TINI Project Details
The sensors and the external interface board were designed to allow 5 different sensors to be monitored through the same Analogue to Digital Converter (ADC). The circuit is based around an 8-1 channel multiplexer. The multiplex channel select is controlled via the digital outputs from the Tutor board. Details of the design and functionality of the 5 sensors are shown below.
Temperature
The temperature sensor is another very simple device. It is a LM335 precision temperature sensor package. This is a 2 terminal Zener diode which has a breakdown voltage directly proportional to the absolute temperature at 10mV/oK. So at 0oC (273oK) the output voltage is 2.73v using the circuit shown below.
The LM335 sensor is calibrated according to the schematic above using a 10KΩ potentiometer. The LM335 was purchased from Maplin Electronics for £1.49. To see how this is integrated with the main circuit please see main circuit.
Sun Light
The sensor to measure the level of light for this project is a simple Light Dependant Resistor (LDR). As the name suggests the resistance across the terminals varies depending of the amount of light it receives. It has a resistance of 2M when dark (0 Lux) and a resistance of 33K at 10 Lux. Lux is the measurement of the intensity of light. Originally one Lux was the light falling on a surface one foot away from a "candle". Now it is a carefully calibrated light source. With very bright light the resistance of the LDR becomes insignificant.
The LDR was purchased from Maplin Electronics for £0.99. To see how this is integrated with the main circuit please see main circuit below.
Wind Direction
The wind direction sensor for this project is quite a crude solution. This is only suitable for demonstration purposes. A standard 100K rotary potentiometer was purchased and taken apart to remove the stop inside. This allows the spindle to rotate all the way round. Before the stop was removed the degree of rotation was limited to about 350o. However, removing the stop does mean that there is about a 10o section that has zero resistance. This section was simply set to be the value for North. There are rotary position sensors that are designed for this type of problem but unfortunately even the cheapest cost about £15. Due to budget restraints the potentiometer option was chosen.
In this current state it could never read the wind direction because it doesnt even have a vain to be moved with the wind. The main thing that this sensor shows is the concept. Users can demonstrate the functionality by simply turning the potentiometer. To see how this is integrated with the main circuit please see main circuit.
Wind Speed
This sensor was a bit more complicated to create than the previous ones. An electronic signal was needed as the output from a rotating set of plastic cups. These cups needed to rotate when placed in a wind stream. A search on the internet for "home made anemometer" was carried out and a link to the www.otherpower.com website was found. This website explained in detail how to make your own anemometer.
There were two different options both very similar in approach. The first was to use a simple dc motor as a voltage generator. This would produce an output voltage linear to the speed that the spindle was rotating at. However, a dc motor looses its linearity at higher speeds and the brushes inside a dc motor eventually wear out. The other alternative (which is a far better solution) is to use a brushless stepper motor. This retains linearity at high speeds because the voltage can also be compared to the rotational frequency. A stepper motor could typically have 24 windings to provide a step size of 15o. When being turned manually, it will produce 24 pulses for every rotation. This pulse count can be read as a frequency and converted into speed. This makes the stepper motor far more accurate and linear. Also a stepper motor does not use brushes like dc motors, therefore they are far more durable and less likely to wear out.
For this project it was decided to use a simple 6v dc motor. Although this was the less accurate and less durable option it worked out to be the cheaper one. As mentioned before, the main aim of this project is to provide a demonstration tool, so the accuracy of the equipment is not really the main priority. Equipment accuracy and reliability can be looked at as a future development. The picture below shows the plastic cup construction, mounted on top of a 6v dc motor.
All of the parts for this sensor were sourced from various different resources, so this sensor did not actually cost anything (other than time) to build. To see how this is integrated with the main circuit please see main circuit.
Rain Fall
This was the most complex and time consuming sensor to design and build. A method was needed to measure electronically the amount of rainfall over a period of time. The most common way to measure the amount of rainfall without electronics is by using a funnel and a container with a measurement scale up the side. This can be converted to an electronic scale by using the natural conduction characteristics of water.
For this rain gauge you have one open ended wire on the bottom of the container that is linked to ground. You then need several more open ended wires that are positioned up the side of the container. All of these are linked to a low voltage dc supply (5v) through Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). All you do then is add a teaspoon of salt to the bottom of the glass and wait for rain. As the container fills up and reaches the first wire the water conducts electricity and switches the first LED on. As the water gets deeper more LEDs turn on giving you an indication of how full the container is. The salt in the bottom dissolves in the water and helps to conduct the electricity. These outputs could be fed into a controller instead of using LEDs for the display.
However there are some major draw backs to this approach. The main problem is that at the end of every day the water has to be emptied from the container by hand and more salt added for the next day. This is hardly a practical solution. Another approach is a self emptying method designed around a balanced spoon. The idea is to guide the rain water onto the spoon using a funnel. When the spoon gets full enough the spoon tips off balance and empties the spoon onto the ground. Therefore if you know the volume of the spoon and the size of the capture area (the funnel) you can work out the amount of rainfall by the number of times the spoon tips. To record this value a small magnet was attached to the back of the spoon. When in its resting position the magnet holds a reed switch closed and every time the spoon tips the circuit gets broken. All you have to do is record the amount of times the circuit gets broken and you have a rainfall value.
This rain gauge has a two tiered effect because for the purpose of demonstration, the water can not simply drop onto the floor. The emptied water is guided into a funnel and the water can be collected in a container placed beneath. It took several attempts before the correct shape for the spoon was found. The cup of the spoon used here is quite long; this length helps to completely empty the spoon as it tips. The water collects towards the back of the spoon to start with and gradually creeps forward as it fills. At the point that the spoon becomes unbalanced all of the water rushes forward to the front of the spoon which off balances the spoon even more, thus in one swift action completely emptying the spoon. To see how this is integrated with the main circuit please see main circuit below.
Main Circuit
All of the outputs from the sensors (apart from the rain sensor) are connected directly to an 8-1 multiplexer. An 8 input multiplexer was not needed (a 4 input would have been sufficient) but this at least leaves room for expansion at a later date. The channel select pins for the multiplexer are controlled by the digital outputs from the TINI board. These are joined to the multiplexer board via ribbon cables. These cables also provide power to the board. The rain sensor circuit links directly to the digital input port on the TINI board via ribbon cables.
