Grow Room Automation

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This is by no means an exhaustive expose' of the subject, nor am I even the slightest bit knowledgeable therein. That aside, I do have an extreme interest in this subject because of my dwelling situation coupled with my state's current political position on Cannabis. To be more frank, I grew out a plant last year, journaled it here and did my very best to keep it secret from everyone that I do not live with. However, as this is a pretty high maintenance hobby/profession, especially to a new grower, I found myself needing to spend hours a day in my room building, constructing or just trying to dial my grow into a favorable and optimal range, all while my room mates would frequently entertain guests when the bars let out. Needless to say my absence caused many of those guests to inquire as to my whereabouts. If I were not in my room, I could be out mingling and running my own interference schemes to keep curious eyes preoccupied in other ways.

It was this feeling of unease that caused me to search for other ways of being able to manage my grow remotely, and though I have found quite a few different solutions, I still lack the knowledge and budget to get it all under my roof and for my benefit.

This blog entry is really just a platform I will use to expand my knowledge and share it with subscribers simultaneously. My plan is to one day own and control a plethora of completely automated grows that I would not need to be physically at save for maybe once every 7-10 days. That is a pretty tall order I know, especially for someone that is busting his back trying to get a multi plant grow off the ground and into a successful harvest, so I will obviously need to start somewhere, with just a single grow and implement my findings as I can afford to and hopefully I will be able to trickle funds into this idea which I anticipate will keep me out of my own personal grow save for topping and transplanting.

I happen to know that as of the date of this writing, we the human race have the technology on the market to manage light cycles with no timers (as we know them), control air movement times and fan speed, fill, mix and empty 1 or more reservoirs at will, control air quality, humidity and temps, operate and access video feeds with night vision and pretty much every other parameter I cannot recall at this time. All of which I plan to one day (sooner the better) observe and control from my smartphone.

The following YouTube video I found just last night while trying to research this topic again depicts a man in California that already has done what I want to do with his outdoor aquaponic grow that produces a vast array of edible veggies. I plan to build a system based off of these same concepts, but I will pick and choose to better suit the plants that I will be focusing on. This man also manages other grows remotely via his computer and as this video is well over a year old, I'd bet he now controls his grows via his smartphone.


For those that are really intimidated with circuitry, computers and all of this newer technology, there are definitely other less hands on options that will achieve the same end result such as Insteon for Android users and WeMo for iPhone users.


However, at first glance, it appears to me that Insteon and Wemo will both be a little to restrictive in terms of the goals that I am setting for myself, I will put upon myself to learn about a little device called Arduino which to my very limited knowledge is a small computer board that can easily be connected to thousands of other devices such as relays for controlling outlet fixtures, solenoid valves, meter valves, probes for monitoring nutrient mixtures, cameras and liquid flow controllers.

The Arduino can be accessed and controlled via Bluetooth, Ethernet and also there are smartphone apps for it. The Arduino is a similar in nature to the Linux operating systems in that most of the commands need to be typed in command line fashion, there is however a few different Arduino forums that I can utilize to learn that programming language and use it to make the Arduino do what I want it to do.

What I would like to accomplish is to be able to press a button on my smartphone which energizes a valve that empties my nutrient reservoir, another that fills it back up to a desired level with Reverse Osmosis water that will be kept on hand in another storage tank, activate an air stone to bubble for a while, another to check Dissolved O2 levels, EC/PPM, water temp and pH, another to begin meting nutrients in to the desired levels, monitor it some more and make the very fine adjustments as needed in accordance with my feed plan for that given plant(s). All of this while also managing light schedules, air movement schedules, room temp, CO2 levels, RH and odor control, everything that we all do during an average grow cycle. Basically, every single device or apparatus that we growers implement that somehow utilizes an electric current to function can be tied into the Arduino board and controlled via smartphone.

Aside from all the legalities associated with growing Cannabis, I would like to one day go on a vacation perhaps to a foreign country, and entrusting a friend to watch over a grow is one thing, entrusting multiple friends to be able to pick up exactly where I left off with multiple grows at multiple locations is a whole new plateau of trust one would need to get to bed at night. However, if my vaycay destination has internet access, I can still manage my grow completely and only need to entrust others to do the actual physical stuff such as pruning, topping and transplanting. But then again, if my budget were to open up, robotic arms could also be attached and controlled making the entire grow 100% hands free and every day would then become a sick day!

So feel free to subscribe if you wish and post anything at all related to this subject that you feel would be beneficial to myself or others that may just be passing by or doing his/her own research. I will continually update this blog as I feel need, or if I find something or accomplish something that better serves this goal of mine.

Comments

Skybound
I'm glad you subbed tobler. I still didn't get my relay, and I'm pretty sure I got burnt on that so I'll have to order from someone more reputable. I My Data Logging Shield is from Adafruit. I got it for the RTC to have a single clock to code a lot of stuff on, the included regular size SD slot was just a bonus and if memory serves, this one can be used at the same time as ethernet traffic. The majority of my electrical knowledge is in AC. I am now picking up some DC understanding based upon that. The coding for me is proving to be the most difficult as the bar I've set is so very high in terms of what all I want to make happen, so I expect this little project of mine to influence my hairline if ya know what I mean.

Anyways, thanks again for subbing. Please feel free to share anything you want here, so long as it's even remotely related.
 
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Skybound
-Old post deleted-
 
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Skybound
I've finally got my hands on an Arduino sketch that was close enough to what I'm trying to do that my limited knowledge allowed me to fill in the blanks. Just to get my feet wet, this project is a single temp/humidity sensor and an 8 channel relay module. I still need to wire in the relay board, but the LEDs I have on my breadboard will demonstrate the digital pins being signaled HIGH or LOW based upon temp readings or humidity readings.

Next week I'm going to order a more accurate clock as I'm pretty sure I fried the one that came with the Data Logging shield. Once I have a clock again, I am confident that I will be able to modify the code in hours or days to include alarms that will activate/deactivate respective relays in time.

Once again, I want to reiterate the importance of having a single digital clock to time all other grwoing events from. I can't be the only one that has a gang of stupid space hogging mechanical timers. Those things are such a waste of money. I think I have less than 10 and their combined cost would pay for all needed Arduino and components to build this phase of the project, and that includes the ethernet shield, RTC that I'm about to get, ethernet wire and relay module, plus I bet there'd be enough for a dub sack for those still yet to harvest. Also, those mechanical timers can only be dialed in to near the true time. When using multiple timers, the time difference from one to the next can be as much as 15 minutes apart. For me that means my 1500 watt heater may still be on when my 1200 watts of light kicks on. That can become a dangerous scenario if your power source is as limited as mine.

Here is the code. Sorry for the length, but 420 doesn't have a scrollable text box feature like they have on coding forums. my Pin choices are based upon future planned add ons that need i2c etc.

#include "DHT.h"

#define DHTPIN 2
#define DHTTYPE DHT22

#define RELAY_ON 1
#define RELAY_OFF 0
//#define RelayTime // 4 Relay states will be accountable to time

#define Relay_1 30 // relay 1 -
#define Relay_2 31 // relay 2 -
#define Relay_3 32 // relay 3 -
#define Relay_4 33 // relay 4 -
#define Relay_5 34 // relay 5 -
#define Relay_6 35 // relay 6 -
#define Relay_7 36 // relay 7 -
#define Relay_8 37 // relay 8 -

// Sensor Reference Values
int hiTempDHT = 85; // Preset Reference Value
int lowTempDHT = 60; // Preset Reference Value
int hiHumDHT = 25; // Preset Reference Value

// declare DHT variables
float h;
float f;

DHT dht(DHTPIN, DHTTYPE);

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);

//-------( Initialize Pins so relays are inactive at reset)----
digitalWrite(Relay_1, RELAY_OFF); // Should this be handled with a "for" statement array??
digitalWrite(Relay_2, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_3, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_4, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_5, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_6, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_7, RELAY_OFF);
digitalWrite(Relay_8, RELAY_OFF);

//---( THEN set pins as outputs )----
pinMode(Relay_1, OUTPUT); // Should this be handled with a "for" statement array??
pinMode(Relay_2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_5, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_6, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_7, OUTPUT);
pinMode(Relay_8, OUTPUT);
delay(4000); //Check that all relays are inactive at Reset

dht.begin();

}

void loop()
{
h = dht.readHumidity();
f = dht.readTemperature(true);


if ((f) >= (hiTempDHT))
{
digitalWrite(Relay_1, RELAY_ON); // energizes inlet fan
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(F("Its gettin hot is Hurr"));
Serial.print("\t");
}
else{
digitalWrite(Relay_1, RELAY_OFF);
}

if ((f) <= (lowTempDHT))
{
digitalWrite(Relay_6, RELAY_ON); // energizes heater
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(F("Its so cold my nipples could cut glass"));
Serial.print("\t");
}
else{
digitalWrite(Relay_6, RELAY_OFF);
}

if ((h) >= (hiHumDHT))
{
digitalWrite(Relay_1, RELAY_ON); //energizes inlet fan
Serial.print("\t");
Serial.print(F("I'm all sticky"));
Serial.print("\t");
}
else{
digitalWrite(Relay_1, RELAY_OFF);
}

if (isnan(f) || isnan(h)) {
Serial.println("Failed to read from DHT");
}

else
{
float hi = dht.computeHeatIndex(f, h);
Serial.print(" DHT Humidity: ");
Serial.print(h);
Serial.print(" %\t");
Serial.print("DHT Temperature: ");
Serial.print(f);
Serial.println(" *F\t");
Serial.print("Heat index: ");
Serial.print(hi);
Serial.println(" *F");
}
delay(1000);
}
Click to expand...
 
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Skybound
There is a slight hiccup that has a very easy fix.

#define RELAY_ON 1
#define RELAY_OFF 0
Click to expand...

These variables are correct when testing with LEDs, but when I connected my relay to the LED circuit, I noticed the relay goes HIGH when the LED goes LOW which tells me that the relays begin Normally Closed (N.C.) which is a closed loop (lights on). The great thing about a SPDT relay is that I now have options when wiring up the AC circuits. I will cut the hot (black) wire that would normally go to the brass side of a receptacle and I can either wire it in the NC position, or NO (Normally Open). This (in a situation like my attic) would allow for 1 (or more) relays to start in the closed position, and an opposing group of relay(s) be in the open position so when the code changes states from high to low or low to high, the opposing group of relay(s) is opposite at all times.

If you desire to have your relays start in a NO position, you would just need to change the values of the RELAY_ON and RELAY_OFF variables from 0 to 1 and 1 to 0.

The other option with the SPDT relay is to feed the hot leg of AC into the middle terminal, then have both outside legs feed to different receptacles, each with their own independent Neutral and Ground leads. this will effect a channel switch of power from bank A to bank B, or in my case would be 2 relays, each with a light in an opposing room on opposing schedules. In this instance, the respective relay channels would be using power 24/7, but each position would only be used for 12 hours. This might be useful when running 2 flower rooms.
 
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Skybound
My project is nearing completion of the first phase. I have since learned that current passing through wood can make some cool artwork before causing the wood to combust and burn whatever is near. So I opted to use a large PVC container used to mount sensors and other equipment in extreme weather conditions. It's a 12"x12"x6" junction box I picked up from the big orange for about $35. Sawing through the face panel to fit the gang boxes was a breeze with the power tools. My B&D Matrix has a 4" finish saw that worked wonders as I was able to drop the spinning blade right through the material on my marker line. The corners I touched up with the jigsaw attachment. The 4 gang (blue) box holding 4 receptacles was a regular 4 gang work box that I sawed the back off for accessibility. All wiring with the exception of that leading to the relay or the terminal bus bars have terminal connectors on them for debugging and ease of changing. Had I not done that, my outlets would have opposed the direction of the male plug due to a design flaw. But b/c the wires were easily disconnected, I was able to flip them.

The Arduino and the relay module are securely mounted on "Arduino Mount Kit" to keep the circuits secured. I also have a large breadboard and a lot of real estate around the circuit with future additions in mind. Now that the AC circuits are all nearly complete, the DC circuits can be given more attention. The Ethernet port is yet to be added and I have to externally mount the DHT sensor (pictured) and drill another hole for the wires. With all remaining space, future BNC connectors will be added to patch in the PH and EC probes, and other forms of connectors will likely find a new home in that box. But essentially, the box will be the home base for everything needed to control the growroom(s). If another 8 power channels are needed, each duplex outlet can be halved to create 16 single outlets, each capable of it's very own function or purpose, albeit time, a sensor value, or connected to a clickable button on the web page.

I still need to iron out my code and get at least the data from the sensor online to a web page. I jumped the gun and got a domain name, but due to security uncertainties, I am keeping that all private until it's safe to be shared, and all the bugs worked out. The website is a PHP and has a MySQL data base which I hope can be utilized instead of the micro SD card on the ethernet shield. I think that might make the code easier to draft in the IDE, but more difficult in the PHP, but so far it has been point and click which is awesome for a noob like me. What my studies indicate though is that I will be able to send all data collected by the arduino and post it to the data base. The data base entries are then displayed back on my page in the fasion I have them set to, ie. styles, fonts, colors, positioning, etc. I am also given the impression that I will be able to create clickable buttons that the arduino can interpret as a command to trigger a pin(relay) high or low/on or off. This will be most handy in the next phase that deals with water movement to, in and from the grow room.

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Skybound
Whats up guys and gals. Now that my last plant is harvested and I'm without a location to flower plants, my clock and calendar is now wide open and I am carrying this project forward. Soon, I will likely migrate the remainder of this project to my site that I created, ironically, for this project.

I am still in my learning of everything, but currently I'm under the impression that I will be able to post all collected data to my web site which is via a free online data table called MySQL. From there, my site is broken into pages to identify the varying areas of control, ie. Veg Room, Flower Room A, etc. Also there is a page for the circuitry of this project and another page for all applicable code. This way, my guests can see what I'm doing in real time, and how such a system can benefit their lives. Thus far, I've easily sank a couple hundred into this, plus many hours of learning. It is not my intent to make a buck off this, but some situations might call for it. To recap, I will share my project with everyone for free, code and personal assistance on changing things or adding custom things that I myself don't have. However, because I'm very DIY, diving right into micro electronics and code is somewhat easy for me to learn as I already kind of think like that anyways. Others may not want to get that deep into it, or lack the tools I have to make this project, in which case I may build a few extra projects for sale, but I will always try to get my guests to get their hands dirty and try to follow the free instructions and build their own projects. Having specific instructions, plus someone willing to provide further free assistance should be a no brainer. In terms of Arduino projects, this project is not all that complex in code or circuitry.

I also invested in some new boards. I am currently waiting for a Freetronics "EtherMega" which is a single Mega board with ethernet and micro SD built right in. That board was $115 dollars and there are only 2 distributors in the US of that board. I also last night ordered an Udoo which is a single board version of a Raspberry Pi and an Arduino Due. I believe one of this blog subscribers suggested the Udoo early in this blog. If that is the case, my apologies for not getting on point sooner. The Udoo will require me to learn many different things than what I had just learned for Arduino, but my exposure to computer languages in general leads me to believe that they all use the same concepts to execute, and in many cases, the same syntax or character representations which makes only learning your first computer language difficult and successive languages less difficult (IMO of course). The Udoo is also over $100 also.

For this project, I also ordered 2 pigtails to extend the ethernet port and the USB/Type-B ports to be panel mounted on the exterior of the enclosure. So once the box is screwed together, there is no need of ever opening it again until addon devices and circuits are adopted into the project. Everything else will be plug and play. Connect the ethernet cable to bring DC power and networking to the project and plug in a normal grounded extension cord to supply the entire project with AC power to control. If it is needed to alter the code, or you wish to adjust your feed times, or light cycles, the code can be uploaded through the Type-B port without disrupting anything else. There will also be 2 contact points on the outside to temporarily enable the reset function on the Arduino which is needed to upload new code.

Many more advances to come!
 
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D
Skybound;bt10403 said:
Here is another video of a guy in Alberta (I think) that has automated his greenhouse. His rig has been put together very cleanly and his control over each parameter is evident. The use of the Arduino will actually help him shave Kw/h's from his monthly bill by not relying on timers per say, and more so on high and low values that he predetermines for a given condition.


My last attempt at a grow journal failed just 2 pages in because of the relentless heat an attic collects. I had rigged a window AC unit up to a timer to cycle on for 15 minutes of every 45 minutes. Thankfully this grow failed because I honestly could not think of a better way to hemorrhage money out of my pocket by unnecessarily consuming kilowatt hours that did not need to be consumed. I believe that if I had a computer based means of controlling this and other parameters that the attic grow would have had at least a much better chance of success if for instance the AC unit only cycled on when the temps hit the high value that I would have had preset. Not to mention that I had to leave the AC unit preset on high, the Arduino could have also controlled the AC compressor & fan output via thermostat so as to only push out chilled air as needed.

This is just an example of how using the Arduino (or other forms of automation) could have saved me my grow. BTW, I lost about 6 seeds with about 3 or 4 strains in that failure. For the same exact reason a grower may find want/need to use a tri meter opposed to a pH pen and EC/TDS pen is the means I mentally justify this want/need.

There are plenty of YouTube videos to demonstrate how to integrate a tri meter, as well as other components of our grow rigs into the Arduino's circuitry and subsequent control. There are also a couple of forums we can utilize to learn the pretty simple programming language and get other ideas of how to gain more overall control of our rigs.

From here on out, I won't be posting anymore videos that demonstrate the potential of using Arduino as I'm already sold to the idea. I will now only focus on how to graft in components of my grow rig into the Arduino and actually get me an Arduino, probably the UNO as I can see it is the most basic and most used board Arduino makes, but we'll see what I can make happen.
Click to expand...

The scenario you mentioned in the attic could have been answered I believe if you had an SmartBee Controllers LTH (light temperature and humidity) sensor communicating with our Hive Gateway and your user defined high/low temp ranges set up in our web based software (also available for android). Our multi platform app used together with our hardware allows you to trigger devices on or off based on these set points. You enthusiasm for automation in the grow room is awesome and if you have the time I am encouraging you to visit our website and learn more about our products SmartBee™ Controllers SmartBee™ Controllers - The Best Automated Grow Systems for Home

Good luck!
 
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Skybound
Thanks for sharing the SmartBee, but I gotta be honest, I'm not impressed with what is being offered for the price. I'm curious why SmartBee does not monitor/control the PH and EC of fluids being used in the grow room as this likely the most volatile element of a grow? My project box already has twice the power channels, each of which can be held accountable to time, temp or humidity or any combination of the 3. I am on the hunt right now for a stable near free means of linking my project to a website so that I can connect with my grow from someone else's device/network. This way, when I lose my cell phone, I can still log into my grow from my mom's phone, or your phone if I were at your house. I already have stable code for programming my power channels, and I WILL share it for free, along with my project schematic to anyone that wants it.
 
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Skybound
Another "soft" update to my automation quest. I have since purchased a domain that is a PHP blog, just like 420, except I will be using it to broadcast incoming data, and also have the ability to issue commands to the Arduino from the internet website. Also, there are several pages that I am still drafting to share methods I use to grow (Capn Style) and will be all inclusive in terms of details for growing this way. What I'm aiming to do to make my site different from this one is obviously the use of technology to build a more stable growing environment, but also because it is a blog, we will be able to dialogue amongst one another on ways to modify the technology to work best in each of our very unique situations. I wish to point out that my site will not compete with 420 in any way. In fact I will contact 420 and request permission to share my site on theirs with intent on promoting this new means of growing. I also want to point out that I do not seek any compensation for my efforts as the meds will help me get by. The 420 community freely taught me how to grow, and it is this same "each one teach one" mindset that I am adhering to. All in due time though as my site still needs quite a bit more work.

I am also planning to get into medical marijuana, and in my state, there are quite a few established businesses that are way ahead of me in their efforts which gives me comfort to know that legalization is truly upon us (in my state of Pennsytuky). With that said, I am planning to build what I consider to be a large operation. Assuming I can locate an investor, I will have my operation up soon, and as you may have guessed, it will be controlled completely via my site and Arduino(s). I am working with a seasoned code writer to get my project connected to my site and set me up so I can graft in new code with each new device that I acquire.

My planned operation will have 48 5ft x 5ft bloom sites totaling 1200 square feet, plus an additional 600-700 square feet of veg space. This is an uphill battle, and there's still a long ways to go, but I am dead set on making this happen, so hopefully God will endorse my efforts on this one.

The op, once up and running will be able to completely manage every aspect of the grow space, light schedules, air quality, CO2 levels, and scheduled movements of all fluids. The Arduino will be able to isolate any one of those 48 sites and fill, add nutes, adjust nutes and drain to waste a week to 10 days later and repeat. Over time, I will be able to draft several programs that will be able to cater to Sativas or Indicas, or many variances in between. I know my attempts to explain what I will have are falling miserably short of my expectations, but I know that in due time, I will be able to show you and you can see with your own eyes. This journey was very hard for me, and I am hoping my sacrifice of time will produce something that can be given to my counter parts (you) so they do not have to sacrifice any extra time. This, I feel will award me good Karma in the truest sense and it is in helping others that I find my reward.

Please don't think for a minute that I am letting this go. It will very soon be mine, and I wish to freely give it to you for your benefit as well.

Peace brothers and sisters!
 
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Skybound
Not at this time, just automation in it's simple form with no networking or fluid controls. If you google "Billies Hydroponics Controller", you'll find a thread that can provide a great solution, but it wasn't exactly what I had in mind so I never delved too deeply into his project, but essentially he already has a networked control setup that he alone can access and adjust.
 
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Skybound
The quest continues. I was able to track down a viable networking solution by using a free app called Blynk. So far, I have merged my code into the Blynk environment and have successfully been able to also send over readings from my temp/humidity sensor. I am now trying to include readings from the onboard clock. The program stays the same, but once my code is completely merged into the Blynk environment, I will be able to view all collected sensor data, and power any of my relays with the click of a button on my smartphone from anywhere on earth, so long as I am within range of a cell tower and my project has internet access. Lots of potential here, and I hope to get back on track with my goals for this project, i.e. 100% remote control of an entire grow, irregardless of the size.
 
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A
Skybound;bt15132 said:
The quest continues. I was able to track down a viable networking solution by using a free app called Blynk. So far, I have merged my code into the Blynk environment and have successfully been able to also send over readings from my temp/humidity sensor. I am now trying to include readings from the onboard clock. The program stays the same, but once my code is completely merged into the Blynk environment, I will be able to view all collected sensor data, and power any of my relays with the click of a button on my smartphone from anywhere on earth, so long as I am within range of a cell tower and my project has internet access. Lots of potential here, and I hope to get back on track with my goals for this project, i.e. 100% remote control of an entire grow, irregardless of the size.
Click to expand...

there are lots of option now why you are sticking with arduino ?
Rasperry pi RPI 3 released
the small esp8266 is so cheap and give lots of option.
I guess as the hardware and software world changed completely you should start the research again.
Why i am saying this is because there were some arduino stability issue with me in the past...arduino is dead now...
rasperry pi 3 (POWERFULL MACHINE)
ESP8266 CHEAP AND WIFI READY.. !!

btw i suggested abt the billi project (as in the 2nd last post you suggested the same) before to you (if you check my post) not want to offend you but want to show you that i have a somewhat more exp in this field than you. So please don't take it wrong way i want you to start the research of hardware and software again as it was like year and more...why waste time on something outdated!!!
I have spend much more time with Beaglebone black and had created a very stable thing with error restart (watchdog). You need a watchdog feature as the hardware might get hanged sometime and you might loose the crop so better work on the HANG issue too... posted in a hurry
 
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A
Also i tested bylnk before but it was not for beaglebone (but they state on their website otherwise)..
but there are many iot interface options now
 
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Skybound
Why Arduino? Why Rpi? Why not both on one board with Udoo? Questions aside, I have other things in my life that I must tend to and the time I can invest to learn new things is limited. To get into Rpi, one needs to become very familiar with Linux and other coding languages. I got into Arduino with the intent of complementing my grow, but I was also weary of getting too involved with several coding languages as they were all new to me. Now that I have come this far and learned this much, I don't want to abandon my gains in search of something new that would include needing to learn more languages just to use. BBB, and Udoo, and I'm pretty sure Rpi all use 3.3 volt logic which would then render my 5 volt relays useless so I would also need to abandon money spent.

Do you have any literature of some projects you've created? I always keep an open mind about everything and am amendable, but I can't abandon the things I've learned on the whim of others' suggestions without seeing their success to compare against mine.
 
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A
Skybound;bt15251 said:
Why Arduino? Why Rpi? Why not both on one board with Udoo? Questions aside, I have other things in my life that I must tend to and the time I can invest to learn new things is limited. To get into Rpi, one needs to become very familiar with Linux and other coding languages. I got into Arduino with the intent of complementing my grow, but I was also weary of getting too involved with several coding languages as they were all new to me. Now that I have come this far and learned this much, I don't want to abandon my gains in search of something new that would include needing to learn more languages just to use. BBB, and Udoo, and I'm pretty sure Rpi all use 3.3 volt logic which would then render my 5 volt relays useless so I would also need to abandon money spent.

Do you have any literature of some projects you've created? I always keep an open mind about everything and am amendable, but I can't abandon the things I've learned on the whim of others' suggestions without seeing their success to compare against mine.
Click to expand...
Thx for understanding my post and replying politely (it might have offended on some level). I really appreciate that. I just wanted to encourage you.

Actually Arduino is harder than PYTHON.
I am saying python as RPI and BBB uses the same.. Leave BBB as it is kind of outdated now the future is RPI 3 (CURRENTLY LOL)...

I worked on BBB and i made a log on what exactly need to be done to the Bare bone BBB to make work with devices such as

Installation
SD CARD
TIME SETTING
setup everything that will be needed by our projects (such as Librarys /essential parameters etc)
network setup / wifi setup
SETUP auto runs on startup
BACKUP EVERY STEP

After doing that than our settings come
CONFIGURE ONLINE IOT LIKE THINGSpeak.com
watchdog config and test
usb camera setup
gpio testing
DS1820 water sensor installation
HC-SR04 ULTRASONIC SENSOR
DHT22 OR AM2302 SENSOR FOR TEMP AND HUMIDITY
High voltage switching.
Failsafe if any
Light sensor (LDR) is also important in case GROW LIGHTS MALFUNCTIONS
Water feeder imp
WATER top off solenoid valve is also important to fill the bucket up...

It really feels great when you setup the IOT and link with Thingspeak.com (or any other similar services) There are several applications now to control the IOT DEVICES

My learning was not for grow room but was interested as i was doing coco + compost grow so i didn't needed much attention. Just 1 timer Thats it.
(i didn't got the time. same as you. but i have interest)
I hope you will understand...

PS - I have notes over on how to exactly make work the sensons which i mentioned and the problem which might occur ! codes and stuff

I am keeping an eye on your blog. This is my fav and because of your blog and oil making thread is my only reason for using 420mag
:cheer2:
 
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Skybound
I just watched a quick youtube review of Rpi3 and it does look way better than previous builds. My concern is the lack of GPIO which would then steer me towards BBB. I do like the ability to connect a camera, but am still weary that it uses 3v3 logic. It also requires a 5.1v 2 amp power supply. This is great for a small grow, but how would the limited GPIO fare in larger grows? My goal is to have a grow that domiciles 50 bloom sites, each with a few solenoid valves for draining and topoff, plus also EC & Ph sensors, and a master feeding system to add in nutes while each reservoir is being topped up. Not a lot of processing power would be needed to execute those commands, but a LOT of GPIO will be required, I estimate roughly 3 Arduino Megas. It is my understanding that Rpi is more geared towars computing graphical data than controlling devices.

When funds were more plentiful, I purchased a Udoo which is a Rpi/Arduino Due combo, but I mistakenly purchased the board with no networking capabilities. That aside however, I still opted not to use it because of the 3.3v logic and the increased chance of damage if voltage ever exceeded that threshold.

For the record, feel free to say what you want here. I do not ever get offended by opinions on the internet. We are all nothing but fictitious personas in search of some form of truth, and everything we read or are exposed to MUST be tested for verification, usually in the form of others stating nearly the same thing, but I guess that kind of goes without saying.

I have a level of respect for your opinions. I will have more if you link me to a blog or posts from another site where your projects are outlined. If my interest is piqued, I will further investigate and see what other people say regarding the topic and if your views align with theirs, I will reconsider my position and loyalty to Arduino. Being such a novice, I tend to favor the sizable community and to my knowledge Arduino has the biggest following. Just as people wish to learn how to grow cannabis come here as 420 has the most members that are very eager to help each other out.
 
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A
I appreciate your reply
Have you seen ESP8266 ? if not please do !
What i want to suggest to you is use RPI as central brain/or whatever u have bbb/mega and Several esp8266. control them via wifi communication.
ESP8266 are very cheap cost around $5 with wifi capability ! they have GPIOs.
and most imp Easy config !

it would be so much better if you can put a raw plan in drawing on exactly what u need and how is ur setup. than we will work on it !

i can't write much info now but will do so soon as i want to answer your post fully...
use smartdraw (it is paid) or similar freeware soft to map or simplr paintshop will work !
 
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Skybound
It's pointless for me to get deep into the details as I can't afford to build anything yet. My plan now is to one day build a 50 bloom site grow, and if/when I can afford all of that, much of the needed technology will have already been advanced. I see Udoo making great kickstarters that consist of an Rpi with many more GPIO, ethernet, wifi and bluetooth built right in. When I get near to my goals, I will automate as needed, but it would be senseless to lay it all out now.

In the meantime, I'd love to check out some of the projects you've built thus far. Can you share any links to projects you made or tutorials you made?
 
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