Minty - GrowRoom420 - Grow Tracking add on / automation idea

[Point 5]

Many potential uses to this Minty.

Lazy Grow diary to fill in
Data collection - Potential there along in 5 years is exciting!!Q!!
Automated Systems


For me if i were to use it would be for recording a grow rather than using it as a guide. Only reason i say that is i have little faith in computers when its dealing with living and ever changing factors. For example yesterday. I run my lights 20-4. Tent sat happy for a few hours at 28 degrees and 48% humidity. Then a storm came in and my RH went mad. Depending on where i am and where HMR is in a grow the solution the the RH issue is different.

Like i said minty this has many applications? i'm just wondering what the main aim of this is for you?

Keep having fun with it

[ohlordyeah_420]

fuk me i aint got a clue wat the fuk im looking at......... but i think it might bump start the hadron colider ? tbh bach wtf am i looking at its mind boggling shit. does it grow dope ?

All the way through this post i was thinking "this is right up the capts street"

Clever idea minty. I guess its similar to this only without the price tag:
https://pulsegrow.com/

[Minty]

Clever idea minty. I guess its similar to this only without the price tag:
https://pulsegrow.com/

Similar, the automation side is a little like that Pulse although that one only seems to deal with Input and doesn't have any Output options that I can see (to control equipment).

Like i said minty this has many applications? i'm just wondering what the main aim of this is for you?

The main aim for me would be to give the forum some more 'dynamic' content and it would allow me to compare my stats with others to check if I am along the right tracks as it were and to provide a central place to create a store of useful information that I currently scrape from various different places on the internet.

[Minty]

Thanks HMR, all good valid points.

On a side note: Grove (which is the plug-n-play interface I use for the sensors etc. have just released some cheap sensors for pH, EC and ORP which are considerably cheaper than the Tentacle Shield and Atlas probes I got. Damn, always after I spent the money already...



They seem sensibly priced at least.

[Minty]

I know most of your are still resisting my attempts to bring you into the 2020's but I am going to persist so I apologise in advance to the thread posting storm I am about to make but want to separate all the individual parts so people can comment without quoting a complete mess?



So basically I was chatting with Nanook and was going to send him a detailed private message as he genuinely seems interested in what I am talking about and is one of the few that actually understands where I am hopefully going with this (as I am really bad explaining things).

But after about a page of excited content from me I decided to post it all here instead as a kind of stop gap before I eventually post a full build log of my own usage of these Grove compatible sensors etc. and as a kind of introduction to what you might not have thought possible and with today's technology how cheaply you can build a small fully custom device for your individual requirements.

Grove is an open source, modulated, and ready-to-use toolset. It takes a building block approach to assemble electronics. Compared with the traditional, complicated learning method of using a breadboard and various electronic components to assemble a project,Grove simplifies the learning process significantly. The Grove System consists of a base shield and various modules with standardized connectors.The base shield allows for easy connection of any microprocessor input or output from the Grove modules, and every Grove module addresses a single function, such as a simple button or a more complex sensor. there are already more than 200 Grove modules and each one comes with clear documentation and demo code to help you get started quickly.

I will now proceed to list some of the various available sensors that may or may not be useful to you members that have not already discarded my original idea and are possibly still onboard.

Remember that the AUTOMATION side is optional - all remote feedback mentioned below can be either:-

• a simple local network where you use your phone to connect to your grow shed (using the local WIFI created by the device) no external internet.
• export data locally - so that if you wanted to the data can be manually exported and uploaded to the forums
• Internet enabled - so you can schedule a regular upload of your stats directly from the device to the forums (for the curious/techs/lazy dudes).
• None of the above - to keep my mate Aspie happy - it will just send you memes every 4 hours ;O)

[Captain Beefheart]

It's all automated sergi.......

Great Googly Moogly

[Captain Beefheart]

Duw duw I ain't even got a thermometer...... So for that reason I'm out

Great Googly Moogly

[Minty]

So you need a base station to control the whole deal.

That may be an Arduino and a Raspberry PI if you need additional control over some hardware or just like spending money like me (while learning all this stuff)
or if you want to keep it simple just a Raspberry Pi Zero W which will act as both the hardware controller and the local web server / ftp server / database / etc.

Any Raspberry Pi or device capable of running Windows or Linux etc will do but I do recommend the Raspberry Pi Zero W - beacuse they are small, cheap and have WIFI, an Operating system you can telnet to (or FTP pictures back from, etc. This will also serve as your local web server) and it is a nice small form factor but depending on how big your build is planned to be you may want to consider an Arduino Mega or the likes for the extra GPIO pins.

Raspberry Pi Zero W - £13.00 $10.00



You probably want the one with the header pins already soldered unless you are ok with using a soldering iron

Alternatives to this would include m5stickc-esp32-pico if you are wanting a battery powered base station:-

M5StickC ESP32-PICO Mini IoT Development Kit £13.99

[Minty]

Duw duw I ain't even got a thermometer...... So for that reason I'm out

Great Googly Moogly

Here me out Captain - come back tomorrow ;o)

[Minty]

If you are OK with soldering then most of the following could be money saved although I personally would rather take this approach so that the modules are serviceable, up gradable, swappable, etc. Plug-n-Play

For these you need a Top Hat / Shield to take the Grove connectors:-

Grove Base Hat for Raspberry Pi Zero - £8.00




Grove Base Shield for Arduino V2 £8.80



Once you have one of those (and there are others available for all sorts of hardware) you can basically pick and choose from the available sensors to help monitor which ever way of growing you are doing. Exactly the same as sticking your pen in the nutrient mix or writing your temps on a post it note.