Diagnostic readout

Projects General Guidance
1

Hi all,
I am definatly a noob when it comes to this but here is my scenario. I have 2 12VDC power supplies in series inside a case that I would like to monitor. I have outputs for 12vdc and 24vdc. I have 2 PC fans to help move air through the case for cooling. I was thinking about using Arduino to monitor the incoming AC voltage and current, inside temp, outside temp, DC voltage and Amperage. I was also thinking about having the inside temp sensor trigger the fans to slow them when they're not needed and run them full when it's too hot. All this info to a LCD display mounted to the exterior of the case. Which Arduino boards/components would you all recommend for such an adventure?

I have been looking around and found some displays from New Haven that I liked and I have found some different temp sensors and Ammeters. But I'm not too sure if there is a particular type I should be searching for.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Josh M.
Denver, CO

2

For display of data, you just cannot beat the generic 16x2 display available from nearly all parts sources (SPARKFUN, DIGIKEY, MOUSER< JAMECO, etc) used with the LCD library. You can have it display what ever you collect for data, IE; temperature, voltage etc. You can use a cheap analog LM34DZ for temperature measurement, using the built in A/D. Sensing Load on the AC side is more complicated than on the DC side, as there are readily available DC high side current monitors from Zetex and you could use a Voltage Divider circuit to measure the "output" voltages. (one of the few correct applications of a voltage divider, btw)

You are likely looking at dedicated meters... which are nice, but not flexible, like the arduino. (IE Each meter would be dedicated to a function... taking up space)