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It is now mounted outside and working (so far) excellent, right now, there is nice weather outside with a bit of cumulus and the MLX sensor is reporting around 21 degrees ambient and 2 degrees at the clouds, and -6 degrees when the cloud has flown away. I have been taking some pictures (not very good ones) but they illustrate how i have mounted everything. Here is the mlx sensor mounted in the lid, to the right, sealed with silicone glue. Under the heater pad sits the rain sensor connectors. The DB18B20 sensor is not shown but is hanging underneath the box. Here you can see the sensors mounted in the lid of the box, and also the DB18B20 sensor underneath the box. Mounted on the observatory with a slight angle for the rain to drain off. Right now (during the day) in the driver setup dialog box

Try the i2c i had in my library... still can't remember where i found it though /Daniel i2cmaster.zip

Yes, thats a faulty link, should remove that from the original code. Can't remember where i downloaded the ic2 library i use How ever, i have got it to work, i had mixed up the inputs for SDA and SCL for the MLX90614, the .ino is correct, the read me is not... so, the right inputs are SCL to A5 and SDA to A4 ​And also, don't forget the resistor to the db18b20, will update the read me when i have taken some pictures of the hookup/waterproof box, maybe will do it this weekend if i can find the time, big wedding coming up (not mine though) /Daniel

I have recieved my new bits from china and loaded it up with the newest code and command.ino, the arduino now recongnizes fine by windows, how ever, it isnt recognized by the driver. It isnt responding to the commands in the serial monitor either (:IN# etc.) Is there any changes in the last code or is there anything else wrong with the hardware? This makes no sense Have to try some more with other codes :-/ /Daniel

Hmm, thats odd, it sais that it isn't. Is there maybe a different i2c library?

I've noticed that I forgot in the Read me, to add a 4,7kohm resistor between +5V and D10 to the DB18B20 temp probe, will fix that and also add more pictures of the mounted hardware as soon i get the new arduino and MLX90614 from china. No need to add a new version of the read me yet, maybe remove the one that is on github now? /Daniel

Haha, well, better an cheap eBay arduino than the scope i mounted yesterday, all new losmandy plates

Well... Misfire in the obsy, manage to fry my nano, new is on the way but it will take a couple of weeks :-( Bad soldering on one of the pins of the MLX-sensor probably :-/

No need to rush, i have just received my waterproof enclosure, and mounted all sensors with silicon. Should have dried by tomorrow, then it will be mounted outside Note that there is different rain sensors, one with bigger gaps between the wires, and one with tighter gaps. I have the one with bigger gaps, don't know witch is the best though. /Daniel

I have updated the Read Me with instructions how to set the threshold sliders and a picture of the setup dialog. /Daniel Cloud Sensor Evo Plus.doc

I have been testing the new slider settings and they work very well, i have tested with waterdrops, a spray, and fine tuned the settings as well it can be done without the sensor enclosure mounted outside under the real conditions. I will now test it further with a real sequense run in my Sequence program. I will also refine the Read Me file with how to fine tune the sliders. Looks like we are closing in to releasing 1.0 Glad you deside to give this a go, and a big cheer to hdutton who has done a remarkable job, truly awesome. /Daniel

Looks like that did the trick, i am remotely checking the parameters from Norway now, tomorrow evening, i am most certain home again and can verify with water as well. But it seems to be acting properly now!

It could be hardware indeed, i am not excluding any options. Newest fw, .ino and driver - I have suceeded triggering Safe, Unsafe in different scenarios. The cloud -part are working flawless. The rain sensor seems to work a bit backwards. I applied two small drops of water, (sensor indicates around 40% +/-1 %) that will be about where i want to trigger the unsafe command, adjusted the "Wet-threshold" to 40% to report raining, that works just fine I then dried of the sensor, (sensor Indicates 98%) and now it reports "raining" and triggering an "Unsafe" Status. So after this test, it looks like the hardware does what it should, at least it reports some values /Daniel

Just updated, it seems that it is reporting 100% rain or 100% dry, nothing in between, and the only way to get "Dry" is to have both sliders to 100% And even then, it won't report Status: Safe Check the picture for the settings and status. /Daniel

It seems to work good, it´s looks nice and clean, really like the look. The sliders work properly, and i could trigger different states just by changing the sliders. But let me see if i understand them correctly: When i am altering the "Dry"slider, i am just changing the sensitivity when the Arduino is receiving values from the rain sensor that corresponds to the values "Dry"? so to get "Dry", i had to move the slider all the way up to 100%, otherwise it was "raining" As by now, i have not tested it with water (mist/droplets/big drops/soaked) But it works nice! Awesome work!

Absolutely, upload it. Yea, that might come in handy when setting the threshold. /Daniel

Here is the read me, try to kept it as simple as possible. /Daniel Cloud Sensor Evo Plus.txt

Yea, i will keep on testing different conditions and see how the Sequence program responds during an active image session. That sounds good, and don't feel any pressure at all, it's just a DIY project I am writing up a complete read me with sll components needed, how to load the code, command.ino and fine tuning the thresholds, will upload it when i'm finished with that. /Daniel

Indeed the Sequence program that works a bit different, it changes status first when i activate a imaging plan, so it seems to be working after all. I will post a comment to perhaps change this in the upcoming version of Sequence, that it changes status even when a plan is not active. Does the driver send commands to the sequence programs or is the Sequence programs requesting status? /Daniel

Update (again) :-) I tried with MaxPilote and that works like a charm, it looks like a bug in the ASA's Sequence program then... I will consult on their forum if there is anyone there that has similar problems. /D

Hmm... Maybe i will download any other software that uses ascom safety monitor to make sure that it isn't (or is) a bug in my sequence program. /D

Not quite (bad at explaining) When i first open up my sequence program, i choose your ASCOM driver and check the settings in the dialog, all values are correct (higher delta than 21 degrees and not raining) - Is Safe, i then press ok and closes ASCOM chooser box. The sequence program indicates Safe - everything is in order. I then open up the ASCOM chooser and setup dialog and maybe here is what is wrong (that i am opening it again) - when i do this, i cannot see the values in the setup dialog from the Hardware, it display N/A at all values. This is what i came up with during som more tests; Assumed sensor values (can't check them) Sequence programDry - Safe, i than applied water (read next line)Rain - Still reports SafeDelta lower than 21 - Not Safe, i than applied heat to the sensor making it (next line)Delta higher than 21 - Still reports Not safe, even after 10minutes with heat present to make a high deltaIn conclusion;Applied water before choosing ASCOM driver, opened setup dialog, that said Not safe, pressed ok and now the sequence program sais Not OK - as it shouldI than dried off the rain sensor, the sequence program still sais Not ok. I cannot now open the setup dialog because itcan't display the values (N/A)I don´t know if it is the sequence program that is not updating the values or the driver :// D

Sorry,, forgot to specify, the setup dialog sais raining and declares a "Not safe" but my sequence program does not get updated with "not safe" but instead sais OK.The firmware seems to work because the setup dialog box gets updated as it should, it semms to be the communication between the driver and my sequence program... That info from the link is spot on, exactly what i was looking for, nice seeing also :-D I've actually measured 0,9 Arcseconds in my hometown once :-) /Daniel

Ok, that seems logical. I have read that report and it also points out (very rough) that there is a 20-ish Celsius difference when the sky is clear, its a good starting point, i might have to wait until i can mount the hardware in a waterproof box and test it out myself, at least, we have a lot of clouds to test in on.

Meanwhile searching for realiable sources of cloud temp etc. i have tested the rain sensor a bit more, it seems that it is far less sensitive that is has to be. When placing one droplet of water on the sensor, it reports damp, that is fine, but even after seven drops of water it reports "Damp", I woul'd rather have it report "Raining" after fewer drops. Parhaps one could implement a sensitivity slider for the rain sensor as well? Even when the driver sais "Raining", the safety monitor reports OK... I do not know if this has to do with my Sequence program or if there is som miss-comminucation with the driver though :/ /Daniel