digital clock timer to turn on/off lights at certain times

[podge]

Hello i am an undergraduate student curently doing a project.
I am making a automated plant growing system.
i need help in creating a VI that can use a digital clock to input a time for grow lights and a water pump to turn on and off.
Il will be using GPIB power supplies to power both.

[GrahamG]

Hi Podge

This looks like an interesting project that you are designing here, can I ask you for a little more information on the subject. When you say you would like to use a digital clock do you mean that this will be an external clock source or you will be using the internal clock from your computer to control when you are outputting your signals. What kind of a period or wait time will you have between the changes in the lights and water pumps? Also when you say that you are using GPIB to control your power supplies, what kind of commands are you able to use here? Does your power supply act as an external recognizable instrument that you are sending textual commands to or are you just sending a digital high or low?

I look forward to hearing from you

best regards

[podge]

Hello Graham,

Many thanks for the reply. I will be using the internal clock. I want to have the abilty to have wait time of hours but will only using minutes for demonstration puposes.
I would like to input a time in the front panel for example i want the lights to go on from 12 o clock to three o clock. The power supply acts as an externaly reconised instruments that i can send textual strings.

[DanBrowne]

Hi,

Graham is currently out of the office, so I am taking over dealing with this support request.

I have attached a VI which shows an example of how to read the current time from the Time Stamp, and then specify a Start and End Time for the lights in your system to turn on. The example currently just activates an LED on the Front Panel, but you should be able to easily change this to an operation that sends the different string commands you require to your power supply for the lights and the water pump to turn them on and off respectively.

Regards,

Dan

[podge]

Hi dan,

Many thanks for the help on the Vi's. I have one problem though, the college im in has only labview 8.2 and the vi you sent is in 8.5 and wont work on the 8.5. Is there a way from 8.2 you can run the 8.5 Vi or if possible you could send the Vi in 8.2?

Many thanks again

Robert.

[DanBrowne]

Hi,

Apologies - here is the VI in 8.2 format.

Regards,

Dan - NIUK

[Heckler511]

Thanks for putting together this sweet code I just incorporated it into my system!

[drow1010]

hello,

could anyone downgrade this VI to 8.0 please.

Thanks in advance