Gosh almost Thanksgiving already. I have been negligent in posting to the blog in a timely manner, but I have been very busy as of late, so I will try to bring you up to speed on the latest.

As you may know, I have been working on an automation project for awhile, and a few months ago posted the latest version via video. You can see it here: Remote Awning control.

Since that time, I have completed both a new 4 channel receiver (two channels for the dimmer switches and two channels for the awning). This essentially replaces the 4 receivers in the video with a single receiver having 4 channels.

The remote receiver is shown to the right. The terminals across the bottom are for the Salon Dimmer, Awning Dimmer, and Awning motor (which reverses the motor). The unit is compatible with the existing switches in the main console, so each device can be operated with either switch or remote.

I should stress that the 4 receiver solution I installed a couple of months ago is also compatible, so either receiver unit will work with the remote transmitter.

I have also been researching a method of a remote for the receivers that would be created on either a tablet, smart phone, or similar. However, there are a lot of politics involved in creating smart phone apps, and using either Bluetooth or WiFi adds a lot of overhead to a remote transmitter. I have ended up creating my own transmitter that will be dedicated to the receivers, not unlike the Lippert Linc transmitter.

The prototype transmitter is also shown to the right. Currently the remote can control up to 16 channels. Some devices, such as the dimmers only require a single channel, while other devices such as the awning require 2 channels (extend and retract).

One criteria is that I am up against the memory limit for the Arduino Nano (ATMel328) and I don't think I can go more than 16 channels. I could potentially go more, but I would have to find a processor with more program memory in a small enough package to fit into the case. I think I have located such a processor, so I have a couple on order.

The screen is a TFT LCD with touchpad, so it will work with your finger or stylus. Note also that the lettering is not quite centered on the buttons. This project is still in development and I have not yet centered everything. I am looking for a low cost TFT LCD that will fit into the case I want, and each time I change LCD models, things tend to become mis-aligned a bit.

I also found a nice case with a rubber surround, which is about the size of a multimeter.

The basic functionality of the transmitter works - the menu system, the transmit function work. I now have to figure out an automatic off function to save on batteries (the unit should power down 30sec after the last button press), as well as a DC-DC boost converter so I can power everything with two Ni-MH AA Batteries.

Either way, I plan on having everything built and tested for early spring 2019, so look for some project videos for those.

I have also located some extremely tiny 4 channel receivers as shown to the right.

They are quite small as you can see. I plan on embedding them into various items such as the fan control box in the RV. And since they are compatible with the transmitter I am building, I will be able to control the fans as well.

I would also like to control my Cylon Eye too, so perhaps I will come up with a remote control version of the eye.

At any rate, if you are looking to do some remote control in your RV, I think you will agree that this is becoming an exciting project. Like before, I will publish everything so you will be able to build your own version.