Small, powerfull and easy
For Universal AC MAINS Dimmer - MPDMv4.1
After playing around with just on and off switches with GPIO or serial on a Raspberry PI, it was time to work with dimming hardware. And surprisingly there is not so much to find. Till I found this dimmer and love it!
It is small in dimensions. So I could just integrate next to my GPIO switches.
It can just control 220V devices (I use a bulb light for heating). So by playing around with some code I could adjust the temperature by dimming the light.
It comes with a fuse, which to is an extra assurance that I can not overload it. Nice!
And it integrates that easy with a Pi and Python, that I support this device with my TerrariumPI software for running a terrarium fully automated https://github.com/theyosh/TerrariumPI
There are some downsides. First my problems is that the shipping costs are higher then the device itself. I just ordered a bunch, but the shipping costs are a bit high comparing with the cheap price for this device.
And I get the feeling that the dimmer effect from 60% and higher are not really noticeable. At least I can't see it at my light bulb. From 60% till 100% looks the same.
But overall, I would advise it to other people if they are looking for a dimmer module for a Raspberry PI
Response from NextEVO | Nov. 12, 2017
Thank you Jannes for your review!
Regarding shipping:
Unfortunatelly from end of Aug 2017 is no more accepted by the Authorities for security reasons to send electronic parts & devices with the "small packets" option. This is out of my control and cannot say that I was very happy when happened without any previous notice.
The only available options remained are "Priority shipping" or EMS Express mail.
Cost per package, Priority Shipping with tracking, for EU for example : 15USD flat upto 1kg.
The good part of this story is that you can order more than 1 board and have better shipping price, without any shipping cost increase.
The new shipping prices on our Tindie store are updated accordingly.
Regarding the dimming effect, because the human eye is not a liniar sesor device it will be hard to notice the full dimming interval. If you look below at the related article and oscilloscope visualitation you will see that it's happening also in that interval you refer above.
For any other questions please feel free to contact me anytime.
Happy breadboarding,
TJ.
