- Joined
- Jun 26, 2015
- Messages
- 47
- Reaction score
- 11
I like the idea, but nobody seems to be able to get something going. The first thing you need to decide on is sensors. Float switches are easy, and you can have as many as you want with a basic multiplexer chip if you need more. The more complex sensors like ph, salinity, etc get trickier. You need a list people can just buy everything from. Preferably in the US/EU. Direct from China is a pain for people. To make those probes work, you usually need some electronics. So you need to source those as well.
Things like relay controlled outlets are easy to build, but to sell them requires certification with UL/CE. That can get expensive. I think you could provide kits.
I'm a programmer with EE experience. I could design it. I haven't for those reasons and partly because I can't figure out why I want one enough to pay for one, let alone design one. It seems like most places I read about controllers did lighting programs. Meh, I'm ok with the $20 timer power strip for that. My fish don't need nanosecond precision light timing.
I can see usefulness in sending alerts based on things like the skimmer being full, or the ATO being empty. Not sure about RODI filters. How would you sense that? Or just an alert every 6 months? I can use Google Calendar for that...
The pi zero kinda sucks for connecting to the Internet. No networking built in. Sure, usb, but if you want anything else you need to add a hub.. If you can get by with just a wifi adapter on usb, maybe. And it's certainly cheap, if they can ever keep them in stock.
So... Convince me, you might get a developer out of it...
Things like relay controlled outlets are easy to build, but to sell them requires certification with UL/CE. That can get expensive. I think you could provide kits.
I'm a programmer with EE experience. I could design it. I haven't for those reasons and partly because I can't figure out why I want one enough to pay for one, let alone design one. It seems like most places I read about controllers did lighting programs. Meh, I'm ok with the $20 timer power strip for that. My fish don't need nanosecond precision light timing.
I can see usefulness in sending alerts based on things like the skimmer being full, or the ATO being empty. Not sure about RODI filters. How would you sense that? Or just an alert every 6 months? I can use Google Calendar for that...
The pi zero kinda sucks for connecting to the Internet. No networking built in. Sure, usb, but if you want anything else you need to add a hub.. If you can get by with just a wifi adapter on usb, maybe. And it's certainly cheap, if they can ever keep them in stock.
So... Convince me, you might get a developer out of it...