The Plant Whisperer

Step 8 Modifications and Other Uses

One modification you may want to do right off the bat is to change the phrases spoken by the Plant Whisperer.  This is simple to do in 12blocks.  Just replace any one of the phrases with your own!  Be warned though; the text-to-speech program is in extreme alpha stages, so it's a little rough and hard to understand.  You can clean up the spoken phrases by spelling words phonetically or by adding emphasis or breaks to certain words and sounds.

You can also change other parameters.  For instance, you may set it to speak even when it's dark by changing the "SpeakWhenDark" variable to 1.  You could also change the tone of the voice by changing the "pitch" to a value other than 100.

The time interval is hard-wired, but can be changed from the default 2 hours by changing the resistors.  An interval of up to 9 hours is possible!  Check the datasheet for information on resistor values.

The Plant Whisperer could be used for completely different purposes as well.  The two-channel ADC could be used to take any number of different analog measurements, by leaving the moisture probe and photocell circuitry unpopulated, and wiring up different sensors.