*Tiny* RS232 temp sensors!

[IVB]

Sorry Spanky, but the Elk Temp Sensor has just been relegated to non-visible locations only status.

I just got my qkits VK011 temp board & sensors in the mail (get temp over RS232 - CQC driver exists). My god these things are TINY!

Here's a pic next to a business card. Honestly, the wiring is going to be thicker than the damn sensor, now I have a whole different problem to solve (how to patch up the hole in the wall without the sensor falling through).

Bye bye big ugly elk temp sensor on the wall of the MBR that the wife hates, hello tininess!

 

[jwilson56]

Sorry Spanky, but the Elk Temp Sensor has just been relegated to non-visible locations only status.

I just got my qkits QK011 temp board & sensors in the mail (get temp over RS232 - CQC driver exists). My god these things are TINY!

Here's a pic next to a business card. Honestly, the wiring is going to be thicker than the damn sensor, now I have a whole different problem to solve (how to patch up the hole in the wall without the sensor falling through).

Bye bye big ugly elk temp sensor on the wall of the MBR that the wife hates, hello tininess!

Are these 1 wire or does each sensor board handle just one temp sensor? Where did you get them?

Thanks

John

 

[IVB]

I just updated the picture. Each sensor board can handle up to 4 sensors, one comes with it.

I got it from qkits.com, this is the VK011. I forgot the best part - 4 sensors shipped was $75!

 

[IVB]

EDIT: I'm an idiot. This is a 1wire sensor, but the board requires homerun back to base.

I know there's a CQC driver for the 1wire DS9097U-009 in progress, but the wife really isn't happy with the Elk temp sensor size & flashing light, so this will work fine.

 

[midon]

Those $7.95 sensors are only $6.00 from us.

Mitch

www.midondesign.com

 

[pete]

This is a 1wire sensor, but the board requires homerun back to base

optionally . . you could put the board by the computer and run wires to the sensor . . maybe more useful this way . .

 

[IVB]

Those $7.95 sensors are only $6.00 from us.

Mitch

www.midondesign.com

Well, we just had a group buy over on CQC where I think 9 folks went in on a crapload of boards & sensors, maybe next time.

 

[WayneW]

http://www.phanderson.com/ sells similar interfaces and sensors for a good price with lots of options.

 

[Sendero]

Those $7.95 sensors are only $6.00 from us.

Mitch

www.midondesign.com

They're also only about $2.40 from Maxim-IC, though they do seem to have a $10 min shipping charge. I ended up buying around 90 for the group buy and splitting the shipping up on those made it much less expensive.

 

[jarcher]

What do you wire these with, cat 5? These seem cool, but wiring them into an existing 2 story house is non-triveal. Is there a trick to it?

 

[IVB]

Haven't used anything yet as I just got them, but it seems that even cheap 4 conductor CAT3 would work fine.

Yes, wiring into an existing house might take some work, hard to say how without knowing what your house looks like.

 

[ericvic]

For best 1-Wire performance you really need to use Cat5, especially on longer runs.

Eric

 

[jarcher]

For best 1-Wire performance you really need to use Cat5, especially on longer runs.

Sorry for the dumb question, but what does "1 wire" mean? Woulden't you need at least 1 pair to wire any sensor?

Also, what communication mechanism is it? Since they are so cheap, I'm guessing something like 0 - 5 VDC?

How are they powered?

 

[WayneW]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Wire

 

[jarcher]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1-Wire

Wow, 1-wire is very cool! With a CAT 5e cable, I could have 7 seperate busses and probably run it a good distance...