

Umbrella Stand Hack with Rain Alert - meedabyte
http://openpicus.blogspot.it/2012/11/diy-umbrella-stand-hack-with-rain-alert.html?spref=tw

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jgrahamc
Fun idea. I like these 'ambient' indicators (I created one that shows me when
the next bus is coming: [http://blog.jgc.org/2012/03/ambient-bus-arrival-
monitor-from...](http://blog.jgc.org/2012/03/ambient-bus-arrival-monitor-from-
hacked.html)).

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fr0sty
When will this sort of thing become affordable?

The wireless card is 50GBP+VAT and the board it plugs in to is 20. thats >
$150 to control an LED wirelessly which is only a little bit insane.

I'd love to throw together little 'internet of things' projects here there and
everywhere but the per-unit cost just doesn't allow it.

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jgrahamc
Well, his whole thing is over engineered. He doesn't need a PIR sensor (the
LEDs can just be on all the time), he doesn't need RGB addressable LEDs (he
can just connect an LED to a GPIO port with a resistor). He also doesn't need
a computer with the power to handle a web server.

So, what you need is a machine that has WiFi connectivity plus GPIO plus a few
components. I'd suggest that you can do this with a Raspberry Pi plus a small
WiFi adapter.

Using Amazon.co.uk pricing:

    
    
      Raspberry Pi Model B:       £42.89
      Raspberry Pi Power Supply:   £3.95
      Edimax WiFi Adapter:         £8.15
      Some LEDs + resistors (est.) £2.00
      ----------------------------------
                                  £56.99
    

Which is $90. Of course, if you have any of these things (like an old USB WiFi
adapter) you can cut the cost further. Or you can do as I do (see link above)
and reuse old equipment. My bus monitoring project was done for the cost of
the LED display from SparkFun ($12.95).

And the Pi has a lot of power to do other stuff. I have other ambient stuff in
my house running off a single Raspberry Pi plus it's doing CCTV motion
detection as well.

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pedrocr
If you have some other machine on which to install a simple daemon you could
just use one of these for $35

<https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10822>

It's a low-power WiFi client with a bunch of IO that you can configure to
periodically do a TCP call to some server you own to get orders on what to do.
If you don't mind having it always on you can invert that and have the server
initiate the call. You lose the ultra-low power usage in that case. I've been
evaluating it to create sensor/actuator networks and it's been great so far.
It also has a serial port so your display example would work as well.

It's amazing that a full computer (the raspberrypi) can come so close to this
on price but the raspberry is an energy guzzler compared to this and for
anything you want to battery power that's a big deal.

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calinet6
I just want to say, that's a gross overgeneralization. I happen to enjoy rain,
and don't believe in umbrellas. I tend to look at people running around in the
rain with a sense of curiosity, perplexed at the idea that this fundamental
element of life could somehow hurt them; as though it were not an awakening of
life—a dance of life upon the dust—springing from the sky.

~~~
RickHull
If it's cold out and you're wearing cotton, you're going to have a bad time.
If your socks get soaked inside your boots and social conventions do not allow
you to remove them, you're going to have a bad time. If you need to travel
more than a mile and cannot afford the luxury of a car, you're going to have a
bad time.

Alternatively, you could bring an umbrella.

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Flenser
I keep my umbrella in my car in the footwell between the seat and the door ...
and forget it's there.

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bernardom
Terrific piece of hack. Anyone know where can I find a similarly transparent
umbrella stand?

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joxer92
Great hack for home automation! It seems easy to implement and install in
home.

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akaclaudio1
amazing hack! I'll copy this project and do it for my house. The umbrella
hassle must be solved once forever! :-)

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fox91
Great! I love it :D

