HuntingBP
Another video inspired by being lazy. I made a webserver with an ESP32 which I can access over WiFi using my phone or computer. The ESP32 controls a DC motor which adjusts the shades.
Hope you like my DIY home automation project!
I actually added a small microUSB cable that sticks out the side of the blinds. In theory I can use it to charge the battery. Or just leave it there to power the device!
Arduino Project Write-Up: https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/typalowski/wifi-window-blinds-control-7af71e
Resource Videos:
DroneBot Workshop: https://youtu.be/xPlN_Tk3VLQ
Robojax: https://youtu.be/n2oeT6RcU5Q
Rui Santos: https://youtu.be/_WqfNyE_pt8
Links (Affiliate):
TS100: https://amzn.to/32SGZHk
Gear Motor: https://amzn.to/3ckkGxA
Driver Board: https://amzn.to/3hNUrkc
ESP32: https://amzn.to/2ZYEG3V
Solar Panel: https://amzn.to/2EoKyf4
Timestamps:
0:00 – Very important, don’t skip
0:19 – Automating Stuff
1:36 – Break Out the Calipers, Solidworks
2:52 – Code “Overview”
3:30 – First Assembly
3:57 – Defeat
5:19 – Code/Device Breakdown
8:07 – Battery Construction
8:51 – Final Assembly
9:17 – Testing Device
10:32 – Final Results/Outro
Outtro Music by Gaston Williamson:
This thing:
https://www.patreon.com/typalowski
Sorry for the weirdness around the 2:20 part! Apparently using "[No Copyright Music] Chill Lofi Hip Hop Beat FREE Instrumental (Copyright Free) Chillhop Music" will still cause a copyright claim a few days after posting; the sound had to overlayed with some free Youtube stuff.
I talked about setting my constraints, then wanting to model some of the components I had on hand to figure out how to make the thing turn.
WOAH I LOVE UR CHANNEL, THANK YOU, IMA TRY TO IMPLEMENT THIS WITH MY ROLLER SHADES
I started playing around with this project myself. I can't keep the ESP powered on for more than a day basically – and I haven't even connected the motor yet. I've got a decent solar panel – produces enough voltage to power the ESP during the day, but the batteries just never really get charged up. I am going to try and put a low voltage drop out in so that I can put this on the 3.3v pin instead of 5v, but I don't think that's really going to do enough.
Have you found a way of getting this to stay powered longer? I would love to change this code up a little bit and use an MQTT queue and Homebridge to control my blinds via HomeKit/Siri, so sleeping the device doesn't really seem like an option, and waking it every minute or whatever to check if a change was made also doesn't seem like a realistic option.
Fabulous. And I like your easy style – makes it all very pleasant to watch and learn.
Did you ever find a solution for your battery/solar issue? I'm trying to figure that out myself. Thought about deep sleep mode but I don't think that will work when you want to move the blinds on the fly.
WTF why are all the bases in these DIY-Videos for Blinds so extremly large so you can easily fit a whole motor in it?
Bad ass music
Hi do you sell a complete unit ready to go with a up and down switch preferably 12v may be 6 unit and cost in the uk ?
these steppers will work when modified Geared Stepper Motor 28byj.. they will run on 12 volts and have enough power to do the job. But my question and challenge is , make the blind work while leaving the worm gear in place… That is what I am working on, but you seem way more talented in design. we need to attach something to the 'worm gear' portion inside the blind and run it with the stepper. What is lacking with any automation like this is keeping a way to manually tilt the blind. That I feel is essential to a good automation ( not removing a feature, but only adding features)
first video I see, he says: "I like automating stuff", I instantly subbed 😀
In all seriousness, your channel is severely underrated.
P.s. i also I recently got through this project (about 4 months ago) and have been pondering how else to do it. Love the content and this gave me some ideas of where i can make changes to my design. Maybe ill upload something with my project/design/process in the future. good stuff. keep it up.
Ok… im like. 32 seconds into this video and i already subscribed.
1. You had me at: shot of turning the curtain rod TO blinds suddenly falling off the wall. A literal and metaphorical example of every day of my @&*@ing life.
2. i too started this endeavor by saying to myself "i could just buy some blind control…I can just make some blind…." – CUT to 10 hours into the project and now I'm covered in hot glue, cat hair, solder beads and every driver bit i own is glued somewhere to my body. I have burned my self more times than i can count and that's only because the burns are too distracting to reliably keep a count past 7. I have almost succeeded in a hot glue self mummification…. It's caulking the shower all over again isnt it?… ya know what…. $149 isn't so bad. Do they take paypal?
Nice work, did you figure out a reliable power source? You could stack more batteries in series then connect your 2 diy cells in parallel like in ebike batteries or solar battery banks. Also thinking it might be that you don't get enough sun on the solar pannel as they usually point upwards.
Nice! I’m curious about using a web server to power on a 3D printer, then using something like octoprint to start prints remotely.
What software do you use for modelling?
Great project write-up, looking forward to more projects like this.
Pretty good !
if you don't frequently open/close it then try deep-sleep mode to save some juice and open/close at specific time 🙂
This is super cool. I wanted to do something similar like this however I do not have blinds – only curtains. Still need to figure that one out haha
5:44 i love your boom mic setup. also, you need a workbench.
I think you can remove the led of the esp32 to even save more milliamps.
Your battery pack looks interesting. You could also verify if the solar panel delivers enough amps to fully charge your batteries.
I love projects like this, where no matter how far you get, you can just imagine more and more improvements. Better battery pack, better solar, UI improvements, hooking this up to a home IoT system, the list goes on and on!
Also…
"I'm genuinely proud of myself"
🥰
Not sure of the specs of the solar panel, but is it possible the panel has some parasitic resistance and draws current from the batteries when it’s not producing a higher voltage than them? If so, putting a diode on the output from the panel to the batteries would help solve that.
This is so freakin clever, wish I had a brother like you 😆 amazingly well thought out and explained as usual!
Cat's out of the bag, Ty. We know you have a bush outside your house.
Holy shit another awesome video and awesome build! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos!
I wanna do something similar too, except it's not blinds or anything but a desk that can change height.
I already have it, but you have to do it manually with a hand crank, instead of electrically with a push on a button.
Any tips on what I should pay attention to?