Re: [Dorset] A New Wimborne Model Town Project Query - Sensing Water Levels and Flow
On 02/05/17 21:45, Andrew wrote: Hi Terry, It looks like the real rivers are being monitored in at least two places: https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-stour-oakley-wimborne https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-allen-colehill-walford-mill As a model town I would be tempted to find out how they are doing that level monitoring and then make a miniature version in the correct places on the model. Is the monitoring just to control the river flow? Does it need to be more complicated than a header tank and a valve for each river entry point to control the flow rate? Once you collect the water at the end of the river it can then be pumped up to the header tank until it is full. For extra complexity, get the water level of the real rivers from wherever the above web site gets its data and adjust the levels of the model rivers accordingly... Could be interesting if the Rivers ever flooded Wimborne having to get the model village replicate the situation, sorry a bit OT there, just my warped humour coming out. Tim -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2017-05-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk / CHECK IF YOU'RE REPLYING Reporting bugs well: http://goo.gl/4Xue / TO THE LIST OR THE AUTHOR
Re: [Dorset] A New Wimborne Model Town Project Query - Sensing Water Levels and Flow
On 02/05/17 21:45, Andrew wrote: Hi Terry, It looks like the real rivers are being monitored in at least two places: https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-stour-oakley-wimborne https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-allen-colehill-walford-mill As a model town I would be tempted to find out how they are doing that level monitoring and then make a miniature version in the correct places on the model. Is the monitoring just to control the river flow? Does it need to be more complicated than a header tank and a valve for each river entry point to control the flow rate? Once you collect the water at the end of the river it can then be pumped up to the header tank until it is full. For extra complexity, get the water level of the real rivers from wherever the above web site gets its data and adjust the levels of the model rivers accordingly... I remember reading or hearing once that they have mobile phones built into them to transmit the data periodically to 'somewhere'. PM. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2017-05-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk / CHECK IF YOU'RE REPLYING Reporting bugs well: http://goo.gl/4Xue / TO THE LIST OR THE AUTHOR
Re: [Dorset] A New Wimborne Model Town Project Query - Sensing Water Levels and Flow
Hi Terry, It looks like the real rivers are being monitored in at least two places: https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-stour-oakley-wimborne https://www.riverlevels.uk/river-allen-colehill-walford-mill As a model town I would be tempted to find out how they are doing that level monitoring and then make a miniature version in the correct places on the model. Is the monitoring just to control the river flow? Does it need to be more complicated than a header tank and a valve for each river entry point to control the flow rate? Once you collect the water at the end of the river it can then be pumped up to the header tank until it is full. For extra complexity, get the water level of the real rivers from wherever the above web site gets its data and adjust the levels of the model rivers accordingly... -- Andrew. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2017-05-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk / CHECK IF YOU'RE REPLYING Reporting bugs well: http://goo.gl/4Xue / TO THE LIST OR THE AUTHOR
Re: [Dorset] A New Wimborne Model Town Project Query - Sensing Water Levels and Flow
On 01/05/17 13:27, PeterMerchant via dorset wrote: On 01/05/17 12:26, Terry Coles wrote: Hi, I appreciate that many on this list are software oriented, but do we have any people with experience of measuring fluid parameters? The WMT has an ongoing Project to improve the sustainability of water in the 'Model' River Allen. This follows the route of the real River through the Model Town and has, until now, been managed and maintained by volunteers and staff turning the mains water tap on and off. We have mapped out some requirements to do it automatically and a bit more sustainably by catching rainwater and pumping it in and out of the sump at the bottom of the river system. The current stage of development is that a bog garden has been established at the 'source' of the river to clean the water, but otherwise the rest is ongoing. (The Linux dimension will be fulfilled by the use of Raspberry Pi's for processing and control and for the web-based GUI.) We have plenty of ideas, but not a lot of practical experience at the moment. Our main problem is how to monitor the level of water in a number of places in the river system, eg in the water barrels that are storing the rainwater and (probably) in the sump. We would also like to measure flow through the river system at one or more places. Obviously we can use electro-mechanical means to do this (float sensors, paddle wheels attached to a pickup, etc), but we have been looking at various electronic methods, such as: https://www.efxkits.co.uk/liquid-level-sensor-and-types-of-level-sensors/ but commercial sensors tend to be expensive and although I reckon we could do the electronics for at least some of those, we have to keep everything dry. Has anyone ever done anything like this? Ideally, for level, an ultrasonic sensor with a good level of water resistance would be ideal (it won't be immersed, but it will be exposed to rain, mist etc). The capacitive sensor requires RF, which brings it's own issues and the other types may provide readings that are too coarse to monitor rate of change of level. I haven't found anything much yet that will give us flow measurement in a 'river'. The commercial types tend to be fairly cheap but designed to go into pipes. However, we should be able to come up with something using hall effect sensors, so I'm more interested in level at the moment. Any ideas, links to projects that have done this? 1. Many years ago, when my father put a furnace under our house in a concrete box that was below the lake level, a light bulb on a string suspended from a microswitch controlled the sump pump. When the water rose, the bulb floated and switched on the pump. That was simple, and didn't require a microprocessor, even if they had been invented then. A dowel, vertically mounted, with a float at the bottom and guides to keep it in place(eyebolts?). Have a tab on the side that ticks one Microswitch at top height, and one when it falls to a low. . That's just straight input to two GPIO on a R-Pi if you insist on being computer controlled. Otherwise one turns pump on and the other turns it off. KISS. Peter -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2017-05-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk / CHECK IF YOU'RE REPLYING Reporting bugs well: http://goo.gl/4Xue / TO THE LIST OR THE AUTHOR
[Dorset] Bournemouth Pub Meeting Tonight, Tuesday 2017-05-02.
Hi, It's the pub meet tonight at The Broadway, 8pm-ish. For those that haven't been before look out for a flip of laptops, or Terry's stuffed penguin. http://dorset.lug.org.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=meetings%3Apub http://dorset.lug.org.uk/wiki/doku.php?id=members#terry_coles We are often in the pub's "snug", a small room off the right end of the bar. Or we might be to the far left of the bar in the corner, near a mains socket, though that can get a blast of stale smoke; revenge from the banished gaspers when the door opens. We like corners. Cheers, Ralph. -- Next meeting: Bournemouth, Tuesday, 2017-05-02 20:00 Meets, Mailing list, IRC, LinkedIn, ... http://dorset.lug.org.uk/ New thread: mailto:dorset@mailman.lug.org.uk / CHECK IF YOU'RE REPLYING Reporting bugs well: http://goo.gl/4Xue / TO THE LIST OR THE AUTHOR
