Recent content by gduprey

Update is that the Maxbotix firmware updates are finally done and available! I posted details in the originating thread, but wanted to followup here. Gerry

Well, after the promised "few weeks" (oh, about 26 weeks), the firmware update is complete and available over at the www.rgbled.org site. Folks can download the new firmware, the docs, change logs, etc. This got bogged down because adding the additional abilities pushed me over a few limits of...

If induction is a problem, look into SSR's. THey can switch large loads and do not couple anything from the load into the control line, regardless of the size of the pulse. And SSR is opto-isolated from the load and non-magnetic. Instead of a contact closure, you'd have to apply a small...

Howdy, I've been getting the sensors directly from www.maxbotix.com which seemed pretty inexpensive for what they are ($30 for one or $25/each for a 5 pack). As for the controller, you can see the board with a ruler by going to www.rgbled.org, select the "store" link and scroll down to the...

Howdy, Yes -- all parameters are stored in EEPROM so power fail will not require any sort of reconfiguration. If you define ranges and have various reporting control flags for a sensor, they will all be restored at startup. You can hook the controller to a computer, configure it and then move...

Howdy, Sure -- I can hold it if you'd like, though it may be a while (few weeks). If you get sick of waiting, just let me know. Gerry

Howdy Frank, Software control over the IO pins would be easy, so I'll add commands for that (simple "set pin high" and "set pin low") -- commands would be ignored if there was a sensor configured for that pin. The expansion abilities of the board are related to something I already want to do...

Probably a few weeks til the next firmware version -- I'm going away next week for a litle vacation. If you are looking for the general control (i.e. serial but not digital), that is available now. As for distances, the EZ1s use TTL levels and I have the controller set to drive the signal...

A particularly cool use of these sensors has been for beam break detectors in doorways. In particular, if you are interested in not only knowing if someone came through a door, but which way they came through, in the past, you'd need two beams and figure which got crossed first, etc. If you...

And just posted another announcing the availability of the the PC board and pre-programmed PIC chips as well as kits with all parts and such. Please see that post for details. Gerry

For those interested, I just received a batch of PC boards. These boards are designed to allow controlling from 1 to 4 sensors (if you need more, you can build the controller on perf-board and support up to 12 sensors). As with my other projects, I'm making the boards available either as a...

Another option (wheich I just posted in another thread) is to build a sprinkler controller board. It's less expensive, more flexible (you can design it and build it to control between 1 and 27 zones per board), etc, etc. You can read more at www.rgbled.org -- scroll down to the Sprinkler...

If you are a handy type with a solder iron, you can build a sprinkler controller yourself that you can then easily integrate into the Elk (or any other controller). The controller supports anywhere from 1 to 27 valves and you only need a 2 wire RS232 line to feed it, so you can keep it at...

The other thing to do is look at the bulbs themselves and then check their ratings. They'll probably have a voltage stamped on them. Especially if they look like an MR16 or MR11, they are probably low-volt. The xformer in the base, if there is one, is most likely electronic (vs magnetic)...

I you use or consider using xPL in your HA setup, then there is an existing gateway for UPB. You could send/receive xPL messages to control and listen to UPB activity. The extra overhead of the network messages is virtually un-noticible compared to the time it takes a light to turn on (on the...