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Help a noob with a big project

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Matty111

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Gday fellers, well I want to learn more about electronics and circuit’s and I feel the best way that I can do this is to make something sort of complex (well by my standards anyway).

I’m a light vehicle mechanic and I currently work in a forklift repair place but have done heaps of work with customising cars wiring and pcs and general **** and I can solder fine and whatnot so I’m not a complete newb with electronic but not far off.

I’m making a new elaborate snake tank out of an old huge hardwood TV cabinet (which suits it perfectly) and want to put a big wiring system in for many things. I can get a few components off ebay for it all (where’s the fun in that) but won’t learn anything and I know it’s a big ask but would a few of you kind people help me out by drawing a diagram (I can read them fine and know what all the components are) and then help me out by answering my (probably many) questions after?

So here goes.

I’m thinking the best way to do this is via 12VDC and have relays in place for actuating the two 240VAC heat and UV lamps. Obviously circuit breakers in there to.

Firstly I want three temp sensors and three humidity sensors and all displayed on six three number displays.

I want to use one of the temp circuit’s to actuate a relay for a 240VAC 100W heat lamp at an adjustable temp that can be displayed on one of the temp displays when you press a button and another two buttons to adjust it whenever I need.

Secondly I want to have an adjustable time for turning on a relay for the UV lamp in the day and off again at night.

Thirdly I need a circuit that controls 2 separate red led strips that will be on at various brightness at different times all day and night (both strips need to be at a different brightness to each other all the time as one strip will be in a brooding box) and I would like to have them slowly fade in and out when the need to and not just suddenly if not to hard?

Fourth I have 5 3.5V 350mA led’s that I want to run on two circuit’s (one with two that point up and one with three that point down) that need to run only during the day. And I want them to be on at different brightness’s at different times of the day again and different brightness’s to each other again

Fifth I have a 12V 300mA water pump that I want to run only during the day but at a varying rate so I can monitor how much humidity is being made (heaps of water pumped all over the tank will create heaps of humidity which is fine during the winter but not at summer)

I also want 5 pots to vary the brightness of the two red strips, the two white led’s and the speed on the pump and that will just disregard the power the circuits have them at (via diodes?) and to turn the pot all the way off to put them into “auto” mode

I would also like to have two SPDT switches for the UV and heat lamps (on/off/auto) and have a little rgb led for everything so when it’s in auto mode it will be green, blue for on and red for off.

And finally I would like a total wattage display just for shits and giggles.


If you can help out that would be great as everyone needs to start somewhere.

Cheers

Matt
 
Hi Matty,

I look after industrial machinery as well as half a dozen hysters, and a antique lasing bagnall mobile crane.

Sounds like you need to get into arduino's, you can get dht11 modules that are a temp and humid sensor combined, for the light sensor theres a module for the arduino that tells you light level, and uv level too, time controlling the leds shouldnt be too difficult using a real time clock, brightness can be done using pwm.
 
Gday mate, Yeah sweet, I mainly work on Nissan's but do all brands to. One of the places I service has an old lasing bagnall ride on pallet mover thing, pretty cool ****. I have looked at anduino systems but I really want to get down and dirty and understand why, how and what certain components do in a circuit and how they change the end result so I can sort of start from scratch if you know what I mean. I thought PWM systems were extremely complex just like in cars and whatnot, but if there that easy then I have like six other LED circuits around the house that I can implement it so sweeet.
 
If you want to learn about electronics I'd advise cutting your teeth on a simpler project first. Your complex project is certainly doable using discrete components and simple ICs, but I suspect de-bugging it (and we all have to do that with our own projects) would be frustrating and risks leaving you disillusioned with electronics, which would be a shame. The project described is crying out for the use of a microcontroller, such as an Arduino as suggested by dr pepper. The parts cost would likely be much less than a discrete-components solution.
 
Yeah ok, I was thinking about it over night and what I might do is make this into two projects. First I will make the thermostat and pump circuits and later on I will make the LED circuits with either a micro processor or like with a light senser like ol mate pepper said
 
I think a light sensor would be much better (and easier) if the tank was near a window so it could just emulate the sun and how it varys in brightness but it isn't going to be so I don't think that would work, unless a wireless sensor of some sort could work without being to complex?. Regardless I will get to that once I have finished the other circuits.
 
The thermostat system alone, involving three temp sensors, three 3-digit displays and associated buttons/relays is enough to justify using a micrcontroller!
 
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