CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Worth a shot at what? Working? Of course it will work. There's a lot of them under $500 that will work (as in "good-enough-for-who-it's-for"). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogdvr Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 OK more drama.Yes I meant it will work, and I meant that at 99 dollars for the unit it is worth a shot to see if it is "good enough for him"Does this make me a "Prima Dona"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 FYI,From this week forward all dd Smart Servers come with Cumulus pre-installed. That works with the EV Cumulus driver and stations that are like $100. We provide web space/FTP for the Cumulus system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R_Willis Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^. Yeh. And you have to leave a computer on... right?Kind of a deal breaker for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 OK more drama.Yes I meant it will work, and I meant that at 99 dollars for the unit it is worth a shot to see if it is "good enough for him"Does this make me a "Prima Dona"?No drama here. It will work and if it doesn't, return it. I'm sure that ILoveC4 had no idea he could return it Instead, why don't we continue the thread like this:1. What are you interested in that you can't get from the weather app?2. Are you willing to live without it integrating with C4?3. Where is the distributor and do they have a return policy. warranty and a customer service 800 number.All guys really want to do is control things off of some parameter like rain, wind or sun. Second, maybe display that info on existing GUIs. Currently, there are options for that but nobody wants to pony-up. There's your "drama". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Straight from EV themselves-"Note the information displayed is only as good as the weather station itself, so ensure you choose a station that is of sufficient quality for your customer's needs" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^. Yeh. And you have to leave a computer on... right?Kind of a deal breaker for me. They need to come up with a Linux version and then you can connect it to a Raspberry Pi. I am sure that the power usage of <5W wouldn't disturb anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have a PC that's always on. I want to be able to execute programming based on wind speed, and execute announcements (also programming really) based on rainfall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper139 Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I will definitely be looking at this, wind speed is the biggest issue here and it would be great to be able to integrate that into programming. A PC always being on is not an issue, I have 3 that run 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have a PC that's always on. I want to be able to execute programming based on wind speed, and execute announcements (also programming really) based on rainfall.That sounds interesting - what types of programming would you be wanting to execute? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I have a PC that's always on. I want to be able to execute programming based on wind speed, and execute announcements (also programming really) based on rainfall.I can address the rainfall (and have in previous posts). A $50 device is all you need. Programming amounts to recording number of "bucket tips" using HC contacts and a variable. So many of those and you shut-down the sprinklers, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashmoney Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Another option, though not as cheap at C4UG's, are these sensors from these guys... http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/sensors/w-smc This is a wireless soil moisture sensor, for those with sprinklers this would be the ideal way to not only decide IF to run the sprinkler but for how long to run the sprinkler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^I took a brief look but didn't see a reference to relays or contacts. How would this device talk to Control4? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathww Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 I wonder if this one is worth a damn.http://www.ambientweather.com/amws1090.html#captionThis looks very cool. Would love to work weather into my system..but not for 5k. If ya get a chance to look at this one more closely let us know whay ya think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitaltrader Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 Another option, though not as cheap at C4UG's, are these sensors from these guys... http://www.onsetcomp.com/products/sensors/w-smc This is a wireless soil moisture sensor, for those with sprinklers this would be the ideal way to not only decide IF to run the sprinkler but for how long to run the sprinkler.Give me a zigbee version of that and tie it into my irrigation system and Im sold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cashmoney Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^I took a brief look but didn't see a reference to relays or contacts. How would this device talk to Control4?It would require a driver but the sensor is zigbee... This is one of those "Pushing the Limits" discussions but it seems very interesting as basing your watering on actual soil moisture conditions would be the most accurate and provide the most economic and resource conservation benefit.I see this having serious possibilities both residential and commercial use. Think about watering zones being able to decide if that specific zone needs water or not, shady areas may not need as much or any water at all while a zone in full sun may need more water. While it might rain, it may not rain enough and zones may still need to run but for shorter time periods. I'd be interested to know how many C4 installations have irrigation systems and how many are residential vs commercial. Could be an interesting project to financially get involved in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 23, 2012 Share Posted October 23, 2012 ^I believe you are correct. The rain parameter probably relates most to lawn watering. The low-cost sensor I'm using is extremely sensitive so the usefulness becomes a little vague. The kids flip-out when it announces rain because they like to play in puddles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILoveC4 Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 I have a PC that's always on. I want to be able to execute programming based on wind speed' date=' and execute announcements (also programming really) based on rainfall.[/quote']That sounds interesting - what types of programming would you be wanting to execute?I have shades that I want to pull up in the wind and I want to execute an announcement when rainfall is detected. I have a long drive, and it takes quite a bit longer when it's raining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevendustweb Posted October 24, 2012 Share Posted October 24, 2012 To further this discussion, can Control4 integrate with the information that comes from a Westher Underground weather station? In other words, rather than purchase a weather station, can I pull information directly from the Weather Underground weather station near my home and use it to control my HVAC, etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turls Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanE Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 A driver could probably be made to read from weather underground's website, referencing your local station, and then you could use that driver's variables to program in Control4.It's a bit more involved than most end users and some dealers would do, though.RyanE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasBill Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 I have a PC that's always on. I want to be able to execute programming based on wind speed' date=' and execute announcements (also programming really) based on rainfall.[/quote']That sounds interesting - what types of programming would you be wanting to execute?I have shades that I want to pull up in the wind and I want to execute an announcement when rainfall is detected. I have a long drive, and it takes quite a bit longer when it's raining.My dealer added on a rain sensor for $35.00 that allows me to shut all open windows and make an announcement if moisture is detected. It really was worth the money.My SOMFY outdoor shades came WITH a wind sensor that raises them when the wind gets high.(I still would like a weather station though as well).Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diamonddesign Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Cumulus works with Weather Underground but its more sending the info to W.U. than pulling it from it.This is the one I'm recommending for those using the EV driver with our server http://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-WS-2080-Wireless-Station/dp/B003OSJ08S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1351178453&sr=8-3&keywords=ambient+weather for $109.99. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 ^Lay it out for us here- in simple terms, how does your "server", Cumulus and a $100 device work together to control sprinkler and shades? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CFUG Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 That sounds interesting - what types of programming would you be wanting to execute?I have shades that I want to pull up in the wind and I want to execute an announcement when rainfall is detected. I have a long drive' date=' and it takes quite a bit longer when it's raining.[/quote']My dealer added on a rain sensor for $35.00 that allows me to shut all open windows and make an announcement if moisture is detected. It really was worth the money.My SOMFY outdoor shades came WITH a wind sensor that raises them when the wind gets high.(I still would like a weather station though as well).BillSo are you agreeing with me that for $50 (or under in your case) you could get half of what I mentioned (without 3rd party intervention) in my above post? The shade control is not going to be $50 in any case but I think people know that already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.