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Any Arduino experts out there? Looking for help with a project.

couple guys I work with are. you can post (or PM) your question and I'll pass it along.

oohrah wrote:couple guys I work with are. you can post (or PM) your question and I'll pass it along.

PM sent.

Did you ever get your question answered?

I am not an expert but I do know some and play with Arduino projects in my spare time...

boomstick wrote:Did you ever get your question answered?

I am not an expert but I do know some and play with Arduino projects in my spare time...

Never did. Nobody I've approached has been interested in assisting on a project that doesn't end in a product or commercial application.

I think it would be helpful to post a few details like desired level of expertise, project goal and expectation and whatever else is expected.

Just a thought

I was trained as an assembly language programmer back in the day...

My current project (now in fully working prototype stage) is a Server Room Temp Monitor using an Arduino Mega 2560 with Arduino WiFi Shield, AdaFruit FONA 800 shield and DS18b20 temp sensor. It has LiPoly battery backup and will send an SMS text notification to my phone if the temp raises above a set threshold either via Internet (WiFi shield connection to TROPO) or via cellular (FONA 800) thru T-Mobile if Internet is also down.

PM me some background on what you are trying to accomplish and if I can help, I will try as schedule permits.

It makes me scratch my head as to why some folks only want to help if there is a payout at the end. Arduino is all about open-source. WE are where we are today on the backs of those who came before us.

Saul

bmwrdr wrote:I think it would be helpful to post a few details like desired level of expertise, project goal and expectation and whatever else is expected.

Just a thought

You're probably right. I didn't even consider that details might be important.

Trying to build a dog food dispenser that can dispense food by weight. I need help designing a menu system for an LCD display with a rotary encoder, and the systems to drive the dispenser until it achieves the right weight. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to build the dispensing and weighing hardware, but I wouldn't turn down help with that as well.

You could use something like this and just read the value off of an input pin -- it's not going to give you a precise weight, but if you always want to get 2volts worth then it would work (this would get approximately the same amount of food each time)

Use one of these: http://www.adafruit.com/products/1075
And wire it up almost exactly like the photoresistor in this example: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/AnalogInput

I'm not much help with the designing of the menu system without putting some time in on it, but here's some stuff I found real quick:
https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?topic=53265.0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzO__HCKP8I

Idea for the dispenser part -- servo and acrylic:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino ... dispenser/

You've made me want to build something and program this weekend.

If my ideas have inspired you to build something then this project has already fulfilled half it's purpose. I plan on making an instructable out of this once I get a working prototype.

I've already designed the auger, the hopper and the non electronic components, but I haven't printed the auger or started building any of the parts yet. The instructable you linked was one of my design inspirations, but I have 5 dogs of differing sizes, so I need a system physically larger and more adaptable than anything I've been able to find. The hopper needs to hold at least a month, about 65-70 pounds, of food. I had planned on mounting it to a wall with a french cleat system, and I don't want to be pulling it down every other day to fill it.

I had considered an FSR in the beginning of my research, but ruled them out because of repeatability and accuracy issues. What I learned was that an FSR is really good for detecting weight, but not measuring weight. My system needs to be able to weigh accurately since the dogs all get different volumes of food. Plus, with the right kitchen scale I can use the existing signal amplifier; I just have to figure out where to tap into the signal for the UNO. Then I just place the scale on the shelf below the auger output and put the dog food bowl on the scale. Everything else would be automated. Just tell it which dog, put the bowl in the slot, wait for it to measure the food and remove. You could even turn it into a fully automatic timed feeder if you wanted.

dcphoto wrote:

bmwrdr wrote:I think it would be helpful to post a few details like desired level of expertise, project goal and expectation and whatever else is expected.

Just a thought

You're probably right. I didn't even consider that details might be important.

Trying to build a dog food dispenser that can dispense food by weight. I need help designing a menu system for an LCD display with a rotary encoder, and the systems to drive the dispenser until it achieves the right weight. I have a pretty good idea of how I want to build the dispensing and weighing hardware, but I wouldn't turn down help with that as well.

Cool, I see there was already some response. My expertise would not have been a help in this case but in less the requirement is stated you can't expect help either.