Category Archives: Astro Equipment

The remaining components in the case — the fan, USB connector, power socket and DHT22 are now fitted. I drilled the mounting holes for the fan and USB socket through the walls of the case as I wasn’t confident that … Continue reading →

The next step was to finish off the diodes on their fly leads, covering the exposed leads with plenty of heatshrink. I’m not at all convinced this is the best solution, but I’ve not come up with any better ideas … Continue reading →

I printed the lower section of the case, so it was time to fit the Nano to the PCB and put the PCB loosely in place so I could connect up the USB cable and see what happened. The good … Continue reading →

Temperature sensor plugs and sockets… My dissatisfaction with the 6P4C connectors led me to try to find other options for plugging these in. Initially 3.5mm stereo jack plugs such as these sprang to mind. However, Robert Brown himself explained to … Continue reading →

For the final bit of PCB soldering, the MOSFETs and voltage regulator. The heatsinks I bought turned out to have small steel “legs” on when they arrived, which I didn’t initially realise was the case. I assume they’re there so … Continue reading →

Fly leads for the diodes attached. No diodes as yet. I’ll cut the leads to length and fit the diodes once I’ve printed the case and can test everything for size/placement.

All the pin headers that I’m going to use are now in and there aren’t too many holes left, especially as the two four-pin headers that are left won’t be used (the ones for the Bluetooth connection and the HTU21D … Continue reading →

I have now soldered all the resistors and capacitors to the PCB: Yes, I have put all the resistors the same way around. I can’t help myself 🙂 My favoured method for dealing with the resistors is to put a … Continue reading →

Time to start some actual construction! Whilst the PCB was uncluttered I decided the first job would be to solder on the headers for the Arduino, so I used the junior hacksaw to cut a couple of 15-pin lengths from … Continue reading →

Right then… Components… I’ve given links to the places I purchased parts from where they still exist or if I still have them, but a few things I already had. I have no connection with any of the vendors and … Continue reading →