So I'm looking to make some digital thermostats.
This would a small box, say 2x5 or less, with 2 digits of display & 2 pushbuttons. Within, a temp sensor and 1-wire interface.....
These would be the thermal sensing end of a new furnace zone system a friend is building himself.
The hard part is making this public part look nice. Has anyone spotted a surplus box being sold that has a display already?
-- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
I have seen and used 3 digit (not seen any two digit) drop-in panel mount voltmeters that have a nice bezel. You are likely going to have to come up with a way to consistently cut the right hole in the right place on each lid. That's all. There probably is a pre-integrated unit out there somewhere, but it isn't worth the time lost hunting it up. The panel mount displays and the boxes are easy to find. The pre-integrated version may not be.
I'd start with the usual suspects for enclosures (Polycase, Hammond, Rose-Bopla, OKW) and integrate a simple LCD character display. For the display, the EA-DOG
-- Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
Can you do all that crap for $15.00 worth of your time?
Have Fun! Rich
You can buy a digital thermometer for under $10.00. Here's one example:
Maybe you can hack that for your thermostat.
Ed
Add Pac-Tec to the list:
-mpm
Done. Thanks!
-- Rich Webb Norfolk, VA
If it were me, I'd put a bluetooth interface on the main box and use $1 garage sale PDAs to do the remote (and local) user interfaces. Once you have the infrastructure, you'll think of other stuff you can do with it.
Actually the $15 item on that page is for a filter, not a tstat. The prices for the tstat on that page are mostly in the ~$50 and over range. Still, it may make more sense to go that route than a DIY build.
Ed
Thanks for the on-topic response. I don't see they sell any matching bezels which throws it back into the "lots of PITA making it look good" dept. Sigh.
Re: other replies.
I don't want a thermostat, thermometer, or even a Theremin. I want a box with a display. I will make it measure temperature, display setpoints, phases of the Moon, whatever. It will have a
1-Wire sensor and some 1-Wire way of driving the display. But for now, I'm box-hunting.I don't want Bluetooth. We have very fire wires just waiting to be useful.
-- A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com & no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433 is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
It is almost that way with everything these days. Can't wait for the Dick Tracy wrist watches... Oh, they got those now too? Damn! I'm old!
I used to build high brightness CRTs for use at the foot drop point of Hollywood steady-cam outfits. The CRTs were originally for use in F4 Phantoms. They are using some OLED things now. I doubt there are any of my CRT jobs still in use.
My point, however, is that I asked some RC helicopter guy how hard it would be to make a little steady-cam for an RC helo, and he showed me a site where they are being sold... cheap... with GPS and an IRU (Inertial Reference Unit (gyro))! Little tiny things!
It truly is an unreal world.
When you say it perfectly and exactly, you say it "perzactly" - and you just did. :-)
Ed
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