From: me@somewhere.net   
      
   On 13/8/19 13:42, default wrote:   
   > I was looking for a ready made timer for a hydroponic system I'm   
   > tinkering with and came across some el-cheapo PLCs on Amazon, and   
   > figured this would work lots better than a timer that would need a lot   
   > of additional circuitry to adapt.   
   >   
   > The catch is that they mention a programming software that is from   
   > Mitsubishi and costs $500+ .  After looking around I found some   
   > cheaper alternatives but with more expensive hardware,  Further   
   > searching led to an open-source software, but I'm ignorant of all the   
   > standards and protocols they are mentioning.   
   >   
   > Is there a newbie group for this sort of thing?  I see a lot of "home   
   > automation," but they want cell-phone control plug-in stuff and it is   
   > still costly.   
   >   
   > I'm used to BASIC software for control applications, and most of the   
   > PLCs use relay logic and I've used the "Automate" PLC in the 70's when   
   > they were huge beasts - but easy to program with relay logic.  For the   
   > hydro, I only need relay or OC outputs and switch inputs, nothing   
   > fancy.  Initially I'm only controlling lights, hi/lo temperature   
   > switch, hi/low nutrient switches, and switching a pump on and off.   
   >   
      
   Industrial Shields https://www.industrialshields.com/ have PLCs based on   
   Arduino. It seems that *finally* there are alternatives to the overly   
   expensive traditional PLCs.   
      
   (I have no connection to industrialshields. I have just seen their   
   products and liked the idea)   
      
   Pere   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)