Weekend Projects - Sun Logger

Complete instructions for this episode of Weekend Projects can be found at
makeprojects.co...
Our second Arduino project in this series of Weekend Projects, the Sun Logger is a device that gathers data about sunlight. Hack a light-sensitive photoresistor to a homemade "shield" to record data to an SD card, and then examine this data later on your computer to see how light changes in an area over time.

[@sdp8483]

Good to see you guys go with a DIY shield instead of the commercially available shields.

[@regman1996]

Cool project and good idea posting it on Thursday so we can buy the stuff and be ready for the weekend.

[@MAKE]

Arduino has both a 5V and a 3.3V regulator. The 3.3V regulator supplies voltage to the 3.3V pin. The Arduino is 5V in the sense that its input/output pins are all 5V. (High = 5V) We believe the 3.3v pin is there so that you can use a sensor that operates on 3.3v.

[@DanMcCreary]

Nice demo of using an SD card!

[@ubidefeo]

Arduino UNO has a 3.3 regulated output available, I think you could have sourced that rather than using a regulator ;)
cute project, reminds me of something we were playing with while researching environment data tracking for growing system.
nice presentation, bravo :)

[@balisticjoe]

Builds device to measure sun intensity, puts it in area with shadows.
Well at least its an actual good project, haven't had one of those in a while, keep it up.

[@muh1h1]

a dab of hotglue on the LDR could have made it somewhat waterproof...

[@thingyee1118]

Finally something use full, nice make dude. :)

[@rclewis01]

Instead of hooking voltage divider from 5v to ground, hook to a digital output and ground. Then turn set the digital output to 5v or high just before you take a reading. Then take the reading, turn back down to low. This will save more power. And use a little solar panel and rechargeable batteries. Also, when light levels drop below a threshold for a certain amount of time, increase interval time to much longer than 15 sec. like several minutes. In the morning, it will go back to 15 sec

[@H3adcrash]

Yes but the onboard 3.3V regulator does the exact same thing as the TO-92 package one you put on the shield. So you are kind of reinventing the wheel there.. :) Cause both use the same ground reference and everything..

[@KinGRickYGaminG]

Weekend Projects are back

[@arcadyt]

at last! something useful for a change!

[@gerrardla]

Can you use a solar pannel to power it instead of a battery? Makes sense really!

[@microlabs5912]

Nice project!

[@stagew0rks22802]

Has there been an average battery life found for one battery pack? Also, how much data space is used (How long would it take to fill various SD card sizes)? Thanks for another great video!!

[@dragoncracker]

would be nice to see this done with the TI430 launchpad instead, as that has an easy option for low power mode

[@victorNDSL]

Yes, arduinos are compatible with Mac, Linux and windows.

[@macogal]

great! put it in the shade of the tree. it will measure the light better

[@gord162]

Question: Why not use solar panels on top of the box instead of batteries?

[@igrewold]

Of course. It is compatible with Windows/Mac(OSX)/Linux(and variants)
find more info on:
Arduino.cc

[@seshpenguin]

Yep, on the power rail you can get 3.3 out

[@AKSoapy29]

Does Radioshack have those 3.3 volt regulators? Oh, and their selection of the light sensors is very poor...

[@Techmatt167Official]

yes they do. enerything on these videos are from radioshack.

[@eemailli4880]

How long would the batteries last on this project?

[@Euphorica]

great video!

[@GuresTan]

Really interesting , thank you very much for sharing your usefull knowledge

[@zaca211]

Yes, I use it on linux myself! go to there website or do a google search for linux software.

[@laharl2k]

isn't it cheaper to use a 3,3V zenner instead of the logic converter? or how much currect does the sd card need to work properly?

[@MrSonyCity]

Why not use 50 K Ohm and get a bigger voltage swing?

[@123456789robbie]

but why couldn't you have powered the sd card directly from the 3.3v pin?

[@Kevlar2010]

Technology :), one of the best of gods creations.

[@vincent7487]

Just wondering, what's the purpose of recording sun light data?

[@H3adcrash]

Doesn't the Arduino have a onboard 3.3V regulator?

[@MrBostjanVidmar]

A great project! I am a beginner and would like to do something similar for temperature measurement. I can not find the code of your project for the Arduino. Can I get a link? thank you :)

[@charliewecker]

Damn it! I thought this was gonna be a video with a log splitter thats powered by the sun:(

[@IamKDog]

Whatever was said in this video is black magic to me.

[@TheUntergangMan]

What's the name of the background song?

[@hr.ausragend1814]

could someone say me the name of the backround music? :)

[@manutube8080]

I can also use a 4050 isn't?

[@Wassupbig123]

where did you get the LDR ????

[@OlegBelyash]

What kind of music?

[@achemachew]

Are Arduinos compatible with Linux?

[@kagamutora]

First! and i liked this video i will be trying to get this project started soon!

[@eliotjoe9889]

if i start this project now i should be done by oct. 2017

[@MW3master141]

i built 10 of these but made 5 motion loggers to log who walks in my job and house and 5 light one

[@loustoons]

More of these kind of videos please. The others are absolute crap in both quality and content.

[@Eilaithen1]

crazy idea, solar power

[@asdwjure]

lololo i have the same solder iron

[@maahal]

All Geek to me.

[@romance200880]

me2 hehehehe :)

[@itz_tofu4987]

: )

[@deadking13]

yiep

[@spam.man.outdoors]

If your measuring sun, why not add a solar panel?

[@electroguide5957]

Nice demo of using an SD card!