Hydor wavemaker

[gp2700]

Hi guys n girls

Just to check around - does anyone have the Hydor Wavemaker 2/4 model can help me out ? Please PM me if you have one, thanks.

[alanchin]

bro a have 2 and 4 channel hydro wavemaker.what you want to know about? hp 97963982 alan chin

[gp2700]

Sweet!

bro, are you familiar with how to operate a multimeter ? Essentially I want to know if the output of the controller (where you plug in the controllable wavemaker) is giving out 12VAC or 12VDC.

The reason is because I've 3 controllable wavemakers and only one of them is responding(half spins) to a 12VDC input. I highly suspect it's running on 12VAC but need someone to confirm.

Alternatively, if you would be so kind for me drop by your place sometime next week and I'll just take the measurements myself. There won't be any damage to your controller, all I'm doing is to measure the output voltage and verify if it's AC or DC.

[alanchin]

bro no problem can sms to arrange for viewing,location at taman jurong.

[tqut]

hydor is 12vac

many people have try to diy a controller for them but realized it is quite difficult as they are VAC...

yoyr can do a search ob nanoreef diy forum. someone created a controller a few years ago. But it didn't caught on with others since it is very complex.

hipe this helps. good luck in your diy!

[gp2700]

bro tqut, thanks for the input. I'll get a 12VAC power supply and test it tonight.

[tqut]

If I remember correctly... Hydor use a very weird 12vac wave form to work properly. They use a variable frequency as well as voltage. I know it has been tried many times before, just very difficult to get it right.

I don't think the wave pump will run properly on a 12vac power supply. If that is possible, it'll be a snag to control with a 555 chip or arduino.

Anyway, good luck. Do update us on the results

[gp2700]

brothers, thanks for all the input and offers.

I managed to get a piece of 12VAC power supply (last piece! talk about luck!) and tested it on the 3 wavemakers i had. It works ! Now, I'll be bring that power supply back to office tomorrow morning and hook it up to a oscilloscope to check the waveform.

I do have a spoilt unit of wavemaker 4 but I've not the time to clean up the innards yet (lots of salt residue found in the PCB). From the power supply unit, it seems to step down the 240AC to 12VDC and 12VAC. The controller board has only 2 colored cable wires but at different pins. Problem is, I won't know which pin is what until i attempt to repair the board. Disclaimer - I bought this unit knowing there's no warranty and if I burn my house down toying around with it, it's my problem. If anyone attempts to open up their wavemaker controller, please note that you'll be voiding the warranty and if YOU burn your house down, I'm not be to held responsible.

Yup, my intention was to use a Arduino to control the speed of the wavemakers.

Some notes :

1. I managed to open up the wavemaker cover but am having hard time putting it the front cover back. For the records, I've not owned a Hydor wavemaker before. Anyway, the units are currently soaking in a vinegar solution to soften the calcium build ups, so I'm not worried at the moment.

2. AFAIK, a AC device does not take a PWM control signal but it seems possible to control a AC device with Arduino. http://playground.arduino.cc/Code/ACPhaseControl

3. Worst case scenario, I'll use a triac dimmer as a feeble attempt to control the wavemaker speed and work towards a Arduino solution for that.

cheers!

[tqut]

Bro, i am waiting for my friend to ship me a DC Wavemaker from HK and I will attempt to drive the wavemaker using an arduino motor drive module running a PWM fade up and down code.

This I hope will ramp the wavemaker from 0 to 100% and then back to 0. Anyway, way more simple then what you are attempting.

Good luck

[gp2700]

Oh, DC watchmaker! Nice , what's the flow rate like ? Depending on the type of motor, the real easy way would probably be to use a motor control shield. Or are you building your own driver? Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2

[tqut]

I'm using a motor shield, I can't remember which chip this shield is built with, but it can operate motors that drive up to 60W. So I just need to hook the arduino PWN pin up to the signal port of the shield and hook up the power and pump for it to work. Very straight forward. The wavemaker is a China made DC motor wavemaker that is suppose to run at 18000L/H max with max power consumption of 24W. I am concern about the heat it generates as China motors are known to be hot. So I'll be testing the pump with my Kill-a-watt to check power drawn and also running in a bucket of water for a couple of days to check the heat it generates.

[tqut]

I'm using a motor shield, I can't remember which chip this shield is built with, but it can operate motors that drive up to 60W. So I just need to hook the arduino PWN pin up to the signal port of the shield and hook up the power and pump for it to work. Very straight forward. The wavemaker is a China made DC motor wavemaker that is suppose to run at 18000L/H max with max power consumption of 24W. I am concern about the heat it generates as China motors are known to be hot. So I'll be testing the pump with my Kill-a-watt to check power drawn and also running in a bucket of water for a couple of days to check the heat it generates.

[sunny03]

Is the china brand wavemaker call macro ?

[tqut]

Not Macro. Don't know what brand, should be a unknown china brand. I will know once I get it...