Required Hardware - kmgmore/-TEST- GitHub Wiki
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Copper or aluminum heatsink for Raspberry Pi
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Optical Camera w/ controllable NIR filter (IR-CUT) - should come with a ribbon cable to connect to the Pi 4B
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WittyPi 4 power management: Witty Pi 4 HAT - RTC & Power Management for Raspberry Pi : ID 5704 : Adafruit Industries
Witty Pi 4 supports 3A power output for the Raspberry Pi 4
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Flir Lepton 3.5 and Flir Breakout Board v2
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Female/Female Jumper Wires - to connect Flir until we get a custom PCB made
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LWIR (8-14 micron range) transmission window material to protect Flir - Edmund Optics
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plus Stemma QT to Stemma QT cable for chaining Adafruit sensors to other Adafruit sensors
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Adafruit BNO085 IMU or 055 IMU- for motion detection / orientation reporting
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Adafruit AHT20 Temperature and Humidity Sensor - for monitoring device health
Other batteries, such as the V75, work but we recommend the V50.
We are using Voltaic battery packs because they do not auto-shutdown during low power draw, which is important for this system as it will be in low-power mode most of the time and losing power then would prevent it from starting back up. They are intended to be directly charged from 6V solar panels using a barrel jack to usb-c (micro for older versions) adapter. If using a battery that is not always-on configure the WittyPi to draw more power when idle to avoid losing power.
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Solar Panel - 6 volt panel if charging Voltaic battery pack directly
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MicroSD card - preferably higher capacity than needed (at least 64GB), consider "high endurance" or "industrial" (for temperature tolerance) cards: https://www.dzombak.com/blog/2023/12/Choosing-the-right-SD-card-for-your-Pi.html
Example: SanDisk High Endurance microSD
Test the SD cards with F3 Fight Flash Fraud to verify they are legit: https://github.com/AltraMayor/f3
TODO: Alternatively boot from USB SSD - this has pros/cons
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Dual USB-A to single USB-C cable to connect Voltaic power pack to WittyPi 4, preferably with right angle connectors for smaller cases. Only the USB-A ports on the Voltaic packs are always on, and each outputs 2.5A max, 3A together, so we need a Y power adapter.
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Cellular modem with USB Adapter board:
Cell Modem USB Carrier/Adapter with SIM Card Slot
Antennas for Modem and GPS - need 3 antennas, 2 for cellular and 1 for GPS
Cables to connect Antennas to Cell Modem - get appropriate cables to connect to uFL on the cellular board. SMA male antennas need SMA female cables, RP-SMA antennas likewise need the correct cables.
USB A Right Angle Up Adapter Cable for Modem - if the modem board does not otherwise fit in your case. The 150x150x90 case is too small to directly install the modem into the USB port on the Raspberry Pi.
SIM Card for Cell Modem - 1nce for example has a data plan targeting IoT devices
Antenna for mDot - RP-SMA connector needed on 915 MHz antenna
Female-Female 2.54 to 2.0mm Jumper Wires - 2mm pitch header cables for connecting mDot to Raspberry Pi until we get a custom PCB made
- Cable gland to let solar panel power cable into case
Anti-fog spray/hydrophobic coating for lens
Desiccant packs - for example https://sensorpros.com/products/druck-dri-can-desiccant?variant=3272716801 or https://www.amazon.com/Silica-Gel-Packets-Indicating-Electronics/dp/B0B2DNLZ4K - will need to be dried for reuse
Tools and accessories - do not order multiples
Conformal coating to protect electronics from water - make sure it is not applied to any connectors
Silicone sealant for water-resistance - use to seal holes in case
Ethernet cable - so you can connect to a network for updates and initial configuration. I shared the WiFi connection on my laptop with the Pi over Ethernet using Network Manager's connection sharing on Linux. Other operating systems have similar functionality.
Serial TTL USB adapter cable - useful for logging into the Pi before networking has been configured, and for debugging/troubleshooting.
Drill for creating openings in case for cable gland, antenna sockets (if antennas don't fit in the case or need to be external), and camera aperatures
microSD reader if you do not have one