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- Category: 2022 system (v2)
Two days before close of business for Christmas in 2024, a parcel arrives in the post, its the consumables PCB's. Now I have something to work on when everyone wants a break from the festivities.
The stencil is used to help assemble the boards and two boards are populated, from the set of components that will ultimately allow 4 boards to be made, 2 for production and two for development, since I always want a spare board that I can swap into the coop if I need to when something fails. The new modular system is really coming together.
- Details
- Category: 2022 system (v2)
Now I know what the physical dimensions and constraints of the consumables module is, I can turn my attention to the PCB its self and how that will interact with the broader Chicken coop controller system.
For cost reasons, the maximum board area is 100mm x 100mm, except that the corners need to be removed to make the square board fit into the round enclosure. I considered using a round PCB, but the diameter would then be larger than 100mm x 100mm and that in turn triggers a much higher board cost, making it less attractive. It looks like I've got plenty of board space anyhow.
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- Category: 2022 system (v2)
Now that I have a design for the feeder enclosures, we are half way there, but right now, they are just on my screen. How can I convert these to the parts I need. They need to be water and weather proof and I only need one of each, so commercial manufacturing is out of the question.
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- Category: 2022 system (v2)
As the old adage goes, you can't always have what you want. I want reliable, easy to use, secure console access to the modules in this project. However, the reality is more complicated.
The ESP32's development boards have a CP2102 USB to UART adapter that is used for easy firmware updates and serial console access, and they work perfectly when the ESP32 in question is on your desk at the end of a USB cable. It doesn't work so well, when the same module is buried inside a sealed ABS box, within a Chicken house, inside a muddy pen, at 11pm, when its raining outside and you really want to know why something isn't working.
- Details
- Category: 2022 system (v2)
There has been lots of detail about components of the system, but I thought it worthwhile to show what the overall block diagram of the system is and explain how it works at the macro level. You may also note some modules that have not been discussed yet, so read on.
The system is conceptually very simple, there are inputs and outputs to modules that manage those sensors, this information is processed, converted to usable information and send onto the central broker. Then, the front end front-end user interfaces allow simple interaction with the entire platform in a unified manner.