DIY Kessil Controller?

[CatfishSoupFTW]

Been looking for this for a long time, but cant seem to find anything good or recent.

 

It uses a 3.5 mm jack, and the controller they sell for just a ramper, timer, and color changing just seems over priced. Apex and all that jazz just seems so expensive as well.

 

I currently have my kessil a regular timer, which works out fine, and I change the color manually during the day if im around for shits and giggles. But it would be nice to be able to ramp power especially because I feel that having it at 60 percent power the whole lighting cycle wont benefit all the colors that well.

 

So just curious, has no one dabbled with this? I dont know much about electrical what nots, but assuming its not hardcore science work going on behind these controllers, specifically for what you can control with a kessil as well, why has no one DIY anything?

 

Kessil 160we by the way.

[Horerczy]

Spencer could probably give you a tip on that since his bluefish controller can work kessils.

 

I believe it's a 0-10v control signal for kessils so you'd need to do analog dimming with that type of control.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

Spencer could probably give you a tip on that since his bluefish controller can work kessils.

 

I believe it's a 0-10v control signal for kessils so you'd need to do analog dimming with that type of control.

the blue fish are great, but I couldnt justify 200 USD to cad just to do some simple stuff.

 

though I would be interested to know on what it takes more or less.

[evilc66]

Doing it without electrical and programming knowledge is a little tough. What you would need is a microcontroller like an Arduino, a real time clock (for timing purposes), a 10v power source, and a transistor feeding a low pass filter to give you analog voltage output. The way it would work is that the Arduino would output a 5v pwm signal into the base of the transistor (or the gate of a FET if that's your preference). The 10v source would be connected to the transistor/FET to give you a 10v pwm signal. That signal would then go through the low pass filter to give you 0-10v output (or near enough).

[CatfishSoupFTW]

hmm. sounds both difficult and easy as a novice. I was hoping I could find just ready made stuff, the ones you see to control generic LEDs, but the 0-10v part looks like the most important part of the whole thing.

 

would it be worth? / inexpensive?

[evilc66]

If you were to build it yourself, it would be cheap. Chinese knock-off Arduinos are a few bucks each. RTC is $10-$15. The rest of the parts are $5-$10. Shipping would cost you more. Then you have to program it.

 

And yes, the 0-10v part is the most critical part. The dimmers for cheap LED strips are usually 12v pwm, and will not work here.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

any chance you can show me were I could possibly find these parts? As for software, I would be SOL I feel, but I also remember seeing people post what they make, so im curious if I could survive off of that. Once its set, I dont see myself touching it that much.

[evilc66]

There are lots of places to buy these parts. Knowing what to buy is the trick though. Honestly, if you are lost at this point, providing you with a schematic and bill of materials isn't going to help you much. While you may be able to put everything together, what happens when something doesn't work? How will you be able to troubleshoot it?

 

As far as the software goes, it's possible you may be able to scab something together based off code examples from others, but if you aren't familiar with programming, you are going to be in the same boat as with the hardware. If something doesn't work for you, where will you start trying to figure out what went wrong?

 

I admire you for thinking outside the box and trying to come up with DIY solutions for commercial products, but you may want to start off with baby steps before diving straight into the deep end. While this project isn't all that complex for someone that knows this stuff, for someone that has zero experience, it could be an exercise in frustration. Then again, it could be a fantastic learning experience, but I suggest you set your sights on something a little more attainable for a beginner.

 

Start with simple things. Head over to Arduino.cc to learn about the Arduino platform. Get started turning some LEDs on and off. Get familiar with programming structure and programming logic. Start adding to the complexity by adding a potentiometer to the input and changing the LED brightness based off the potentiometer input. Keep going from that point. The Arduino.cc forum is a great source of information. Places like Sparkfun and Adafruit have tons of cool accessories for the Arduino platform (both are places where you can get the RTC). Sparkfun and Adafruit also have starter kits for the Arduino with a bunch of common parts and documentation to take you through a number of simple projects. Start there and see if it's something you can wrap your head around.

[CatfishSoupFTW]

There are lots of places to buy these parts. Knowing what to buy is the trick though. Honestly, if you are lost at this point, providing you with a schematic and bill of materials isn't going to help you much. While you may be able to put everything together, what happens when something doesn't work? How will you be able to troubleshoot it?

 

As far as the software goes, it's possible you may be able to scab something together based off code examples from others, but if you aren't familiar with programming, you are going to be in the same boat as with the hardware. If something doesn't work for you, where will you start trying to figure out what went wrong?

 

I admire you for thinking outside the box and trying to come up with DIY solutions for commercial products, but you may want to start off with baby steps before diving straight into the deep end. While this project isn't all that complex for someone that knows this stuff, for someone that has zero experience, it could be an exercise in frustration. Then again, it could be a fantastic learning experience, but I suggest you set your sights on something a little more attainable for a beginner.

 

Start with simple things. Head over to Arduino.cc to learn about the Arduino platform. Get started turning some LEDs on and off. Get familiar with programming structure and programming logic. Start adding to the complexity by adding a potentiometer to the input and changing the LED brightness based off the potentiometer input. Keep going from that point. The Arduino.cc forum is a great source of information. Places like Sparkfun and Adafruit have tons of cool accessories for the Arduino platform (both are places where you can get the RTC). Sparkfun and Adafruit also have starter kits for the Arduino with a bunch of common parts and documentation to take you through a number of simple projects. Start there and see if it's something you can wrap your head around.

 

 

yeah I agree with yeah. I know the task couldnt be that difficult, but achieving this would be much simpler if I was able to sit down and build this with someone who knows. Which I could try to ask some friends if they know their shttuuufff.

 

General basics and what not, I understand through trial and error, for the times here and there that I have done stuff, but its not to say I know electrical work in any shape or form to say I know it decently.

 

Figured id ask the community as it just doesnt seem something so out of reach. Was hoping youd chime in as well considering most of us know your background. XD in a non creepy way haha

 

much thanks

[evilc66]

If you know people that can walk you through it, then by all means go ahead and give it a try. That will help immensely in reducing the learning curve. If you were to try this all by yourself, then the steps I suggested above would be the best way to go about it.