Mods for Camplite 21RBS

Oh yes, the arduinos are really cool.  Between kids and chores around the house I don't get to tinker much anymore but I'm sure I'll get back to it in a few more years.  I've wanted to make a complete home-control/monitoring system from either an arduino or a micro PC for a long time.

Definitely my kind of mod.  Back in the mid-80's when I was in middle school I hooked up my Atari 130XE computer's joystick ports to a breadboard which had reed relays.  The relays then drove a X10 controller (wireless home light control system).  If I remember right the X10's processor read the buttons in a grid so the 8 digital outputs from the computer let me select one of eight X10 channels plus any of the 6 function buttons (on, off, all on, etc).  I wrote a program that let me control the lights like a timer via a script I wrote as an array to disk (channel 5 on at 5 pm, channel 3 off at 8 pm...), including extra logic that handled problems like a power outage.  My family went on a 5 week vacation leaving the house lights in the hands of the computer.  Came home with the wrong lights on and the computer locked up.  Didn't know what was wrong at the time but knowing what I know now, I'm guessing it was a memory leak issue. 

Definitely looking forward to the homebrew status board!

The "tricks" I found are:

1. The fresh water sensor should be elevated such that water left in the tank after the pump sucks air does not yield a reading. That way zero means zero, not something left that you can't use.
2. The gray tank can use the full 6 inch length. That tank is the most critical to me. You can see through the fresh tank if need be, and you will know when the black tank is nearing full. I really don't care about a full fresh tank or an empty black tank, but I like to know about the gray before it backs up onto the shower.
3. The black tank is different. Due to its shape and location you have to use a JS sensor cut to 4 inches on the thin end. There is only 4.5" clear on the tank on that end and you need the smallest sensor available. Again, you really don't care about the bottom of the tank; just when it's getting full. Even with the JS, I could not get my sensor to read 100%. With the sensor mounted as low as I could get it l still max out at 81-88%. I've had lots of discussions with Garrett on this. I've checked grounding integrity and checked the sensor on a gallon milk jug. My conclusion is the tank geometry is the problem and there's not much that can be done. Apparently the tank has a very thick corner at the top of that side so the sensor doesn't see liquid. However, knowing that, you could do the translation in your software such that 88% equals 100%. Should be easy. For me I have to remember.
   
4. The only other hints are pay attention to wire routing and metal proximity near the sensor board. Test you sensor placement with duct tape. Sand and clean the surfaces before you make the final application. You only get one shot with that 3M 300LSE tape. 
   

Travis,

Sounds great and very interesting. A real exercise in microprocessor programming. And what is EMS status?

Yes I did cut the sensors. The fresh and gray sensors are standard 709ES boards cut to 4.5 and 6 inches. The black sensor is a 709JS which can be cut to 4 inches and have 4 sensor pads. When you get ready to work on that, and before you order, get back with me. There are some tricks of the trade.