Absolute Position Encoder Wind Vane (work-in-progress)

I've been working on a wind vane that uses an absolute position #encoder, some photoresistors, and an #arduino to sense which direction the wind is blowing, hopefully to later incorporate into an #iot device. I'm putting the plan on the backburner for now, as I have other things to work on, but I describe in this video the point I got to and what I would improve next time I pick it back up.

Hope you enjoy!

STLs and Code:

[DarthCrumbie]

Why not seal it in a housing and use IR? Just have the IR LEDs on all the time and use the photo resistor code on the otherwise with IR sensors?

[JasminUwU]

Nice project. It's probably a good idea to use gray encoding rather than binary encoding to prevent it from reading false data in the transition between different angles.

[MrBlack]

This is kinda the design principle of a laser disk, and i think thats really cool. Basically laser disk readers are using a laser and light sensor to detect the binary code, which either does or doesnt reflect the laser into ths sensor. Similar concept, different scale and execution, bastly different use for the data on the disk.

[ronjones]

Your idea is great in concept, but you should use Gray Code instead of binary. For encoders, using gray code each subsequent step results in only one bit changing. It prevents the problem of when thing are right on the edge, with binary you may have a few bits change, but with gray code, only one bit will change. Otherwise everything else is great, you just need to change the pattern on the disk for gray code.

[leo-urkx]

Very cool project : ) just subscribed.

[DracoMhuuh]

Why not use a LED photodiode combo? Maybe going IR or UV would reduce noise.

[thingsartesanato]

Basta utilizar sensores de posição iguais aos de mouse, compostos por um led infravermelho e um receptor, inclusive você pode usar exatamente o mesmo basta remover os dois componentes do invólucro.
Você pode encontrá-los sob o apelido de optical Key.
Inclusive existe placas prontas pra arduíno sob o nome de sensor de velocidade.

[mogaming]

Nice project, I’m the opposite of you lol
I can code like no tomorrow but can’t design all that much

[RichardBetel]

I think you're over-engineering this. Do you really need absolute position? Would direction and RPM be enough? The latter only needs a single LED, a disk with a notch in it, and a photoresistor. You count the time between pulses and youre done! For the former, theres something called quadrature encoding. You use 2 rows of holes and 2 photoresistors, slightly offset. when the disc is spinning clockwise, one photoresistor will switch slightly before the other. When it spins counter-clockwise, the roles reverse. If you know how many holes per revolution your disk has, you can calculate direction and speed from 2 pulses (one on each photoresistor). This is how mice worked before they became optical.