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Originally Posted by lkspencer
I am currently in the process of building a controller using an Arduino. I wanted to take range out of the equation so rather than use something like ZigBee or Bluetooth I opted for a USB host shield. I had an old Android phone laying around which requests voltage reading from the Arduino and then it acts as a server that is connected wirelessly to my network. I have an Android Server app which I've written and an Android Client app which can connect to the server. You can set alarms and graph the temperatures. I can go out on a date with my wife and still check my temperatures even though I might be 30 minutes away. My eventual plan is to use a different micro controller with slightly more processing power and a wifi shield so that I can remove the need for an old android phone. The server software will run on the micro controller and the same Android client app which I've written will connect to and communicate with the device over the internet/intranet depending on how it is setup. I'm still in the early stages, but as I get farther along with it I will post more information here.
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lkspencer, I *love* the idea of reusing an old phone for the communication. Can the phone use the power from the USB port? I have an old Droid but the battery is shot and probably can't last more than a few hours. If the Droid can run off USB power then there's no problem. Definitely keep us updated on your progress. Do you have a site with the software somewhere?
Quote:
Originally Posted by twinsfan
My only problem, is, right now, that the fan draws 12 V/0.07 A, (I swear it was advertised as 5 V but whatever), and the Arduino power pins only supply 5 V, which really doesn't move the fan too well.
Can any electricians help me out here? Will the fan not work or do I need to introduce external power from somewhere?
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I'm a little late but this may help: an Arduino can be powered by 5v to 12v. It has a regulator to bring down the 12v to 5v for use by the Arduino and the output pins. However, there is one pin that gives you access to the power *before* it is regulated. Use 12v to power your Arduino and hook up your fan to the unregulated pin. You'll need a relay between the 12v and the fan that is controlled by one of the PWM output pins of the Arduino. That's what I did with my Arduino controller for my smoker:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-drum-smoker/