Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Trust me, with no offense of course, it is very hard to explain certain technical things without giving a huge speech about gates, transistors, relays, differential thermocouples and the like. (I am not going to explain these terms). Google is an awesome electronics reference book, I am sure all of us like minded electronic whizzes can answer specific questions for you, but to get familiarize with the basics there are some great websites out there that even I look at from time to time.

No offence taken or meant Tim, njh or anyone else

was I think a confluence of several points/ideas that threw me at the time



couldn't quite follow how we'd gone from tanks and methods of heat exchange to temperature activated fans, and LM Temp sensors to K-type thermocouples

Rest assured I make constant use of google to expand my understanding
oh and I hang around forums like these so those smarter than me can explain things and save me from spending my "whole" life googling my ignorance

If you don't understand that last quote it basically means that the K-Type thermocouple (Common type of Temperature Probe), would produce a voltage output of only a few uV (micro Volts 1x10^-6) with a difference in voltage of 5 degrees.

A differential temperature fan operates by comparing a reference temperature to measured temperature and turning the fan on and off accordingly.

I must say Aquaponics is not much of an insomnia cure... it is 3 AM over here, I was up at 7 AM yesturday and not tired yet.

I understood! Thanks tim.

I'll just add that doug brings up an interesting point - I always admire a passively correct system, but the scientist in me wants to measure the performance and be sure it is working as claimed. Also, in many cases an actively monitored and controlled system can a) be more efficient and b) detect and correct problems earlier.

Hence, those of us with interest in electronic control systems will invariably start adding sensors, actuators and controllers to everything we build. (heck, I got a partially completed electronic cat flap control system implemented .

What I think is interesting is designing systems that are stable passively - they will operate indefinitely when the power fails, but use control loops to dramatically improve performance. This is either fail safe (doesn't kill the fish on failure) or fail over (switches to another approach) or graceful degradation (continues to limp along whilst it waits for you to clean the dead fish out of the pump intake).

Excellent NJH. Consideration of disconnected or power fail modes and assuring passively correct system operation is what seperates a pro system from the rest. That comes with experience and sophistication. Many degreed engineers fail to do this.

I just designed and built my motor controller for the vents. Before the design was acceptable, it was necessary to design to do the right thing before the computer comes up and runs the program. These little intial condition considerations can bite you!

Your post is a great point for all the creative people here to consider during the design work.

Sucess to all!

Well, I suppose I got the answer I was looking for.

but, does it make your decision any easier John?

Rupe: i hear ya.

Tim: i disagree, the stuff i have explained to people in common terms siwide and varied. U just gotta apply it to stuff they understand. explain volts amp and resistance to a plumber in head height, flow and pipe size. its a perfect fit. Dumbing down is not necessary.

All: If ever there is something posted that you think you'd like to know more about but can't understand those of us that speak klingon, just ASK I for one am quite happy to explain things.

Rupe: funny how different minds think, i looked at the quote of the progression from tanks to K thermocouples, and i couldn't NOT see the links

Hi,



The mark of a really clever person is the measure of their ability to simplify difficult concepts to the point where they can be understood by laypersons.

Keep explaining Steve....and others!

Gary

Well put GD.

And please don't stop posting all the wonderful ideas guys.

chucks

toH tlhIngan Hol DajatlhlaH 'e' DaneH'a'?[tlh]

Why didn't that surprise me from TimC? Mark of a true geek.

Hats off to you! I never took the time to learn Klingon, Just English, Spanish, Calculus, and Network Geek languages.

That was actually one of the biggest insults someone could give to a Klingon, but sort of a compliment if directed at humans... Can you guess what it means, and by guess I don't mean Google.