Hello everyone, I welcome any ideas how to manage and control Fish Feeder in aquaponic systems using Mycodo. I have an issue how set up Mycodo, when I want to count and modify numbers of that counts of pulses coming from the feeder to stop the feeder after reaching desired number of that counts.
So I can have different starts of the feeder in different times of the day( timer and reley) ON and pulse counter will give an option to feed different amounts of fish food and switching feeder OFF.
What functions and inputs and outputs I have to use in Mycodo to be able to do this counting of coming Signal pulses to Pi4?
Your best bet is to create custom code to do this. The Conditional Controller makes this task easy and will allow you to periodically execute the code. I would structure it as follows:
- Check time, if time is appropriate, to go 2, otherwise wait
- Turn on feed relay
- Begin measuring pulses
- When a sufficient number of pulses have passed, turn off feed relay
The Output that controls the relay for the feeder is a simple GPIO Output that controls power to a single pin of the Pi.
I wouldn’t suggest using a Mycodo Input because Inputs are more suited for measurements that you want to track all the time, and for longer durations than your appocation. Your purpose only needs to measure pulses for a very short period of time and only when the feeder relay is operating (not periodic).
Oh great! Thanks for an answer/idea.
How then do you recommend to measure the pulses? (step 3).
If not by Input from feeder to Pi (Mycodo)?
Sorry for the late reply. There are a number of ways to measure pulses, or revolutions, etc. and it will depend on the physical design of what you’re trying to measure and you weighing the pros and cons of applying a method to that system. You could use a magnet and a hall effect (magnetic) sensor, a color material (usually brighter than a dark background) and an optical sensor, a mechanical switch that gets pressed from an indentation on a rotating body, just to name a few.