switching all power sockets and lights

[vincenttor]

I must add something for the DMX that i forgot to mention.
With DMX is there a constant signal over the cable, so lets say 0 0 0 0 0 is all channels off and 1 1 1 1 1 is a channel on 2 2 2 2 2 2 is a channel.
Decoder number 1 is off, but it sends constantly 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
I want to turn on controller 2, that is located in this case in the kitchen.
The controller nr 2 sends out 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

Here comes the but, because controller 1 is idle and sends out 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and now suddenly controller 2 starts sending 2 2 2 2 2 2 , you can see what is going to happen - 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 and this will get the decoders confused since he does not know what to do with this type of signal.
This is what i have understood about the DMX and have been told about.

So please correct me if i am wrong !
Now what i am going to do is this, i am going to use a IR ( lichtsluis) i do not know the english word but i have used some and got a spare here that works without a reflector.
The range will be about 15 CM that he detects a movement like a hand that is getting closer to the switch.
When the lichtsluis response it powers the relay that is connected with the DMX signal wires of this controller
What happens is that the decoders only get a signal from controller 1 where the lichtsluis detects movement, so the problem of the 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 is solved.
Same with all the other controllers, the relay is activated at that time when you need it.

I am not totally sure if this will work ! but when my dmx equipment comes from my Chinese friends with the mail i can do some testing.
One other "problem" i can think off is if there is a button press at the same time then you have both signals again.
But i think i will solve this by using again a relay that cut's off the other controller relays, so when controller 1 is activated first then he shuts off the power that the relays feed from the other controllers.
And if this all works , i will try to find maybe another solution or probably make a nice pcb with this switching drawing on it.

If this all fail, then i have another solution and this will be with wired or wireless butons that i connect to a arduino input, or rfxom.
And these get connected to a event, If pressed, then light dmx ch 3 4 5 6 7.
If pressed twice, shut down dmx ch 3 4 5 6 7 and so on.
It will be allot of work to program everything and get it running but i actually must say that i can't wait especially to get it working correctly like i want.

If someone has a better idea , please say so , i am interested, i am all ears.

I actually have done some work also but saturday i had a surprise party from a friend of mine so i had to stop early.

This is the picture of the cables that come from downstairs mainly for the lights and some sensores and power


Busy closing the cable holders, the wires and tubes/hose that you see on top of these have to be removed but first i have to drain my heating system so i can remove them out of sight.


Everything that goes into the server rack


Cleaned up a little, when the covers are on it looks so much better instead of the spaghetti, it is still allot of work to get the wires in the holder nice and firm next to eachother.


Biggest mess is gone , only needs the covers to be placed on them, it is still allot of work to get the wires in and the wires out on the right places.




And i did some shopping, some more cabinets for the relays and fuses and some nice LED light spots.


Very nice one and real warm white color






Very small LED spot , amazing how much light comes off even when it is running at 12V and 10mA


Small animation of this LED on and off






Nice led for in a hallway on the ground or something

The usage of the LED above this image


This i like for in my garage, it gives allot of light but it is more white then 3000K


Still pretty bright in the dark but the camera's auto settings show it like it is not bright - notice the power usage on the background.





Also got very nice LED drivers that are maybe if the dmx part is not going to act like i want, another solution for my "problem".
Will make a movie about the options it has.
This is it for now, probably friday/saturday/sunday that i am going to work again in my house.

[raymonvdm]

Maybe u can use a dmx input / output interface. The imput is connected to the wall controllers and the output is connected to the dmx dimmers

So you can record local control and send it to the lights using the software ?

[vincenttor]

Not sure if this is possible, i did found a combiner/merger that supports HTP / Backup and NTP
It can combine 2 controllers to control 1 Universe.
But the price is a thing that stings a bit , and i got in my case 4 wall switches , 1 computer card so 5 controllers in 1 universe.
This still get's a bit pricey in the end because i found a combiner for 5 inputs and that costs 4200 $.

Ï am in contact with someone that hopefully has a solution and otherwise i will just make a test part and see how this goes.

Thanks for the tip /idea btw.

Edit: i found some mergers , one of them is 895 Ex vat in the netherlands.
And a 5 to 1 package from a US seller that asks 566 USD but well this is a bit to much otherwise i have could bought a different type of controller.
I will probably just use a normal switch that i connect to a arduino.
and when switched on/off it starts a event that turns on the dmx controller on the computer.

[vincenttor]

I have done some more work again, progress is slowly but the next week i have no work planned so i can work all week in my home.
This is from the previous week, closed the wire holders and it cleaned up .
You almost ask yourself , where did all the cable go that i have been very busy with the last couple of weekends in a row..


I used the rotation laser that was set level to get a good line for mounting the frame for the cove.



It was more work that i participated but its finally done.
Also made a different plan for the cove, first the whole piece could be removed so that the cable holder and the frame were visible and accessible but now i make the front or side or whatever you want to call it removable.
So the bottom piece is mounted, on top of that comes a 12mm plaster layer so the "stucadoor" can smoothen this out.
The front panel i am going to make removable with magnets



Here i have done some tests to see if it looked nice what i wanted.







Also my DMX decoders arrived yesterday, i do need to add some forced cooling and heat sinks to be sure.


Today i received my Aritech EV475AM PIR units also, bought them fairly cheap, since the new price is 160 or 175 euro at this moment and i paid a little under 20 euro's a piece (and they are new )


Another bargain i could not resist, just 2 euro per roll , bought 25 of them so i can use this my whole life probably haha


Got allot more things to do and find out , will post my updates the next time again.

Vince

[vincenttor]

Little update, its taking hours and hours of work but i will get there
Have to fold the small bridges for the relay boxes to connect some of them to each other so they form groups.







Got 3 boxes ready now, and it takes a couple of hours, just 12 more to go :S
And i mounted a part of the cove already , now a friend of mine has to make some pieces for me on his job with a big milling machine.
Can do this by hand, but will take days and he can make it in some hours.






Looks much better

[ThinkPad]

The relay box looks really neat and clean, but i don't think you are allowed to use those crimp spades with solid wire, they are meant for stranded wire.
I wasn't sure if it is allowed, so i searched the internet and found this: http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showthread.php?t=35652

Conclusion: It is a bad thing in common to crimp solid wire onto those spade connectors, unless you have specific crimp spades that can also take solid wire. According to that forum thread it is even forbidden in Belgium to use solid wire with crimp spades, so i think in the Netherlands this would probably also be the case. The reason is that the 'crimp' probably won't hold, especially when some mechanical stress is applied. Can lead to weak contacts > higher resistance > heat being generated > possible fire.

Sorry if i have caused you to start over again, but just change the wires to some stranded version and you will be fine.
A typical 2,5mm2 device wire is probably fine.

[vincenttor]

Well, im am not going to change this to stranded wire
And if there could be a problem with heat spots , i guess its called overgangsweerstand.
I will just solder all the connectors.
With the stranded wire it will not stay so nice in place and get a messy look.

This is what i found about it, it seems that it is ok when soldered.

Crimp the Connector

There are several arguments for and against using solid core wire with crimp connections. Many believe crimping to solid core wire creates a weak point in the wire, which can lead to breakage. There is also a greater chance for a crimp connection to come loose with solid core wire because the wire will not conform to the terminal as well. If you must use solid core wire, it is a good idea to solder the wire in place after you crimp it.

I asked it also to a electrician that i met a few weeks ago on a job what he says about it when soldered.

But thanks for the info, i did not searched about this at first.

[raymonvdm]

And there are also electricians which tell you not to solder the wires because the solder will come loose if the connections indeed get hot

WikiPedia is not really helping

But i have seen installations with crimp connectors in the past however they are > 30mm2

[vincenttor]

Well i got an answer from the electrician and he said it is normally not used with solid core wires because it can "fall" of the wire.
He also said, what situation this is seen into. most of the problems are with moving objects like a machine that shakes, there it can when not fully correct crimped on a wire loosen up from the connector.
So i said what if i solder them, he said that it would be alright then but you have to watch out that the power draw is not to high, and he also says when it get's hot usually the draw is already to high with problems as result.
And it can oxidize Tin but that can take ages, and i did not need to worry to much about that in a house with a normal humidity, the down side of this is that the "overgangsweerstand" can go up when oxidized
With other words, je bent een knappe jongen als je een draad 300 graden laat worden dat het soldeer tin ertussenuit smelt , als dit gebeurd is het relais waarschijnlijk of een andere schakel in je lijn al kapot gegaan.

That said, i am also not going to change these connectors because its total BS if you ask me, if i use a stranded wire , then solder it, and it gets to hot . same thing could happen right ?
but then again, i am no electrician for profession.
The things i am going to switch are not using to much , the biggest motor for the "rolluiken" or screens whatever they are called in English , is just 280Watt.
That is just a little over 1Amp draw and for how long ? maybe 20 seconds until the screen went fully up or down.
These are filling 14 ports, some other things i am going to switch with these connectors are also low power users , the bigger ones i do not dare to place on these relays, like the whole kitchen block

So i am not scared anymore of this going wrong with the connectors i am using now.
But still thanks for the reminder !

[vincenttor]

There have been some days past since the last update.
I did not have much time to do work because of my paid job, and i didn't really feel to go every weekend building in my house.
But there is some i did have done and i received some stuff to finish the job.

These are some of the front pieces for the alkoof piece of the living room, need to mount the neodymium magnets that i still haven't received






And my dad gave me a UPS, not very happy of the constant power consumption it seems to have , about 50 - 75 Watt and thats not even with anything connected to it.


And here are some of the magnetic switches for the more heavy consumers in my house, also got a bunch of impulse relays that use no power at all after being activated.


Also received the energy monitor systems from Brultech in Canada, they gave me a nice Discount also and a present when i opened up the box






Hope to do some work next weekend , got to drive tomorrow night to Germany for work and not sure when i return so we will see.

[raymonvdm]

The Brultech seems to support 32 channels as seen on the picture? because the website tells

Code: Select all

How many loads can I monitor with an ECM-1240?
Although the ECM-1240 is a seven channel device, more than seven channels are typically monitored. This usually requires the addition of extra current sensors (CT) than what is included in a basic package.It is not uncommon to group several loads on to a single channel. This conserves the channel resources. Some typical examples would be to group the kitchen counter receptacles together, bedroom circuits together, etc. You can also group seasonal loads together such as "Heating" and "Air Conditioning", since only one of the two loads would be operational at a time (I would hope.). Our "CT Selection" page provides some examples.

Hmm it seems to be a different product

http://www.brultech.com/home/store/prod ... roduct=114

[vincenttor]

Yes its another type indeed, more inputs to read the usage , 1 wire systems and it also can read out pulse type meters, like water or anything that gives a pulse.

Ive had a nice bargain actually on marktplaats
Someone sold 4 pieces of the Ubiquity AP Pro versions, that is the dual band accespoint 2.4 and 5 Ghz
These normally cost per piece 227 euro's and i bought 4 of them with a ubiquity gbit POE switch and shipping for 225 €
Very very happy with it of course


I also made a prototype of a simple pcb that contains some relays that the arduino is going to control.
i must say that the result is pretty good, need to solder the components on it and if all works well i will make a few more of them.
Why not use a simple arduino standard board you ask yourself, well i have a couple of these in my parents house and some optocouplers burned out a couple of times.
So i did not want to change them all the time and i made my own board with different none china components and instead of a optocoupler a transistor.
It worked on my breadboard so it should do the same on the pcb as well






Hope i can do some work the weekend, i thought i had some spare days but i got work again so no time for the house
I did manage to drain the central heating system so i can change the pipes and some of the parts that are connected wrong.
My neighbour had a very nice tool, he had a sort of mobile freezer, placed 2 clambs on the pipe, top and bottom, after a few minutes it was frozen and i could connect a drain to the pipe without my whole electrics cabinet was getting wet

[raymonvdm]

I don`t have as much playing field and devices as you have but once in a while i`m adding a extra device to the domotica setup So please keep the posts coming

Can you explain me how the Architech PIR`s will be connected to HomeSeer?

I wil also try to find some Hager relais for my outdoor lighting project

[vincenttor]

Still alive here
But the house is getting a break from me and my idiot ideas haha.

I am working allot lately since i got a new customer.
I was hired to repair a excavator , the hydraulics where damaged and the exhaust, now i need to replace the water pump as well.
But the company was probably this satisfied that i done all the things they asked ( they destruct/wreck houses,companys etc)
So he send me to a job in Utrecht, Rabobank building and after 3 days put me in charge of the project for some floors that have to be taken apart
This is consuming most of my time, and since i help also with breaking down the walls with a sledge hammer because its fun i am broken at the end of the day especially that i still go to the gym also.
And its very busy since they offered to hire me for 6 months , okt2015 till march next year and i am already booked till Oktober by other companies.

After a week like this , in the weekends i also work on saturdays at another company, and then i do not feel like building in my home anymore.
Need the money a bit more instead of the domotica fun,
still working sometimes in the evening on my pcb's but pictures are not worth mentioning since they are simple pcb's like the previous posts.

Still having fun from time to time though to blow off some steam



So thats that

The Aritech PIR i am going to connect by the Arduino's pcb's.
I have a small stack of Mega 2560 arduino pcb's that i am going to connect most of the house to, input and output , even the 1-wire sensors are going to be connected to the arduino's and the Brultech device can connect also up to 8 sensors per unit.
I thought it were 8 but could be a few more or less.

The PIR are simple , just a NO or NC option, and the Arduino you can fully set to your liking in homeseer what to respond on and how, from there on its your own imagination i guess what to do with them.


The relays, well, not sure if you want impulse relays or the magnetic switches, if you want these magnetic switches i do have a bunch of them and you can buy some of you like, the coil power is only 230Vac and have to be powered to be on.
Or can be manually switched on and then do not use any power.
I think if i recall correct that the hold current is low and there using 25mA to stay on.
Give me a PM if your interested , there low price, bought 75 of them a while ago but i switched over to puls relays.

And thanks for the interest ofcourse nice to see there still some curious people.

[raymonvdm]

I just found out that hager also sells impuls relais

http://www.hager.nl/producten/energiedi ... /51512.htm

So let me think about it. For now i have found one ES220 in my village and picked it up yesterday