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[Reply #30 on:]

hi folks,

i just received a few others items. ORP probe, casing, some butttons, my crystal lcd with serial input, just to name a few.

I want to finish the phase 1 asap, which will be the automated water leveling, reporting/alarming over internet, and basic stats gathering (ph, orp, temp, air moisture, light).

I'm still waiting for my arduino mega (need more input/output!), me w5100 shield (the cheap enc23452345 is a piece of junk!) and my floating sensor. I've met the guy who will install my pool and we agreed on my design (second simili-skimmer in the shed). I will send my plan to some local metal shop to get a few quotes and see how much I'll end up paying. I don't expect to pay more than 200$ for this.

I should be able to work on the final look of my enclosure with all the input/output and post some pics over the week-end. stay tune! sorry if i don't have much right now, we are working on getting what we want regarding the pool itself! (which represent a huge investment).

[Reply #31 on:]

Don't worry about how long this takes.  You'll be building and experimenting for months before you get it the way you want it and then changing it for as long as you have it.  The fun is in the process.  Yeah, that sounds like some spiritual movie crap, but it's actually the truth.  Some of my most interesting projects were tough to figure out and took a long time to get right.  Plus, the bragging rights only come when you can explain how complex the problem was to someone that is actually listening to you.  Heck, I've spent a couple of weeks just trying to figure out how to hook up a solar heating panel and not have it come apart when the pressure is applied.  That's going to be quite a story eventually.

So play with your new stuff and take a lot of pictures so you can show it off.