Category Archives: Projects

Robert Brown Arduino dew controller build, step by step #1

Posted on January 16, 2020 by james

In an earlier post I said I’d write up the build of my second dew controller, so if you’re not sure it’s for you and need to see how someone else did it, this is it. There are a few … Continue reading →

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Robert Brown’s Arduino-based dew heater controller

Posted on January 16, 2020 by james

Like almost everything in my life, this has taken a lot longer than I was hoping, mostly because I ran out of steam a bit, partly thanks to the weather being so poor, but also because it took some time … Continue reading →

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Geeking out

Posted on January 15, 2020 by james

I’ve put quite a bit of time into oacapture and oalive this year and hopefully they’re the better for it, with a new release coming soon. Github demonstrates the depth of my efforts:

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DIY Stevenson screen #3

Posted on January 15, 2020 by james

My Stevenson screen is now finally in place, mounted on the outside wall of the observatory warm room, allowing cabling to be routed into the warm room for collecting the data. Initially the instruments will be connected to the warm … Continue reading →

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DIY Stevenson screen #2

Posted on November 10, 2019 by james

I had to wait a fair while for the paint to dry (and it isn’t really properly hardened off yet), but that wasn’t a major issue as I was also waiting for some stainless screws to arrive. Yesterday I finally … Continue reading →

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1-wire weather sensors on Linux

Posted on November 10, 2019 by james

Some time ago I had a 1-wire weather station and a number of other 1-wire weather-related sensors run from a Linux server. It wasn’t hugely reliable because the cable run was really a bit too long, but with a bit … Continue reading →

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A DIY Stevenson screen

Posted on November 10, 2019 by james

Now the observatory is up and running my mind has turned to wiring up my weather station kit again and getting it all working as I can now connect it all to the PC in the observatory and have some … Continue reading →

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Landmark day for the barn conversion

Posted on November 9, 2019 by james

A large dent in my wallet has arrived in the shape of these: Sadly they’re mostly covered up to stop them getting damaged by builders’ boots. Other than the central post, much of the wood to make them actually came … Continue reading →

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Building an observatory. Construction #80

Posted on August 10, 2019 by james

I didn’t have a lot of time this evening, but took a monitor, keyboard and mouse down to the warm room, connected them and one of the pier computers up to the KVM switch and powered everything on. All the … Continue reading →

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Building an observatory. Construction #79

Posted on August 10, 2019 by james

I’m pleased to be able to relate that all the mains wiring in the observatory is now complete and it is connected up to the existing supply from the house. I no longer have extension leads and trailing sockets all … Continue reading →

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