![]() We live in the country and almost everyone near me has hens, but they rely on manual opening. My hens go to bed very early, so it closes before dark, and again at least by 7:30pm in the summer because foxes can be active by then. Too early in the summer and you're asking for fox trouble, and also the neighbours used to complain the cockerel would crow when it opened too early (sunrise can be before 4am in midsummer). It opens at 6:30am or first light, whichever is latest. ![]() I've learned that the dawn/dusk opening technique is not enough on its own, it needs to know the time of day also. Over the years I've tweaked the opening/closing times to account for the hens' habits, and for predators. A common one is straw and other mess getting jammed in the door runners, and once a broken door mechanism. It also has an XBee radio link to a Raspberry Pi which sends me email updates, keeps the Arduino's clock accurate (obviating the need for an RTC), and alerts me of any mechanical problems with the door mechanism. It spends a lot of time in sleep mode, waking every 5 minutes to check light levels, and at night sleeps until a preset time when it makes sense to start checking for daylight again. An Arduino Nano provides the main control functions. The solar panel voltage into an ADC provides the daylight reading. Since then I've added a winter trickle charge wire from the nearest outbuilding. I've had to replace that twice over the 5 years because winter tends to kill it. It is solar powered, with a 12V lead-acid battery. The door limits are detected using reed switches. ![]() I used a normal (non-stepper) motor with some gearbox I found in an old cassette player. Best of Luck", David Poland.I've had my own design of one of these up and running for about 5 years now. And for the very minimal cost of an extra relay switch, why wouldn't you do it properly, and make the system more reliable? We hope you have a lot of fun building this, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from having a reliable Automatically opening & closing Chicken hutch/coop door. Instead, each relay switch only draws electricity for about 1 - 2 minutes, every 24 hours, thus saving a great deal of battery power, and increasing the reliability of the system - paramount for the safety of our birds, especially when predators are about. This system doesn't need to keep a relay switch charged/connected for up to 12 hours. Whilst it has been suggested that you can get away with using only one relay switch, this system uses two relays, and the reason is simple: Two relay switches means that the system uses less electricity, which can be vital for reliability when using battery power. This system, as shown above, is my own original system. I instead designed my own system, and posted an electrical diagram, which has since been used by others, modified, and put onto you tube. A long time ago I went onto "Backyard Poultry" and saw many difficult to follow electrical diagrams. "This video demonstrates two similar doors, each made from different materials, and slightly different components, and then clearly & easily shows how you can build the Auto Chicken door yourself, step by step, using components that require little or no soldering. Our very first Auto chicken door which we built years ago is still operating today, and has done without hiccups or problems.
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