I hope this is the right forum to introduce myself.
My first arduino project is wireless control of front and back door lights.
I have installed 260 inches of this 12v LED strip:
http://www.ledwholesalers.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=887
into my front steps.
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The back door has a motion controlled light, when switched on the motion
detector will apply power. This has never been reliable.
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My estimate of maximum power consumed by the LED strip is 32W as shown
here. Their rating is 24W for a 16.4 foot reel. So my power estimate is
260 in. X (24w / 197in) ~= 32W.
The strip is too bright by itself so I use a PWM dimmer from
LEDWholesalers set about as low as it will go.
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For both lights I want wireless control of
* manual on/off
* set length of timer on duration
For the front LED strip
* enable/disable of turn on at sunset darkness
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My Arduino experience consists of soldering up an Evil Mad Scientist
Diavolino and breadboarding an OLED display and 3 push buttons. I wrote
a sketch to display a count of the number of presses for each button. Easy
peasy as I was a C programmer in my distant past.
When I heard of the JeeLabs products available at Modern Devices I
thought that this would be a reasonable project, using a Jee LED node
at the steps and a JeeNode as the interface unit. As I worked on details
of using JeeLabs products I decided to look for other radio arduinos as
an aternative.
The Moteino and MoteinoUSB look like they may be a more flexible platform.
My current thought is to use a Jee LEDnode on the front LED strip and
a Moteino on the rear light and a MoteinoUSB connected to a RaspberryPi
as the user interface.
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I'm a software developer and have definite ideas about how to put the
network software together. This is subject to change if it proves
impractical, but is based on experience.
An http based network node will consist of a Raspberry Pi with an attached
MoteinoUSB. The http service will be written with JRuby/Oracle JVM (I
use this platform in my production work). The Pi <-> MoteinoUSB will be
done with Socat to integrate the serial port into the HTTP/TCP framework
I'm familiar with.
From what I've seen Python or Node.js platforms are popular, but I want
to try and build on the success I've had with a JRuby/JVM platform.
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So there's a long introduction. I'm trying to plan out using Moteino
and MoteinoUSB as my preferred radio solution for now.
I think Moteinos will work well for what you want to do.
If you already have the JeeNode LED then use it, otherwise I would use only Moteinos because it's easier to make them work together. People on this forum have made JeeNodes and Moteinos talk to each other, but it adds complexity.
So let me go through your system from the bottom (LEDs) up (to the RaspberryPi).
Does the your dimmer have a PWM input so you can send it a PWM signal to dim the LEDs? If so, that's good as you can drive it with one of the Moteino IO pins that support PWM.
For manual on/off, a SwitchMote would be a good choice. Otherwise, will you have a switch (wall mounted?) wired to the Moteino controlling the LED lights?
Timers for the lights are easy to do with any Arduino board, like Moteino.
For sunset you could have the RasPi pull the sunset data for your location, I imagine the RasPi will have access to the internet.
To detect darkness it's pretty easy to connect a photocell to a Moteino analog input.
The MoteinoUSB should connect to the RasPi OK. You can also use the serial port of a non-USB Moteino to talk to the RasPi.
Socat will work. I prefer to use a Python program to talk to the gateway Moteino over serial so I can have it do more than just send data to the web front end, like processing the data from the Moteinos and logging.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
If you already have the JeeNode LED then use it, otherwise I would use
only Moteinos because it's easier to make them work together. People on
this forum have made JeeNodes and Moteinos talk to each other, but it
adds complexity.
OK. No JeeNodes yet. I was going to try to make a design with Moteino's only. I will
need some help with the 12v power switch and PWM.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
Does the your dimmer have a PWM input so you can send it a PWM signal
to dim the LEDs? If so, that's good as you can drive it with one of the
Moteino IO pins that support PWM.
The LED string is running from a 120v powered 12v regulator with a manual
PWM with rotary dial wired on the 12v out. I want the outside arduino
to PWM modulate the 12v.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
For manual on/off, a SwitchMote would be a good choice. Otherwise, will
you have a switch (wall mounted?) wired to the Moteino controlling the
LED lights?
There is no wall switch for this now. There is a switch by the front
door for the original outside lights, but I want the step LEDs controlled
separately and much of the outside buried wiring has deteriorated and
will have to be replaced. Before I repair the rest of the system I can power
the LED strips separately.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
Timers for the lights are easy to do with any Arduino board, like Moteino.
For sunset you could have the RasPi pull the sunset data for your
location, I imagine the RasPi will have access to the internet.
To detect darkness it's pretty easy to connect a photocell to a Moteino
analog input.
I was thinking of using a photocell sensor to control nightfall turn on.
I'm not sure if the RPi will end a permanent part of this or not. I for sure
want data logging to fine tune the photocell code handling.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
The MoteinoUSB should connect to the RasPi OK. You can also use the
serial port of a non-USB Moteino to talk to the RasPi.
Yes. I want to try the MoteinoUSB on other PCs as well.
Quote from: KanyonKris on February 13, 2014, 06:24:01 PM
Socat will work. I prefer to use a Python program to talk to the gateway
Moteino over serial so I can have it do more than just send data to the
web front end, like processing the data from the Moteinos and logging.
Socat should let my Jruby/JVM http server have bidirectional I/O to
the Moteino. Network socket IO is better handled in the framework I'm using
than device file IO.
I think my first step will be to set up a data logger for
one of these:
http://www.adafruit.com/products/439
Place a moteino with the TSL2561 sensor
outside.
Inside have a moteinoUSB attached to a RaspberryPi
logging the sensor values.
The task will be to build and calibrate a nightfall sensor
box and of course get some experience and confidence
with moteino radio usage.
Quote from: cootcraig on February 13, 2014, 10:28:41 PM
The LED string is running from a 120v powered 12v regulator with a manual
PWM with rotary dial wired on the 12v out. I want the outside arduino
to PWM modulate the 12v.
A few ways to go here. I would open up the power box that came with the LED lights and see if I could modify its circuit to take input from the Moteino to do the dimming. The rotary dial is probably a potentiometer. You could replace this "pot" with a digital pot (cost ~$1.50) controlled by the Moteino, see this info - http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/DigitalPotentiometer#.Uv5YgPldV9W
Another way to go is to turn the dial on the power box to max then run its 12 V output into another circuit that will vary the power to the LEDs. This MOSFET module from Sparkfun can handle 32 Amps so it should handle your LEDs - https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10256
Here's an example of its use - https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/led-light-bar-hookup/all
Quote
I was thinking of using a photocell sensor to control nightfall turn on.
I'm not sure if the RPi will end a permanent part of this or not. I for sure
want data logging to fine tune the photocell code handling.
I take it your RasPi is near a window or an outside wall so you can run wires to a photocell that can pickup the outdoor light level - http://learn.adafruit.com/basic-resistor-sensor-reading-on-raspberry-pi/basic-photocell-reading
You could attached a photocell to one of your remote Moteinos and have it report the light level back to the RasPi - http://learn.adafruit.com/photocells/using-a-photocell
Quote from: cootcraig on February 14, 2014, 01:14:13 PM
I think my first step will be to set up a data logger for
one of these:
I like this plan. It's good to start with simple building blocks, test them to make sure they work, then connect the blocks together one at a time.