Cooling Control

So, way back in early March, I effectively "finished" this project. It's likely I'll revisit it in the future to do some more nifty things, but for now, it's been in my wife's system and working well.

The parts list has been updated to match the final product, and the latest code has been uploaded to the GitLab project. (it's actually been there since March 2nd)

The Future

There's a few things I'd still like to do in the future, when I get a chance to revisit this. (i.e., after we move into the new place and get settled, and maybe after I finish my soldering iron)

• Add a buzzer/alarm to warn you when a given temperature threshold has been reached
• Add some actual mounting so the OLED display isn't just floating on its wires
• Fan/pump speed control! (right now I think everything is directly powered, so there's no control, only sensing)
• Lighting effects! (right now the RGB lights are just hard-wired to show red)
• Maybe a printed circuit board?

Because of difficulty getting a serial console working with the Pro Mini via the Bus Pirate, I decided to switch to an ATmega32U4-based board, the SparkFun Pro Micro. This has the added advantage of no longer requiring a separate programmer, since it has a built-in bootloader.

After an initial SNAFU (accidentally flashing a hex file built for the ATmega168P to the new board) and recovering using the Bus Pirate, I finally was able to flash and test it by plugging in the 10K thermistor.

It works!

Next, RPM sensing, and figuring out how to make that play nicely with the temperature check loop. Then... maybe a buzzer for emergencies?

I just finished putting together the protoboard and connecting all the leads... Now, on to the software!

Note: This version of the hardware doesn't have any circuitry for controlling either the RGB LEDs or the fans; that will come in a later revision.