Arduino Differential Controller


Posted on Feb 7, 2014

I experienced faulty DS18B20 reads on my tank thermometers, probably due to my heatshrink/silicone waterproofing method. It gave me a chance to improve my code to make the controller more tolerant of bad reads, but my tank thermometers have now been replaced with waterproofed DS18B20 probes, which are very cheap on ebay. it is NOT reccommended


Arduino Differential Controller
Click here to download the full size of the above Circuit.

that you use the following method if you intend to fully submerge the thermometer for long term, though it may work ok for a water resistant applications. I chose to solder the thermometers directly to the signal wire, and then seal it all up with heat-shrink. Prepare you cable with about 2" of exposed wire. Strip the ends about 3/8", and slip small heat-shrink over wires before soldering. Make sure the heat shrink is not too long so you don`t shrink it with the soldering iron heat. I used forceps to clip the wires to be soldered together. This also acts as a heat sink so the wire insulation does not melt. Apply heat with the iron long enough so that solder can be applied directly to the wires. The wires should melt the solder, not the iron. Give the solder several seconds to cool before removing clip. After all pins are soldered, very carefully straighten them and slip the heat-shrink fully over the exposed wire. I used a blow torch to shrink the heat-shrink. If you don`t have a heat-gun and choose to do it the wrong way like me, do not put it directly in the flame. You want to warm it up, not burn it up. Be carefully, and if it starts smoking, your applying too much heat. Move the wire around briskly and turn it to shrink all sides evenly. A very hot hair dryer might work as a make-shift heat gun. My wifes didn`t seem to be hot enough though. Slip a piece of larger heat shrink over the thermometer, all the way to the...




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