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A project log for Vending Machine for Birds

Simple, inexpensive bird feeder that dispenses peanuts in exchange for dropping stuff in a hole. A vending machine for clever birds.

stephen-chaseyStephen Chasey 10/19/2022 at 15:090 Comments

I finally finished putting the PVC version together. I really miss the sliding panel on the wine box - things are not very accessible now. However it is more weatherproof, holds more peanuts and loads from the top :). Camera angles are more limited now that people are moving into the new apartments across the street - I don't want to invade their privacy. It's powered by a 5V phone charger.

It seems to work about as well as the wine box version (V2). I may have to tweak the dispenser a bit more, but so far it's reliable. I'm also adding a second camera using a Raspberry Pi I bought about 10 years ago - it doesn't even have mounting holes in the PCB. I need a PVC end cap to complete my enclosre for this so it will be up tomorrow.

Pigeons are already poking at it today, but it will take a week or so for the jackdaws and magpies to trust it.

I think V4 will need to have a properly designed enclosure - I love building things out of found materials, but after 3 versions built from discarded items I think I'm ready to really optimize it. I'm visiting my hometown soon and will have access to woodworking tools and a friend's 3D printer. I just know this can be made smaller, easier to access the internals, and easier to mount. 

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