Thor Forums

[FW28z]

After talking to a few people I know, I am making the commitment to explore the possibility of building an interface device to allow using the more reliable external tank sensors with the existing tank level display monitor in my coach.

They use two different technologies; the external sensors use a linear voltage while the KIB sensors (the existing sensors in my coach) use a simple ground system (the well nuts short to ground when in contact with water).

I will design an interface using an Atmel Mega microcontroller (commonly used in Arduino Uno boards), as all it has to do is accept an analog input from the external sensor and convert it to a low/high logic output. This is easily done with the Atmel microcontrollers.

I won't probably get too serious about this until a few months from now, and I will post my progress. But today, I did order an external sensor and KIB monitor system (which is the same thing used in Thor coaches). I have a fair amount of experience with these microcontrollers, and already have a few Arduino boards lying around, so there is nothing else to obtain.

I will use a 5 gallon bucket and attach the sensors to make a mock-up, and "reverse engineer" the signals so that I can mock up an Arduino board.

Whether or not this turns into a bona-fide project, or just some uneventful tinkering remains to be seen. But being retired, I have to do something to keep my mind sharp.