in the last few months i worked on a
unusually big project
using this project i'll show you tools
and tricks you can use for your projects
maybe you find something you did not
know
please post your experiences or browse
through the comments to learn from the
most
knowledgeable viewers on the internet
great youtubers
here is the guy with the swiss accent
with a new episode and fresh ideas
around sensors and microcontrollers
remember if you subscribe you will
always sit
in the first row this spring i started a
project to talk to another guy with a
swiss accent
in antarctica via a geostationary
satellite
and yes we were able to talk to each
other
if you are interested in the project
feel free to watch the videos
the link to the playlist is in the upper
right corner
but today we will focus on the materials
tools and tricks
used for the build things we will cover
are
how to power such a project and how to
wire it
assemble many modules which do not fit
on a pcb power the project which needs
several different voltage levels select
an
outdoor case big enough to fit the whole
project
connect the internals of the box with
the external components
without letting too much humidity in
monitor and switch it on and off
remotely
provide easy access to all parts i'm
sure
it will be enhanced over time or has to
be repaired
let's start with the case because in the
end
it defines the dimensions of the overall
project
of course the parts also influence the
size of the box
i suggest using a bigger box because it
will make
things easier later there are many
possibilities
for the box itself professional ones
that last forever but cost a ton of
money and cheaper ones
that probably will die earlier projects
and desires of makers
change over time and the chance that the
project is enhanced or no more used in a
few years
is high at least with me so i decided
to use this transparent box from the
local do-it-yourself store
the top has a ceiling which should keep
humidity out
maybe the content will also help to
solve this problem
because it will dissipate some power
transparent
is always nice because it is easy to do
a visual check
and if the proud maker wants to show off
it is also useful its price here in
switzerland was around
25 i'm sure you have other solutions
so feel free to share them what's next
the project has seven main modules which
form a transceiver
to receive a 10 gigahertz signal and
transmit
up to 20 watts on 2.4 gigahertz
and it needs some power rails
24 to 28 volts for the power amplifier
a few amperes are needed i usually over
dimension my power supplies
because first the chinese manufacturers
usually exaggerate
second the power supply is usually a
cheap part compared with a more valuable
wrist
if it fails everything fails or is
destroyed
12 volts for the pre-amplifiers the
frequency generator
and the cooling fan for the power
amplifier
all in all around 1 ampere but
the fan created problems when switched
on
and off so i separated its rail from the
rest
using a second power supply 5 volts for
the add-on pluto
and sdr transceiver these three power
rails have to be switched
because the station will not always be
on
a 5 volt rail for a vmos d1 mini setup
which has to be always on because it
switches the other
rails and monitors temperature and
humidity
like that i can get three different
alarms
if the box loses power something is
entirely wrong
if it reports high humidity the case did
not work
as expected and there is still hope that
the fast
intervention can save the expensive
modules
if it reports high temperatures it's not
good for the valuable parts
i also want to collect data about the
heat in
outdoor boxes for other projects the
final setup has 5 power rails
1 times 24 volts 2 times 12
and 2 times 5 volts we have defined
all the needed modules and rails all the
radio parts were known
from my initial test and were not
changed
the power section however is entirely
new
i decided to use a concept used in
professional equipment
but adapted it to a maker's
possibilities
to separate the active components and
the power rails
the best solution probably would be a
metal sheet for mounting and shielding
between the two parts because i'm not
equipped for metal work
i used wood instead the top side is
populated with the active components
and the bottom is used to create the
power rails
there is one exception this walt ampere
meter is on the top
because i want to see it from the
outside to get
the needed clearance i printed four feet
and mounted them with screws screws
still are a reliable method for that and
if you do it like that
mounting is easy because the knot stays
where it should
if you want you can add a little super
glue which works well
with pla i also added four holes and
two cords like that i can remove the
whole setup easily
we will continue with the power rails
because most projects will need
one or more of them many variants exist
you can create each rail from mains
or create a lower voltage from mains and
boost it to the needed higher levels
or create the highest voltage from mains
and reduce it
for the lower voltage levels three
things are essential for such decisions
first which component and rail consumes
most of the power
second transporting higher voltages is
easier because we need
less current and thinner wires smaller
switches
and connectors at least if we stay below
50 volts
third the decision on which rails have
to be switched
for this project the biggest consumer is
the power amplifier so i choose a
switching power supply from mains to 24
volts
if needed i can pimp it up to 27 volts
to get more
output power on 2.4 gigahertz for the
moment 24 volts
is ok as said i want to switch the whole
radio on and off remotely if i source
all the radio rails from the 24 volts
rail
i only need one relay let's continue
with the 24 volt power supply
i have many different power supplies in
my lab but i only had one for 24 volts
and it happens to deliver 8.5 ampere
maximum
for sure too much maybe i will change it
in the future for a smaller one
for the moment it fits because i choose
a bigger case
now we come to materials and other
tricks
how do i connect cables to these screw
terminals for example
i once bought an assortment of those
naked terminals
they are much better than the ones used
for cars
i hope naked is not yet banned like
males and females for connectors
or master and slave for i square c the
car terminal
insulation does not fit after crimping
with naked terminals you can add heat
shrink tube
this looks much better i use ferrules
for the terminals on the regulator
because they look nice
and can easily be inserted and removed
you get them assorted too but their
color is according to their size
not nice this is why i bought a bunch of
black
and red ones now the ferrules fit the
colors of the wires
someone should say that makers are not
ease
feeds and i completely switched to using
silicon wires
they are more flexible and never melt
during soldering
by the way you find links to all parts
shown
in the description below because the
difference between
24 and 12 or even 5 volts is significant
the best solution is to use switching
regulators
and because i want to keep the
possibility to go up to 27 volts
they have to support at least 30 volts
input voltage
the current is not a big issue because
most of the switches
supports more than one ampere output
current
i selected this one from my drawer
because it is the only
that supports up to 36 volts
i want to separate the rail for the fan
from the rail from the rest
why frequent viewers know that i fright
my first power amplifier because i did
not pay attention
an expensive error that lasts in memory
this is why i added the fan in general
fans are not the most durable parts so i
only want to run it if needed such a
thermal switch is the most simple and
cheapest
way to achieve this you get them for
different temperatures
and normally on or normally off and the
best
they support up to 16 amperes
i choose one for 45 degrees after that
the fan starts to cool the amplifier so
i choose a normally open type
i could add a second normally close
switch for 80 degrees for example
and insert it in the amplifier's power
line
it would protect the amplifier and
switch it off
at 80 degrees luckily the sensor fitted
between the hot surface and the fan
the only thing you have to pay attention
to is that
the switch's case is connected to one of
the wires
and you create a short to avoid this you
get
ceramic versions or you use captain tape
to insulate
the metal version captain tape by the
way
should be in all labs it is heat
resistant and
therefore very versatile with this
solution
my amplifier is safe from overheating
and the 12 volt devices are safe from
any peaks
when the fan switches but how to
distribute
power to the many modules i did not want
to have
fixed wires maybe in the future i will
go this direction
and add such long terminals they are on
order
for the moment i still want to be able
to disconnect the modules from power
this is why i decided to go with power
poles
not the cheapest way but i had this
distribution box in my lab these power
poles are easy to connect and remove
and can carry a lot of current if you do
not know these power pole connectors
i introduced them in mailbag video
number 350.
another possibility could have been to
use xt60 plugs
widely used for rc planes this would
definitely be cheaper
but maybe a little harder to unplug
the 5 volt rail could be derived from
the 24 volts rail
because the chosen 5 volt regulator has
24 volts maximum input voltage
i connect it to the 12 volt rail and i
want to show you
a variant to protect it heat shrink tube
and hot glue
in addition to the assorted small heat
shrink tubes
for wires i also have wider ones from 10
to 40 millimeter
in diameter like that i can select a
fitting one
to protect small boards like this one
such
tubes shrink their size to about half
the cables here are much thinner and
would not be protected by such a big
tube this is why i insert hot glue into
both ends
before i shrink the tube please pay
attention that you do not feel
too much glue because the tube
immediately shrinks and pushes it out
over time you will learn how much is
needed after that
i shrink the rest with my hot air gun i
use
this quick station this is one of the
best choices i made for the lab
in just a few seconds it is heated to
the right temperature
recently i found even bigger tubes for
battery packs
they are not transparent but useful for
even bigger things
staying with heat shrink tubes if you
want to connect two cables you get
these special tubes with a blob of
solder in the middle
you insert the two cables and then heat
the whole thing
to a high temperature i use 400 degrees
then the solder inside the tube starts
to melt
and connects the wires and these orange
parts
should seal the connection from water an
excellent
addition to my lab i forgot something
the vault and amperometer i always have
a few of them in my lab
they are very helpful to debug and
monitor your projects
and the best they are dirt cheap and
accurate enough for most purposes
i once made cool boxes using such meters
you should see the link to video number
197
in the upper right corner the printed
case is based on
a universal fusion 360 design
shown in video number 258 you just enter
the three dimensions
add the openings where needed and
printed
a piece of cake the last component is
the remote switch
i could have used a ready-made module
but this time
i decided on the vmos shields i added an
esp8266
a relay and a prototype shield for the i
square c connection to the temperature
and humidity sensor initially i also
used a power shield
which is rated for 24 volts input
unfortunately it did not survive another
example of not using two tightly
specified chinese modules this shield
system is handy for such applications
the wemos by the way runs tasmota and
because the
hdc1080 sensor is not supported in any
standard release
i had to create my own using their tools
it was not too complicated but it has a
learning curve
i also lost a lot of time because one of
my boards
had a bad solder joint happens
but how to mount all the modules to the
wooden plate
i assume i will not change the power
components
this is why i use double sided tape from
aldi
if the module's surface is not flat i
add
more than one layer until it sticks
simple
and cheap it is also no catastrophe
if one detaches after a while i want the
top components removable
this is why i use those hook and loop
fastener tapes
an invention by another guy with a swiss
accent
more massive modules like this power
supply are conventionally
mounted with screws here i have a secret
to share
i used such a wow stick to screw and
unscrew
but i was never happy because it is not
strong enough
recently i bought this little toy from
bosch
ugly but powerful i love it
i only use it with bits not for drilling
because it is so small it fits my drawer
like
the other screwdrivers next are fuses
it is good practice to use a few fuses
in projects like that
it can save you money if something goes
wrong
the 12 volt distributor already has
fuses
so i only added one for the power
amplifier
if you order such fuse holders pay
attention that you get the ones with a
lot of copper in the cable
not like this one which is mainly
plastic
and order an assortment of glass fuses
with different values
they are also handy for the other
devices in your household
for higher currents you can also use
these holders for car fuses
another insider tip is ferrite beats
which are used in usb
or laptop power cables they dampen high
frequencies on those cables
a simple and effective way to remove
unwanted frequencies
it is never wrong to add those to your
power lines
primarily if you work with switching
power supplies
you get them for different diameters i
added a few of them
here and there now we have a working
satellite ground
station but it has to be connected to
220 volts
to ethernet and of course to three
antennas
to make sure not too much moisture is
entering the box
i use such ip68 cable glands
they come in several sizes to fit the
diameter of the cables
pay attention that you mount the
connectors only after you
inserted the cables otherwise they will
not pass
the small hole my project needs ethernet
and coax cables
especially the coax cables come with the
sma connectors attached
this is why i used larger glands and
will wrap some tape around the cable
when finished
not the nicest thing but fortunately not
visible inside this protector how to
drill these big holes
with a step drill of course also a vital
tool
in my lab so everything is ready to be
mounted
on the roof a last video in the q0100
series will come
covering my experience with the radio
part
i hope you found one or the other hint
for your projects
or you tell me that you do things much
easier or
much better than i did as always you
find
all the relevant links in the
description i hope this video was useful
or at least interesting for you if true
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thank you bye