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#1 2008-06-05 12:16:45
Need a control for my shutter :)
I have a electrified shutter for my window. It is controlled by three buttons (up / down / stop). Would it be possible to control this thingy by the CH3SNAS? Perhaps with a USB->Parallel-Converter and some transistors? Or is there already a functioning serial/parallel-port for this? Edit: There is one: http://dns323.kood.org/hardware:serial but i don't want to destroy my warranty...
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by DeLaCroix (2008-06-05 12:21:04)
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#2 2008-06-05 12:48:03
- DiMension
- Member
- From: Ehv, NL
- Registered: 2008-04-28
- Posts: 16
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
Hey DeLaCroix, I have managed to connect my Arduino (http://arduino.cc/) microcontroller to the CH3SNAS. The Arduino is an easy-to-use microcontroller platform with bootloader. An Arduino Diecimilla costs about €25. It connects via USB, so no voided warranty. You should be able to connect your shutter to the ports of the Arduino with little effort.
To communicate with the Arduino you need the 'usbserial.ko' and 'ftdi_sio.ko' kernel modules. Get them from http://dev.skcserver.de/dns323/modules_v1.03/ and insmod them into the kernel. Then
mknod /dev/ttyUSB0 c 188 0
No programming required. I uploaded the SimpleMessageSystem example patch to the Arduino: http://www.arduino.cc/playground/Code/S … sageSystem and then connected it to the NAS.
If you just need a serial port on USB, get an FTDI USB->Serial converter. It's built in on the Arduino Diecimilla. The steps for getting it to work are the same. You just need something to convert the serial message into something useful.
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#3 2008-06-05 14:15:06
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
Thanks for you answer!
A few years ago i had a simple 4x20-Display at my parallel port, i wonder if it would be possible to "communicate" directly with the switches without any circuit in between. Something like a USB->Parallel-Converter and a transitor for each switch. Is this possible? Which one of the parallel port modules do i have to load?
What i don't need: Something like a "programmed device" for my shutter. I just want it as a funny gadget ("Look i can use my shutter from wherever i want"). I can program the shutter itself, so i don't need anything with timecontrol.
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#4 2008-06-05 14:45:29
- DiMension
- Member
- From: Ehv, NL
- Registered: 2008-04-28
- Posts: 16
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
I know it sounds a bit like overkill, but the thing is that USB is a serial protocol, and it needs to be translated into something else. As I stated, the Arduino is really cheap and versatile. It probably costs about the same as a USB->parallel converter, but allows you to do much more. And you don't need an extra circuit, so if you just look at it as a USB->real-world converter it's not that bad 
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#5 2008-06-05 15:15:04
- gareth
- Member
- Registered: 2007-06-28
- Posts: 50
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
Quick question, why would you want to control your shutters from a NAS drive?
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#6 2008-06-05 15:26:29
- DiMension
- Member
- From: Ehv, NL
- Registered: 2008-04-28
- Posts: 16
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
DeLaCroix said it himself:
I just want it as a funny gadget ("Look i can use my shutter from wherever i want")
And it's not only fun to interface with real-life objects. It's useful as well. The NAS (mine, at least) is connected to the internet 24/7 and uses relatively little power, which makes it a nice home automation controller.
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#7 2008-06-05 15:35:14
Re: Need a control for my shutter :)
I want to control 1 shutter which is located 1m above my NAS. Just4fun Sometime i sleep till 6 AM and sometimes till 2 PM. As i can only set 1 time for opening and 1 for closing the shutter, i have set 2PM as the time for opening. But I have some green stuff near the window that needs daylight (flowers and so on) (women....).
My NAS is running all Day, so i want to write a application which opens my calendar (parsing iCal with php is no problem) and looks for my first appointment. Then it can predict the time when i have to wake up und opens the shutter then
I hope you can understand why i "need" this... (english isn't my native language...)
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