This also helps to keep track of what state the system is in at all times. To ensure that Arduino stops turning the motor when an open/close action has been performed, I mounted two pushbuttons in the tray, which get pressed when the door is all the way open/closed. The video shows the first version with the ID-20 as the reader. Little Cat Toos demonstrates cat feeder from champenoise on Vimeo. This antenna is large enough that the cat can poke his head through, which works 100% of the time. Not that big a deal because the cat usually just tried from different angles, but my latest version (shown in the photograph) uses a SEEED studio RDM630 RF-reader with a self-made circular antenna. The cat's tag sometimes hangs on the side, so it did not always activate the reader even when he was in the exact same place every time. The first version (shown in the video) used an ID-20 (ID Innovations), which worked, but the range was limited. One could use a stronger material and add a servo that slides a bar into the door to lock it into place. Mine was made out of cardboard so it is easily broken into by smart/strong animals. Automatic/manual mode switch (on manual it opens with a pushbutton) Sensors detect whether the door is fully opened/closed. Proximity sensor (Sharp GP2D120) prevents door from closing while the cat is eating An old CD-rom player is used as a sliding door Now we have to purchase two OTHER, probably more expensive, maybe digital units, and we are out the money for these two.If you have two cats and one of them is on a diet but the other needs free food, you can build a feeder with RFID capability that only opens for the cat that needs free access. The free-food cat wears a collar with an RFID tag. While I am sure she would not starve over the course of the weekend, it is not an optimal solution. When the second unit opened, the cat that had stayed in the room got all of the food in it, which meant that had we not been here, the other cat might have gotten only a half portion of food. When the second unit opened, the one cat that had stayed in the room got all of cats ate the food from the first one, then one cat retired to the other room. Since only one opened at first, both cats ate the food from the first one, then one cat retired to the other room. One opened 10 minutes early, the other 20 minutes late. Figured that a half hour either way would suffice, so set both units, one for each cat at opposite ends of the room, exactly the same way with exactly the same number of clicks between numbers. However, there are several clicks between each hour marker, and once you choose a set time, the indicator has play in it that allows the arrow or dial to swivel between one numbered hour or half hour all the way to the next, so you do not know what time you are really setting it for. The problem is that the timer has marks for only opening on the hour and the half hour, and the instructions say that it will only open at these intervals. Was kind of excited that this would allow us to take weekends away without having to bother others to come feed the cats.
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