!) and min/max levels are at 0/100 and if the values are changed it goes up and down to those limits etc.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqdVTdIfjU0

[Malc]

Just love the bar graph effect - you'll be able to see exactly what phase the powerheads are in... nice work, and excellent video's

I love the way you can control your washing machine by simply touching the temp sensor :) :)

[Mark J]

LOL!!!! I was wondering when someone would notice how as an added sweetener for the Mrs i'd control the washing machine too ;) Just must remember NOT to hook up a washing machine to the tank though lol! as dont think the livestock would appreciate it hehehe.....

[Buster]

fantastic work!

[Mark J]

Cheers Buster,

its been a bit of a slog in places, but must say a huge thanks to Malc as he has been fantastic in helping me sort out a few hardware changes/issues etc as hes just this min helped me out on a slight problem I was having, but thats now sorted yay!!!!

[Mark J]

Ok guys, got a question for any of you.

What CHEAP powerheads do you know are 12V DC? as hooked up a couple of 12V DC PC fans to the board earlier and theyre running great, so next step is to actually hook up a couple of 12V DC powerheads.

I saw the video earlier in this thread showing a Resun, so does anyone have one and if so, does it have the DC power supply with it where the pump plugs in etc?
Info, pictures etc would be greatfully appreciated.

[cl0wn]

i have the resun, what do you want to know?

[reefergeek]

is the resun a brushed or brushless motor ?

[cl0wn]

is the resun a brushed or brushless motor ?

that i don't know!!!

http://www.resun-china.com/en/ProductInfo.aspx?ProID=421&ProClass=114

[reefergeek]

a hunch tells me brushed like the nuwave ones

[Mark J]

Cool. Notice they're 24v which my jad ones are too so seems that most are 24v which isn't a prob as just need to up the source voltage etc
You couldnt take some pics if the connector etc could you (if it has one lol) and also what price are they?

[cl0wn]

Cool. Notice they're 24v which my jad ones are too so seems that most are 24v which isn't a prob as just need to up the source voltage etc
You couldnt take some pics if the connector etc could you (if it has one lol) and also what price are they?

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs906.snc4/71913_1649985215444_1411405906_31683468_7392777_n. jpg

[Mark J]

Nice one. So standard dc fittings. I gather that's the one from the powerhead to the control unit? Hole in the centre etc. That's ok then as means all connectors can be the dc type.
Also it should mean that the original dc power supply that you get with the unit could be used as the power source for this project etc as they're rated at 24v with enough amperage ;) but I'll be checking with mine first as mines rated at 1.1 amps I think but the unit only powers 1 pump at a time whereas my controller allows both as well as a 12v fan (they only use about 0.14 amp so won't make any real difference to the power etc)

[Malc]

Cheers Buster,

its been a bit of a slog in places, but must say a huge thanks to Malc as he has been fantastic in helping me sort out a few hardware changes/issues etc as hes just this min helped me out on a slight problem I was having, but thats now sorted yay!!!!

Mark you're welcome, glad to of been of assistance, and thanks for the compliment.

[Mark J]

No worries Malc. Credit where credits due! And if you hadn't been patient with my barrage of emails I might have been a charred mess ready to be hoovered up by the mrs lol.

[cl0wn]

Nice one. So standard dc fittings. I gather that's the one from the powerhead to the control unit? Hole in the centre etc. That's ok then as means all connectors can be the dc type.
Also it should mean that the original dc power supply that you get with the unit could be used as the power source for this project etc as they're rated at 24v with enough amperage ;) but I'll be checking with mine first as mines rated at 1.1 amps I think but the unit only powers 1 pump at a time whereas my controller allows both as well as a 12v fan (they only use about 0.14 amp so won't make any real difference to the power etc)

tis powerhead to control unit. no jack in to control unit, wired directly.

[Mark J]

Ahh that's different to mine as my powerheads have the dc plugs on the ends. Not that it would take much to cut them from the main unit and replace with dc plugs etc

[Mark J]

Was talking to Malc earlier on and said about an idea I had and thought id see what you guys think as its something ive not seen before and I think it would really help randomise the flow in the tank etc.

The idea is that I have 4 different modes to control the powerheads (not including wavebox mode as that needs to be seperate for super fine control etc) and what I was thinking is to have a random mode, which will basically choose any of the 4 modes randomly and cycle each mode twice before changing to another mode (will have it built in so that if for instance its on SYNC mode, then when it comes to choose another mode, it cant choose the mode its already running **see below**)

** example **

Current mode: SYNC
mode cycles through twice
Randomly chooses new mode but NOT SYNC
Current mode: RAMP
mode cycles through twice
Randomly chooses new mode but NOT RAMP, but CAN choose SYNC again as we have had a different mode inbetween etc.

And the duration will still be the duration you choose in the settings on the PC, so if you set the duration for 1 minute, then it would be 2 cycles at 1 min (if you get what I mean lol!)

So what do you think? good idea? as like I said above, its not something ive ever seen in a powerhead controller before (to be honest, not really looked at what the controllers do nowadays really! lol)

[cl0wn]

sounds amazing, can you get hold of vortech heads cheap?

[Mark J]

Not looked at the vortech's really as remember seeing how expensive they are and almost emptied my cuppa all over my laptop lol!!!
I guess you can buy the heads without the controller boxes? but I bet they'll still be a bit expensive though :(
What I could do with is finding out what controllable powerheads are out there and if possible see what connectors etc they have.

Anyone got the controllable tunze nano streams? and if so, do they have plugs on them to connect to a controller as I presume they do as you dont 'need' the controller for them, but can hook them in if you want etc.
I know the JAD wavemakers have DC style connectors (just need to look at mine to see if theyre the male or female ones lol.. will have to have a look tomorrow)
So if anyone knows of any others, feel free to add them in here.

So you think the random mode would be a good addition then?

[cl0wn]

the 6055's are controllable as are the new 6045's. not sure of the connector. yup your right you don't need the controller. even if they have their own connectors surely would be a simple fix to knock up an adaptor.

[cl0wn]

the 6055's are controllable as are the new 6045's. not sure of the connector. yup your right you don't need the controller. even if they have their own connectors surely would be a simple fix to knock up an adaptor.

what about the NeWave pumps.

[Mark J]

Will see if I can get pics of the connectors for the nano's etc, and will look into the NeWave pumps too, cheers for that as I dont really know what powerheads are available at the mo as its something ive never really thought about until now lol!!!

Just added the random mode code to the project (yup, dosnt take long lol!!!!) and will breadboard the code tomorrow as bit late to dig out the programmer and board now, and IF it works (why it wont I dont know as I wrote it LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!) i'll do another video and if it does work, thats another notch on this controller hehehehe....

[reefergeek]

Sure the newave are 24v as well, but the vortech range are brusless 3 phase motors so would need a differant controller and would of thought the Polarios are the same

[Mark J]

Hmm never really had a look at brushless (I know!!! as an ex RC nut, I should, but I was a nitro boy, not a 'leccy boy lol!!!) so what makes them different in control?

[cl0wn]

newave are 10.9w. i think me and kev should be down for researcher discount on one of these!!!

[cl0wn]

oops looking again

newave 2000lph 2.7w
4000lph 6w
6500lph 10.9w

[Mark J]

hehehe I dont even know how much it will cost to make yet as not even started pricing all the parts up etc, but im sure we can come up with something :)

Just uploading the video at the moment to show the random feature running, and believe me, it was a bit of a head scratcher as at first it seemed to throw something off along the way, but now got it sorted (he says!!!! lol)
Once its uploaded, will add it here.

[Mark J]

FINALLY!!! sooo slow uploading videos but at long last its done, so here's the video of the random mode.
Ignore the digit to the right of the temp, its just a debugging variable while I was working on the random bit.
Also, forgot to mention in the previous posts, that each block of the bar graphs represents 10% power.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LDS9VVBrCM

[Mark J]

Also just updated the PC software to include the Random option.
10820

[cl0wn]

love it, love it, love it.

[Mark J]

Just also added an option to allow you to have the LCD backlight auto turn off after either 10,30 or 60 seconds, or to have it lit perminantly :D
Will add a button to the project so you just press the button to relight the LCD so you can check the settings etc, and then after the set period it will turn off again (mainly for people who dont want a glaring blue screen bellowing out in the evening etc, but the option IS there for those who just love seeing bright shiney things lighting up the room LOL!!!)

10821

[Mark J]

Thought id upload these for any of the techie peeps to have a look at. They probably will still change a bit for the final version, but these are the modded V2 proto ready for V3 which I will hopefully etch this weekend.

Schematic:

10843

Board layout

10844

[reefergeek]

Mark how good are yo on fault diagnosis on circuit boards, got a pcb off a lighting unit it controls 2 x 150w halides 2 x t8 blues and 2 x 70w moon lights

off one plug it turns the blues on for a set time then halides for a set time and then moonlights, I know the shaft is broke off the rotary switch will get a new one when i can find the correct one but cant see the rotary will be at fault, theres 555 timers on the pcb also

the t8 blues come on and the halides but moonlights dont work, i am going to just check the bulbs today but cant see they will be at fault as will check the feed to one of the 3 pcs relays to see if thats not sticking and a feeds getting to it

Will upload a pic of it when i can

kev

[Mark J]

Are the moonlights LED's? As they should be ok unless you've had a surge through them as it dosnt take much to blow them and if they're all connected together in a strip it only takes 1 to blow to stop the rest from working.
A simple test would be to use an AA battery with a bit of wire each end and test each LED. Just make sure the - of the battery is to the - of the led (if it's the normal LED's then the - has a flat edge at the base)
Other than that, be VERY careful prodding around as the halide ballasts could possibly hold a charge as if it's an old style ballast from what I remember they have a rather large capacitor which if you short could give you a nasty shock or could go bang!!!

[Mark J]

Spent today etching and populating the new PCB and its all done apart from a 12V regulator which I forgot to pick one up from Maplins yesterday when I was there (DOH!) but its all pretty much ready (when said part is purchased and soldered on lol) for a real world test on the tank (well, maybe remove a PH and try it OUT of the tank first lol!!!)
The 2 cables on the bottom are connected to male DC plugs as my JAD wavemaker has female DC ones, so they will just plug straight in.


10845

Copper side (dont look too closely at the soldering lol!!! :rofl:)
10846

[Mark J]

Lol. I suppose I should have looked before but stuck my test meter on the jad psu before I plugged in my proto and it's bloody AC output not DC!!!! so looks like I'll have to knock up a quick AC/DC converter circuit before I can do a proper test as did test it using my 12v dc psu but that only 300 odd milliamps so it can barely turn the powerhead hehe as the jad psu is 24v 1.1amps so it's like trying to start your car with a AA battery hehehe.

[Mark J]

maplins strike again!! Picked up a 5a regulator which according to the catalogue is 12v OUTPUT buuuuut look on thier website and someone asked a question and maplins reply? It's 12 INPUT max output 2.5-3.3v max!!! Bloody useless or what if they can't even advertise thier products correctly!!!
So means I've got to walk (as sold car the other day) to swap it for another type!!!

[reefergeek]

i will not use them again prefer esr a good set of lads and its up that way

[Mark J]

Wish we had somewhere else apart from craplins locally! hopefully will be sorting the proto board out tomorrow at long last! if all is well, then will only be testing with 1 powerhead as I tihnk ive mentioned before, the PSU that came with the wavemaker dosnt have enough umph to run both powerheads at once! but im looking at some laptop type PSU's to run it as seen a few that are rated about 2.5A which is enough with extra spare :)

[Mark J]

Been a bit quiet lately as been busy so not had chance to do anything with the project but if I get chance and maplin actually have the part in stock I 'should' be ready again for another test!
Normal voltage reg not enough to drop the voltage without a huge heatsink so will be getting a 24v-12v dc-dc converter instead (also a tad more expensive though!!)

[Mark J]

Also been getting the bits together for my LED light unit.
Ordered half a dozen Cree whites from dealextreme to see if theyre ok which they should as they're r2 wg's and if so then will order the rest. Also got 4 buckpucks 2x1000mah and 2x700mah (will need another 2 but for now will do) and also ordered all 18 royal blue cree's as well from the states. As can imagine, the old bank balance has taken a bit of a hit this last week lol.
Still need a psu and have bookmarked the website I can order one when needed and also need to source heatsinks which reading on another forum in the states, a lot of people are using aluminium U channels which are a lot cheaper than the big flat heatsinks with the fins on (not to mention a lot less weight too!!)
Fun times to be had soon me thinks lol as can't wait!!!!

[reefergeek]

Now then chap, going to send you a pcb could do with one knocking up lad of you calibre 2 min job its the pcb from the light for now i have just wired all 3 lights to elec timers

kev


ERRR hang fire led build ?? lol won me to it

are you using the heatsinks that i put in the link ? if so will double up on the order as i will get 4

[Guest101]

This dont half remind me of my old project, might have to dig it out the loft, keep up the good work mark.

I see your using eagle for you pcb layout, have you looked at proteus isis its a layout designer and afully working simulator, its an awsome piece of software and if youi look in the right places it free aswell.

[reefergeek]

is that similar to Proteus Proffesional

[Guest101]

is that similar to Proteus Proffesional

yeah its the same, proteus isis is an earlier version

[reefergeek]

ah thats on the sites as well around 540meg

[Mark J]

Now then chap, going to send you a pcb could do with one knocking up lad of you calibre 2 min job its the pcb from the light for now i have just wired all 3 lights to elec timers

kev


ERRR hang fire led build ?? lol won me to it

are you using the heatsinks that i put in the link ? if so will double up on the order as i will get 4

Lol will have to have another look at the heatsinks on the link as seen so many different ones just lately my mind has got scrambled lol.

[Mark J]

Will do a search for that proteus and have a play etc.
Will be trying to get the part I need this weekend but it's a nightmare without a car as my poor legs just can't handle the long treks anymore lol

[Mark J]

Well peeved today as had 2 parcels to pick up from the sorting office so off I trotted to pick them up hoping 1 would be some of my LEDs but no such luck!! Both were for the mrs!!! Well gutted lol. But I did nip to maplin and picked up the dc dc converter so tomorrow will see if I can wire it to my proto board to test before I readjust the schematic and see about etching another proto board so fingers crossed this project is in it's last stages of development ready for finishing and finally running live on the tank etc!
Will then be making a start on the code for the light unit.

[reefergeek]

cant wait for your led build get on the phone and tell then to hurry up lol

kev

[Mark J]

Lol.... will be emailing the place in the states this week to see if they have a tracking number etc, but I know sometimes even from the states things can take a couple of weeks, and we all know sometimes how slow the stuff from Hong Kong can take!

At least while im waiting for the LED's to arrive it means I cant really start that project so kind of makes me have to concentrate on finishing this one lol.... At least I have a proper DC PSU for this project now and dont have to use the breadboarded full wave bridge rectifier I had to knock up to use the PSU that came with the JAD wavemaker thing! as that always made me nervous for some reason lol!!!!
Ok the part I picked up today was just over £7 but id rather pay more for parts that will last than to be cheap and buy stuff that could be risky etc.

[reefergeek]

couldnt you use a pc psu and just short the 2 grey wires out, seem some thread where you remove a resistor and shove a variable one in and it gives you adj voltage on the 12v line still giving around 30 amps dc

[Mark J]

depends on if it can kick out 24V as the JAD powerheads are 24V DC, also the PC PSU's are a tad big as I got a laptop one from ebuyer thats adjustable voltage upto 24V and its 2.5amps so with each powerhead rated at just inder 1amp each, its more than enough to run both at once.
Already bookmarked a 24V psu for the light project thats rated at 6.5A which for 6 buckpucks is more than enough as will be running 3 1000Mah pucks for the whites and 3 700Mah (or 750Mah as cant remember what it is off hand and too lazy to go look as theyre upstairs lol!) so comes in at just over 5A :)
Obvioulsy, as the light project gets rolling I will be starting a thread and listing all parts and where I got them etc.

[reefergeek]

ah bugga forgot

kev

[reefergeek]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/High-quality-USB2-0-CAR-Charger-12-24V-DC-5V-2A-2000mA-/260687670236?pt=UK_MobilePhones_MobilePhoneAccesso ries_MobilePhoneChargers&hash=item3cb2322bdc

http://i768.photobucket.com/albums/xx326/ktnch/Diy/383280635_o.jpg

[Mark J]

Nice one. Just been looking at the datasheet for the 2576's and could be a possible test part lol

[reefergeek]

Good man ebays even good for research lol

is that poss and neg regulated then ?

[Mark J]

Erm dunno at the mo lol. Didn't delve too deep as still using my phone and hate trying to read loads on it lol.

[reefergeek]

What kelvin are those leds found these

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20P-x-3W-High-Power-ExtraBright-White-15000K-LED-180lm-/390222225814?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5adb0ea196

[Chris@ChristalClearWaters]

Just read right through this thread, well done Mark and thanks for taking the time out to share it with us !!!

[Mark J]

Kev: not sure to be honest as I thinkthat I read you can't really measure kelvin or something as they tend to use the colour 'bins' for shades and par for punch etc. Also eBay is renowned for pot luck on LED's.

Chris: glad you enjoyed the thread and it's my pleasure on sharing all my trials and tribulations of this project (and boy have I had plenty of head banging problems with it lol!)
Just hope that once I get it working 100% and make the schematics etc available a few people will be able to make one and enjoy a nice multi function controller (as long as they double check thier dc powerhead requirements etc as still not had much response for info on the controllable powerheads available. )

[Guest101]

is that poss and neg regulated then ?

the lm2576 can be used to regulate either + or - depending on how it wired.

[Mark J]

Cool, cheers for the info John, all im interested in is can I NOT blow the thing up like I seem to do with every other regulator I try hehehehe.... Mind you, these ones are switching regs so a lot more efficient so dont run almost as hot as the surface of the sun and therefore need heatsinks the size of a suitcase :D lol....

[Mark J]

Blue LEDs arrived yesterday :D and finally today the few whites I ordered have finally left hong kong (only took 2 weeks!!!!) so should be here next week knowing how slow parcels get when they hit the uk!!!

[reefergeek]

think these are your whites, wonder if you can shove some pinks on to make them like the kz t5s

10963

Did you try cutter electronics ?

jesus mine are $220 for heatsinks and $548.17 around £480 for leds then have the led drivers and controller

[Mark J]

Had a look at Cutters but thier website is pretty pathetic when it comes to selecting the LED's etc! as looked a few times but gave up as would rather not place an order and find ive ordered something completely different to what I expected etc (too many drop down options on the selections etc!)

Will be looking round for some cheap Aluminium U channel so if anyone knows anywhere thats cheap etc then let us know on here if poss (looking at say 20mmx20mmxhowever long)

[reefergeek]

will have a word with brimacda123 works at a metal recycling place

[Mark J]

jesus mine are $220 for heatsinks and $548.17 around £480 for leds then have the led drivers and controller

One reason why its ideal to be able to build in modules so you can just add to them down the road etc when you can afford more etc.
Luckily for me, mine is only going to be 36 LED's so can get away with just 1 PSU but i will be designing it to be modular so as people want to expand, just a matter of making another buckpuck board (for buckpuck users obviously lol) and hook up another PSU to it and wire the controller lines to it, and away it goes.

[reefergeek]

for one set of leds around £87 and heatshink £34 then buckpuck and controller so prob around £160-180 at first

[Mark J]

so how many LED's are you planning in total? as might be better to go the meanwell route for the drivers as they can run more LED's per driver etc. Only thing ive seen with the meanwells is a slight variation to the output of the PWM and voltage etc and that they seem to cut out at 10% so dont get a full fade down to nothing (not that im 100% sure how far down the buckpucks go before turning off)

[reefergeek]

sorry 4 modules and 24 in each module not to sure how many blues ratio with leds

[Mark J]

fair few in total then!!!
Im going for a 50/50 mix of whites and blues but the guys on the american forum seem to be going more blues to whites I think, but to be honest, they seem to like the blue tint from what I can gather, wheras I want a more neutral look if possible etc.

[reefergeek]

must admit i like the blue tinge but not totally blue

[Mark J]

think it also depends on the types of whites as most of the ones going for more blues than whites are using the XP-G's I tihnk they are which are more powerful so dont need as many etc, but dont quote me as I tended to be skipping past a load of posts as theres way to many to actually read fully.

[reefergeek]

will wait to see yours before i commit to ratio and look under google for builds

[Mark J]

LOL... Dont blame you :) best way to see someone elses as then can see if its the look/colour your after etc.
Just hope it dosnt take tooooooo long before I can get the rest of the stuff and get it all built etc, as to be honest, I think waiting for the bits will be longer than it'll take to write the code etc.

[reefergeek]

so for the controller i was thinking of whites, blues and moon, the moon using around 2 leds in each module on a very low % say between 0-10% on a night then on the day whites and blues with the moon are ramped up gradual so it will have to have a timer built in for 3 channels and only if its easy have a temp read out of the modules, going to use the fan controller of a pc psu as there temp controlled with 4 x 120mm fans

[Mark J]

You could just have the moons flick on and off when the daylights are say 50% into thier fade in/out as with only having a couple of them, you shouldnt notice them going on/off etc. (also, the PIC18F2455 only has 2 hardware PWM pins, which will be used for the lights. I could use another pin for a software PWM if needed)
A temp readout is easy enough to add, not sure how you mean with using a PC PSU though?
For mine, I intend to just have the fans running all the time the lights are on and probably just have the one for a heatsink temp reader as did think of having multiple, but 1 should be enough.

[reefergeek]

just the pc psu fan speed controller a small circuit that controls the fan to heat speed, will look in to the moonlights as i think there would have to be some kind of dimming dont know if its possible at all

[Mark J]

ahhh right :) wouldnt that mean another plug plugged in though? as I presume it it will use the plug etc.

[reefergeek]

works of 12v dc so will try to drop the 24v down for the led supply

[Mark J]

ah right, no worries :) MUST get round to getting the stepdown for the powerhead project lol. but at almost a fiver each for singles, not overly cheap (especially adding postage too lol!)

[reefergeek]

if the led project comes in at under 800 i will be impressed but going to be a long while before i can start, got to clad the tank cabinet yet with gloss black panels

[Mark J]

Yeah initial outlay is a lot but long run should easily compensate.
Don't forget a few places will give bulk discount.

[reefergeek]

found this one as well as a few other using a fair few buckpucks the pic below 144 leds lol, are you using any optics on yours i was thinking of 60-80 degrees maybe a mix

10966

[Mark J]

Wow looks like a spaceship from a b movie hehe.
Initially I won't be using optics but I might as I would prefer my light unit a bit higher away so it makes it eaier to access the tank etc but will have to see.

[Mark J]

Actually got round to doing a bit more to the controller project yesterday and hooked up one of the powerheads and it worked!!!!
Need to adjust the pwm frequency though as can hear a bit of a whine from the ph at startup and also need to do more testing as seems the ph's are quite torqy(sp?) and seem to not start at low level pwm.

[reefergeek]

Check out these bad boys Tangman sent the link 647 lumen !!!!

http://www.led1.de/shop/product_info.php?pName=cree-mce-k-neutral-white-star-647-lumen-p-1314&cName=cree-power-leds-mce-c-263_314

Still havent got around to posting the pcb got that much on at the min 1 pc to reinstall all software 3 lappys to fix charging jacks, tank to finish and new 360 to play with lol

[Mark J]

yeah nice, only thing is because they have 4 in 1, its a bit of a concentrated beam in one spot etc, and from what ive read on other forums, even the normal 3W singles can be too much at almost full whack and even moreso with tight optics!
Soon see hopefully IF my whites ever arrive!!!! wish id ordered the lot now as if the 6 are fine which people say theyre good, then when i get the funds for the rest, it could mean another month or so's wait for the ultra slow postage!!!

No worries, whenever you get the time to post the PCB is fine, at least you can still use the light unit without it at the mo so no real rush.

[Mark J]

Yay!! My whites arrived Today so will soon be able to get a single strip knocked up and start writing the code for it etc

[reefergeek]

what about these bad boys, how is your build going ?



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280557271983&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280588238380&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Mark J]

Project has not had much done lately as not had time to play with it really. Will probably etch another proto board after Xmas once all the expensive days have past lol.

Only problem with those multi led things are when you work out the efficiency they tend not to be as good as the single ones and also it's a lot of light concentrated in a small footprint so to get a good spread the unit would need to be fairy high and then you negate the oomph etc. Not to mention the heat you need to draw away etc.

I've already started to block out the code for my light unit so when I get to the point of been able to test it will just be a case of plugging in a string of LEDs etc.

[Mark J]

Well, sod alls progressed on the Powerhead project as waiting until after Xmas to etch another proto PCB etc, but in the meantime ive been working out the code for the LED unit and basically written it already LOL!!! (only started it last night for a couple of hours, and about 20 mins tonight!!!!)
I will no doubt start a new thread for that when ive done the first tests etc, as want to try to keep this thread for the powerhead project etc.

[reefergeek]

These heatsinks any good ?

10"x7" £17.34 was thinking 4 of these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Heat-sink-Large-Aluminum-Heatsink-DIY-Class-Amp-/250646315626?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5baf426a

10"x11" £28 each was thinking 3 of these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Large-Aluminum-Heatsink-DIY-HIFi-Amp-IGBT-SCR-MOSFET-/250646348304?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5bafc210

What are your thoughts

[reefergeek]

Dont think going to be able to afford the crees so going to try some of these will order on or 2 first to check

5w 7200k 450lm 140deg
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280588238380&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


not to sure about these ones 20k 10w 750lm ( think these would be ideal if they were 10-14k)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280557271983&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


3w 120lm 6-7500k 120 deg
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=360330152789&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[reefergeek]

Bloody hell

Just found this bad boy how many would you think on the 60x30x30

30w led 2500lm 140deg with power supply

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1x-30W-White-HIGH-POWER-LED-2500LM-140-AC-POWER-DIY-/270645357174?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f03b86a76

Bloody 50w ! led

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/50W-4000LM-White-LED-Light-Lamp-Bulb-160-Degree-/270682787628?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&hash=item3f05f38f2c

For the blues

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-X-10W-300LM-Blue-LED-Light-Lamp-Bulb-120-Degree-/270680597399?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&hash=item3f05d22397

His other items
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/luoxiquan/m.html

[pak1802]

Have not a clue how many you would use , but I will be watching with great intrest .
I would love to have the know how to do some thing like make my own light unit .

[reefergeek]

Even saw this one as well think over 30w will be to much not to sure

100watt led 7000LM 6-7.5k

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1PC-BRIGHTEST-100W-WATT-HIGH-POWER-WHITE-LED-7000LM-/320638518593?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item4aa78b8541

Ready made cheap cree led unit
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Wall-Washer-CREE-LED-15w-120W-27W-180W-3YEAR-WARRANTY-/310246860748?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Lighting_Lamps_Light ing_SM&var=&hash=item8e075a0b01

[TerraC]

check these bad boys out!.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsYyA2z5wVw&feature=player_embedded#!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsYyA2z5wVw&feature=player_embedded#

[pak1802]

check these bad boys out!.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsYyA2z5wVw&feature=player_embedded#!

Thats super cool . Any one for a disco .

[reefergeek]

Ha sweet just been browsing and the 100w ones are now in the running after seeing this video lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGaP-ZXFRdE

[pak1802]

Ha sweet just been browsing and the 100w ones are now in the running after seeing this video lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGaP-ZXFRdE

From the look of that 3 x would do a 6 foot tank , bright or what !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[Mark J]

Well well lol.... finally got time to actually sit my ar5e down and browse again hehehe...

Been doing my lights and got the framework built with all the LED's fixed ready to be wired.
Next stage is to design the PCB layout etc and get a board etched, then hook it all up, and once all working as expected, then will be making a surround for it etc.
11414

[Mark J]

LED Drivers built :)
11419

[reefergeek]

Ah the luxdrives i found these to expensive and dont enough ma for my usage so i have found these

35v max but i am going to try them on 36v and 1550ma

10w ones max 35v 1550ma http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/10w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-I-1350mA-/110646385206?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19c309da36

5w ones max 35v 1080ma http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-I-1000mA-/220737597645?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item3364fc70cd

1w ones max 35v 370ma http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1w-LED-Driver-MBI6651-based-Luxeon-White-Green-Blue-/380315466803?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Suppl ies_ET&hash=item588c917c33

All have pwm 0-5v
11422


Are you having an arduino ? got the code set up and have mine running with no lcd sheild at the min set up with dimming ramp and 2 channels the arduino is £20 and rtc £8 thats all you would need to add to yours to run the bucks

Another great thread keep it up Mark

Kev

[Mark J]

The only problem with the 35V jobbies is finding a decent PSU that can pump out the voltage (to be honest, not really looked so probably easily findable etc lol)
I'd be weary of running the 35V at 36V as overloading them could be pushing them a bit too far, so i'd keep a close eye on them to make sure they dont burn out etc.

Not using Arduino's as I program the PIC chips so its what I know and got the bits anyway so using one of those and have already written the code for controlling the lights (wrote it before Xmas LOL!!!)
Need to reinstall my windows partition shortly and get everything reinstalled and then can build the PC program to hook up via USB to change the settings as and when needed etc.

Last bit of code I added to the PIC program was so that if theres ever a power cut or it gets turned off for some reason it calculates where it needs to be in the daily cycle and automatically calculates the PWM values needed and carrys on from where it should be at that particular time as I dont use a table for my light intensities, its all calculated from on/off times and the durations of the fade in/out etc. as a friend of mine has a unit he bought online and he had a power fluctuation the other week and when it came back on, all his lights came on wheras before the outage, only his smaller lights were on as the 30W ones were in their off cycle.

Another reason I went for the buckpucks etc is that I only need 1 power cable into the unit to run the whole lot as I know the meanwells are self enclosed and each unit has its own power cable which I didnt want as for mine the meanwells that can be dimmmed and control 12 led's off each unit would require 3 meanwell drivers AND also a seperate 10V regulated psu to control the dimming and logic.

Phew, lol quite a bit of waffle there hehehe...

Mark.

[reefergeek]

i would of loved to run mine in series but 36v leds x 6 no chance lol

Just need to sort the code for my touch screen now

Kev

[Mark J]

Got my PCB layout done, so tomorrow if I get chance, I'll dig out my etching gear and get the board etched etc.
Just got a couple of tiny boards to build, ie small breakout board for the power distribution point for the 2x24V driver boards and the 5V logic PCB and a small breakout board for the USB connector so I can have it positioned on the side of the light unit without having to have the main PCB bolted to the edge etc.

Apart from that, I THINK ive got everything I need apart from the cladding to put it all in so it looks nice and neat above the tank rather than a load of girders and a mad professors workbench perched on top lol!!!

Also a good thing with doing all the seperate boards is that if anything goes wrong or ive made a boo-boo it means I dont have to rebuild the whole thing etc.

[Mark J]

Decided to check the software I had written and after some testing, found a fair few glitches which after a few hours chipping away at, is now finally solid! changed the timing code to link exactly to the RTC seconds so it now works spot on, and also had to basically rewrite the auto adjustment time code as I must have been half asleep when I initially wrote it as it was really flawed lol! but now it works great! so no matter if a power cut happens, once it comes back on, the code does its magic and knows exactly where it needs to be in the daily cycle and if its in the fade in/out sections, it also knows exactly what the PWM signal needs to be and then carrys on like nothing happened :D

Now ive resintalled windowz (again!) will hook up the laser printer tomorrow and get the PCB printed so I can transfer to the PCB board and get it etched, then just look out for the huge mushroom cloud coming from south of the Humber for when I plug it in LOL!!!!...

[Mark J]

They work! lol!!!!

Logic stuff is still on the breadboard, but only because I couldnt be ar5ed to lob the chip and LCD onto the pcb I etched the other day lol!

11437

[reefergeek]

Good man, whats the pic your using. Is that a 20x4 display

[Mark J]

im using a pic 18F2455 as its got the USB on it so that way can write the USB PC software same as on the other project. One of the things I wasnt keen on with the Arduino on the darkside was that its not 'real' USB but still uses the serial stuff etc. too long winded for me lol! I like it to be easy to change the settings (as can be seen in the PC software I did for the powerhead things)

yeah its a 20x4 display, same one as on the other project (will need to order another one though when I build the enclosure for the light unit lol!)

[reefergeek]

yeah the arduino has the built in serial to usb converter, just been looking at the displays quite cheap

also found this, just been uploading it and playing around with the code

http://www.nzmas.co.nz/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=10339

daft question does that chip support pwm

got 3 lcds for mine now lol nokia 3310 shield, 2.4" colour touch screen and the 16x2 haven't got a clue where to start with the code for the touch screen lol

[Mark J]

yeah the chip has 2 hardware PWM ports, but can also set pretty much any of the other pins as software PWM as well.

Not sure myself on the touch screen, but im sure a scan on google will come up with examples. Would be nice to use, but a bit overkill really lol. Maybe look at one at some point just to see if I can get one working etc.

[reefergeek]

have you heard of one called reef angel ? check out this all free source code as well

http://www.reefangel.com/Download.ashx

[Mark J]

yeah remember hearing something about it a while ago, nice bit of kit and good that its open source too!

[reefergeek]

Just been looking through the code seems a lot better than the Krusduino code i think the screens they use are these

http://www.nuelectronics.com/estore/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10

fired an email across to check, for £20 will be easier buying a screen to fit the code instead of making the code fit the screen

[Mark J]

hehe yeah always easier if the code is already written and tested etc, saves the headache of blowing up stuff trying to figure it out etc lol!!!

[Mark J]

PHEW! Wrote the PC side to allow me to change the settings for my light unit, and jeez its amazing how quick you get rusty when you dont keep at something as C/C++ for this is a once in a while when needed kind of usage so easily forget how things work lol.

As you can see, I can control all the params of the LED's (not bothered with cloud cover at the mo, may do in a future version, but WONT be doing the storm stuff as looking at the video a few pages ago, it would do my head in been sat watching TV and the lights flashing all over the place lol!)

Just got to figure out how to read in the current PC clock time so that when I update the PIC, it will automatically update the clock to the current time :) (Wish me luck trying to fathom out Microshafts online manual malarky that takes months to find even the simplest stuff lol!)

Anyway, here's a pic of the PC side (ignore the graphic, not got round to change that yet, as spent the evening getting all the sliders working hehehe....

11445

[Mark J]

PS, notice how its all sliders? that's because im lazy and cant be bothered typing loads of params in, so it is all done with the mouse hehehehe... I mean, why use a keyboard when you use the mouse to open the program, so may as well keep using it to change the settings LOL!!!!!

[Macca]

reminds me of my visual basic days working with serial ports :think:

[Mark J]

Eww I had a look at visual basic and hated it! Basic is supposed to be... Well 'basic' that one just looked a mess lol.

[Mark J]

Well last night I got the clock displaying on the pc program and now just need to work out how to convert the decimal values into the correct hex format on the pic side as decimal 23 dosn't just need converting to hex as that is $17 it needs converting to $23 so that's a job for later this evening as building the enclosure at the mo.

[Mark J]

PH-EW! the PC and Pic code are both now done!!!!!
The clock data conversion wasnt quite as above, as I had forgot that the data is BCD not normal binary/hex stuff lol! had me scratching my head for a bit but now its working great!

Can read the data from the Pic into the PC program, can all be edited and then squirted back down to the Pic and away it carries on like magic hehehe....

Hopefully if tomorrow is decent, will get the canopy primed and then painted AND if I get time, will etch the new PCB (as added a control pin for the fans, so that way, theyre not running 24/7, but only when the LED's are actually on)

Got a couple of 120mm fans to pick up off my mate tomorrow too, sooooooooooooo all things going as they should, it could be up and running over the tank early next week...

[reefergeek]

Good man, Need to find around £400 to finish mine off lol At least my controllers done now will get the heatsinks ordered then the 2 x 36v psus and finally the remaining leds

[reefergeek]

Know of any good tutorials on pic programming, is the code the same as the arduino code or is it easier lol

[Guest101]

it the same language C, just the .H files are different google "winpicprog" for pic programming in .asm, "googligum" is a good tutorial site in both .C and .asm

[Mark J]

erm. in certain instances its easier than C, but I seem to get on with it ok lol....


Try this link for some tutorials on picbasic (yup! basic lol!) etc, shows allsorts of different things etc. and ive used it for a while as I find it pretty straight forward (Apart from all the fuse settings LOL!)

http://www.rentron.com/PicBasic1.htm

[reefergeek]

Shall have a read up and get some pdfs guides downloaded, Thinking of a new hobby again now got the bug from the arduino build

[Mark J]

LOL!!!!

Its fun especially when you get into the actual electronics side of things too as then when youve built it up yourself, you get a better sense of whats involved and that good feeling knowing you put all the bits together and get it working.

[reefergeek]

I have always had one problem of many lol cant seem to get my head around how transistors can block flow in one direction even diodes as well, need moving parts to switch flow of electrons lol old school bring back point and condensers on cars i was well happy then lol

Would like to build a mp3 player thats linked to all the pcs media and is wireless all over the house, my mate built an logitech squeezbox in to his old fireplace looked quite well but the display was quite dim

[Mark J]

Know what you mean! I still dont fully understand them either, all I concentrate on is that they do a job and to be honest, dont give a monkies on HOW it does it lol!.

I tend to draw a blank on knowing what resistors and capacitors etc to use for a particular reason etc! Luckily, the nets full of examples and usually find what your pretty much after etc.

Heres my latest PCB design for my lighting (bear in mind the other bits are on seperate boards, so dont be wondering where all the rest is LOL!)

11452

[Mark J]

Fingers crossed tomorrow the light unit should be done as never got chance to etch the new pcb today.
All I have to do is etch and populate the pcb then screw a few wires in and it's ready for hanging once I've modded the hanging bracket lol, as because my tank is so close to the walls, I had to turn the bits that hang over the edge if the tank around which moves the vertical bars inwards which is just that little bit too narrow to fit the new canopy in lol!!!

[Mark J]

Well, its 99.9% done, just got a few bits to tweek on the canopy so the framework can slide in and out without clonking the RTC module and the heatsink of the power regulators lol! made a few simple mistakes when putting it together as in wired up the blues to the white control pin and visa versa LOL!!! but a few tweeks tomorrow and all been well, it will be in action above the tank :D

[Marine Life Uk]

Love people who can do this, I wouldnt know where to even start.
Ill have a full read through later no doubt ill be none the wiser by the end of it lol

[Mark J]

LOL, bear in mind as you read through, the first part (upto a few pages ago) is to do with my previous project that I have still yet to finish! Only reason I deviated onto the LED unit is because I finally got all the bits together and wanted to get it built as my T5's will be due for renewal shortly and dont want to be buying replacement tubes for it.
Will no doubt be advertising my T5 unit shortly too as will not be needed anymore (modded it to have 2 power cords so can independantly control 2 tubes each (oh, its a 4x24W unit)

Will pop some new pics up tomorrow hopefully when its dangling above the tank :D

[Mark J]

The lights are up yay!! Will upload a pic when I get on my laptop.

[Mark J]

pic time :)

Not a great pic as taken with my phone, but you get the idea of how bright it is and thats with the LED's only running at 50% so I dont shock the cr4p out of the corals LOL!!!
Can see the LCD display lit on the front and just to the right of it is a button to illuminate the screen when it goes off as got it set to turn off the backlight after 1 min (can be as low as 10 secs ;) )

11503

PS. the living room light is on as well, not that it really looks like it as the light shafts on the wall overpower the light from the normal bulb lol.

[Mark J]

Oooo just had to add another post, as noticed current post count was 666 LOL!! now I DONT want to tempt fate hehehe....

[reefergeek]

lol Did the same when i was there

[reefergeek]

Looks well, what size is your tank again ?

Got the same tank light hanger there decent units and quite cheap

You will have to put links up of leds and equipment used if possible

nice build

[Mark J]

hehehe....

erm tank size is 38Lx16Wx17H (therabouts lol!!) odd size as made it to fit the stand as old tank was a standard 36Lx12Wx15H which left an edge all round the stand which I didnt like, so went and built my own tank to fit hehehe...

[Mark J]

yeah the light bracket is pretty nice, had to mod it a touch though as with my tank been so close to each wall, I had to turn the grip things around and when I put the new light unit on I had to slice down along the length of the bits that hang over the tank glass to get it to fit! And it ONLY just fit LOL!!

Will sort out a list of parts etc and put links to them probably sometime this weekend.

[Tangman]

Looking good Mark your a clever guy and missing your way as LEDs are the in thing and you could make some coin at it, keep up the good work and keep putting pics up. Twiggy

[Mark J]

Cheers Eric :)
The only problem with making things like this to sell etc is it costs a fortune to get it passed etc as my mate looked into making his viv controller thing and to sell properly it's easily a few grand for them to ok it etc and ANY changes you have to do it again!
And they wonder why british innovation/manufacture has gone down the pan!!!

[reefergeek]

Def agree with that to much red tape to pass, Could build them for friends as a hobby but not commercially. My light stand when i bought it i forgot i have no glass side to sit them over so just got it sat on the side brace bars still sturdy without been secured

[charley]

That is a superb build !!

[Mark J]

Got a pic this morning of the blues fading in, cant get a true representation of the blue from my phone, but also read that it takes a LOT of tweeking in photoshop to get them looking close and i cant be bothered lol!

blues were at around 18%

Had to take them down at the mo as spotted a little glitch that needs sorting, but should be back up tomorrow.

11504

[reefergeek]

Why do cameras hate taking pics of the blues struggle with my iphone n97 and the nikon

[Mark J]

Phew! After a few niggles it's back up running above the tank :)
Will try and get some more pics later on.

[Mark J]

Well so far so good! Left it plugged in last night and the house hasn't burnt down or the mains fuses blown so that's a good sign I think lol

[Mark J]

Sooo cool just plugging the USB into the lights, adjusting the brightness etc and a quick click on 'update settings' and whoosh the lights adjust :) no typing loads of variables in etc.

[Mark J]

Well my lights are still going strong and coz I'm bored I think it's time to dig out and dust off my powerhead project again and actually get it finished!!
Luckily it's 90ish% done so it 'shouldn't' take too much to get it to a working state again.

[Guest101]

What powerhead are you using ?

[Mark J]

At the mo they're a pair of jad powerheads that have a simple basic controller. Eventually when funds allow I would like to change them for a pair of the controllable tunze nano streams if I can use them as still not found the info on the dc ones yet.

[Guest101]

Eventually when funds allow I would like to change them for a pair of the controllable tunze nano streams if I can use them as still not found the info on the dc ones yet.

Do you mean you havnt found info on controling tunze?

[Mark J]

Mainly what voltage they run at and what connectors they use etc. I've not really looked much to be honest as with mainly working on my light unit, but I will be trying to get some more info about them so I can factor them in for ease of changing when I get rich enough to buy a couple lol.

[Guest101]

tunze use a 6 pin 180deg din plug ive got pin diagrams and schematics for a wave controller if there any use to you? I did post them in the DIY section a long while ago.

[Mark J]

Yeah that would be great if you could :)

[Guest101]

There on my other comp so ill post them up tomorrow for you

[Mark J]

Nice one. Much appreciated, just need to win the lottery to actually afford to buy a few lol.

[Guest101]

im working on a controller for the resun wavemaker, they are much cheaper abit big but they dont look to out of place

[Mark J]

Yeah the ones I have are big and in a smaller tank like mine are a but too big I think. Think you can see them at each end of the tank pics in this thread.
You using pics? Or the leaning towers of arduino's? Hehe.
Will have to get myself used to the code for mine again on both the pic side and the settings program on the pc. One if the main problems I remember on the proto was that as soon as I took it off the breadboard and populated the pcb the USB wouldn't recognise but since found out why so will be able to sort that out easily enough now as that was REALLY doing my head in at the time.

[ROB]

im working on a controller for the resun wavemaker, they are much cheaper abit big but they dont look to out of place

They would in your nano :laugh:

[Mark J]

these are the dimensions for the powerheads ive got and a pic of them (no need for them to be so big im sure, and the shape is naff I think, not even propellors in them, just impellors so probably VERY inefficient.)
sizes: 110mm x 108mm x 113mm
12030

[Mark J]

Eeeewwwww!!!! just did a google on the resun wavemakers and holy $%^$ those are huge ar5ed ugly looking things LOL!! and I thought mine were big and ugly!

[Guest101]

Heres the schematic for a Tunze wave controller

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k48/johnl69/schematicWaveBox.jpg

and the pin diagram

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k48/johnl69/PinOut.gif







Copyright: these designs are the property of me and are free to use and share for NON commercial use, any one found using these for commercial use WILL be prosecuted.

[Guest101]

They would in your nano :laugh:


But just imagine the flow, SPS heaven :laugh:

[Mark J]

thanks for the schematic John, I notice they run on 12V which is nice, as the ones i have are power hungry 24v jobbies.
At only having a quick glance, I see that it uses 3 wires, GND, 12V and a control wire?? or are my eyes just totally strained today and seeing it wrong? hehehe...

[cl0wn]

Eeeewwwww!!!! just did a google on the resun wavemakers and holy $%^$ those are huge ar5ed ugly looking things LOL!! and I thought mine were big and ugly!

i have one, they're not the bonniest of things but, put in a wave box, a lot of the bodywork could be removed. careful use of a dremel could reduce a lot of the front end bulkiness.

[Guest101]

thanks for the schematic John, I notice they run on 12V which is nice, as the ones i have are power hungry 24v jobbies.
At only having a quick glance, I see that it uses 3 wires, GND, 12V and a control wire?? or are my eyes just totally strained today and seeing it wrong? hehehe...

Your correct, pin1 is the control, pin 2 is Gnd and pin 3 is supply.
This circuit takes its power from the tunze transformer box, if your using a voltage above 12v then you will need to drop the power going to the chip and then conect a transistor to the control pin and control the pump through this.

[reefergeek]

So whats the control a pwm feed ?

[Guest101]

So whats the control a pwm feed ?

This circuit or tunze?

this circuit is a simple On/Off

To vary the speed you need a 1 -8v sine wave

[Mark J]

Your correct, pin1 is the control, pin 2 is Gnd and pin 3 is supply.
This circuit takes its power from the tunze transformer box, if your using a voltage above 12v then you will need to drop the power going to the chip and then conect a transistor to the control pin and control the pump through this.

ahh I get you, so if you bought one of the powerheads without the controller (I presume you can buy them without an electronic controller) it'll pretty much have something like a pot inline to allow the user to adjust the flow rate and then feed the voltage through the pot into the powerhead itself? or do they just tap the power through to the control pin so that it runs at 100% (so its basically non adjustable unless you plug in thier controller etc)

Hope you get what im waffling about LOL!

so if the powerhead is getting the 12v direct, is the control pin using 12v as well? or does that get dropped to 5v which tends to be the norm when using something in a PWM kind of way to control the actual speed?

[Guest101]

ahh I get you, so if you bought one of the powerheads without the controller (I presume you can buy them without an electronic controller) it'll pretty much have something like a pot inline to allow the user to adjust the flow rate and then feed the voltage through the pot into the powerhead itself? or do they just tap the power through to the control pin so that it runs at 100% (so its basically non adjustable unless you plug in thier controller etc)

Hope you get what im waffling about LOL!

so if the powerhead is getting the 12v direct, is the control pin using 12v as well? or does that get dropped to 5v which tends to be the norm when using something in a PWM kind of way to control the actual speed?

On the transformer is a power dial (small pot with a screw driver slot) this is used to control the power if not used with a controller.

From what info ive gathered the pump is 12v, the control pin need between 0 and 8 volts to control the speed but can handle 12v.

The control system is similar to what is used for T5 dimming you just apply a voltage to the control pin 0v would be off 4v would be 50% and 8v would be full on

[Mark J]

cool, sounds like it should be easily hooked up to a DIY controller then. yet another thing to add to my wishlist LOL! the Mrs is gonna love me adding yet MORE stuff to what I want for the tank etc!

Thats one good thing with doing your own electronics etc as easy to modify/change the hardware and code to accomodate something better, as wont take much to change my code and hardware for 12V and stuff.

[reefergeek]

ah so it can be run by a led dimming arduino if you change the output to 0-8v from 0-5v which can be done by the ICL7667