sorry if the title seems a bit mad but bear with me on this one, also sorry if the description is poor but i dont have access to the pc that i need to upload pics, i will upload them tomorrow but for now i will describe what i am doing and if i am barking up the wrong tree.
ok i have been reading as i normally do, i just kind of dive in and start reading i dont say pick a topic and read everything in every book about it, i cant do that it dosnt stick so i have to read odd bits here and there then put it all together.
sorry back on track
i was reading about capacitors, and it occurred to me that in its most basic form there isnt much to them, after all even we have capacitance hence cap touch switches. So anyway i was thinking if i had a small plastic container with water and i stuck a pcb board to both sides with the copper touching the plastic then i have a basic capacitor! now i have tried this tonight with my LCR meter with mixed results, for a start i only had one pcb on one side and one clip on the plastic at the other side and one clip on the pcb, i think the main problem was i have kelvin clips on the lcr meter and it made it hard to hold it all so it all made connection at the same time.
But i did get an increase in cap value at 10kH frequency as i added water. tomorrow i will tape 2 bits of pcb copper side to plastic tub on each side and connect clips to the copper, what i am after is to see if i make a accurate water lever sensor for my fogger, mainly because they are meant to shut off with low water but normally dont so wear out as you can only use a depth of about 2.5cm of water with them.
so i am thinking turn the water bath into a cap and use a pic's CTMU to measure the capacitance! RB's cap meter was pretty accurate so i am guessing using the CTMU i should be able to monitor the water level pretty accurately! and have the pic shut the fogger off on low water and start a warning sound! does this sound feasible?? i know its a bit mad but if i can put it on my addon later list to the incubator project that would be cool
i will add pics tomorrow just incase i have babbled, its late and i am tired so i babel a bit
LG