Reef Discussion

[MagicJ]

On the off chance that someone is still following this thread :rolleyes the software side is progressing with over 1,500 lines of code written so far - I expect there will be another 500+ lines to go. The code to draw the screens and identify the touches is very time consuming ;)

I plan on boring @Synodontis with a preview when he is down on the weekend.

Hopefully, he will approve :p

 

[macca_75]

Following with very keen interest:cool:

 

[Synodontis]

My friend, willing to sit up all night to get this going if it would help lol. :)

And I think there are many following this thread!

 

[MagicJ]

For @Chema in particular ....

I had previously measured the current draw of the dimming circuit on the LDD drivers as between 5mA and 52mA, depending on the duty cycle of the PWM control. If this was correct then it would put us in danger of exceeding the current limits of the Arduino.

Now, I am the first to admit that I have limited electronics knowledge - I know enough to get myself into trouble but that is amount it.

So, after discussing this with my Dad, who knows a fair bit more about this stuff than me, he dragged out the oscilloscope tonight and we ran a few tests.

My measurements were sort of correct, I just had a decimal point in the wrong place

The actual results are:

• 100% duty cycle i.e. fully on - 7.7uA
• 0% duty cycle i.e. fully off - 53uA

Note, these measurements are in microamps, not milliamps. So, in effect these drivers draw around 0.05mA and not 52mA. So, in theory, you could run 700+ LDD's off each Arduino pin.

This obviously alleviates any concerns I had as, in practical terms, we are never going to go close to the theoretical limit.

 

[Synodontis]

Geez @MagicJ!!
and here we thought you knew it all :p

Hope your dad is there on Saturday night then lol.

 

[MagicJ]

I have no problem admitting my deficiencies :rolleyes

 

[Chema]

Hi MagicJ: great news. So there is no limit to the number of LDDs we can hook up to the Arduino. It is clear that my problems had another source. We are working on another Arduino UNO shield and we'll see how it comes out. I'll let you know.

 

[Meller]

Epic @MagicJ

 

[MagicJ]

Hi MagicJ: great news. So there is no limit to the number of LDDs we can hook up to the Arduino. It is clear that my problems had another source. We are working on another Arduino UNO shield and we'll see how it comes out. I'll let you know.

You are correct - in theory you could hook up 750 LDD's to each pin, and 7,500 to an Arduino in total. I can't imagine that anyone would ever get within 1% of these limits.

As mentioned previously, you need to ensure that the Ground from the Arduino is connected to the Ground (or negative) of the drivers - I have heard of fried drivers if this is not done. Hopefully you can get it sorted and, yes, please let us know how you go.

Epic @MagicJ

Cheers mate - still a bit of work to do but hopefully I can get some user testing completed on Saturday night (@Synodontis I am looking at you :p).

 

[rockerpeller]

How did the testing go @MagicJ & @Synodontis?

 

[macca_75]

How did the testing go @MagicJ & @Synodontis?

Yeah - is it ready to go yet :worship

 

[Synodontis]

Guys,

This is going to be very sweet. :)

The GUI is looking very smart with a few more screens to go. The amount of work that has gone into the GUI alone is staggering, when we get the finished product I'm 99% sure everyone will be happy. The proto is not in a project box & it is still bread board setup, but if @MagicJ can find the time, I hope it won't be to far away cause I want one!! There is still a bit to do, but it is getting there. A lot of the features we asked for have been implemented & working, plus a few extra's that will make this even better.

Had a look at the LDD boards also, another very sweet project. Have decided, that with very little heat from these things I am going to stack 5 of them with spacer's that will hook up to our lights & take up very little room.

The wait will be well worth it I feel :)

 

[newbiereef]

I am still interested

 

[Buddy]

I'm guessing you're not the only one haha

 

[MagicJ]

We have a small problem - when I took the Arduino downstairs to show Ken on Saturday night I grabbed my phone charger (USB connection) to power it.

I planned to do some work on it last night - plugged it into the computer - and nothing happend :eek For some reason the computer does not recognise the Arduino any more. Not sure if this is a coincidence or I screwed something by using the phone charger - I will do some more testing on it tonight but I suspect I will need to get another board.

 

[macca_75]

Nooooooooooo

 

[MagicJ]

Nooooooooooo

I did say it was only a small problem :) - the software is saved on my computer so, at worst, I just need to get another Mega and plug everything in.

It may result in a delay of a week or so - Chinese New Year is on at the moment and most of the suppliers are currently closed.

 

[macca_75]

I did say it was only a small problem :) - the software is saved on my computer so, at worst, I just need to get another Mega and plug everything in.

It may result in a delay of a week or so - Chinese New Year is on at the moment and most of the suppliers are currently closed.

+1 week - Noooooo

I didn't think a man of your talent would be without a backup.

Can we blame @Synodontis in any way?;)

 

[Synodontis]

I knew I shouldn't have snuck down stairs for a fiddle with it early Sunday morning :rolleyes

 

[macca_75]

I knew I shouldn't have snuck down stairs for a fiddle with it early Sunday morning :rolleyes

it???

I hope you mean the controller and nothing untoward. You were after all a guest;)

Anyway, back on topic...