[Lab] Introduce Myself

[Bruce]

Yes the basic job of a controller is to remove dew.  We use what are called 
heat straps.  They can be like the commercial ones from Kendrick.com or or 
home brewed ones made of resistors. Typically we try to heat our mirrors, eye 
pieces, finder and/or spotting scope.

As you are well aware the Ottawa valley is quite prone to humidty.  At night 
once the air cools to the dew point that moisture collects on very thing in 
the form of dew or in the winter it can be frost.

My present controller is very basic.  It can cycle the power on or off using 
using a Texas Instrument IC. has four RCA jacks.

What I would want from a new controller is temperature and humidity sensing.  

The controller must minimize power consumption by using  temperature and 
humidity sensor data to calculate the optimium amount of power to draw to 
achieve a dew or frost free mirrors and etc.

The controller must be able to display this information in some comprehensible  
fashion.  The system must function perfectly for +30 C to -20 C.  It must have 
6 to 8 RCA Jack

Bonus points for a data logger that can store this above information for later 
retrieval either by USB cable or via bluetooth.  

So this is as close to my above wishlist as I could get. 
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-597-0-0-1-0.html



On July 2, 2011 12:56:06 PM you wrote:
> Wow, those are some nice gifts!
> 
> What's a DEW heater? Is it to keep parts of a telescope at a consistent
> temperature?
> 
> On Fri, Jul 1, 2011 at 5:31 PM, <lists at faintfuzzies.ca> wrote:
> > On July 1, 2011 12:13:27 PM you wrote:
> > > Glad to hear you're getting into making things!
> > > 
> > > Do you have any projects in mind at the moment?
> > > 
> > > 
> > > --
> > > Darcy Whyte
> > > *Darcy at Siteware.com*
> > > Ottawa, Canada | 613-563-3634 | N 45° 25'03.1" W 75° 42'21.4"
> > > Please attach previous emails when responding (or reply instead of
> > 
> > starting
> > 
> > > a new thread/subject).
> > > 
> > > On Thu, Jun 30, 2011 at 8:07 PM, <lists at faintfuzzies.ca> wrote:
> > > > On June 30, 2011 04:45:54 PM you wrote:
> > > > > Bruce,
> > > > > 
> > > > > I think we know each other then.
> > > > > 
> > > > > I'm a regular customer. I bought about 30 computers there (and
> > > > > hoards of other stuff).
> > > > 
> > > > Yup, Darcy we do know each other.  You have the awesome rubberpower
> > > > planes. How are you doing?  I don't work at Computer Supplyhouse
> > > > anymore.
> > > > 
> > > > Now I'm just trying to figure out the difference between the red wire
> > 
> > and
> > 
> > > > the
> > > > black wire.
> > 
> > This is the project I plan to tackle.
> > http://www.iceinspace.com.au/63-597-0-0-1-0.html
> > Not sure if this is over my head or not.  But I'm gonna give it a try. 
> > For my
> > Birthday my wife got me a Hakko 936 Soldering Iron and a Extech EX330
> > Multimeter to start me out on my project. Still have not bought the parts
> > yet.
> > Ultimately, I'd like to produce something that exceeds the capabilities
> > of:
> > http://www.kendrickastro.com/astro/dew_controllers.html#PremierControlle
> > r Okay, I know that won't be anytime soon, but it is nice to have a goal
> > to shoot for.
> > 
> > I don't know if this is too difficult a project to start as a beginner or
> > not,
> > but I'm gonna give it a try.  There are a few features I'd like to see
> > added
> > to this project. One I'd like to see is a USB connected data logger that
> > can
> > record both ambient temps as well as mirror temps over time for each
> > viewing
> > session.  This I can use to compare the efficiency of my cooling system
> > (fan) to
> > keep the mirrors close to ambient temp and thus maximize viewing
> > potiential.
> > 
> > ==
> > Bruce
> > Member: SPIE, IEEE, IACR
> > Faintfuzzies.ca