[HN Gopher] ESP32 Wemos D1 Mini - Sprinkler Controller Open Source ___________________________________________________________________ ESP32 Wemos D1 Mini - Sprinkler Controller Open Source Author : pcbmaker20 Score : 57 points Date : 2023-10-28 16:55 UTC (6 hours ago) (HTM) web link (github.com) (TXT) w3m dump (github.com) | cxcorp wrote: | I don't think there's a D1-ESP32 board? The D1 Mini is Wemos' | ESP8266 board. They do have ESP32 boards with the same footprint, | but those are not D1 Mini but S2 Mini, S3 Mini and C3 Mini, | depending on whether it's ESP32-S2/-S3/-C3. | oldgradstudent wrote: | That's what I thought as well, it is not available at: | | https://www.wemos.cc/en/latest/index.html | | But the specific board from the post can be bought on Amazon: | | https://www.amazon.com/CANADUINO-WEMOS-Minikit-240MHz-Blueto... | heffer wrote: | You'll find many varieties of boards with different SoCs being | sold mentioning the D1 Mini in their model number or product | description, as it initially defined the form-factor being | referred to. Similar to the ESP-12F, which you can also get | with ESP32 SoCs, if you want, even though the ESP-12F | originally is an ESP8266 board. | t0mas88 wrote: | Indeed, there is no D1-ESP32 from Wemos. It's a name used by | several non-Wemos clones that have an ESP32 chip in a module | form factor that is compatible with the original Wemos D1 mini. | | The challenge is that these modules are not all the same. The | differences are for example in the voltage regulator and how | much current you can draw from it. Which can make something | work fine with one "D1-ESP32" while not working with another. | f_devd wrote: | 24V AC to me seems like a strange choice when using DC-DC power | supplies allows for using any external adapter, including USB PD, | without the need for a loose transformer. | KANahas wrote: | 24 VAC is a common voltage for irrigation control, which is | likely why they chose to use it. | conk wrote: | Agreed and it's far easier to turn ac into dc than the other | way around | eternityforest wrote: | A relic of the ancient days before everything ran on tiny | switching converters! There's tons of 24Vac stuff that | unfortunately doesn't seem to be interested in switching | anytime soon. | | Also, AC is easier to switch with physical switches, and | there's a ton of stuff still using physical relays at low | voltage. It would be nice to go DC but there seems to be | inertia. | intpx wrote: | I think there is more to it than that-- AC lets you move | current over longer wires without voltage drop or having to | use really thick wire. This is why Tesla triumphed over | Edison. Honestly, there are a ton of applications that could | benefit from low voltage AC that don't leverage it because DC | is king in on the test bench and that inertia creates the | need for klunky workarounds to overcome its deficiencies in | large, long series circuits. | londons_explore wrote: | Worth noting that nearly everything that claims to run from | 24 Vac also runs from 5Vdc. Nearly everything modern has a | little circuit board which just detects 'voltage' or 'no | voltage'. | | The exception is 'dumb' solenoids, valves, pumps etc, which | are actually powered by the 24Vac. | amluto wrote: | For a classy sprinkler controller, you want 24VAC relay outputs | with current monitoring, and you also want a pulse counting input | for a flow sensor. Bonus points for rain gauge inputs and some | way to collect evapotranspiration data. | bobsmooth wrote: | You can get ESP-controlled relay boards on aliexpress. | intpx wrote: | Apart from the fact that sprinkler systems are almost always | 24VAC and every commercial sprinkler controller I have ever used | or investigated use optocouplers/fets/triacs I don't really have | a good reason to get irritated by homebrew designs that use | relays, but I do get irritated. I think the irritation comes from | wanting to really learn-by-copying how to design these circuits | and many hours searching for exemplars and reading datasheets | left me pretty confounded (though most of this was during the | great supply chain squeeze so I couldn't find the right combos of | triacs and optocouplers ins stock and the datasheets led me to | believe that subbing out a non zero cross would probably be a | problem, or not being able to find logic level triacs) | londons_explore wrote: | Anyone else have reliability issues with the ESP32? | | I have a few of them connected to various wifi networks, and | after a couple of years they always seem to disconnect and need a | power cycle before they'll reconnect. | | I understand they might lose the wifi connection, or their DHCP | lease, or there might be interference, or something blasts too | many packets at them, or a TCP connection hangs or gets RST... | But after any of those, I expect them to recover, reconnect, and | continue working. However, even a hello world web server on ESP32 | seems unable to do that. | | However, it's really hard to track down bugs that only happen | once a year when I only have ~10 of these devices. | ahepp wrote: | You could set up a watchdog of some sort that reboots the | system if it can't connect to the internet. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-10-28 23:00 UTC)