A friend of mine says adafruit has a good RGB color sensor. Cost is about $3 for just the sensor component or $15 if you buy it on a sparkfun board.
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http://www.mouser.com/new/broadcom/avago-apds-9960-sensor/
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https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/apds-9960-rgb-and-gesture-sensor-hookup-guide
Success! That went easier than expected thanks to the stellar ST_Anything readme. Thanks Dan!
The resistor is talking to SmartThings. It comes in like any other illuminance sensor and displays the lux through an analog pin on the board.
Unfortunately my original plan of using a magnet with a hole in the center won’t work, because the washer panel is not made of metal. So I have to figure out a nice way to attach it.
I also need to figure out a way to solder this stuff together, since I’ve never done anything “permanent” with Arduino before now…
“Just” replace the breadboard with a pinhole board (hmph… what are they called… “proto boards”) of a similar configuration; they are available with matching traces to a breadboard (i.e., vertical power rails and horizontal signal rails).
Something like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-Solder-able-Breadboard-Plated-Arduino/dp/B071R3BFNL/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1504910766&sr=8-2&keywords=breadboard+solder
The hole spacing is usually plenty big enough for non-expert soldering; i.e., Just heat the pin and a bit of the copper trace, and a drop of solder will fuse.
Done!
The problem… If you completely cover the LED, then it no longer functions “manually” (i.e., as a local indicator). Not a huge deal, but a theoretical challenge. It’s worth using some translucency in there so you can still see the LED?
I would also consider adding an LED to the project board as a diagnostic, perhaps. That was a nice feature of the ThingShield (a multi-colored LED…), which I use to indicate the status of the device so I know it matches the Thing in SmartThings.
Yeah, I was gonna hit up the craft store and look for small translucent plastic things. It’s a shame the panel isn’t magnetic… I expect the tape to fall off quick, as the hot water evaporates directly into it.
Congrats on creating the world’s first cyborg washing machine… half cold, unfeeling robot: half cold, unfeeling consumer appliance.
