Reef Blaster - Automatic Light Programmer

JWGarber · 04/27/2019, 11:00 AM

So one night while half asleep, I came across a cheap deal for an arduino uno. Ive never had or used any arduino products or the many other kits like them. So I ordered this little kit, fell asleep, then forgot about it entirely. Then it showed up in the mail.

Turns out it was an uno clone but it came with a handful of buttons, resistors, leds etc. I honestly had no use for this thing and no idea what to really do with it. Looking around the house for stuff to tinker with, it hit me.

My reef breeders are sitting on manual mode on static settings because they are a pain to program schedules into. What if I could automate the IR signals needed to configure the schedule for me?

Well a few hours later, I now have a fully customizable automatic programmer for my reef breeder leds.

I set the unit on top of the light, hit a button, and walk away. It automatically blasts the right sequence of IR to navigate the menus, adjust time, adjust each channel, and when done saves the changes and exits.

Just thought id share the details. Fun little project and worked amazingly well lol.

Video Here

mcgyvr · 05/01/2019, 04:57 AM

Nice job.. Aren't arduinos fun.. So useful..

JWGarber · 05/01/2019, 09:42 AM

This one was pretty fun and makes adjusting the light schedule way easier. Plus if I set the unit back far enough I can do multiple lights at once LOL

04/27/2019, 11:00 AM	#1
JWGarber Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 116	Reef Blaster - Automatic Light Programmer So one night while half asleep, I came across a cheap deal for an arduino uno. Ive never had or used any arduino products or the many other kits like them. So I ordered this little kit, fell asleep, then forgot about it entirely. Then it showed up in the mail. Turns out it was an uno clone but it came with a handful of buttons, resistors, leds etc. I honestly had no use for this thing and no idea what to really do with it. Looking around the house for stuff to tinker with, it hit me. My reef breeders are sitting on manual mode on static settings because they are a pain to program schedules into. What if I could automate the IR signals needed to configure the schedule for me? Well a few hours later, I now have a fully customizable automatic programmer for my reef breeder leds. I set the unit on top of the light, hit a button, and walk away. It automatically blasts the right sequence of IR to navigate the menus, adjust time, adjust each channel, and when done saves the changes and exits. Just thought id share the details. Fun little project and worked amazingly well lol. Video Here

05/01/2019, 04:57 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Nice job.. Aren't arduinos fun.. So useful.. __________________ Who me?

05/01/2019, 09:42 AM	#3
JWGarber Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 116	This one was pretty fun and makes adjusting the light schedule way easier. Plus if I set the unit back far enough I can do multiple lights at once LOL