Bunnings 4 outlet programmable power board

The ribbon cable going to the LCD will have all the signals that are required to switch the relays already.

The LCD/control panel will have 4 "transistors/switches" that will take the relay control lines to the +VE rail thus switching the C945 (NPN). I think for an NPN transistor the base is taken high (+VE) to switch on. We probably need a cct of whats around the C945 (NPN) in the way of resistors.

Anyhow Bald_N what a great Autospy you where able to achieve. I wasn't going to rely on my 1wire (SLUG) to control 240VAC devices however it looks like it will be simple and safe. My SLUGs reliability has been very good actually have been able to get months of uptime out of it.

Now what do I need to switch which is 240VAC besides lights ! Maybe heaters when I do a water change or the ambient temperature is greater than 29 degrees, or tank temp 30+

I agree great the photos and info Bald_noggin,

I wonder if the 1-wire signal could be isolated with an opto isolator? that way the ds2408 could be connected straight to the 5v supply for the timer and directly to the transistors. hazards like fire are not really increased as the timer etc is already running that way.

Say what .......is it any good or not

So what is the low down on this bad boy, hot or not?

Hi there fishy friends :)

had a read of the thread and was wondering if anyone thought of removing the 240VAC all together from the input (power supply)?

I am building for my friend exactly the same and started this project some months ago. First i removed all 240VAC wireing and replaced the power supply with a low voltage power pack (cheap and isolated low voltage). Tested out the unit again and found 2 resistors (current limiting) which gave me trouble. Removed those and try again....working :)
Next i had a look at those relays....no good stuff and bound to fail....they had to go too. Replaced the relays with SSR (solid state relay). Those SSr's can be switched with ease with 5VDC (same output that used to drive the relays). The LED's come one at the right time with the right output. Put everything back together and started testing. All works very well and the best of it is...there is no more 240VAC in the timer or on the relays...in other words it's safe to use and there is no danger of 240VAC blowing up the timer circuit. The only area where i have 240VAC is on the SSR's.

There is another project coming along....same base timer unit from Bunnings but this time instead of switching 240VAC i will convert to DC switching SSR's on the output stage to controll low voltage stuff in the tank (solenoids and stuff that could come in contact with water) and use the same power pack to power up the timer and supply power to the output DC SSR's.....

Great work..have you got a pciture of the finished solution including SSR's

Sorry guy's not as yet, but will post some pic's soon ;)
Have another project going at the moment and that makes me $$ , so it comes first....lol