Hello all . I would like your input and suggestions about my little first time project using Arduino .
What I basically want to do is install 2 ultrasonic water sensors to measure how much water my tanks have . And feed that data to a monitor in my house .
Now I found this in AliExpress ;
~~http://s.aliexpress.com/7FBfMJBf~~ But what else do I need ? How will I connect power to it and what other Arduino modules I need to make it work ?! Please be generous with your suggestions as I have never done something like this before so I want to learn as much as possible .
Thank you .
EDIT : re-hashed my project with legit list, looking for your opinion ;>
this is my system diagram.
the solar cell at the top can be ignored as its an idea for now, am mainly relying on AA batteries at 3.7v to power the components .
now, ideally i want to connect this to a small display that shows graphical/numeral info of the water tank level, maybe some average water spenditure per hour or day, but thats code work.
i want to make an android app for my self that i can check water level from this orange pi (host server on the orange pi )
each sensor will be connected to an arduino listed on number 4-, that transmits the data wirelessly using the RF tx transmitter, with a receiver connected directly to the Pi .
what do you guys think ? is there anything missing? is something wrong/incompatible ?
Power can be via an outlet or if you want it to run on battery, anything over 5 volts will work, although dont go crazy because the Arduino will take 5 and basically waste the rest so its inefficient to use anything too much higher than it. 4 AA batteries will do.
Feeding the data can be done in a number of ways. You didn't specify what type you want or how far it is from your monitor so I'm going to rule out Ethernet and wired. You can use a bluetooth, wifi, or even xbee shields to communicate although xbee would require a second Arduino. There are other options too these just came up at the top of my head.
To display on the monitor you can use processing (another programming language similarish to c++ but focused on visuals), I'm not very experienced with processing so excuse me if that isn't a correct description. You can also possibly connect it to an Android and make an app using mit app inventor if you've never created one before. You can also make a web server And even have it port forwarded to work anywhere in the world, although I'm assuming you wont need that. You can have the serial monitor open on the monitor although it certainly wouldn't be pretty. That's all I can think of at the moment but I hope one of my ideas was useful to you. Good luck
simlol12:
Hello all . I would like your input and suggestions about my little first time project using Arduino .
What I basically want to do is install 4 ultrasonic water sensors to measure how much water my tanks have . And feed that data to a monitor in my house .
But what else do I need ? How will I connect power to it and what other Arduino modules I need to make it work ?! Please be generous with your suggestions as I have never done something like this before so I want to learn as much as possible .
Thank you .
How far apart are the water tanks? 1 controller can run the lot.
How far to the house room you want the monitor? Could an LCD panel serve as the display? Or something made of leds?
There are 4 tanks in total. 2 on the roof and 2 under the building ( building has basement garage + water tanks room )
The 2 roof tanks are 10m apart. While the roof is approx 30m away from our flat . The basement tanks are 5 meters apart and 40 meters away from our flat .
Now I was thinking of wirelessly connecting them all to my flat . Because it might be difficult to get approx 100~m long cable(whatever type that delivers both power and can transfer data ? Can only think of usb ).
But I don't know what component I should get that would make it work . Bluetooth is too short so definitely wifi . But ofc wifi needs extra Arduino IC and more power draw which might rule out battery usage .
For the monitor . I guess lcd would be fine . Preferebly with touch capability because if the initial setup works well I will want to upgrade it and hook my water motor ( pumps from basement tanks to roof tanks) to pump water at will using the lcd control or automate it if water falls below a certain value .
But what do I need for all this ?! Am Abit lost really . But am determined to make this work
As I look at search Arduino cable component . It sounds impractical and impossible to get a 40~m Arduino cable anywhere so I think wireless is the way to go
The first obvious thing to do before you settle on wireless is to check both tank locations and verify that your wireless signal is usable there. My scheme to use it over a similar distance was stymied by a few brick walls in the way.
If it works, consider running a web server on one of the microcontrollers and it can render a page that performs your monitoring function
For the shorter runs, look into CAT cable at your home building supply stores and a box of telecom splices (like 3M Skotchloks) since CAT wires are very thin. You don't have to strip or solder what you splice (thin wire to jumper gauge) but splices are only cheap compared to telecom pro hourly rates.
Shielded CAT cable is affordable and with the shield grounded does not get affected by external field changes.
That can cut the number of radios down about half.
It's a shame the sensors aren't 1-wire bus. It's comparatively slow (to Arduino but faster than humans) but can support long runs very cheaply on 1 or 2 strands (2 if you add a power wire) that can have multiple devices.
I'm not sure what it would take to connect Arduinos to a 1-wire bus, likely more code than hardware.
That might get you down to a single pair of radios while saving bucks.
For a fast highspeed wired serial bus that can go long distances there is RS485 good for hundreds of meters.
With radios or RS485 you want to get modules and use external power supply as needed.
Know your options, the more you have the better choices you can make.
Another option for the sensor might be to use a BMP085 in a pipe (sealed at the top) to measure pressure and so get the water level. It would also give the air temperature in the pipe which might be nice to know.
Here is a video where somebody has used a BMP085 with I2C to an Arduino;
As far as networking goes I use wireless but I have combined it with three Power Line Carrier modules that use the mains cabling in my house to give wired ethernet connections in some rooms. Your have two water tanks in a basement garage so there may be mains there and PLC might be an option. Of course you need at least a pair of PLC modules plus ethernet shields which adds to the cost.
ardly:
As far as networking goes I use wireless but I have combined it with three Power Line Carrier modules that use the mains cabling in my house to give wired ethernet connections in some rooms. Your have two water tanks in a basement garage so there may be mains there and PLC might be an option. Of course you need at least a pair of PLC modules plus ethernet shields which adds to the cost.
I like your other points and I wonder if these modules you use are like the X10 products?
X10 that I remember from the 70's are self-contained and plug into regular outlets.
They weren't cheap but not excessively expensive back then, even at Radio Shack.
I use TP-Link modules they have more models now, here is the link to the UK versions;
When I first looked at putting a network in the house PLC options were limited and a bit pricey. Now they offer high performance and a good way to create a hybrid wired/wireless network at a reasonable cost. They are a neat way to get to those parts where wireless reception is poor.
I plugged AC Pass through units into wall sockets so that I could still use the wall sockets for power.
My wireless router has a wired ethernet connection to one unit. I have three units in all. It was very easy to get the units to talk to one another, I am not sure what the maximum number of units you can link together is. Since there is encryption used between the units I don't think security is a concern.
simlol12:
Hello all . I would like your input and suggestions about my little first time project using Arduino .
What I basically want to do is install 2 ultrasonic water sensors to measure how much water my tanks have . And feed that data to a monitor in my house .
Now I found this in AliExpress ;
~~http://s.aliexpress.com/7FBfMJBf~~ But what else do I need ? How will I connect power to it and what other Arduino modules I need to make it work ?! Please be generous with your suggestions as I have never done something like this before so I want to learn as much as possible .
Thank you .
EDIT : re-hashed my project with legit list, looking for your opinion ;>
now, ideally i want to connect this to a small display that shows graphical/numeral info of the water tank level, maybe some average water spenditure per hour or day, but thats code work.
i want to make an android app for my self that i can check water level from this orange pi (host server on the orange pi )
but most importantly each sensor will be connected to an arduino listed on number 4-, that transmits the data wirelessly using the RF tx transmitter, with a receiver connected directly to the Pi .
what do you guys think ? is there anything missing? is something wrong/incompatible ?
hey guys please check my update, could really use more input !
dude, you're seriously not helpful, i understand what a system diagram means i didn't ask for a definition, i asked for an example and you've not once actually suggested or discussed anything regarding my topic .
