Just to update this a little, next week we send the schematics to the board house to have the circuit boards made. This is not going to be like any other temperature monitor you see on the shelfs today that only read the water temp. It is also a warning device that you set for each tank to send off a warning signal if the probe detects a temperature reading out of range that you set. Email warnings will not be on the first units made but I think it will only need a software update when we get that far.
This unit will run on a 9 volt transformer so anyone outside the U.S will only have to buy the transformer and the unit will be able to be used anywhere. The unit will be discounted a few dollars since it will be easier for our European friends to to buy a 220 volt to 9 volt transformer used in Europe like we use on our cordless telephones inside our home. This unit will read in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.
There have been a lot of changes since we started this and the main thing was that wireless unit was cost prohibited. Also the unit will not have to be plugged into your home computer to program it; you will be able to program each temp probe on the main unit itself. The unit is still going to read up to 16 tanks and you program each temperature sensor to the tank you are putting it in. For instance lets say you have some cold water fish and you want the probe to read a low of 68 degrees and a high of 75, well at the main unit you set the temperature for that probe and you tell it what tank the probe is going into and it will monitor that tank until you change it. Now next to that tank is one of your Discus tanks where the temperature is higher so you take the next probe and set the range for the Discus tank with a low of 82 and a high of 90 and so on for all your tanks. Once set you only have to watch the unit go through each LCD reading of all your tanks. So if the temperature goes out of range that you set the probes too the unit will alert you to a problem and which tank is out of temp range.
Again you are the one in control of the temperature range for each probe and any time you need to move the probe you just hook it back to the main unit and reprogram it for the temperature you need it to monitor. If I remember right you will scroll up or down on the screen to select the low and high temp reading from 0 degrees up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit will also give you the reading of 2 tanks at one time and then scroll to the next 2 and so on. Another thing we added was a spot with 2 screws where you can wire up a wireless device like they use for wireless doorbells in a house in case all of your tanks are in another room where you will not hear the device go off. If you are hard of hearing you can also us a wireless device so that a light is illuminated to warn you.
I should be testing the first unit in about 3 weeks on all 16 probes to make sure it is easy for everyone to set up and monitor. I also plan you use one tank that I can control by adjusting the tank temps to make sure the warning device works properly on the unit itself and on a wireless warning device inside my house since my tanks are in my garage. Once I have it all set up I will take pictures of the unit working on all 16 tanks and how I wired it up. Each probe will have a male and female plug on it and you are only limited on how far the units go on how much wire you use. I will make sure I have photos display the temps on all my tanks and I will watch this very closely since all my tanks have breeding pairs in them.
George
This unit will run on a 9 volt transformer so anyone outside the U.S will only have to buy the transformer and the unit will be able to be used anywhere. The unit will be discounted a few dollars since it will be easier for our European friends to to buy a 220 volt to 9 volt transformer used in Europe like we use on our cordless telephones inside our home. This unit will read in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.
There have been a lot of changes since we started this and the main thing was that wireless unit was cost prohibited. Also the unit will not have to be plugged into your home computer to program it; you will be able to program each temp probe on the main unit itself. The unit is still going to read up to 16 tanks and you program each temperature sensor to the tank you are putting it in. For instance lets say you have some cold water fish and you want the probe to read a low of 68 degrees and a high of 75, well at the main unit you set the temperature for that probe and you tell it what tank the probe is going into and it will monitor that tank until you change it. Now next to that tank is one of your Discus tanks where the temperature is higher so you take the next probe and set the range for the Discus tank with a low of 82 and a high of 90 and so on for all your tanks. Once set you only have to watch the unit go through each LCD reading of all your tanks. So if the temperature goes out of range that you set the probes too the unit will alert you to a problem and which tank is out of temp range.
Again you are the one in control of the temperature range for each probe and any time you need to move the probe you just hook it back to the main unit and reprogram it for the temperature you need it to monitor. If I remember right you will scroll up or down on the screen to select the low and high temp reading from 0 degrees up to 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The unit will also give you the reading of 2 tanks at one time and then scroll to the next 2 and so on. Another thing we added was a spot with 2 screws where you can wire up a wireless device like they use for wireless doorbells in a house in case all of your tanks are in another room where you will not hear the device go off. If you are hard of hearing you can also us a wireless device so that a light is illuminated to warn you.
I should be testing the first unit in about 3 weeks on all 16 probes to make sure it is easy for everyone to set up and monitor. I also plan you use one tank that I can control by adjusting the tank temps to make sure the warning device works properly on the unit itself and on a wireless warning device inside my house since my tanks are in my garage. Once I have it all set up I will take pictures of the unit working on all 16 tanks and how I wired it up. Each probe will have a male and female plug on it and you are only limited on how far the units go on how much wire you use. I will make sure I have photos display the temps on all my tanks and I will watch this very closely since all my tanks have breeding pairs in them.
George
