The details…sort of…

OK, so I’ve had a little time to work on this due to two surgery’s within a month. With that downtime, and a little before, I’ve got this project as complete as I can get it for now. Yes, that means the door unit is not even mounted on the coop. Due to my surgeries, I am not supposed to lift anything heavier than a milk jug/~5lbs.

So here are the files in a generic form. Change a few things that are commented for you to change and you’ll be up and running.

*******Warning – I will not help you out any further than giving you these files. I just don’t have time. This is the best I can do – hours of me figuring it out on my own. The code is ugly and needs cleaning up – I am sure there is a more efficient way to do this, but I wanted to share it now. Good luck. **************

KadensAutomatedCoop

The files include: (CLICK ABOVE ON “KadensAutomatedCoop” to download the files)

  • SQL file (Arduino_test.sql) for creating the tables in the database you create – MySQL
  • PHP files (connect.php, index.php, and ardpost.php)
    • connect.php will connect to your DB and the other pages use it to connect
    • index.php will display your information in a clean and simple way
    • ardpost.php will insert the data from your Arduino into the DB
  • K_A_C_2.0.ino (Arduino file) this is the Arduino sketch

You will need to be your own carpenter and build the door unit. I will share some ideas though. I purchased some ?” x ½” aluminum “U” track for the door to travel in. Wood swells too much out here and has a tendency to bind your doors up. I learned that while building the coop. I also used a piece of plexiglass for the actual door, again of the same reason – and I had it laying around. You can look at the pics and tell how I did things. Sorry – the pics are before the clean and dress of the wires and all.

You have the files – so let’s try to do the rest with pictures and few words. Captions are below each picture.

IMG_4027
Shows the aluminum track and the plexiglass door.
IMG_4026
Shows how the frame was being built. 1×4’s
IMG_0598
My schematic. Yeah, those fancy programs are over rated. LOL I actually did this in my truck while waiting on my son.
IMG_0599
This was an idea I had for the temperature sensors. I ended up doing it differently, but this would have worked.
IMG_4044
Shows how I mounted the 24VDC power supply for the motor and the motor itself.
IMG_4045
I used the plexiglass and standoffs for mounting the Arduino Mega 2560, and all the other stuff.
IMG_0592
After a coat of paint and some things hooked up for testing.
IMG_0593
The temporary work bench. We are building a shop right now, but this is all you need for this project.
IMG_4050
You can see here how the plexiglass was utilized.
IMG_0594
small circuit for the photocell. I will re-work this into something nicer and weather proof. Works fine as it is. Bi-color LED to the right.
IMG_4055
The LCD. Wanted something he could look at while at the coop and report back to me. He thought this was cool because on boot up it says “Welcome to Kaden’s coop….”
IMG_4051
The final mounting – before dressing the wires.
IMG_4054
Here is the unit as a whole. This is where it sits until I can lift and get it mounted on the coop. Then the 120VAC stuff will be hooked up. I’ll take more pics then and do another update.
IMG_4064
The temp sensor circuit I built. This is using the OneWire library.
IMG_4082
The php files have a place for you to create your own iOS friendly icons for when you want to add the page to your phone or iPad. He liked this also. Its the little things.
IMG_4083
A shot of the web page as it looks on my iPhone. Displaying the data in a simple way.

So, there ya go. Not sure what else you’ll need from me. You will need to get the parts, devote the time, and have some fun.

I will update once everything is done and I am feeling better.