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Step 12Taking It Further
The whole purpose behind instructables and open source projects like this one is to share your ideas and give others the opportunity to improve upon them while adapting them to their own particular purpose. There are countless other ways to open and close blinds, and any number of mechanical improvements, electronic component changes, and endless software tweaks that can improve performance, lower the cost, or just make the project a little nicer on the eyes.
I am not posting this instructable for you to copy my work. I am posting it to give you an idea of one way it can be done. Take what I have done, add your own ideas, and make your own project. I would love to see the improvements and changes you come up with. Here are a few options, changes, and modifications I have thought about using with this project:
BUILD IT CHEAPER - You could use 3 AA batteries and forget about the voltage regulator, solder wires directly to the battery holder and eliminate the battery snap, solder the ICs directly to the proto board without solder tail sockets, program the PICAXE on a starter pack proto board and leave the 3.5mm stereo jack and 2 resistors out of the finished product, and use an Altoids can or other salvaged enclosure instead of the plastic project box. If you could also find a suitable salvaged motor you could build this project for less than $5.00.
USE IT AS AN ENERGY SAVINGS DEVICE - It would be very easy to adapt this project to help save energy and money by reducing your heating and air conditioning costs. The controller could be adapted to close your blinds in the summer during those times of the day when the sun shines directly in your window. This would cut down on the heat that enters the room. You could even add a temperature sensor so it would keep the blinds open during the peak sun times in the winter but close the blinds during those times in the summer.
USE SOLAR POWER - You may want to consider using rechargeable batteries and a small solar panel to operate your controller. This should work great if your window gets direct sunlight. My window does not so this was not an option for me. Using 4 rechargeable AA batteries would also eliminate the need for the voltage regulator as rechargeable batteries only deliver 1.2 volts compared to the 1.5 volts regular batteries deliver.
POWER THE CONTROLLER WITH 120 VAC - If you don't mind having a cord hanging down from the controller you can use a 7.5 DC or greater volt wall wart (power supply) to power the controller. You could always use a cord the same color as the blinds and hide it from view between the blinds and window. That way you can forget about changing batteries. The only problem with this option is that whenever your power blinks, the controller is probably going to either open or close the blinds. If they are open when the power blinks it may try to open them again and the software won't prevent it. I wish I could figure out a way to prevent this I so far I have not. Maybe you can figure out a way to do it. A better way of doing this would be to power the controller with a wall wart and a small backup battery.
USE AN IR REMOTE CONTROL - It is a simple matter to convert this controller to operate using an old universal television remote programmed to send Sony codes. You just leave off the LDR, add an IR receiver and capacitor, and make a few minor changes to the software and presto - an IR remote control blinds opener.(See the options schematic and/or metafile below) I started out with opening my blinds by remote control and closing them automatically but found it impractical for my use. I have tried to figure out a way to allow the controller to operate using either method but hit a brick wall. The command that receives the IR signal locks the PICAXE up tight and won't do anything else until it receives a valid IR signal. I could not figure out a way to get around this but maybe you can. I think that would offer the best of both modes if it can be done.
USE DIFFERENT MOTORS - As I mentioned earlier, you could used a 360 degree servo or a stepper motor and get much better precision. For me, the cost of the other motors just isn't worth it but that may not be the same for you. You may already have a servo or stepper you can use. It would only take a few minor changes to the program to make it work so if you have them or want them then go for it.
ADD AN ANALOG MOTOR RUN TIME ADJUSTMENT - I have thought about adding a 100K pot, using the ADC command on an unused PICAXE input pin, and using the resulting data variable to make adjustments to the motor run time without having to reprogram the PICAXE with a computer if I want to change it. You could do something like letting the ADC data from the pot = b5 and then using a command like pause b5 to control the motor run time. You would probably have to use another command like let b5= b5 x 100 or something to get the time into the needed range. (See options schematic and/or metafile below)
MAKE THE LIGHT SENSISTIVITY ADJUSTABLE - Replacing the 100K in the LDR ADC circuit with a pot would allow you to control the light sensitivity without having to reprogram the PICAXE. This along with the motor run time adjustment above would allow you to control all critical functions without a computer. (See options schematic and/or metafile below)
USE A DIFFERENT MICROCONTROLLER - This controller would be easily adapted to nearly any microcontroller. I use the PICAXE because of its ease of use, versatility, and low cost. The PICAXE -08M only costs about $3.00. Some microcontrollers can cost 10 times that much and more. I just cannot see me putting $30.00 worth of microcontroller into every project I build. I want to keep it simple and I need to keep it inexpensive. The PICAXE is hard to beat in these two areas. Using a regular PIC would be even less expensive, but that would require that I buy a $40.00 or more PIC programmer. Even worse, I would have to learn to program in C. I think I would rather have a root canal.
ADD A LOW BATTERY INDICATOR - Because this controller is actually an important factor when it comes to my home security, I am planning to add a low battery indicator circuit to my unit. There are quite a few under voltage components available that would be suitable for this purpose. Adding one should be a very simple matter. Right now I am monitoring the battery voltage of my unit to see exactly what voltage things start going crazy at. When I get the details worked out I will post the schematic here.
USE THIS PROJECT TO CONTROL ANOTHER PROJECT - Using the IR transceiver functions of the PICAXE -08M it would be very easy to use this blinds controller to operate another 08M based project. Adding an IR emitter to this blinds controller and an IR receiver module to a different controller would allow you to do all sorts of things. You could turn on a lamp or nightlight when the blinds shut in the evening or you could turn on a radio or coffee maker when the blinds open in the morning. If you have multiple windows in one room you could make one controller a master with an IR emitter and the others slaves with IR receiver modules so that when the master opens or closes its blinds all the other blinds in the room do the same at the same time. The possibilities are truly infinite.
.
I am not posting this instructable for you to copy my work. I am posting it to give you an idea of one way it can be done. Take what I have done, add your own ideas, and make your own project. I would love to see the improvements and changes you come up with. Here are a few options, changes, and modifications I have thought about using with this project:
BUILD IT CHEAPER - You could use 3 AA batteries and forget about the voltage regulator, solder wires directly to the battery holder and eliminate the battery snap, solder the ICs directly to the proto board without solder tail sockets, program the PICAXE on a starter pack proto board and leave the 3.5mm stereo jack and 2 resistors out of the finished product, and use an Altoids can or other salvaged enclosure instead of the plastic project box. If you could also find a suitable salvaged motor you could build this project for less than $5.00.
USE IT AS AN ENERGY SAVINGS DEVICE - It would be very easy to adapt this project to help save energy and money by reducing your heating and air conditioning costs. The controller could be adapted to close your blinds in the summer during those times of the day when the sun shines directly in your window. This would cut down on the heat that enters the room. You could even add a temperature sensor so it would keep the blinds open during the peak sun times in the winter but close the blinds during those times in the summer.
USE SOLAR POWER - You may want to consider using rechargeable batteries and a small solar panel to operate your controller. This should work great if your window gets direct sunlight. My window does not so this was not an option for me. Using 4 rechargeable AA batteries would also eliminate the need for the voltage regulator as rechargeable batteries only deliver 1.2 volts compared to the 1.5 volts regular batteries deliver.
POWER THE CONTROLLER WITH 120 VAC - If you don't mind having a cord hanging down from the controller you can use a 7.5 DC or greater volt wall wart (power supply) to power the controller. You could always use a cord the same color as the blinds and hide it from view between the blinds and window. That way you can forget about changing batteries. The only problem with this option is that whenever your power blinks, the controller is probably going to either open or close the blinds. If they are open when the power blinks it may try to open them again and the software won't prevent it. I wish I could figure out a way to prevent this I so far I have not. Maybe you can figure out a way to do it. A better way of doing this would be to power the controller with a wall wart and a small backup battery.
USE AN IR REMOTE CONTROL - It is a simple matter to convert this controller to operate using an old universal television remote programmed to send Sony codes. You just leave off the LDR, add an IR receiver and capacitor, and make a few minor changes to the software and presto - an IR remote control blinds opener.(See the options schematic and/or metafile below) I started out with opening my blinds by remote control and closing them automatically but found it impractical for my use. I have tried to figure out a way to allow the controller to operate using either method but hit a brick wall. The command that receives the IR signal locks the PICAXE up tight and won't do anything else until it receives a valid IR signal. I could not figure out a way to get around this but maybe you can. I think that would offer the best of both modes if it can be done.
USE DIFFERENT MOTORS - As I mentioned earlier, you could used a 360 degree servo or a stepper motor and get much better precision. For me, the cost of the other motors just isn't worth it but that may not be the same for you. You may already have a servo or stepper you can use. It would only take a few minor changes to the program to make it work so if you have them or want them then go for it.
ADD AN ANALOG MOTOR RUN TIME ADJUSTMENT - I have thought about adding a 100K pot, using the ADC command on an unused PICAXE input pin, and using the resulting data variable to make adjustments to the motor run time without having to reprogram the PICAXE with a computer if I want to change it. You could do something like letting the ADC data from the pot = b5 and then using a command like pause b5 to control the motor run time. You would probably have to use another command like let b5= b5 x 100 or something to get the time into the needed range. (See options schematic and/or metafile below)
MAKE THE LIGHT SENSISTIVITY ADJUSTABLE - Replacing the 100K in the LDR ADC circuit with a pot would allow you to control the light sensitivity without having to reprogram the PICAXE. This along with the motor run time adjustment above would allow you to control all critical functions without a computer. (See options schematic and/or metafile below)
USE A DIFFERENT MICROCONTROLLER - This controller would be easily adapted to nearly any microcontroller. I use the PICAXE because of its ease of use, versatility, and low cost. The PICAXE -08M only costs about $3.00. Some microcontrollers can cost 10 times that much and more. I just cannot see me putting $30.00 worth of microcontroller into every project I build. I want to keep it simple and I need to keep it inexpensive. The PICAXE is hard to beat in these two areas. Using a regular PIC would be even less expensive, but that would require that I buy a $40.00 or more PIC programmer. Even worse, I would have to learn to program in C. I think I would rather have a root canal.
ADD A LOW BATTERY INDICATOR - Because this controller is actually an important factor when it comes to my home security, I am planning to add a low battery indicator circuit to my unit. There are quite a few under voltage components available that would be suitable for this purpose. Adding one should be a very simple matter. Right now I am monitoring the battery voltage of my unit to see exactly what voltage things start going crazy at. When I get the details worked out I will post the schematic here.
USE THIS PROJECT TO CONTROL ANOTHER PROJECT - Using the IR transceiver functions of the PICAXE -08M it would be very easy to use this blinds controller to operate another 08M based project. Adding an IR emitter to this blinds controller and an IR receiver module to a different controller would allow you to do all sorts of things. You could turn on a lamp or nightlight when the blinds shut in the evening or you could turn on a radio or coffee maker when the blinds open in the morning. If you have multiple windows in one room you could make one controller a master with an IR emitter and the others slaves with IR receiver modules so that when the master opens or closes its blinds all the other blinds in the room do the same at the same time. The possibilities are truly infinite.
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Jul 3, 2008. 9:46 AMearnst2w8
says:
i have one ------- add an remote controll :D
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