DIY chinese optical water level sensors

[LC8Sumi]

Thanks for the info. Could I simply cut off the 3.5mm jack from the original sensor and solder the 4 wires from the chinese sensor to it? I'm assuming on the original sensor, there are 4 wires connected to the 3.5 jack.

I don’t think so, as the chinese ones use 5V logic, and I’m pretty sure the apex does not.

 

[Bramzor]

Anyone know how to convert the 4 wires of the Chinese optical sensor from the original post to a 3.5mm male jack similar to the Neptune sensor?

If you know the correct colors, yes you can. I only have the chinese versions (after making them waterproof first)...

 

[tygger]

If you know the correct colors, yes you can. I only have the chinese versions (after making them waterproof first)...

Can you tell us how?

 

[enb141]

Apex optical sensor color coding.

Red -
Black +
Green ground for data
White data

Order for dfrobot sensor input from left (says Dfrobot side)

Red
Black
Green
White

Ok not sure if this helps but how i found the wiring when i took apart both.

i used an rj45 instead of audio jack, simply because wiring and audio jack is annoying.

Hi, do you know if HYDROS uses
Red +5V
Black -5V
Green
White

Or does it uses something else for their Hydros Skimmer Sensor - Coralvue

 

[Gareth elliott]

Hi, do you know if HYDROS uses
Red +5V
Black -5V
Green
White

Or does it uses something else for their Hydros Skimmer Sensor - Coralvue

I have not used hydros, so unsure what their wire layout is. Ive taken apart a few of these optical sensors the all seem to have the same wiring but use different colors. If this helps at all.

 

[TheHarold]

Hi, do you know if HYDROS uses
Red +5V
Black -5V
Green
White

Or does it uses something else for their Hydros Skimmer Sensor - Coralvue

The hydros forum has a post that describes the pinout of every port on the Control2/control4. That should be all you need for DIY:

Created by JeffB:

 

[enb141]

The hydros forum has a post that describes the pinout of every port on the Control2/control4. That should be all you need for DIY:

Created by JeffB:

They use the Sense port for the optical water level sensor, so according to that pinout

Pin 1 - Ground
Pin 2 - 5V DC
Pin 3 - Digital I/O
Pin 4 - Analog In

So in other words we need to know if their optical water level sensors use 3 pins, is so either they have something like this inside.

So the question is if the are using digital 5V PWM or Analog 5V or something else.

 

[elysics]

Does anyone know what keywords i have to look for to get the version with magnetic rings between the lens and the diodes? Like the ones built into the aqualight easyrefill. No need to drill holes that way.

But i havent found just the sensor+magnets+lens on aliexpress or anywhere, just the whole set rebadged by different companies with circuit and powerbrick and pump, am i looking wrong or are these sensors custom made and not sold seperately?

 

[ellisz]

I have been trying to DIY an optical sensor for my FMM. I have the sensor and the TRRS jack and trying to test the wire configuration. I have been able to get the sensor to open and close but not consistently. The sensor identifies the wire config - Blue & White is +5v. Red & Yellow output/sensor. The TRRS jack has red(tip), white, green, and black(base). I am seeing 4.67v from the Black and Green as well as Red and Green off the jack when plugged into the FMM. Any help as to what wire goes where? I have tested with different configurations but can't seem to get a consistent switching with the sensor.

Thanks

 

[Sleepydoc]

Revolutionary Non-contact Liquid Level Sensor for Arduino

Explore the innovative non-contact liquid level sensor for Arduino with cutting-edge XKC-Y25-T12V chip. Perfect for hazardous environments.

www.dfrobot.com

I got one of those and couldn't get it to work. Maybe I got a dud but I ended up switching to the optical sensors.

Apex optical sensor color coding.

Red -
Black +
Green ground for data
White data

Order for dfrobot sensor input from left (says Dfrobot side)

Red
Black
Green
White

Ok not sure if this helps but how i found the wiring when i took apart both.

i used an rj45 instead of audio jack, simply because wiring and audio jack is annoying.

I got some similar sensors off of eBay. I found this post on an Arduino forum for wiring the sensor. In my limited testing so far it seems to work fine.

From the reading I've done, none of the sensors are designed to be submerged; they're supposed to be installed through a hole in the container. It would make sense that leakage in the Neptune sensors was causing corrosion leading to failure. I've seen some other posts suggesting silicone sealant around the wire insertion at the back of the sensor so that was my plan as well.

 

[bozo]

Sorry to revive an old thread.

How can we waterproof these chinese optical sensors?

I'm building a few soon.

Thanks