my computer controlled grow room - GrowControl 1.1

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
using a hydroponics system i can leave my grow alone for 2 weeks until i have to change the water and nutes in the res but i would totally dig a fully automated set up
Yup. leave my hydro and soil set up alone for 2 weeks constantly. (working, slowly, on the totally hands-off hydro system)
 

BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
i could go 2 weeks if i had to, i usually change the res/adjust the lights about every weekend tho...

i dont think i'll ever automate the nutrient adding, water refilling, or light lifting though.... that would get a little too involved, and i wouldnt know if it was measuring right until the plants were burned or dead. lol
 

Anotheroldephart

Well-Known Member
Great thread!! I'm going to watch this one because I go out of town occasionally. A source for some devices is X10 for security monitoring and surpluscenter.com for relays,boxes, switches, and such. I'm working on a short term power source for the transition from hoese current to the genset. We lost power last night,. That woke me up..shot me off the couch..twisted my hip..All so I could unplug the timers somy plants wouldn't go schizophrenic with the interuption of *day* as i've had thatoccur before with semi-disasterous results, the girls went back into veg growth briefly, and i wonder why I'm losing my hair! I haven't read the full details, I will, and I'm going to work out my system with a former Cisco routing guru. The more deeply I get involved with growing, the more i want to maximize my yeild..besides, it's cheap(relatively) compared with my other hobbies.
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
what kind of current can you switch with a reed relay? I had some problems getting the 1Ks to turn on with the PLC using solid state relays...
around 800ma before you start to have trouble with the contacts fusing together. a quick tap unlatches them, but could end up with a ruined crop by that time. controlling multiple grows from a central location, something else you have to think about. if one grow is busted, they all go down. just follow the wire.
 

BloodShot420

Well-Known Member
you can password protect the PLC program (and even if you didnt, cops are too stupid to figure that shit out)

also "the wire" would be over the internet...

but i think i would still go with individual systems...
 

ISmokePotBecauseItsCool

Well-Known Member
wow this thread blew my mind. I know nothing of programming or logic controllers or anything to that effect. I spent 10 mins figuring out my digital timer in between bong hits. +rep to all you guys with all those braincells left
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
wow this thread blew my mind. I know nothing of programming or logic controllers or anything to that effect. I spent 10 mins figuring out my digital timer in between bong hits. +rep to all you guys with all those braincells left
I look more like pinky from pinky and the brain, dopey dim wit and all. lol


Hey, I got a couple of these that I've just started playing with:
http://www.logicsupply.com/products/ci_82500
nice toy, I like those. I really need to learn assembly or get better at c so I can build one
 

rolln1up

Well-Known Member
built a computer controlled dwc system last year. the program is a java based so it crossplatform compatable. It used the paralel port for control had remote access a webcam and everything your building. In my signature is a link to the journal with a link for you to down load the java script hope you can find my write up useful good luck
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
built a computer controlled dwc system last year. the program is a java based so it crossplatform compatable. It used the paralel port for control had remote access a webcam and everything your building. In my signature is a link to the journal with a link for you to down load the java script hope you can find my write up useful good luck
nice work. I'd like to post my code soon, but I have to make sure my server is secure before I post links to things. kinda paranoid about that now, don't want problems to deal with.
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
built a computer controlled dwc system last year. the program is a java based so it crossplatform compatable. It used the paralel port for control had remote access a webcam and everything your building. In my signature is a link to the journal with a link for you to down load the java script hope you can find my write up useful good luck
parallel and crossplatform is an oxymoron. serial(232) or USB is MUCH more universal. (and java was intended to be x-platform, but barely made that grade. every OS tossed it's own wrench into the works)

But kudos!!!!
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
parallel and crossplatform is an oxymoron. serial(232) or USB is MUCH more universal. (and java was intended to be x-platform, but barely made that grade. every OS tossed it's own wrench into the works)
haha, that's a good joke. even made my friend laugh.

mono develop could turn into "the" programming language for cross-platform apps. I personally can't stand the whole .net framework thing, but it really looks like they're going in the right direction fast with that program.
 

rolln1up

Well-Known Member
parallel and crossplatform is an oxymoron. serial(232) or USB is MUCH more universal. (and java was intended to be x-platform, but barely made that grade. every OS tossed it's own wrench into the works)

But kudos!!!!
What do you mean java and parrale isn't a good
Crpssplatform option being that java runs in virtual environent on ever os. Parrell allows the designer to emplement the system with much less design requirment using only simple relays.
 

Anotheroldephart

Well-Known Member
I look more like pinky from pinky and the brain, dopey dim wit and all. lol




nice toy, I like those. I really need to learn assembly or get better at c so I can build one
Building a PC is simple really. Different components have different style plugs. I've built three..still don't no diddly about the workings, but sure as hell can build one!(lol) If you are going to build one, go to tigerdirect.com for the parts and pieces. They've got the best prices on the innards, as for the case, I'll dig around and see if I can find where I got it f you're interested. TD is good to work with . Their customer service really is.. The staff is quite knowlegdeable about the differences between seemingly the same thing and happy to help. if there are any problems with any of the parts TD will exchange no hassle, no worries. If you're in the market for a great security program one of my lil companies is a reseller for that and other software*mini plug**s*
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
Building a PC is simple really. Different components have different style plugs. I've built three..still don't no diddly about the workings, but sure as hell can build one!(lol) If you are going to build one, go to tigerdirect.com for the parts and pieces. They've got the best prices on the innards, as for the case, I'll dig around and see if I can find where I got it f you're interested. TD is good to work with . Their customer service really is.. The staff is quite knowlegdeable about the differences between seemingly the same thing and happy to help. if there are any problems with any of the parts TD will exchange no hassle, no worries. If you're in the market for a great security program one of my lil companies is a reseller for that and other software*mini plug**s*
tigerdirect has some good deals and they're reliable. I've gotten parts from them many times, and have built more then a few computers. unfortunately, that's not the kind of computer I was talking about building. more like a single chip that can fit on the tip of your finger. they had a 1tb sata hard drive on there for $80 the other day. I wanted 2.

Merry Christmas!
 

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
What do you mean java and parrale isn't a good
Crpssplatform option being that java runs in virtual environent on ever os. Parrell allows the designer to emplement the system with much less design requirment using only simple relays.
Lets see, most PC's these days don't have parallel ports. Macs, SGI's, Sun's, NeXT's never had them. (BeBOX had that cool 'geek port')

Nearly every java program I have tried, I had to screw with to get it to run on anything other then Windows. (makes me feel like getting open source C code and compiling myself, with needed tweaks)

Other thing I find interesting about java. Take VB. Everyone said its crap because its an interpreted program (p-Code) long comes java, which is the same thing. But has that cross platform aspect to it.

With all the hype around java, I have yet to see a 'real' program written in it. Its still slated for web apps and little utilities. Even after 10 years, still nothing to speak of.
 

lorenzo08

Well-Known Member
What do you mean java and parrale isn't a good
Crpssplatform option being that java runs in virtual environent on ever os. Parrell allows the designer to emplement the system with much less design requirment using only simple relays.
I think you'd like the hardware I'm using. a simple serial card with 6 i/o outputs and 4 analog inputs. easy enough to plug it right into the serial port, the protocol for it is really simple. one command turns a port on, another turns the port off. no flickers when the computer is booting up. add an rs-232 to rs-485 adapter in place of the serial cable, then you can add up to 32 devices on a chain of a single twisted pair of wires up to 4000 feet from the main computer. they are doing away with serial ports too slowly, but at least you can still buy usb to serial adapters.
 
Top