BirdBoxPiCam2014: Lighting, Packaging & Progress

Having assembled the system to a point where it can be tested with a lead-acid battery, I now feel confident that I am well on the way to a viable bird box.

There is still quite a bit of work left to do, but I don't expect to trip over any last minute show-stoppers.

However, there is an issue with image size which is yet to be resolved.

BirdBoxPiCam 2014; #2b Activity Based Power Control Details

Progress has been very slow through December, due to both project related issues, and real-life getting in the way (which is actually not a bad thing).

Project issues include a cmos 555 timer with a strange fault, a damaged RaspberryPi USB socket, and discovering my choice of relay was a bad one.

Although the relay had a 1A contact rating and looked suitable for a Raspberry Pi drawing less than 500mA, this rating is for a purely resistive load. (see earlier post for relay circuit details.)

Firefox Java Plugin Install on Lubuntu

I don't do this very often and keep forgetting how to do it.

So here is a note for the next time.

Installing Java for Firefox is not as easy on Linux as on some other operating systems. This is the process for a Debian based distribution like Lubuntu.

Photo Management on Lubuntu

I was recently asked for advice on photo management software, so I read a few reviews, then set about installing gThumb.

Up till now I've avoided this kind of application, because very early photo management programs just used to save data in a configuration file or database, which was only readable by the parent application.

Organising a photo collection is very time consuming, so I want to be sure this time is not going to be wasted.

Radio Caroline on the RaspberryPi

This is a simple project to create an internet radio and music box which can be attached to your home stereo amplifier.

It is also an excuse to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Radio Caroline, a station that fueled the British popular music industry in the 1960's.

I'll cover the RaspberryPi details later, but let's start with a history lesson.

RaspberryPi Wifi: Slow To Connect

I've just wasted 20 hours of my life trying get wifi to work on a Raspberry Pi.

All I had to do was follow a previous post, and it should have worked straight away. But life's not like that!

The cause of my problem was rather unexpected, and the solution couldn't have been easier.

BirdBox Activity Counter; what can we expect?

Fitting a sensor to the entrance of a garden bird box can provide you with additional data.

But what can you expect this data to reveal about your little feathered friends?

Prompted by ConwayChallenger's recent Blue Tit Monitor, I've just been taking another look at some bird box data from spring 2011.

BirdBoxPiCam 2014; #3 Camera Modification

The RaspberryPi camera board is a great accessory, but the lens does not give a wide enough viewing angle for use in BirdBoxPiCam 2014.

So this is how I modified the camera assembly to fit an M12 board lens.

The first step is to remove the existing lens from the Pi camera without breaking something.

Don't Waste Power With L.E.D.s

I've been playing with a mixed bag of white LEDs to work out how many I need to illuminate BirdBox 2014.

As this project is battery powered, I want to minimise power consumption where possible to extend battery life.

Like all 5mm LEDs, there is no obvious way to determine what exactly they are (i.e. there are no part numbers). And as this is a mixed bag, I need to sort them by type before including any of them in my circuit.