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Well controlled tomatoes

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Denny Graham, Arizona

Green house management

Controller type:Standard off-the shelf controller
Key features:Easy to program; user interface
Programming:Done by the customer
Relationship:Since 2006
SPLat advantage:All-in-one integration; reliability.
Growing tomatoes is an interesting application of SPLat.
It just so happens that our very first online sale, in 1996, of a SPLat controller was to a gentleman in Mississippi, who used it to control his tomato hothouse. This case study is from Arizona, 15 years later. Denny Graham may be "only" a one-off hobby customer, but hobbyiest often have the more interesting and innovative applications of SPLat. And sometimes a hobby project may lead to bigger business - From little things big thing grow. In Denny's case the big things are tomatoes, grown in his SPLat-controlled greenhouse.

Page in Garden and Greenhouse Denny's greenhouse has featured in Garden & Greenhouse magazine, as illustated here (reproduced with permission of the magazine)

Here's Denny's own description:

The control console with the SPLat controller is shown in the lower left corner. The greenhouse is cooled with an evaporative cooler. The humidity in the greenhouse ranges from 30% to 70%, and the temperature from 45°F to 90°F, though on occasion - when the evaporative cooler blower motor trips out - the temperature has gotten up to 110°F. This doesn't seem to effect the SPLat controller, but it's tough on the plants.

As you see, the photo below shows the inside of the box. I'm not a electronics' guy and I'm a self taught GW-Basic and Visual Basic, and now, SPLat programmer??. I only learn as much as I need to get the job done, so my circuits and the associated equipment design and control programs are at best, very basic, as in not elegant, but they get the job done.
Greenhouse controller
FYI, I've had excellent support from Fred Pacilli at Integrity Engineering Services, SPLat's USA rep. He's been very helpful.



Denny is not the only customer who has self-taught programming, and mastered SPLat. The SPLat language was designed to be easy and logical to use specifically for control applications. If you are considering automation in hydroponics or a traditional greenhouse, SPLat has products for measuring temperature, humidity, pH and ORP, plus a SPLat controller can use a smartphone as a human interface using SimpleHMI and Bluetooth
More case studies...