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Child Item

Tinkering; Like Guntering for the Connected Generation.

emaherx

theemigrant wrote: »

Thats very interesting. Any chance of you doing a thread on autonomous items around the farm?. A bit like the gunthering thread without the sledge hammers

As suggested by theemigrant, here is a thread for all of those DIY automations we may have implemented around the farm.

So please share anything you may have implemented like:
Lighting
Electric Fencing
Milk tank temperature monitoring
irrigation
calf feeding, milk mixing heating etc.
gate openers
door automations
etc.

These don't need to be full DIY devices with lines of code (although thats welcome too), off the shelf WiFi and GSM switches / sensors etc being used in weird and wonderful ways that are specific to farming or horticulture etc is what I'd like to see.

I have a few bits that I'm going to share over the next while too.

Screenshot_20200422-142938 by Emaherx, on Flickr
Part of my home automation setup that is dedicated to just the farm yard. Built with https://www.home-assistant.io/
Home assistant is an Automation server which I have Running on a Raspberry Pi in my house which runs my Heating System as well as anything else I can integrate with it. There are more picks from my whole home Automation on Flickr https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMKqE5D and I will add more so feel free to look at them.

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satstheway

I seen a video of one with attached orbital sander

satstheway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118373047#Comment_118373047

Dang emaherx.

I was hoping you would just say use the outputs to trigger solenoids to power high wattage motors.

When ever you figure it out let me know 😆

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118372964#Comment_118372964

Possible maybe, but probably not very simple or practical either. By the time you add required safety functionality for the high torque motors and sensors suitable for that sort of environment you'd be as well off building from scratch. There may well be open source projects that would provide a more suitable platform for a machine of that scale.

satstheway

Would it be possible to use the electronics of a robotic house vacuum cleaner to operate a homemade slat cleaner. Using either the random function or with the more expensive mapped type?

emaherx

plan B went up in smoke, due to under rated Resistors 🔥 😧

Plans A and B will be revisited later but here is Plan C. I was avoiding this one as I thought it might not be accurate enough but initial tests are promising.

A non contact EMF sensor, surprisingly easy to make with just a resistor and a short length of wire.

Sensitivity could probably do with some adjustment, but its just a matter of using different resistor values.

Adafruit lora32u4, Has built in LoRa Module and a LiPo battery socket with USB input and battery charging circuit, I'm hoping it will be a simple job to add a small Solar panel like the micro USB ones for Cameras like Reolink use.

#define MY_DEBUG
#define MY_RADIO_RFM95
#define MY_DEBUG_VERBOSE_RFM95
#define MY_RFM95_RST_PIN 4
#define MY_RFM95_CS_PIN 8
#define MY_RFM95_IRQ_PIN 7
#define MY_RFM95_IRQ_NUM digitalPinToInterrupt(7)
#define MY_RFM95_MODEM_CONFIGRUATION RFM95_BW125CR45SF128
#define MY_RFM95_FREQUENCY (RFM95_868MHZ)


#define MY_NODE_ID 84


#include <MySensors.h>
#include <Arduino.h>




uint32_t SLEEP_TIME = 30000; // Sleep time between reports (in milliseconds)


#define CHILD_ID_LIGHT 0
#define LIGHT_SENSOR_ANALOG_PIN 0


MyMessage msg(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, V_LIGHT_LEVEL);

// EMF


int aVal=0;
int VL=0;








void presentation()
{
    // Send the sketch version information to the gateway and Controller
    sendSketchInfo("EMF Sensor", "1.0");


    // Register all sensors to gateway (they will be created as child devices)
    present(CHILD_ID_LIGHT, S_LIGHT_LEVEL);
}


void loop()
{
    aVal=analogRead(LIGHT_SENSOR_ANALOG_PIN);
   // if (aVal > 1 ) {
        VL=map(aVal,1,100,1,255);
        Serial.println(VL);
        send(msg.set(VL));
  //  } 


    


    // Sleep until interrupt comes in on motion sensor. Send update every two minute.
   //sleep(SLEEP_TIME);
}

Initial Arduino Sketch for testing. It is setup a a light sensor, as Home Assistant and MySensors don't have an EMF option.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118322240#Comment_118322240

Well that doesn't work very well. Flash from signal light is not prolonged enough to register reliably. Not sure if a better photo diode or a different signal light might improve it.

Plan B

I disassembled a cheap voltage divider type fence tester and put a volt meter on it Across the resistors.

Sample Rate for the cheap meter is too slow to capture every pulse of the fence, but it is a measurable voltage.

Think I'll need to go with a custom built circuit with a Voltage divider to reduce voltage to millivolts and an Op-amp to make safely readable by the Arduino.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118323631#Comment_118323631

The reason why I started using Home Assistant is its ability to mix devices from different IOT eco systems which gives far more choice , also in the case of Tuya with some third part integrations its possible to control the devices locally so they still work if the cloud servers or your internet connection go down.

I've been using some image processing from my Hikvision DVR to send alerts to Home Assistant, but I'm using fairly basic cameras and it only supports smart detection on one camera and basic area detection on the others. I've the smart detection setup for the front gate and it rarely has false alarms, but the area detection on other cameras can be triggered by leaves on a windy day. I'm considering using Frigate with a dedicated processor for proper person and object detection.

Having said that, sometimes you just can't beat simple, I have a few spare PIR's lying around so might give your idea to narrow the field ago.

AckwelFoley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118323594#Comment_118323594

Yes. I would have preferred something like a beam breakers but couldn't find anything that was available

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118323479#Comment_118323479

I like the Wavin pipe mod, simple but effective. Did you consider beam breaks? or just nothing available for Tuya eco system?

AckwelFoley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118323084#Comment_118323084

I use a WiFi sensor. They are technically an indoor sensor but I mount them in an outdoor junction box leaving only the sensor dome exposed.

The dome is then covered by a piece of 40mm wavin waste pipe cut at 25mm len which narrows the field of detection.

As for false alarms, they are rare as I always install them in pairs in the avenues where I have them. So, both sensors need to be activated within 30 seconds inorder to trigger an event, ie, notify me or complete a command. In one avenue, the sensor is about 10m from the first, in the other, its about 20m and actually working off a different wifi network.

I use a pretty basic smart app based on the Tuya system called Smart Home so all sensors and plugs are ran off that

False alarms are always going to be an issue, but, I never have a sensor installed where it can't be seen by a camera so if i have an activation, I can have a quick look. Takes a bit of tinkering to get best position and angles

Cat or dog will set it off, but birds and wind won't because of the pairs

Sensors works of live power via a USB and plug into the box, or mostly a pair of batteries

One sensors is mounted into a box with a camera and light mounted onto the front so i have a camera a light and a sensor. This is in the machinery shed

pms7

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118300009#Comment_118300009

What kind of motion sensors do you use? Any issue with false alarms?

emaherx

Electric Fence Monitor ready for some field testing.

emaherx

I added a touch screen in the Kitchen, with access to Home Assistant to monitor the House and Farm.

emaherx

I made up an Electric Fence monitor and was testing it this evening. It is actually just to read the flash on an electric fence signal light, so I've been testing it with Christmas tree lights 🎄. I should have a few ready for when cattle go back out in spring, probably needs some tweaks to sampling time to conserve battery life and Data usage.

wrangler

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118294182#Comment_118294182

We've a prattley scales here, a great job, it reads records and give the ADG while the lamb's in the scales, I had to agree to buy it years ago to get a new jeep over the line here. Because lambs aren't handled in the scales they just run in and out of it on their own, even fighting to get into it,

Kevhog1988

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297051#Comment_118297051

Can put up mine if anyone needs them or can build others if anyone has a good idea. Lad i work with is an absolute genius on excel and ive been picking up a lot off him.

patsy_mccabe

The reason I automated it was, ICBF update the data every 3 months. There are 28 figures for each animal, each figure has a percentile ranking and % reliability both across and within breed. So that's a total of 224 values for each animal. By automating with a Visual Basic macro all of these values get downloaded to Excel in a few minutes. It's mad to see the webpages continuously opening and closing.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118300009#Comment_118300009

Sounds good,

Linked commands = Automation server? HA? or something else?

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118299525#Comment_118299525

I have no intention of taking that approach, as Patsy pointed out web scraping is too prone to breaking due to format changes and security measures actively taken by sites to block it. Just simply a program to process the exportable CSV files from DAFM, could possibly be done with Excel and macros alone at least in the early stages but it may be developed further and possibly become a custom module for with farmOS later.

So basically initially read my herd profile from the exported DAFM CSV file and compare to one exported from farmOS and reformat and parse only the changes to be reimported into farmOS as births and purchases, and create a to do list of animals to be marked as on farm deaths and sales.

I have direct access to the SQL database of my farmOS instance so much of the processing there can be eventually completely automated on that side.

AckwelFoley

Nothing out of the norm .

Farm has about 20 cameras, 15 WiFi switches to power lights so they can be remotely controlled or linked to other commands...I have motion sensor at some of the more expensive equipment and 2 on the entrance avenue. . So I know when someone is on the the avenue and what direction they're going..ie in or out.. if after dusk the sensors in avenue are triggered and the one at the machinery within 20 mins of each other it sets off an alarm at 2 houses, mine and the fathers which then triggers the armed response units..

Lime Tree Farm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297385#Comment_118297385

You will have to work around the login selective pin - unlike the ICBF which is static . Maybe login in first and then run the code.

There is a facility in xls Macros where you can record your keystrokes and tweak the macro afterwards to fit your requirements.

One of the days that I had time to spare I downloaded every bit of historic herd info from DAFM (20 years available). xls format. I don't know if it included purchased stock eg weanlings

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297385#Comment_118297385

I was opening the data from ICBF for all my pedigrees here and matching the cows with different sires in AI to see what the figures of their offspring would be like for figures, star ratings etc.

I used Selenium Basic and Google Chrome. A serious of videos here showing how to do it. A lot of work in it. I'm hoping the Irish Lim Society will make some improvements to their database before I go repairing what I've done.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoxWcvZzYVk

Lime Tree Farm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297375#Comment_118297375

In my working life I wrote/manipulated macros and used Access but that know how has vanished through lack if use. I have opened xls workbook in Access but never took it further.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297363#Comment_118297363

Web scraping, yea some sites actively do their best to stop it.

What sites were you scraping? Was thinking of writing a program to parse DAFM CSV export files to my farmOS setup.

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297201#Comment_118297201

The farmOS software I referred to earlier stores all data to an SQL database.

A database is definitely the way to go but spread sheets can be use full too, information can always be parsed from a sheet to a database also.

Are you using MS Access yourself?

patsy_mccabe

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118297051#Comment_118297051

What I did was basically an automated way of reading data from websites and downloading it to an Excel spreadsheet. It worked fine till the websites changed their format.😀

Lime Tree Farm

MS Access wouldn't need programming - would be more useful for filtering. I have individual xls spreadsheets for suppliers thst show different categories of product from the same supplier eg Fert. Feedstuffs. Drenches. etc.

I think Summarising all the categories at year end from the various suppliers could be done more easily in Access. Though I never seem to getting around to doing it

Anyone using MS Access ?

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118294182#Comment_118294182

You have given me an idea, possibly for a new thread/project.

Do you or anyone else think there may be any interest in compiling a list of formulas/macros or complete templates for farming spread sheets? We could start a github repo so that they will be searchable? could be divided into categories like Livestock, crops, accounts etc?

@patsy_mccabe did you mention similar work with excel sheets previously?

emaherx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118295861#Comment_118295861

Not sure where the fourth core comes in, it that scenario. Is it just 2 going from earth pin to chassis ground?

The correct config for those plugs is one earth, one permeant live and one ignition switch aux live. But in practice the vast majority are 1 permanent live and earth. You can have 2 lives with one earth without issue, but it is the load that needs consideration as long as you don't overload the pins or the wiring you won't have a problem. There can be different amp ratings between manufacturers and the amp rating of the small pin will be about half of the larger one.

If there was a question in there about the amp rating of the earth line, the current on the earth pin will be the sum of the 2 live pins, doubling up with the earth wire will increase the current rating but just using a gauge wire suitable to the application is probably the best in practice. Basically make sure you are not overloading any of the pins or wires to avoid a fire.

timple23

This is probably more of a guntering question, but I'm trialling something and I don't want to go ripping and stripping wires before I test it. I'm wondering if it would be ok to use a 4 core wire on a d type 3 pin plug, normally you'd have a two core wire with one wire power and one ground, what I want to know is can I use two wires as power and two wires as ground, so I'll have one ground and power going into the cab from the plug and the second live and power going to machine, hope it makes sense.