LED - Light Controller #2 - Hardware Buildout for Light Controller Box

The idea for a Light Controller Box is from the old idea of an internet controlled switch.  You have some type of control that sets or unsets a relay so that power is turned on/off at a plug.  Normally these things are in racks of equipment and are used for emergency shutdown and reducing power in a network room when a server is not needed.  The idea suits my needs because I want to be able to switch a string of lights on and off.  This is the basis for many of the light shows that you can find videos from on YouTube.

First off, I wanted something to keep the equipment dry and at the same time be able to run the power cables as necessary.  At first, I thought about using a cheap toolbox and cutting out holes for the power ports and switches.  One other thing that I was going to have to do was to figure out some sort of seal around the lid and some way to waterproof the connections going into the toolbox.  However, after thinking about it, I decided that this was too much work on my part for what I was getting.  I wanted something that I could buy and quickly setup as necessary since I was going to need a couple of these.  So I settled on the idea of a DriBox which is a plastic box that has openings for power cables so that you can put say a power strip in it and plug cables into it.  The cables are put into slots in the box that have grommets that fit around the power cables when the lid is put back on.  It is not completely waterproof, but you can run a hose on it and it does keep the contents dry.

Next, I figured that I could take the electronics and put them on a piece of Plexiglas with standoffs that could be screwed into the Plexiglas along with some "feet" on the other side.  That way, I could put everything together, check it out and then put it into the box quickly.  That would save a lot of time for repairs.  I could also re-purpose the electronics to another project later by simply removing the Plexiglas board from the DriBox and unscrewing the power lines.  I also chose to put the 16 port io extenders on a full size Adafruit perma-proto board with connectors pointing up so that this could be reused as well.  Prototyping of the whole circuit can be done on a regular breadboard and then moved over to the perma-proto board because the connections are identical.  There is even space on the board for the connector to the Raspberry Pi.

The next post will have a circuit diagram for the 16 port extension.  I might even invest in a RPi hat that has the same characteristics if I can find one.

LED - Light Controller #1 - Introduction and Idea

I have been thinking about next Christmas season and I have decided to get my act together and put together a LED Strip Controller Helix and Light Switching Box.  I want it to be RPi/Arduino controlled and interfaced to my home network.

The requirements for Light Switching Box are as follows:

1. Circuit A and B, with inputs A and B from mains
2. 8 individually switched circuits - one socket per
3. Main switch toggles off, circuit A or circuit A+B - real switch
4. Fuses on incoming?
5. One socket always connected to circuit A for RPi, always powered when A is plugged in
6. Connection to RPi through I2C, 16 port ic through level shift
7. 8 ports used for 8-port relay, remaining 8 ports for switch and led functions?
8. RGB led for boot up/armed function, RGB led for other indication
9. Triple LED strip controller PCM (WS2812B)

The requirements for the LED Strip Controller Helix are as follows:

1. Base the light on a helical strip wrapped around a 4 inch pvc pipe.  I can get about 4.5 inches in between each coil on a four foot section and make use of the controls in each
2. Cap the top so that water cant get in
3. Place an Arduino and power supply, for the LED strip, inside the pipe to keep it out of the weather.  If the Arduino can be controlled wirelessly, I can communicate with it to send update commands with my home network.
4. Four wire line (for power and i2c data/clock) in the case of a non wirelessly controlled Arduino or, a Two wire line (for power) in the case of a wirelessly controlled Arduino controller.  Power only going into the box is obviously preferred.
5. Communicate from the Light Switching Box to each Helix to relay commands and synchronize the light show.

Checking Power for the Computer Room

So today I am checking the power coming to my new computer room.  I have cleared out most of the things that were in the room, enough to be able to get around and move my equipment into the room.  There were two lines that I uncovered coming from the main panel that went into the tool room.  One went to two outlets through a breakout box: power for the main managed switch and a 4 socket setup on the workbench.  Since I will not be using the workbench much after I move the 3D printer into the computer room, I should be okay with the power draw.  The line is on a 20 amp circuit and the switch does not draw that much.  Having the 3D printer in the computer room allows me to setup an exhaust outlet for when I start doing stinky plastics like ABS, nylon, and PETG.  The other line coming from the main panel goes to a breakout box that is tied to power going into the computer room.  I need to trace down the wires to make sure that I understand where they are going to.  I am hoping that there is not a lot of activity on this power line.

I have been looking for a power meter that I can use to determine what the current draw is on each of these lines so that I can make sure not to exceed 80%.  That should keep the lines cool enough for continuous usage.  I went to Loews last night and got some 12 gauge power wire to hook the first line I mentioned to some of the other outlets in the room.  I need to determine what the power requirements are for the following groupings of equipment:

1. Computer Rack

- 1500 watt APC

- Server One - generic PC with 7 Ethernet ports

- Server Two (future buy) - probably a NUC device

- Raspberry Pi Cluster: 4 RPis, plus 6 usb connector power supply

- 16 port 1GB managed switch

- 8 port 1GB managed switch

- 8 port 1GB switch

- Two WD myCloud devices (4TB and 3TB) plus One backup usb drive (4TB)

2. Hutch

- Smaller APC unit

- Mac Mini

- Two monitors: one with dual HDMI inputs

- powered speakers

- PC laptop docking station

- external 4TB drive

- external DVD burner

- old 3in1 printer for scanning

- Apple TV 3/Roku

- 8 port 1GB managed switch

3. DIY Electronics Table

- Smaller APC unit

- 8 port POE switch

- 8 port 1GB managed switch

- 4-unit HDMI switch

- PC power supply for bench

- One monitor w/attached RPi

- 6 usb connector power supply for RPis/Arduinos

- RPi with 7" LCD screen for monitoring

4. 3D Printer (in Lack table enclosure)

- 3D printer

- OctoPi setup with camera

- power supply for OctoPi

- Ethernet connection from OctoPi to the Hutch managed switch

Change in the Weather Station Setup

I was thinking the other day, how much I would like to take away the dependence on one RPi for my weather transmissions to Weather Underground and CWOP.  I just recently purchased a subscription to VirtualHere.  VirtualHere gives the ability for one server (in this case an RPi) to serve a USB device (in this case the Weather Station Console output) to multiple clients.  The idea here is to distribute collection of information to other programs that can deal with it.  One program would be the WeeWX server running on an RPi that performs the interface to Weather Underground, CWOP, and others.  Another program would be to extract the readings and formulate web pages.  WeeWX does a good job of formulating web pages but I want to distribute the function to a different processor so that I can push the weather updates as quickly as I can.  In addition, I can do more things with the information independent of what I am streaming, including multiple weather displays of information.

The new setup of the RPi Cluster on the shelf will be used for this purpose.  Originally, I was intent on only doing networking experiments with the Cluster, but I have had a change of heart since I am nearing retirement.  I also want to be able to incorporate other sensors into the mix to produce a well rounded output to WU and CWOP.  The new computer room with all of these components will be able to give me what I want.  In addition, I can add some VMs to the mix for experiementation on weather prediction, etc.

Alterations, Alterations in the Network!

Well I'm back after a long hiatus.  I was consumed with some Security Engineering projects at work and it pretty much took all of my time.  Now I can come back to this network and continue on with my projects.  However, I have a wrinkle in the matrix - I now have to consolidate a lot of my equipment into a space that is much smaller than what I originally had available.  Fortunately, having the layout that I had through the judicious use of vlans and vlan switches, the logical movement is not going to be that complicated.

My big problem with the move is getting rid of things that were in the area that I will be moving into and consolidating the things in other areas that will be necessary to continue this HomeLab project of mine.  I am vacating a room that will shortly be made into a bedroom for the potential of having either my granddaughter or my grandson and wife stay with us.  I am all for that, and it won't happen for another year, giving me time to accomplish what I need.  I am just a hop skip and jump away from retirement anyway.  But now I have to figure on not only my servers, but my main computer in my Personal vlan, and my desk where I piddle with Raspberry Pis and Arduinos.  I also have a new hobby of 3D printing which I will be adding to the HomeLab through an OctoPi interface.  Now I have to deal with lack of power for all these devices in that one room.  I also have to think of possible future inclusions such as servers and whatnots.  I will have to run one or two Ethernet cables to support the move, but that is the least of my problems.  Fortunately, I also have enough APC devices to power up everything.

I have decided that three areas should be enough to do what I want.  I am moving my RPi Cluster and Server/NAS to a shelf unit which was already in place in the room.  I will deposit my main computer that is behind the second firewall into the hutch.  I will then bring the table that I have been using for the main computer into the room and place it where I can do experiments with electronics and small computers.  I am also thinking that I need to setup a terminal at the desk to connect to RPis and computers with VNC over SSH and RPN over SSH.  Seems like I will need to setup a localized certificate authority for everything.  I really have grown to the point that I do not trust anything anymore in terms of moving information across a network, even if it is my own network.

I don't really want to buy any more equipment so I am going to repurpose one or two switches to fit into the network.  I do need to clean up the switches to not reference vlans that are not being used.  In addition, I have to be careful to keep an administrative vlan going between major systems.

holding off for a bit!

I have decided that I need to take a break from updating this blog.  Will be back in the near future.