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Here is the current look of this project, Super cool update, magpi magazine wants to feature this build with steps how it was done , !
By jstarne1
— Last update
Watchdog met it's first goal! 12 hours unmanned / no humans , I am checking Watchdog from remote desktop and it is still going strong, I started the first test at 11:30 pm last night. I cannot see the battery meter from here, but I will be able to check the battery around 5-6 pm. Hopefully Watchdog can make it to 11:30 tonight.
.6 volt loss since yesterday night!
I am very happy with the efficiency of the equipment. All cameras have been recording and the sabertooth and the 5 volt dc to dc converter are being used.
25.2 apparently is not 100 percent full, maybe these batteries were being broken in.
Excellent news ! After 24 hours runtime I still have battery life left.
24.6 volts from the 25.2 starting voltage. That is an average of .025 volts drop per hour.
Here is a reference chart I am comparing to for the battery capacity, take in mind I am running 24 volts.
after about 32 hours I was at 24 volts even but I wanted to see if I could make it to an even 48 hours. I pulled the plug on the battery for recharge at 42 hours.
Watchdog forward cam on initial boot
Watchdog right cam
Watchdog left
I forgot the Ip to the rear cam so I didn't grab a screen on that one.
You do amazing work.
-Sean
Ok tiny update , one raspberry pi keeps crashing after a few hours , only one is a problem so I bought a replacement that I will swap out. I also ordered 4 Pi zero W to see if I could use those instead to get the job done and gain some space as well as more battery life. I already received the permanent Power Sonic 12v 35ah batteries. I charged them overnight and just plugged them in. These are nearly twice as heavy as the old batteries! 10 pounds more each , 20 pounds more total.
Also I have 4 of the Pi W zero on the way and I will test them , if they do the job I will swap them to free up physical space and lower the overall current draw a couple amps. The pi zero is only 1ghz cpu, so it uses a bit less power.
https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi-issues/MagPi67.pdf