Project Logs

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• This project's future

  alpha_ninja • 08/24/2015 at 19:01 • 0 comments

  Hello,

  as you may have noticed, this project did not make the cut for the quarterfinals.

  For this reason, I won't be continuing development of Modular Vertical Farming—I cannot justify the investment it would take. I may reenter this next year, but until then, development will be stopped.

  -@alpha_ninja

  P.S. Congratulations to those that moved on! :D
  

• Connection Considerations

  alpha_ninja • 06/20/2015 at 16:40 • 0 comments

  To begin with, I'm sorry for not posting in a long time—I hope I will be able to make a lot of updates over the next few days. Regardless, this won't be a long project log.

  ---

  I've decided to use the Teensy-LC I got as a prize a few weeks back as the section controller.

  The main reason is because of its USB capabilities. In fact, it turns out it's relatively easy to use as a raw HID, meaning that sending 64-byte packets between any computer and the teensy is a breeze.

  It also has a relatively high clock speed, so that's great.

  I'll be doing some testing & coding for this over the next few days and will keep you updated.

  Goals for software: (I'll most likely be using python)

  • Figure out some kind of protocol
  • Get that protocol implemented
    • Both controller and computer-side
      • Run a simulation on the teensy for testing
  • Get some basic GUI going computer-side

  I will eventually get a π set up, connected to the teensy, connected to a few modules.
  

• Module PCB assembly and testing

  alpha_ninja • 05/22/2015 at 02:22 • 0 comments

  To begin with, I now have a twitter account. I'll be using it mostly for posting minor progress updates, so feel free to check it out : @not_beta_ninja

  ---

  Now, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to post this (well, nine days. It could be worse :] ). Anyway, here's the board assembled and sanded, fit in a PCIe x1 connector. I decided to put the power pins on the back because they would otherwise be blocking the ICSP pins. Design flaw, maybe, but meh. This is just a prototype ;)
  

  It's a pretty tight fit, and one of the boards required a tiny bit of additional sanding in the cutout just to fit, so I'm going to make the connector a bit thinner. No other complaints on the boards though—they came out great!

  ---

  Now, on to testing.

  Read more »

• PCBs arrived.

  alpha_ninja • 05/13/2015 at 02:07 • 0 comments

  The PCBs arrived from OSHPark!

  I really don't want to do this now, but I'll need to assemble it and sand down the PCIe connector.

• Stop! Hardware Time.

  alpha_ninja • 04/27/2015 at 00:12 • 0 comments

  To begin with, I'd love to thank you all for following/skulling this project and the Hackaday team for choosing me for the prize last week.

  ---

  I've been doing some work on the hardware aspect of the project (mostly the module part.)

  I started up by whipping this up (please excuse the messiness of the wires):

  I tested it, and I²C, FTDI, and ICSP all work great!

  ---

  Then, I went on to KiCad.

  Read more »

• Module Electronics & Connections

  alpha_ninja • 04/22/2015 at 04:30 • 0 comments

  So, I think I've found a good solution for electrical connections between the frame and module. To recap, we need the following connections:

  GND, SCK, SDA, SOL (solenoid), 12V (for led strip), 5V (for microcontroller.)

  Now, I've decided to add another 6 pins for module location sensing (which decides the module's I²C address). That brings us to a grand total of 15 pins.

  Read more »

• I²C troubles & MCU ideas

  alpha_ninja • 04/19/2015 at 21:38 • 0 comments

  I²C is great.

  When it works.

  I've been doing a lot of work on the controller-module communication—and, while doing so, I've learned a lot.

  1. The Raspberry Pi I²C implementation would be a lot better if it had support for clock stretching.
     (I probably won't be using πs as part of this project.)
  2. The Arduino Wire library, which I'm probably going to use, has a really weird bug. I'm not sure if it's specific to that library, but it's annoying as all hell

  So, want to know more about that bug?

  Here it is.

  Read more »

• Docking deliberations

  alpha_ninja • 04/12/2015 at 18:10 • 0 comments

  Hey there!

  I'd like to write a bit about the docking the modules and connectors used today.

  I've chosen 30cm as the minimum side length for the modules. This is since most small-ish gardening pots are around 12" in diameter (about 30cm). Of course, multiples of that figure will be allowed.

  As has been previously determined, each slot will have LED power, solenoid enabling & disabling (to reduce necessary connections: high-impedance for off, GND to enable. The solenoid will be connected to 12V power on the other side), I²C, +5V, and ground connections. (coming up to 6 ports, assuming a common ground is used.)

  Read more »

• Organizational Structure

  alpha_ninja • 04/06/2015 at 07:30 • 0 comments

  An image depicting the organizational structure I plan of having:I've thought a bit about the organizational structure of the project. I've come to the following conclusions:

  Read more »

• Modeling & Module Meditations

  alpha_ninja • 04/03/2015 at 14:14 • 0 comments

  I have begun with modeling the plant containers, for which I'm using OpenSCAD.
  Here's a picture of my current progress:

  The plants, soil, and watering tube are in the image to clarify usage.

  Finished modules will contain:

  Read more »

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