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Arduino Focus control and Cloud sensor

ncjunk

By ncjunk
in DIY Astronomer

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George

George

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We're getting there Kevin!

I think we all just like playing...although i think George was fed up with 'playing' over the weekend ;-)

Nice to see you got it working George!

:) Yes Ive become obsessed with this project.....hardly posted in the other sections for weeks.

BTW got the LDR from the link YesYes posted.....looks identical to the one from that other project Neil ;)

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yesyes

yesyes

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I got a bit obsessed with this as well. I'm dreaming SNMP requests, temperature graphs and I/O pins these days... :)

I actually forgot to check the real weather and whether the sky is clear to go out with the scope. :-/

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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I'll have a look at that after work.

I will post a version for you, George, that records data to c and has lights. I am going to make it a different driver name from the focuser only.

Trying to find an easy way to do a graph, looks like i have to do a dataset then link to that.

I have stopped looking in the other parts of the forum as well!

Also, need to check over that rain sensor it looks the mutts nuts! I am still impressed you got that!

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yesyes

yesyes

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Neil, have you already come up with an algorithm to determine whether there's cloud from the temperature readings?

I see on one of the links George posted that there is a conversion formula for the "real" sky temperature. Do we need to do that?

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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Depends on the accuracy,

For general use we probably don't need it but i have no experience of what our readings do under differing conditions i.e. Ambient temp -3, sky temp?? Then cloud rolls in??

Or what if amb temp 3, sky -1 then cloud?

The algorithum corrects the sky temp reading based on current ambient temp so i may add it in BUT i want to work it out for myself with any data we can all record...and i suspect you may be recording data! Either that or those graphs are omnipotent.

George, just testing a basic version now. It records data to a text file with every line showing "date time, ambtemp, skytemp"

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yesyes

yesyes

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I am recording data but not the right data at the moment. The sensors are inside, so I'm recording room temperature and radiator temperature. ;-)

At the moment it's more or less testing if the "system" works, the arduino, the code, the graphs... It seems to work fine. The counter shows me it has replied to 2385 SNMP requests so far. Seems stable.

Now I need to figure out how I can measure outside. I'd have to run a cable outside somehow. I don't have an obs yet. Need to buy a house first .... ;-)

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George

George

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George, just testing a basic version now. It records data to a text file with every line showing "date time, ambtemp, skytemp"

Great stuff!

I'm putting it all in a bigger project box tomorrow when they come from Bitsbox, Ive been thinking about that heater on the rain gauge and I want to put as much distance from it away from the Melexis just incase any radiated heat effects the ambient readings, it shouldn't out in the open.

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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Posted a new version on yahoo for you but it will still have the D drive problem. It does, however, now have a completly unique driver name!

It is a bit ugly but does the job. Menu is for enabling logging and file is stored in c:\clouddata

I aim to add the algorithum and a graph next....and improve the looks.

Also contains source code....will correct the d drive thing tomorrow.

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yesyes

yesyes

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Hmmmmm, I see a welcome side effect of this project emerging.

Having pointed the sensor at one of the radiators in the living room and recording the radiator temperature and room temperature over time I can now look into details of the "heating pattern" in this house.

Last night I thought of an experiment. I have turned down the thermostat that controls the temperature of the house by ONE degree. this has resulted in the thermostat switching off the heating 30 minutes(!!!) earlier in the morning than the days before. So reducing the room temperature by a single degree saved me 30 minutes worth of gas.

I find this very interesting. This project might just have paid for itself...

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yesyes

yesyes

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hehehehe, would be worth investigating.

I have to find the balance between cost and comfort. :-)

It really is interesting what you can read in these graphs when you plot temperatures over a period of time. Before I had no idea when and how long the boiler heats. And it's easy to spot that this isn't linear at all. The first few degrees warm up quite quickly, but then, as it gets higher, it takes ages to heat up by another degree.

And yes, you're welcome to look at the graphs... ;-)

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George

George

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Neil Ive installed the latest Cloud driver but its not showing in the Ascom drop down focuser chooser, tried the same checklist used with the same problem I had in May.

Ive tried it on the laptop too which I used for the early releases.

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ncjunk

ncjunk

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They switch the traffic light colours...they are temperature setpoints in deg c where 22 deg c = 2200. if the temperature difference between ambient and sky is greater than sp1 and sp2 then clear is displayed. If it is below sp1 and above sp2 then partially cloudy is displayed. If it is below both then cloudy is displayed.

Its a simple setup for now so have a play and let me know what you want added.

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George

George

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Is that a proper reading your showing there??

Yes, altho ambient seems a little low, -2C more than the observatory thermometer is showing but the Melexis is only a foot or so above the ground on a temporary rod.....thinking about it it could be right as the air nearest the ground will be really cold at the moment with the frosts we have.

Sky temperature this afternoon was showing 31337 so thats a -2C drop with darkness.

Would be nice if we could have a decimal point and a ''C'' showing :)

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