Hello,
I'll do my best to get to the point. I made my Stanfield heatmat remotely controllable. I'd like to share and maybe someone else out there with more programming knowledge might be interested in improving on the idea.
I have been working on some projects for my sulcata's outdoor shed. Maybe someone might be interested in doing something similar. The only issues I have with my Stanfield heat mat is that it will lose power occasionally when put near the lowest setting. The mat also needs to be turned up to 4, then lowered in order to start and be at a safe temperature. So I can't do a remote on/off switch. Additionally, while the ambient temperature is consistent, the heat mat needs more monitoring because the temperature seems to change over long durations. Well, I like to travel. I have a friend who can watch the tortoise for the most part, and he has a large, safe backyard with plenty of food growing for him to eat. Nonetheless I spend too much time worrying when I leave town
While it sounds complicated, I believe most people could do this if you are not great with computers. I can make actual instructions if anyone actually finds interest in this.
I bought a Raspberry Pi kit with power supply and 4gb SD card ($60 embedded computer), long range usb wifi dongle to reach my wifi ($26), an arduino kit with a serial usb cable and breadboard ($40), and a servo motor with a bundle of breadboard jumpers ($11). IP Camera was $50.
The Raspberry pi connects to the arduino. The arduino is wired to the breadboard which is wired to a servo motor. (Its easier than legos to assemble, I can post links if any are interested.) The servo motor is glued to the dial on the Stanfield controls. The IP camera allows me to see the dial.
Servo motors turn to a given degree. The one I used goes from 0-180. I stuck a piece of tape to the end of the motor that spins and set the degree to 45. The tape gave me a reference point to line up with the dial. 180 degrees gives you a range of 1-5 on the dial if lined up right. I set the IP camera to have a direct view of the dial.
Result, I can remotely connect from my cell phone or computer, to the Raspberry pi through RDP or VNC. Unfortunately, I can't figure out a better way than using a GUI to turn the dial. It is possible, but that's where things start to go over my head. Maybe someone can help? But it does work.
The next thing I would like to add to this project would be 2 IR touchless temperature sensors. These would also be attached and controlled by the arduino. Ultimately I'd like the temperature sensors to read Tortie's surface temperature as well as the surface temperature of the mat itself and adjust accordingly. Anybody with more knowledge interested?
I'll do my best to get to the point. I made my Stanfield heatmat remotely controllable. I'd like to share and maybe someone else out there with more programming knowledge might be interested in improving on the idea.
I have been working on some projects for my sulcata's outdoor shed. Maybe someone might be interested in doing something similar. The only issues I have with my Stanfield heat mat is that it will lose power occasionally when put near the lowest setting. The mat also needs to be turned up to 4, then lowered in order to start and be at a safe temperature. So I can't do a remote on/off switch. Additionally, while the ambient temperature is consistent, the heat mat needs more monitoring because the temperature seems to change over long durations. Well, I like to travel. I have a friend who can watch the tortoise for the most part, and he has a large, safe backyard with plenty of food growing for him to eat. Nonetheless I spend too much time worrying when I leave town
While it sounds complicated, I believe most people could do this if you are not great with computers. I can make actual instructions if anyone actually finds interest in this.
I bought a Raspberry Pi kit with power supply and 4gb SD card ($60 embedded computer), long range usb wifi dongle to reach my wifi ($26), an arduino kit with a serial usb cable and breadboard ($40), and a servo motor with a bundle of breadboard jumpers ($11). IP Camera was $50.
The Raspberry pi connects to the arduino. The arduino is wired to the breadboard which is wired to a servo motor. (Its easier than legos to assemble, I can post links if any are interested.) The servo motor is glued to the dial on the Stanfield controls. The IP camera allows me to see the dial.
Servo motors turn to a given degree. The one I used goes from 0-180. I stuck a piece of tape to the end of the motor that spins and set the degree to 45. The tape gave me a reference point to line up with the dial. 180 degrees gives you a range of 1-5 on the dial if lined up right. I set the IP camera to have a direct view of the dial.
Result, I can remotely connect from my cell phone or computer, to the Raspberry pi through RDP or VNC. Unfortunately, I can't figure out a better way than using a GUI to turn the dial. It is possible, but that's where things start to go over my head. Maybe someone can help? But it does work.
The next thing I would like to add to this project would be 2 IR touchless temperature sensors. These would also be attached and controlled by the arduino. Ultimately I'd like the temperature sensors to read Tortie's surface temperature as well as the surface temperature of the mat itself and adjust accordingly. Anybody with more knowledge interested?