BirdBox2016: the role of the Picaxe

As 2015 gives way to a new year, so its time to ready those bird boxes for the coming nesting season.

My original 2014 Raspberry Pi box remains unchanged, although it will be sited higher than previous years, this time maybe 3 metres up the trunk of our Canadian Maple.

But last years (2015) Picaxe + Pi box has undergone a few more changes, so maybe this is a good time to mention them.

PicaxePi: in circuit programming

I used the combination of Picaxe and Raspberry Pi for the first time a year ago.

At that time I programmed the Picaxe by temporarily soldering a connector to the board and connecting it to my laptop.

But I've now made a few simple modifications to my BirdBox2016 controller so I can program the Picaxe from the Raspberry Pi.

Battery Monitor for Pi using Picaxe

Small, low cost Picaxe chips are ideal for developing or enhancing control system functionality.

Battery powered computer systems really need some warning when the supply is failing or lacks the level of charge required to safely start.

The low power consumption of an 8 pin Picaxe makes the 08M2 a good candidate for this task.

Raspberry Pi Serial Comms: Gambas + wiringPi

I've been playing around with serial comms on my Pi/Picaxe dev rig.

Using Gordon's wiringPi library makes it easy to open the gpio serial comms port on the Pi and write code with Gambas.

So this post involves writing a simple Picaxe program, and then using wiringPi and Gambas on the Pi to communicate with the Picaxe.

Picaxe Programming with Pi

You can write Picaxe programs, compile and download to the device using Windows or Linux x86/64.

And it is also possible to use a Raspberry Pi and a few cheap components to develop and load your programs to a Picaxe.

This brief post describes how.

BirdBox2015: Picaxe controller details

Progress has been slow due to other commitments, and a heavy bout of man-flu.

But I've been testing the Picaxe powered controller with a RaspberryPi and it works just as I had hoped.

This low power controller may even be a useful building block for other battery-powered application.

BirdBoxPi2015: using a Picaxe controller

Looking back at my last 2 posts, I started thinking about how I might incorporate a Picaxe into the BirdBoxPi2015 controller.

Although the 8 pin Picaxe is a little more expensive than the 555 timer currently used, it does offer more flexibility.

My RaspberryPi bird box system runs from a 12Volt, 12Ahour "mobility" lead-acid battery.

Swinging the Picaxe on Linux

One of the more unusual gifts from Santa this year was a plastic bag containing a pcb, a USB cable and a small selection of components.

It must be 15 years since I found myself working in a development team alongside a crazy Picaxe fanatic ("hi Ian G").

I promised at the time that I would get familiar with these little critters one day. So I guess that day has finally arrived.