Read something interesting: No matter how loud they shouted, many Soviet citizens thought such exercises (in free speech) absurd. But they hid their real thoughts because speaking (Out) honestly (in a crowd) was dangerous. The Soviet dictatorship created a fear society that failed the “town square test”—can everyone express themselves freely, publicly, without fear of punishment? Can we speak freely without checking for a BLM protestor confronting us wherever we are? Can we have a sign like Blue Lives Matter or All Lives Matter in our yards without fearing damage to our homes? Three-warning-signs-of-ideological-totalitarianism
Status: Sheltering in place, we have plenty of food and supplies..
Plans: Let the NodeMCU’s and the dehumidifier run until September.
- 08:00 Breakfast with the wife
- 09:00 Modifying Flower Pot temp sensor (Sensors not agreeing)
- 10:00 Repairing camera DVR, it hasn’t worked for a week.
- 11:00 Looking for a light bulb that was delivered on Friday.
- 12:00 Eating ham sandwich and blogging.
- 13:00 Nap Time
- 15:00 Working on Flower Pot Temp Sensor.
- 16:00 Watching National Treasure, working on FPTS.
- 17:00 Helping mom with dinner, testing FPTS.
- 18:00 Blogging.
- 21:00 Bed
NodeMCU ESP8266 Wi-Fi SoC
NodeMCU Status: Our air conditioner is limping with a oil logged evaporator until we replace the unit in October. The thermostat is also limping along because of leaking batteries. I’m using these NodeMCU’s to measure the temperature and humidity throughout the house and turn on / off the power to the thermostat.
Putting this NodeMCU sensor in the flower pot turned out to be two days work.
The first problem was the NodeMCU was pretty big compared to the pot so I had to cut the Styrofoam at an angle to give it some room. Second problem was the DHT22’s were pretty long, i shortened them slightly by cutting off the end of the sensor so they would fit in the cup underneath the bush..
After I had assembled the sensor the NodeMCU produced enough heat even in the bottom of the pot to change the temperature of the sensors. I moved the sensors to the edge of the leaves to make them more accurate. (Looked a little like ears on a bush LOL.)
Powering the NodeMCU was also a difficult challenge since the microUSB connector was at the end of the device. I didn’t want the connectors hanging out of the pot underneath the bush. It took me half a day to decide on using five feet of 24AWG CAT-5 wire powered from an old 1A 5V power supply that came off of a camera. I wrapped the CAT-5 wire around the NodeMCU pins to make the connection. I bent the pins 30 degrees toward the center of the NodeMCU to reduce the height requirement. It also became obvious to invert the NodeMCU in the pot, although that wasn’t preferred because of the wireless antenna was on the top of the NodeMCU. I had already decided against having the NodeMCU lay flat against the bottom since I had dropout problems with that position.
To reduce the height of the DHT ears on the bush I cut a hole into the supporting structure. That allowed the DHT to protrude into the cup at the base of the bush. You can see the brown/white power wire draping from the bush from the back of the pot. Since I damaged the Styrofoam, the arrangement had to be held down with a strap of wire to the bottom.
Even with all the care that I’ve put into this project there are still unknowns. (Like why the left side of the sensor is a whole degree warmer than the right side.)
If I put a fan on the sensor, the readings match!
I took the 1st humidifier back because it was AWFULLY NOISY even on low. I thought about getting a smaller one, but even this large one was running constantly! The 2nd one is much quieter, but it amazed me that “Low Speed” is not that much lower or less noisy?
I do not know why it is so difficult to achieve 50% humidity throughout the day. The humidifier cannot keep up even though it is large and the house is small?
Feelings: As Christians we are compelled to look after the Widows and the poor. Just how we do that in this climate when there is so much energy fighting the democracy I don’t know.
Tomorrow: Tuesday.
Retirement: Need to build a budget, are spending is too close to our income.
Project Engineering:
Purchases:
Repairs:
Religion: We were called to read Luke and comment on the author.
Family News: Mom’s in the hospital.
Arts:
- Health: 220Lbs, too heavy.
- Swollen feet have collapsed, no more potato chips!
Travel: Florida travel looks within reach.
Taxes: Waiting on Land taxes.
Pi News: I’ve been working with “Home Assistant” software, the Pi’s themselves are in good shape.
Media: No Instagram posts today and we’re off Facebook.
Injuries: No injuries.
Accomplishments: None.
From the book “Triggers” by Marshall Goldsmith
Did I DMBT make my wife feel loved? Yes
Did I DMBT help my wife today? Yes
Did I DMBT be happy? Yes
*Did My Best To
