Welcome to my little project!
The purpose behind this project was two-fold. One, I want a remote controlled shade for my window, but didn't want to spend that much. Two, I wanted a small project to do to break the tedium of my working on my aquarium controller.
I have succeeded in both of those goals. (If I do say so myself.) I managed to build the majority of the hardware for the shade for under $20 unit cost estimated. (I did luck out on cheap motors) and Unfortunately, this does not include beautification. Function on the other hand has been a success. (Who says you need form with function.)
More features, like physical button control, will add a little bit to the cost but aren't strictly necessary.
Project Info
Features
LED Light (12v Strip or FastLED)
Blynk Remote Control
Hardware
A motor.
Motion can be driven by a 28BYJ-48 with a ULN2003, or a NEMA 17 pancake with a proper driver.
Currently controlled by a Lolin NodeMCU v3, but it will be replaced by a Wemos D1 Mini
A donor roller shade.
1/2" EMT conduit.
Software
Blynk is used as a remote control for this project.
AccelStepper (Fork) is used to actually drive the motor. (This version is available in the library manager.)
CmdArduino is used for control of serial monitor. (A little library I really like.)
Goal
The goal is to make a low cost remote controlled roller shade that can be made DIY. The only tools needed are some hex wrenches, a hacksaw (band saw is also acceptable), and a 3D printer.
More tools may be required to make the final product look nice, but that is optional.