www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks
and a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

dennis@home laid this down on his screen :
the direction is hard, maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical
sensors unless someone has an easier way?

A tiny magnet fixed on the moving disk and four or eight tiny reed
switches around the circumference, is what some commercial systems use.
If the 'tail' of the vane, forms a Y from above, there will be less
tendency for the vane to flutter in the wind.

Harry Bloomfield pretended :
dennis@home laid this down on his screen :
the direction is hard, maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical
sensors unless someone has an easier way?

A tiny magnet fixed on the moving disk and four or eight tiny reed switches
around the circumference, is what some commercial systems use. If the 'tail'
of the vane, forms a Y from above, there will be less tendency for the vane
to flutter in the wind.

I meant to add, you can encode the reed switches with resistors.
Measure the resistance, you have the wind direction, but be wary of
times when two adjacent reeds might be activated - it would need to
produce a value between the two adjacent reeds.

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...
www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks and
a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

What's available if you want full wifi access at a low cost for permanent
temperature sensors for stuff like fridges and freezers ?

Dont need it for room temp anymore, the Hue motion sensors
that I use instead of any light switches have a temperature sensor
for no extra cost. Stupid price tho. But I decided that I have so
much cash that there is no way it will all get spent now before
I die, so I've stopped caring about the price.

And just typing that makes me think I should put one in the
letterbox so I get told when it gets opened, and it shouldnt
be too hard to ensure that it can't get pinched easily by having
a plate screwed in over it. Not sure if it will work tho since the
letterbox is all metal so the wifi can't easily get out. Maybe
I just need a plastic box under the letterbox with a hole in
the bottom of the letterbox that the sensor looks thru.

Maybe another for the back gate.

Rod Speed wrote:

What's available if you want full wifi access at a low cost for permanent
temperature sensors for stuff like fridges and freezers ?

ESP826

the letterbox is all metal so the wifi can't easily get out.

If there's a slot for letters to get in, quite likely wifi will get out

On 07/05/18 17:40, dennis@home wrote:
www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks
and a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?



Sounds very nice - I'm going to check this out

On 07/05/2018 17:40, dennis@home wrote:
www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks
and a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?


https://xod.io/ worked. The OP web address didn't seem to

Andy Burns wrote
Rod Speed wrote

What's available if you want full wifi access at a low cost for permanent
temperature sensors for stuff like fridges and freezers ?

ESP826

Yeah, forgot about those, thanks for that.

the letterbox is all metal so the wifi can't easily get out.

If there's a slot for letters to get in,

There isnt. Its a big metal box, big enough to
take a boxed set of LP records and quite a bit
thicker boxes, with a hinged lid on top, no slot.
Stands vertically with boxed LP records that it
never gets anymore.

And our letterboxes are outside, not in the front door.

quite likely wifi will get out

Likely better to have it under the box with a plastic
cover, plenty of solid plastic boxes like that. One the
same size as the bottom of the box would work well.

With the back gate a Hue motion sensor under
there should work fine and would allow it to
be moved around to get the best location.

Cant do that with the letterbox, its on the wing wall
of the house 10' away from the eaves. Tho it might
be worth trying one on the patio door there, they
do work fine that far away inside the house and
would be less vulnerable to deliberate damage.

On 07/05/2018 18:52, Rod Speed wrote:

And just typing that makes me think I should put one in the
letterbox so I get told when it gets opened, and it shouldnt
be too hard to ensure that it can't get pinched easily by having
a plate screwed in over it. Not sure if it will work tho since the
letterbox is all metal so the wifi can't easily get out. Maybe
I just need a plastic box under the letterbox with a hole in
the bottom of the letterbox that the sensor looks thru.

Cheap ultrasonic distance sensor so you know how big the package is?

Put a magnet on the flap and a reed switch to detect it opening and an
esp8266 to send the data?

dennis@home wrote
Rod Speed wrote

And just typing that makes me think I should put one in the
letterbox so I get told when it gets opened, and it shouldnt
be too hard to ensure that it can't get pinched easily by having
a plate screwed in over it. Not sure if it will work tho since the
letterbox is all metal so the wifi can't easily get out. Maybe
I just need a plastic box under the letterbox with a hole in
the bottom of the letterbox that the sensor looks thru.

Cheap ultrasonic distance sensor so you know how big the package is?

Dont care how big it is, I want to get it before someone
helps themselves to it, even if its just a letter, So just
need to know when the lid is opened, even if its just
some arsehole checking if there is anything in it etc.

Put a magnet on the flap and a reed switch to detect it opening and an
esp8266 to send the data?

The problem with the esp8266 over a Hue motion
sensor is powering it and having it fully integrated
with the homekit system that all the other hue
motion sensors currently use. That something
another hue motion sensor would do trivially
and they do the battery power themselves too.

While they are stupidly priced, all I need to do
is something very basic to stop any arsehole
from taking it away and to allow the wifi to
work. They are zigbee so range isnt a problem,
they talk to any other in the system.

I've not heard of any of this. When you can build really useful stuff when
you cannot see that interfaces via one of the voice assistants, then we have
really arrived.
Wind direction? No grey scale is really too analogue. I'd have thought some
kind of digital direction indicator already existed. Don't they have them in
phones to tell which way around it is?
Brian

--
----- -
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...

Blind user, so no pictures please!
"dennis@home" wrote in message
...
www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks and
a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

Brian Gaff wrote

I've not heard of any of this.

Then you need a new NHS hearing aid, for free.

When you can build really useful stuff when you cannot see that interfaces
via one of the voice assistants, then we have really arrived.

We have already. I just tell Siri what to do.

Wind direction? No grey scale is really too analogue. I'd have thought
some kind of digital direction indicator already existed. Don't they have
them in phones to tell which way around it is?

Yep, called a compass.

"dennis@home" wrote in message
...
www.xod.io is an IDE which is like lego, join up blocks and set the data
and uploaded it to your arduino and away you go.

downloaded it yesterday and built a weather station using a temp and
humidity sensor and a rain drop sensor (simple one that is just tracks
and a comparator chip). With a I2C 1602 LCD and a buzzer.

Displays temp humidity on one line and dry rain on the other and falshes
the backlight and sounds the buzzer when raining.

Did take a nand gate and an and gate to get it to work though.

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

On Mon, 7 May 2018 17:40:44 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

My Oregon Scientific WX200 station uses a stationary reed switch and
moving magnet for wind speed. Direction is from a variable resistor
with no stops and a track that almost meets.

A Grey encoded disc would be a little coarse unless you had a lot of
"bits" and some means of getting each of those bits to your 'duino.
Variable pot the resolution is down to the number of bits of you ADC,
8 bits - 1.4 degrees. Must see if I can source one, the one in
service is begining in to show it's age, maybe up to 20 years.

--
Cheers
Dave.

On 08/05/2018 09:27, Brian Gaff wrote:
I've not heard of any of this. When you can build really useful stuff when
you cannot see that interfaces via one of the voice assistants, then we have
really arrived.
Wind direction? No grey scale is really too analogue. I'd have thought some
kind of digital direction indicator already existed. Don't they have them in
phones to tell which way around it is?
Brian


You can get magnetometers and build a magnetic compass with one.
The problem being that the sensor and electronics would be on the moving
bit and so would the battery which starts to increase the inertia and
hence its ability to track the wind direction.
Not putting the battery in the moving bit would require slip rings or
similar to get the power over and they wear and create friction.

On 08/05/2018 14:49, Dave Liquorice wrote:
On Mon, 7 May 2018 17:40:44 +0100, dennis@home wrote:

Next is add a wind speed sensor and direction, the direction is hard,
maybe a grey scale encoded disk and some optical sensors unless someone
has an easier way?

My Oregon Scientific WX200 station uses a stationary reed switch and
moving magnet for wind speed. Direction is from a variable resistor
with no stops and a track that almost meets.

A Grey encoded disc would be a little coarse unless you had a lot of
"bits" and some means of getting each of those bits to your 'duino.
Variable pot the resolution is down to the number of bits of you ADC,
8 bits - 1.4 degrees. Must see if I can source one, the one in
service is begining in to show it's age, maybe up to 20 years.


That's doing well, the bearing failed in my maplin wind speed sensor
after only 7 years. Note: must get a new bearing off ebay now maplin
don't do spares.