Farming

I have built a number of devices to assist on our family farm in Northern Victoria.

Projects and posts

• Tractor watchdog

  

  We use an early 1960s Fordson Dexta tractor to run the irrigation pump. During a day when we are irrigating, the tractor can often be left running for extended periods of time between checks. If something were to go wrong such as a loss of oil or the engine overheating, then the system should be shut down as quickly as possible to minimise damage. I have designed and built an engine watchdog for this tractor that monitors various engine parameters and shuts it down if something is wrong. I snuck this project in as part of FIT3146 (Makerlab) in semester 2 2023.

• Farm sensor network

  

  On our family farm I have set up a network of remote sensors to assist with the monitoring of various pieces of equipment and to be on the lookout for any potential issues or ways to improve productivity. This sensor network uses the PJON protocol over LoRa radio to communicate. Back at the house, a base station receives messages from the sensors and passes them on to a Thingsboard dashboard where the data is displayed and managed. The base station can also transmit commands back to the sensors as required.

• Paddock plantation timelapse

  

  Back in July 2020, I set up an old phone and an assortment of other parts in a new tree plantation to watch the trees (and grass) grow. Over the following three years it has taken well over 196,000 photos.

• Solar MPPT Battery charger

  

  This project was to build a battery charger to stop my Grandparent’s tractor’s battery from going flat over the winter when it was not in use. The charger’s main claim to fame is that it is designed to charge batteries from solar panels that provide a lower voltage output than the battery requires. The charger currently provides power for a solar-powered electric fence.