Hey Ralph. I have tell you, whenever I have an idea for a project, the first place I look is your site. Namespace, hardware debounce, MOSFETs, and more I can't remember (I'm also a senior). Thanks for all of your hard work on the projects and the videos!
The opposite of "flink" is "träge" ( lazy ). This is an indicator of how quickly the fuse trips after the limit value is exceeded. -Greetings from good old germany 🙂
Salutations, Good Old Germany! Yes, those fuse descriptions are, quite frankly, strange. Why are we using German words? What's wrong with Quick and Slow Blow fuses? Ich finde dis ganze Sache sehr komisch! 😁
You need a 3D printer Ralph. You'd be surprised how useful one can be for these projects. I've used mine to print out bezels for OLED screens (including a surround to protect the glass edges on those 1.3"/0.96" screens). I've also used it to print spacers for toggle switches, so they all align perfectly on a front panel. And used it to make a drill template, so you get everything lined up perfectly when drilling an aluminium or plastic case. In this project , you could have used it to print out the ply wood part (including all the mounting holes). You can buy metal threaded heat inserts for mounting bolts (eg: M3,M4) And for the designing part , I'd recommend OnShape. (There's some very good getting started video tutorials) Thanks for the tips about the ESP32 pins. I just got some of those Wemos modules to make a camera slider.
You're preaching to the converted, Matt. I realise I "need" one, but I have yet (after several years) to find the time to learn how to use one. I'll look at OnShape to see if it is any easier than others I have tried.
Another nice practical project well presented. Especially liked seeing some 'mains' in and using up some old parts. Great Documentation and linked info again. You really knock these out of the park for anyone wanting to do useful things with the details.
Well, you never know what thoughts it might trigger in someone's mind. A variation here, a tweak there and someone has a project based on this that does something totally different!
So Banggood have them again but at an eye-watering price: www.banggood.com/custlink/GvKJo9EUFa But in the UK, they are available (or something very similar) from CPC, you can search their website.
It's funny there's been pump kits for every board and I figured it was to turn the sprinklers on haha. You have taken it to the next level though. I approve. I could have a small farm on my property if not for the racoon infestation haha
I'd love a racoon to visit us here (there are none in the UK) but I've seen horror videos of racoons in the USA destroying rubbish bins and so on, quite a problem.
@@RalphBacon we have whole families on one of our verandas sometimes. A few years ago there was a mom and 5 chubby little babies. All five tried to squeeze through the verticals styles of the deck and their fat little bums got them stuck haha. There's foxes in the woods beside my house too. They're harmless and very small. My cats are heavier I suspect. There's foxes everywhere on this island, even in the "city". Haha they act like you're not even there when I'm outside in the evenings.
Very good indeed. One thing you could do, once is a transparent lid, is to print a very nice panel artwork in photograpic paper and glue i to a carton and install it inside, covering the electronics and a knife cut slot for the LED display. Hope the idea helps. Have a nive weekend.
Yes, I could indeed do that. I have a laser printer so it would look good. But I'm vain and quite like the exposed PCB and wiring. Does that make me weird?
Ralph: Thanks for the reminder/heads up on the TX/RX pins on the WEMOS boards. I am going to go into my parts bins, locate this board and leave a note with them that these pins are switched. THANKS!!!!!
Glad to help! I can't believe they got it wrong. Neither can I believe that I forgot there was an issue with these boards (I assumed I had made a mistake on the Workshop Heater Controller PCB). Doh!
Generally I keep my projects to low voltage. Use commercial transformers outside of the project to drop the 240v to 12v, then use smaller regulators inside my project to reduce to 5v. I don't fancy messing with high voltage. There was a huge backlash against a youtuber who had built a mains project with incredibly small clearance between positive and negative, also between high and low voltages.
I've kept on the mains voltage traces together and spaced apart. Apparently you only need 2mm between Line and Neutral but I've made it significantly more than that.
Those 8 way 7 seg displays get very flaky after a while. I have found it best to remove the sockets and solder the display modules direct to the pcb or you will be forever wiggling them trying to get all the segments to light. Interestingly I bought some more recently and they came without the sockets.
Very true!!! Whilst I was testing out this project on the workbench I got some strange symbols and finally resolved it by _swapping_ one group of 7-segments with the other. I guess it just made a better contact. But soldered would be even better.
That was designed with amazing intention. I still use more doublesided tape then I care to admit. Also, I wake up in cold sweats thinking about the pin mappings change on something I am mass deploying, I feel you.
If you are going to mass deploy, I suspect a couple of PCB iterations is to be expected. After all, the cost is not a barrier. Rather that than discovering a mistake in your product once it's been rolled out. 😲
maybe extend the standoffs between the wood and the pcb so the numeric displays are close to the lid ... or between the wood and the bottom of the box, maybe simplify the power delivery. why 2 transformers, the 12V could easily power the 5V unless not enough amps. No heating for the pond/pump ?
The LED is on "long" headers and also plugs into sockets so the display is very close now to the lid - great minds think alike! Two transformers because there is not enough current for everything on that small 12v one (could have got one larger one I suppose) but I didn't want any noise introduced to the 5v supply from the pump. No heating in the pond; I'm relying on the bubbles (on every quarter of an hour for 1 minute over night) to keep the ice at bay. We shall see!
Good job Ralph. Next time ask your wife to look over that PCB before sending it out. I think you've inspired me to make a fish pond. Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy watching even though I've not working electronics at all now.
The wife, you say? Unlikely. A technophobe in every sense! But Millie, our cat, is much more switched on with electronic devices and would have spotted all those "errors". A C++ genius too. 😻
So I used to worry about staying with the 100x100 PCB footprint but I needed a 250x300 PCB and 5 pcs only cost $40 including shipping so still a good deal. That was from JLC.
Yes, larger boards from PCBWay are good value too, but the price does jump from the $5 most hobbyists are expecting to pay (plus shipping). I thought I'd stick to the "normal" size, but good to know larger ones are fine for "one offs".
Great video, I never got notice that it was here I just stumbled across it Blinking TH-cam, any way nice info and I hope it has cleared up all that external wiring mess you had in the garden🙂
Can you provide a "block diagram" for the project? It would be nice to see how every sub-module is hooked up to get an idea of how the project is designed.
I've added my hand-drawn block diagram to my GitHub, Jim. You can find it here: github.com/RalphBacon/254-ESP32-Pond-Controller Any questions keep them to yourself, 😲oh, wait. No, no, please let me know! 😉
@@RalphBacon i saw your web page uses http so every time you click a link or want to ger an update of a reading you have to refresh the page issue a get request, is not real time. In contrast, websocket uses real-time data transfer, just like node red for example. BTW, big fan! I like your videos very much especially the ones that you talk about coding. Right now i'm trying to do a latch on latch off switch with MPR121 module to turn on/off two wall mounted lights when you touch their body.
OK, I understand about the websockets, a server push update. I will have to investigate that for my next project. Good luck with your MPR121 latching project!
@@RalphBacon I hope so. You have the fast blow fuses, so that should keep you safe. I've blown those fuses with my bench power supply, hoping for some special effects, but they basically just go open circuit without making a sound or any cool flash (don't try this at home and note you can get safety goggles from the hardware for a few quid). Not even a fizz or a pop. On another note, Issue #5849: not properly reading the random nerd tutorials tutorials. I've had that issue a few times.
Enjoyed the video. I looked for a link or a name of the phone app controlling the esp32. Must have been covered before. I've looked on the Play Store and they seem to be bluetooth only. Not wifi. Hence the question - which app and is there a link to more info about it. I also looked on your github and didn't see it there. Liked the video, liked the phone app. Please don't take this as whining. Overall great vidieo
I don't think you're whining 😲James, no worries. Yes, as Peter says, the "app" is in fact a web page served up by the ESP32 (in its "server" mode). So I send the web page request into the ESP32 (192.168.1.92/on) and in the ESP32 code there is a "handler" for the "/on" part of that URL. What the handler (a standard ESP32 function) does, is set a GPIO pin high to turn on the relay (so the pump starts) and then returns an http response of 200 "OK" with something in the body to say "OK, I've done that". Maybe I should walk my viewers through this, it's simple and mega useful? Web control of your ESP32 sketch! 👍
@@RalphBacon Hi Ralph, AWESOME videos, I just found your page today and have watched half dozen tutorials. Have you made the above mentioned web control of ESP32 sketch yet? I can't find it. Thanks!
No https, just plain old http as it's all local network. I think Google Chrome on my phone (and desktop) put an exclamation mark next to the address to show it's not secure but I don't care about that (actually if you look at the "live" phone demo it will show exactly what happens). Does your phone complain more vehemently?
I would like to be able to incorporate mains switching and power supply into some of my projects, but I don't feel like I understand enough about how to deal with mains voltages safely. If you'd like to talk about that on a future video, or share some pointers to learning resources, that would be much appreciated. For example, I recently did a project to measure the temperature in our outdoor ponds so that the pond heaters can switch on automatically when the water gets near freezing. I would have liked to have one device do both the temperature sensing and switching power to the heaters, but I'm not confident about dealing with exposed mains voltages. So I ended up with a commercial WiFi switch, and then built a battery-powered ESP32 with waterproof DS18B20 temperature sensor. Both connect to Home Assistant, which turns the heaters on or off based on the reported water temperature. One of the complications is that one of the heaters is 1500W, which means the relay should be rated for at least 15A (in the U.S.) for a small margin of safety. The other heaters are 1000W, which might get by with 10A relays. Perhaps finding self-contained relay modules and power supplies would have been good enough, so that I could keep high voltages on physically separate boards/modules from the microcontroller and sensor. I'm not sure that I'd trust bargain priced modules from Banggood or AliExpress, without someone more knowledgeable reviewing them. (I've watched BigClive do lots of teardowns of products that don't have safe isolation of mains voltages, or use components that aren't adequately rated.)
Like you, I have an innate distrust of all things mains-powered when it originates from an unregulated factory. But there are some good relay modules from the likes of DigiKey, Mouser, RS Components and so on, ironically all sourced from the same factories in China but this time built UP to a specification not DOWN to a price! I would de-rate all mains modules by 50% or thereabouts; if you need to switch 10A then you should select something that can handle 15A (I think you said as much). Splitting low voltage and mains parts of the project is no bad thing, frankly. Although I have both in the same project here, you will notice that the 240v bit is well away from everything else; it's almost a separate PCB!
Seeing the fish swimming all over the screen reminded me of the "pet fish" screensaver HP gave away with their printers in the mid 90's. Unfortunately mine "died" because I didn't feed it or play with it enough...... The 90s were strange! This is an interesting project, nice to see "practical" uses for these IoT devices, I can see you filling your phone with apps for all of them! Perhaps you'll need to look into some home automation hub and produce an integrated website to control all the devices in future.
This is my third phone app-controlled project, Ian; if I had known the way it was going a few years ago, I would definitely have designed them all to fit into a RasPi IFTTT-style node-red mqtt system!
That's great news, Mark. I had a check-up last week on my eyes and things are "stable", so no more doctor visits for 6 months (which will turn into 10 months knowing the NHS 😲) So it's onwards and upwards for us both!
Good grief, Gord, the last thing I need is an empty barrel with 3 fish flapping about on the bottom. Evaporation, rain and the occasional hose pipe top-up is good enough for me! And the fish.
Would you Adam & Eve it? Banggood have stopped supplying these to the UK. So if you are a UK resident it was pretty much like this one from CPC: bit.ly/3ib6duW They do two versions, with a solid or transparent lid. They are all IP45/IP66 so suitable for outdoors (sheltered, I would imagine). In the USA you can still get the one I used from Banggood: www.banggood.com/custlink/KKmcoVpyLy
None. 😲 Strange to see the chip without the usual metal cap. But that's the way they make them. Seem to be OK, no complaints on the 'Net. Maybe that metal lid was just a marketing gimmick from one firm that everyone else copied?
I love watching your videos and get all optimistic and order wemos d1 r1 mini etc. I was fine using arduino ide but now I am wading thro PlatformIO and Blinking my little mini all good. My New project is to monitor the lever[l of stuff in our septic tank and warn me before it hits the fan so to speak. I like the Idea of OTA updates as well, does that run on D1 R1 esp8266 does it have to be esp32 ? One thing I seem to have missed in your videos and is leaving at the back of the class is how to retrieve and install the mountain of information on your Github linked page, which bit is the "sketch", "the libraries"etc I have missed the episode of how to handle this Github info and quickly easily run the code berried within. Have you recorded such a video or could you ?
I'm glad you are finding my videos useful! PlatformIO is, initially at least, a bit of a learning curve but there are many articles and videos out there to assist. It's in a different league to the Arduino IDE 2.0 even though the underlying editors are based on the same engine. My GitHub entries are usually labelled to indicate which bit is which. By that, I mean the sketch(es) are usually in one folder, any associated libraries in another. I normally name them something meaningful but if I have missed something do let me know. The best way of "consuming" all that information is to download the areas you want (eg sketches, libraries) and then unzipping so you can take a good look at what there is). Then just copy in the sketch to a suitably named folder in your Arduino sketches folder, and the libraries similarly into your _libraries_ folder. I'll mention this again when I next upload a video with a sketch and library (I'm working on it now).
@@RalphBacon there are heaps of videos on PlatformIO "Tomasz Tarnowski" has a nice simple setup and esp32 wifi connect. So I am getting there with that. the thing I seam to have missed is the simple use of Github. Your linked page if sooo full of stuff how much time you spent god and your wife only knows. vids on the subject of git and github i find way to deep. All i want to know is how to find , retrieve and implement your code examples. pls
Hi Ralph, have the fish got names ? neat little userupper project as it's always nice to find a use for something that's been sitting there for years !...cheers.
Dark Goldie, Light Goldie and Bluey, now that you ask. 🐡Yes, it's been fun using stuff I had mostly lying around and it's funny how useful it's all become!
That's OK, the 40% has only got to travel 2.1m (just measured it) to the Wi-Fi access point! However, your assertation that ABS blocks radio signals seems at odds with this: "ABS is valuable, because it does not impede the movement of wireless technologies, including WIFI, Bluetooth, and RF." See bit.ly/3XHSJqO
Hi Ralph, while I really love the products you do, I still wonder why you don’t make these projects more broadly usable with software like home assistant & ESPhome. Think you should really look into this and it will probably make your projects interesting for a broader automation public. Thank you for making these videos!
Another viewer alluded to this, and if I had my time again I might well have done that. On the other hand, eggs, basket, all in one... one fault and the house comes crashing down.
@@RalphBacon This is a nice simple self contained project that;s easy to follow. Why on earth would you want to complicate it by using home assistant requiring an unobtainable raspberry pi, a steep software learning curve, internet connectivity and constant updates. This project will still be happily running in many years to come doing what you intended it to do. No please don't get dragged into the home assistant minefield.
Hey Ralph. I have tell you, whenever I have an idea for a project, the first place I look is your site. Namespace, hardware debounce, MOSFETs, and more I can't remember (I'm also a senior). Thanks for all of your hard work on the projects and the videos!
I'm very happy that find my videos useful, SteveX. Hang on, what's this "also" a senior? I'm only 32. 😂🤣😁🤥
@@RalphBacon Is that 32 Celsius?
The opposite of "flink" is "träge" ( lazy ). This is an indicator of how quickly the fuse trips after the limit value is exceeded. -Greetings from good old germany 🙂
Salutations, Good Old Germany! Yes, those fuse descriptions are, quite frankly, strange. Why are we using German words? What's wrong with Quick and Slow Blow fuses? Ich finde dis ganze Sache sehr komisch! 😁
@@RalphBacon You do not have "kindergarten" for it we have nothing for "doggy bag". -> Together we are strong!
Maybe you didn't realise but Ralph has German heritage. I don't think either word confused him. 😁
You need a 3D printer Ralph. You'd be surprised how useful one can be for these projects. I've used mine to print out bezels for OLED screens (including a surround to protect the glass edges on those 1.3"/0.96" screens).
I've also used it to print spacers for toggle switches, so they all align perfectly on a front panel.
And used it to make a drill template, so you get everything lined up perfectly when drilling an aluminium or plastic case.
In this project , you could have used it to print out the ply wood part (including all the mounting holes).
You can buy metal threaded heat inserts for mounting bolts (eg: M3,M4)
And for the designing part , I'd recommend OnShape. (There's some very good getting started video tutorials)
Thanks for the tips about the ESP32 pins. I just got some of those Wemos modules to make a camera slider.
You're preaching to the converted, Matt. I realise I "need" one, but I have yet (after several years) to find the time to learn how to use one. I'll look at OnShape to see if it is any easier than others I have tried.
Another nice practical project well presented. Especially liked seeing some 'mains' in and using up some old parts. Great Documentation and linked info again. You really knock these out of the park for anyone wanting to do useful things with the details.
Well, you never know what thoughts it might trigger in someone's mind. A variation here, a tweak there and someone has a project based on this that does something totally different!
Ralph, do you have a part number for that enclosure?
So Banggood have them again but at an eye-watering price:
www.banggood.com/custlink/GvKJo9EUFa
But in the UK, they are available (or something very similar) from CPC, you can search their website.
It's funny there's been pump kits for every board and I figured it was to turn the sprinklers on haha. You have taken it to the next level though. I approve. I could have a small farm on my property if not for the racoon infestation haha
I'd love a racoon to visit us here (there are none in the UK) but I've seen horror videos of racoons in the USA destroying rubbish bins and so on, quite a problem.
@@RalphBacon we have whole families on one of our verandas sometimes. A few years ago there was a mom and 5 chubby little babies. All five tried to squeeze through the verticals styles of the deck and their fat little bums got them stuck haha. There's foxes in the woods beside my house too. They're harmless and very small. My cats are heavier I suspect. There's foxes everywhere on this island, even in the "city". Haha they act like you're not even there when I'm outside in the evenings.
@@RalphBacon sorry to bug ya Ralph but is the coffee thing recurring? If not I'm remiss and apologize.
Coffee thing is a one-off unless you took out a regular donation which no-one has, I believe, and I don't blame them!
Oi! Bacon! Where's the gland on that RCD socket box?! 😉
I spotted that too! At least a rubber grommet if not a pukka gland! Ooh err! 🤔😲😳
There's not enough room for a full gland, but I'm using a conduit offcut between the RCD and my project enclosure. Works well to protect the cables.
@@RalphBacon I'll let you off then! 👍
Very good indeed. One thing you could do, once is a transparent lid, is to print a very nice panel artwork in photograpic paper and glue i to a carton and install it inside, covering the electronics and a knife cut slot for the LED display. Hope the idea helps. Have a nive weekend.
Yes, I could indeed do that. I have a laser printer so it would look good. But I'm vain and quite like the exposed PCB and wiring. Does that make me weird?
@@RalphBacon just nerdy :)
I can live with that Vic!
Commented, liked, subscribed and bell ticked. Anything else I can do for you Ralph Dude🤔🤣🤣 TFS, GB :)
Awesome! Thank you! I just hope you actually like my videos 😁😂🤣
Ralph: Thanks for the reminder/heads up on the TX/RX pins on the WEMOS boards. I am going to go into my parts bins, locate this board and leave a note with them that these pins are switched. THANKS!!!!!
Glad to help! I can't believe they got it wrong. Neither can I believe that I forgot there was an issue with these boards (I assumed I had made a mistake on the Workshop Heater Controller PCB). Doh!
Generally I keep my projects to low voltage. Use commercial transformers outside of the project to drop the 240v to 12v, then use smaller regulators inside my project to reduce to 5v. I don't fancy messing with high voltage. There was a huge backlash against a youtuber who had built a mains project with incredibly small clearance between positive and negative, also between high and low voltages.
I've kept on the mains voltage traces together and spaced apart. Apparently you only need 2mm between Line and Neutral but I've made it significantly more than that.
Those 8 way 7 seg displays get very flaky after a while. I have found it best to remove the sockets and solder the display modules direct to the pcb or you will be forever wiggling them trying to get all the segments to light. Interestingly I bought some more recently and they came without the sockets.
Very true!!! Whilst I was testing out this project on the workbench I got some strange symbols and finally resolved it by _swapping_ one group of 7-segments with the other. I guess it just made a better contact. But soldered would be even better.
That was designed with amazing intention. I still use more doublesided tape then I care to admit. Also, I wake up in cold sweats thinking about the pin mappings change on something I am mass deploying, I feel you.
If you are going to mass deploy, I suspect a couple of PCB iterations is to be expected. After all, the cost is not a barrier. Rather that than discovering a mistake in your product once it's been rolled out. 😲
maybe extend the standoffs between the wood and the pcb so the numeric displays are close to the lid ...
or between the wood and the bottom of the box, maybe simplify the power delivery.
why 2 transformers, the 12V could easily power the 5V unless not enough amps.
No heating for the pond/pump ?
The LED is on "long" headers and also plugs into sockets so the display is very close now to the lid - great minds think alike!
Two transformers because there is not enough current for everything on that small 12v one (could have got one larger one I suppose) but I didn't want any noise introduced to the 5v supply from the pump.
No heating in the pond; I'm relying on the bubbles (on every quarter of an hour for 1 minute over night) to keep the ice at bay. We shall see!
Good job Ralph. Next time ask your wife to look over that PCB before sending it out. I think you've inspired me to make a fish pond. Thanks for sharing. I always enjoy watching even though I've not working electronics at all now.
The wife, you say? Unlikely. A technophobe in every sense! But Millie, our cat, is much more switched on with electronic devices and would have spotted all those "errors". A C++ genius too. 😻
So I used to worry about staying with the 100x100 PCB footprint but I needed a 250x300 PCB and 5 pcs only cost $40 including shipping so still a good deal. That was from JLC.
Yes, larger boards from PCBWay are good value too, but the price does jump from the $5 most hobbyists are expecting to pay (plus shipping). I thought I'd stick to the "normal" size, but good to know larger ones are fine for "one offs".
Great video, I never got notice that it was here I just stumbled across it Blinking TH-cam, any way nice info and I hope it has cleared up all that external wiring mess you had in the garden🙂
Yes, indeed, it's all very neat now in my garden.
Can you provide a "block diagram" for the project? It would be nice to see how every sub-module is hooked up to get an idea of how the project is designed.
I've added my hand-drawn block diagram to my GitHub, Jim. You can find it here: github.com/RalphBacon/254-ESP32-Pond-Controller
Any questions keep them to yourself, 😲oh, wait. No, no, please let me know! 😉
Nice! With websockets would be much better i think
You mean websockets in a software way? Instead of being on Wi-Fi? Hmm.
@@RalphBacon i saw your web page uses http so every time you click a link or want to ger an update of a reading you have to refresh the page issue a get request, is not real time.
In contrast, websocket uses real-time data transfer, just like node red for example.
BTW, big fan! I like your videos very much especially the ones that you talk about coding.
Right now i'm trying to do a latch on latch off switch with MPR121 module to turn on/off two wall mounted lights when you touch their body.
OK, I understand about the websockets, a server push update. I will have to investigate that for my next project. Good luck with your MPR121 latching project!
So data in web sockets is constantly going in and out?@@mugur52
Love the countdown. Very retro… it looks like a bomb from a 1980s movie.
I really hope that there are no explosions in this project, Jonathan!
@@RalphBacon I hope so. You have the fast blow fuses, so that should keep you safe. I've blown those fuses with my bench power supply, hoping for some special effects, but they basically just go open circuit without making a sound or any cool flash (don't try this at home and note you can get safety goggles from the hardware for a few quid). Not even a fizz or a pop. On another note, Issue #5849: not properly reading the random nerd tutorials tutorials. I've had that issue a few times.
Enjoyed the video. I looked for a link or a name of the phone app controlling the esp32. Must have been covered before. I've looked on the Play Store and they seem to be bluetooth only. Not wifi. Hence the question - which app and is there a link to more info about it. I also looked on your github and didn't see it there. Liked the video, liked the phone app. Please don't take this as whining. Overall great vidieo
If you mean the "app" that he demoed at the end, its not actually an app, but a webpage hosted by the esp32
I don't think you're whining 😲James, no worries.
Yes, as Peter says, the "app" is in fact a web page served up by the ESP32 (in its "server" mode).
So I send the web page request into the ESP32 (192.168.1.92/on) and in the ESP32 code there is a "handler" for the "/on" part of that URL. What the handler (a standard ESP32 function) does, is set a GPIO pin high to turn on the relay (so the pump starts) and then returns an http response of 200 "OK" with something in the body to say "OK, I've done that".
Maybe I should walk my viewers through this, it's simple and mega useful? Web control of your ESP32 sketch! 👍
@@RalphBacon Hi Ralph, AWESOME videos, I just found your page today and have watched half dozen tutorials. Have you made the above mentioned web control of ESP32 sketch yet? I can't find it. Thanks!
Did you use http or https? My Android phone complains if I don't use https & I really don't want the hassle with certificates & updates.
No https, just plain old http as it's all local network. I think Google Chrome on my phone (and desktop) put an exclamation mark next to the address to show it's not secure but I don't care about that (actually if you look at the "live" phone demo it will show exactly what happens). Does your phone complain more vehemently?
I would like to be able to incorporate mains switching and power supply into some of my projects, but I don't feel like I understand enough about how to deal with mains voltages safely. If you'd like to talk about that on a future video, or share some pointers to learning resources, that would be much appreciated.
For example, I recently did a project to measure the temperature in our outdoor ponds so that the pond heaters can switch on automatically when the water gets near freezing. I would have liked to have one device do both the temperature sensing and switching power to the heaters, but I'm not confident about dealing with exposed mains voltages. So I ended up with a commercial WiFi switch, and then built a battery-powered ESP32 with waterproof DS18B20 temperature sensor. Both connect to Home Assistant, which turns the heaters on or off based on the reported water temperature.
One of the complications is that one of the heaters is 1500W, which means the relay should be rated for at least 15A (in the U.S.) for a small margin of safety. The other heaters are 1000W, which might get by with 10A relays.
Perhaps finding self-contained relay modules and power supplies would have been good enough, so that I could keep high voltages on physically separate boards/modules from the microcontroller and sensor. I'm not sure that I'd trust bargain priced modules from Banggood or AliExpress, without someone more knowledgeable reviewing them. (I've watched BigClive do lots of teardowns of products that don't have safe isolation of mains voltages, or use components that aren't adequately rated.)
Like you, I have an innate distrust of all things mains-powered when it originates from an unregulated factory. But there are some good relay modules from the likes of DigiKey, Mouser, RS Components and so on, ironically all sourced from the same factories in China but this time built UP to a specification not DOWN to a price!
I would de-rate all mains modules by 50% or thereabouts; if you need to switch 10A then you should select something that can handle 15A (I think you said as much).
Splitting low voltage and mains parts of the project is no bad thing, frankly. Although I have both in the same project here, you will notice that the 240v bit is well away from everything else; it's almost a separate PCB!
Seeing the fish swimming all over the screen reminded me of the "pet fish" screensaver HP gave away with their printers in the mid 90's. Unfortunately mine "died" because I didn't feed it or play with it enough......
The 90s were strange!
This is an interesting project, nice to see "practical" uses for these IoT devices, I can see you filling your phone with apps for all of them! Perhaps you'll need to look into some home automation hub and produce an integrated website to control all the devices in future.
This is my third phone app-controlled project, Ian; if I had known the way it was going a few years ago, I would definitely have designed them all to fit into a RasPi IFTTT-style node-red mqtt system!
Nice project Ralph. Eyes feeling ok, and the new house is coming together wonderfully
That's great news, Mark. I had a check-up last week on my eyes and things are "stable", so no more doctor visits for 6 months (which will turn into 10 months knowing the NHS 😲) So it's onwards and upwards for us both!
Very slick project Ralph! Put in a 12volt valve and you can auto-drain as needed 😀
Good grief, Gord, the last thing I need is an empty barrel with 3 fish flapping about on the bottom. Evaporation, rain and the occasional hose pipe top-up is good enough for me! And the fish.
Nice project Ralph. What was the box you housed it all in, do you have a link?
Would you Adam & Eve it? Banggood have stopped supplying these to the UK.
So if you are a UK resident it was pretty much like this one from CPC:
bit.ly/3ib6duW
They do two versions, with a solid or transparent lid. They are all IP45/IP66 so suitable for outdoors (sheltered, I would imagine).
In the USA you can still get the one I used from Banggood:
www.banggood.com/custlink/KKmcoVpyLy
The TTGO module has no RF shielding?
None. 😲
Strange to see the chip without the usual metal cap. But that's the way they make them. Seem to be OK, no complaints on the 'Net.
Maybe that metal lid was just a marketing gimmick from one firm that everyone else copied?
I love watching your videos and get all optimistic and order wemos d1 r1 mini etc. I was fine using arduino ide but now I am wading thro PlatformIO and Blinking my little mini all good.
My New project is to monitor the lever[l of stuff in our septic tank and warn me before it hits the fan so to speak. I like the Idea of OTA updates as well, does that run on D1 R1 esp8266 does it have to be esp32 ? One thing I seem to have missed in your videos and is leaving at the back of the class is how to retrieve and install the mountain of information on your Github linked page, which bit is the "sketch", "the libraries"etc I have missed the episode of how to handle this Github info and quickly easily run the code berried within. Have you recorded such a video or could you ?
I'm glad you are finding my videos useful! PlatformIO is, initially at least, a bit of a learning curve but there are many articles and videos out there to assist. It's in a different league to the Arduino IDE 2.0 even though the underlying editors are based on the same engine.
My GitHub entries are usually labelled to indicate which bit is which. By that, I mean the sketch(es) are usually in one folder, any associated libraries in another. I normally name them something meaningful but if I have missed something do let me know.
The best way of "consuming" all that information is to download the areas you want (eg sketches, libraries) and then unzipping so you can take a good look at what there is). Then just copy in the sketch to a suitably named folder in your Arduino sketches folder, and the libraries similarly into your _libraries_ folder.
I'll mention this again when I next upload a video with a sketch and library (I'm working on it now).
@@RalphBacon there are heaps of videos on PlatformIO "Tomasz Tarnowski" has a nice simple setup and esp32 wifi connect. So I am getting there with that. the thing I seam to have missed is the simple use of Github. Your linked page if sooo full of stuff how much time you spent god and your wife only knows. vids on the subject of git and github i find way to deep. All i want to know is how to find , retrieve and implement your code examples. pls
OK, I'll try and explain in a future video.
Hi Ralph, have the fish got names ? neat little userupper project as it's always nice to find a use for something that's been sitting there for years !...cheers.
Dark Goldie, Light Goldie and Bluey, now that you ask. 🐡Yes, it's been fun using stuff I had mostly lying around and it's funny how useful it's all become!
Cheese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
do you raise fish or something?
Only to the top of the pond to feed them!
Nice project 👍, this abs box will block 60% of wifi signal of ESP32.
That's OK, the 40% has only got to travel 2.1m (just measured it) to the Wi-Fi access point! However, your assertation that ABS blocks radio signals seems at odds with this:
"ABS is valuable, because it does not impede the movement of wireless technologies, including WIFI, Bluetooth, and RF."
See bit.ly/3XHSJqO
@@RalphBacon
int val=WiFi.RSSI()*(-1);
serial.println(val);
just check Rssi value with & without that box.
Hi Ralph, while I really love the products you do, I still wonder why you don’t make these projects more broadly usable with software like home assistant & ESPhome. Think you should really look into this and it will probably make your projects interesting for a broader automation public. Thank you for making these videos!
Another viewer alluded to this, and if I had my time again I might well have done that. On the other hand, eggs, basket, all in one... one fault and the house comes crashing down.
@@RalphBacon This is a nice simple self contained project that;s easy to follow. Why on earth would you want to complicate it by using home assistant requiring an unobtainable raspberry pi, a steep software learning curve, internet connectivity and constant updates. This project will still be happily running in many years to come doing what you intended it to do. No please don't get dragged into the home assistant minefield.