We are currently experiencing a week of high temperatures reaching 40°C. It doesn’t impact us inside the house as the rooftop solar panels produce more than enough electricity to run the three air conditioning units and recharge the battery.
One potential disadvantage is bushfires. These can be initiated by the weather or arsonists. Regrettably in the last few days some homes have been lost. Fortunately our home isn’t close to any potential bushfire area.
The greatest disadvantage we are experiencing is flies! Last winter inland regions experienced significant rainfall which resulted in plenty of food for the cattle. With so much lush green grass consumed the sloppy residue that exited their digestive systems overwhelmed the capacity of the dung beetles to consume it. Consequentially there has been an explosion in the fly population. Then winds from the NE carried the flies to Perth where they have become a disadvantage when outside.
The heat and the flies makes one reluctant to leave the house.
Looking for something to do inside I decided to make a temporary stand for our eldest grandson’s boat autopilot project. Having the components scattered over my desk has cluttering the area. The first step was to make a mounting bracket that would enable me to secure all the components to the rear of the small screen. After looking at all the ‘stuff that might be useful one day’ I used a surplus piece of acrylic panel from Jan’s pantry splashback and some Perspex from a railway carriage window my brother gave me 30 years ago. Using scraps of plywood I then made a stand.
Nothing special as it will be discarded when the project is complete.
Two mounting brackets made of Perspex secure the acrylic plate to the rear of the screen . The project components were then mounted on the acrylic plate.
Key
A. IMU (compass and 9 axis gimbal)
B. BME280 weather module (temperature, pressure, humidity)
C. Arduino (motor Controller
D. Raspberry Pi5 (computer)
E. Breakout board to test wiring
F. H-Bridge Relay (controls polarity to the boat tiller)
The computer has two display ports. I want to see if I can configure the system to show gauges on the small screen and the chart on the larger.
But before I get to that I need to ensure the autopilot is correctly configured and works.
A good project for a hot day.
Meanwhile have you heard that FEDEX and UPS are to amalgamate. The new company is to be known as FEDUP
