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INDI Library v2.0.6 is Released (02 Feb 2024)

Bi-monthly release with minor bug fixes and improvements

I made this! INDI in an all-in-one power box, with dew heater

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[remaining pictures]
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Last edit: 6 years 1 week ago by Noel.
6 years 1 week ago #24300

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This is a fabulous work... Thanks for share it. I will try, sure. Can you post the electrical wiring diagram?
6 years 1 week ago #24305

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This is brilliant.
I highly recommend adding GPS to your project to take care of time and location automatically.
www.adafruit.com/product/746
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6 years 1 week ago #24326

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Hopefully this makes sense. Every 'functional group' is connected in parallel. This made design and troubleshooting easy.
6 years 1 week ago #24335
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Thanks Ihoujin for your GPS mention - I forgot to mention I have a cheap USB GPS dongle (model VK-172) that is inside the box and connected to the pi via the micro USB connector and a USB OTG cable. The USB model gives location sync but lacks the pulse output to sync time - instead I use a small script at startup to read the time from the USB module and set the time from that.

I'd prefer use a module like you suggested; was implementing this straightforward?
6 years 1 week ago #24336

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You can configure NTP with GPSD to use the GPS dongle as a source for time without worrying about PPS. All PPS really does is keep it ticking at exactly 1 second once the time is set.
Implementation is fairly straightforward and it allows for attaching an external antenna if necessary. Basic steps include
Wiring to 5V supply
Cross wiring TX and RX to GPIO Pins on the Pi. [Tx to Rx, Rx to Tx]. Page 11 of Documentation
Configure boot/config.txt. Line 1 will enable the MiniUART , and lock to core frequency to 250, disabling turbo because Mini UART and CPU Core frequency are relative. Line 2 defines the pin connected to PPS, example here is pin 4.
enable_uart=1
dtoverlay=pps-gpio,gpiopin=4

Configure /etc/default/gpsd to collect
DEVICES="/dev/ttyS0"
as a device at startup
Finally configure NTP to use time from GPS
/etc/ntp.conf
# Read the rough GPS time from device 127.127.28.0
# Read the accurate PPS time from device 127.127.28.1
 
server 127.127.28.0 minpoll 4 maxpoll 4
fudge 127.127.28.0 time1 0.535 refid GPS
server 127.127.28.1 minpoll 4 maxpoll 4 prefer
fudge 127.127.28.1 refid PPS
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Last edit: 6 years 1 week ago by Andrew.
6 years 1 week ago #24351

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I just noticed your diagram indicates you connected the fan to 3.3 volts on the Pi. This is unwise. Drawing power from the GPIO pins 1 or 17 for a fan is taking power through the Pi's regulator. The fan's current draw could cause an under current condition or worse case damage the Pi. Pins 2 and 4 are 5 volt taps direct from the USB power supply. You would be better off taking power from there and stepping it down with a simple resistor voltage divider or a voltage regulator.
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5 years 10 months ago #26171

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OMG this is awesome! Thanks so much for posting the pictures and diagrams, I'm already looking around for months to see what would be the best solution. I figured to design it myself, but this is so close to what I wanted I might as well try that. :)
5 years 10 months ago #26174

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@Ihoujin Thanks for picking up on that, I'll modify my unit accordingly.
I've started brainstorming 'Mk 2' and will power any fans from a dedicated 5v or 3.3v line - or at least a module that can handle the current with ease.
Last edit: 5 years 10 months ago by Noel.
5 years 10 months ago #26175

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@supernov - thanks for your kind words. Building my unit was fun and a learning exercise - there's a few things I plan to do a little differently for Mk2. If you have any questions or comments feel free to get in touch.
5 years 10 months ago #26176

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Yes, welll... :) I'm a beginner in electronics, but have learned quite a bit about the various components in the past year. I also learned how to solder and read the diagrams. What I always end up finding difficult, is how to properly connect everything to ground. Is it simply, in your case, that all components feed back to the negative wire of the mains?
5 years 10 months ago #26177

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To ground everything I used a brass 'bus bar', its the first picture (here's more examples www.aquashopkampen.nl/product/busbar-10x8/). This is a common ground connection for the modules and connected to this is negative of the DC input. The DC power is grounded via the DC power supply connection.
This bus bar needs to support the maximum current load of all modules combined so give that some consideration when selecting the part. You could make your own if you have the tools and materials as some bigger modules get quite expensive.
For my project I summed the maximum rated load of all components and then rounded up - in reality it's been overkill, while running my system draws about a quarter of what it's 'designed' to do - but I feel better safe than sorry.
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5 years 10 months ago #26184

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