Category Archives: Projects

Composting the no dig greenhouse

Posted on March 16, 2021 by james

As the greenhouse only has a single door, it was clearly going to be easier to get the compost onto the ground before the frame was in place, so my daughter and I spent a happy morning in the sun … Continue reading →

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Return of the “no dig” greenhouse

Posted on March 16, 2021 by james

Last December I posted about setting up a new (to me) greenhouse, but thanks to the fact that it’s barely been possible to stand up outdoors for the last couple of months (unless it’s only possible to stand up because … Continue reading →

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So it turns out I am not Batman

Posted on March 16, 2021 by james

This winter in my particular corner of deepest, darkest west Somerset it has rained. And rained. And rained. For a brief change we had some snow! And then rained a bit more. So much that my greenhouse flooded thanks to … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #7

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

I think it must be a short somewhere between some of the tracks. This evening I’ve built a new board from the ground up, plugged in the same Nano and stepper driver and it’s running “blink” fine. A small part … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #6

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

Having finished the circuit board I plugged in the Nano and motor controller and connected it to a USB port (without any other power source connected). The power LED lit on the Nano, but nothing else happened and I wasn’t … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #5

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

I now have almost all the components in place. The large diode at the top left wasn’t in the original plan I worked from. That’s the reverse voltage protection diode. Obviously no-one, least of all me, is ever going to … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #4

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

In the end I couldn’t find a single application that would do what I wanted, so I just decided to start cutting tracks and see where I ended up 🙂 And then spent a happy hour or two soldering in … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #3

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

All the parts that I didn’t already arrived, so I need to get on with laying out the stripboard. I found what looks to be quite a handy tool for doing that last night (it’s probably simple enough to do … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #2

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

The first parts have arrived: a pair of NEMA17 stepper motors with 27:1 reduction gearboxes.

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Robert Brown Focuser Controller build, step by step #1

Posted on June 8, 2020 by james

I’ve done a bit of reading and messing about with GIMP and this is what I think I plan to build: I believe I understand pretty much all of the circuit now. The resistor network to the left of the … Continue reading →

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