wesleyfurr

That is an interesting idea - do you recall what solvent they used?

I know someone who took plexiglass and used a spray paint window frosting to re-create a groundglass plate for testing focus on film cameras. Perhaps that would work here and create a smoother surface than the sandpaper for even lighting? As I recall, he would spray on a light layer, give it a moment to dry, then hit it another time or two like that in order for it to get a nice smooth coating.

"For wiring between the main components... be sure to use a large wire (I'm using 4-gauge) that can easily handle whatever amperage is going through it. For 12V wiring, be sure to use a wire that can handle the amperage and distance of the lines. I'm using 10-gauge, which may be a bit overkill, but it is better to be safe than sorry.""Easily handle whatever amperage" and "10-gauge, which may be a bit overkill" is leaving out something very important. A given gauge of wire can handle a certain amount of current up to a certain length. The "better safe than sorry" is covered by using a properly sized fuse based on that given gauge of wire. For example, 14 gauge wire is typically good for 15 amps, 12 gauge for 20 amps, etc. I have seen varying sour…

"For wiring between the main components... be sure to use a large wire (I'm using 4-gauge) that can easily handle whatever amperage is going through it. For 12V wiring, be sure to use a wire that can handle the amperage and distance of the lines. I'm using 10-gauge, which may be a bit overkill, but it is better to be safe than sorry.""Easily handle whatever amperage" and "10-gauge, which may be a bit overkill" is leaving out something very important. A given gauge of wire can handle a certain amount of current up to a certain length. The "better safe than sorry" is covered by using a properly sized fuse based on that given gauge of wire. For example, 14 gauge wire is typically good for 15 amps, 12 gauge for 20 amps, etc. I have seen varying sources only indicating higher amperage for similar sizes, so be careful what you go by.The purpose of a fuse or circuit breaker is to prevent the wire from carrying too much current and overheating and catching fire. Not sure there's any way for it to get too much current, but the 50 amp circuit breaker in the circuit coming from the solar panels is too high to protect that size of wire, unless you're running something much larger than I bet you are. 4 gauge will handle a good bit of current, but you will always want to be sure it is enough for the the load it will be carrying and the fuse it is paired with.Another thing to consider is voltage drop over a length of cable. Not a big deal for most things, but I oversized my wire from the panels to the charge controller to prevent loss - 12 gauge wire for a 50w panel.Thanks for sharing your project with us!

The programming that I have done on the ESP was using the Arduino IDE, and as I recall, it has a good bit more program space than the normal Atmega chips, so it should be possible to do some fancy stuff via wifi and a web browser, though I have not worked with it.Does the DS1307/3231 have DST capabilities built in? It keeps the full date, so I would think even if it doesn't, you could potentially code the logic to adjust for the change.Not sure what the power consumption is...not a lot, though likely more than the plain Arduino and DS clock chip. It also runs on 3.3v, which is a touch more challenging than a 5v Arduino...though a regulator should take care of it.

Couple of thoughts...first, from what I read, the DS1307 is pretty inaccurate, probably better to use a DS3231, which I believe is interchangeable and would not require code changes. Second, how about using an ESP8266 ESP-01...quite cheap, and just let it do a time sync occasionally, then the time is always accurate. Might have to go back to just red and green without the yellow, but that should be sufficient...you could even just go to a single green LED, that's how the clock we had for our kids a few years back worked. Take a look at "OK to Wake" alarm clock and light. Same concept, but with a clock display and in a pre-made format...which of course isn't as cool or fun! With the ESP-01, you could also drive an I2C ht16k33 and have a plethora of LED's. I have a prototype…

Couple of thoughts...first, from what I read, the DS1307 is pretty inaccurate, probably better to use a DS3231, which I believe is interchangeable and would not require code changes. Second, how about using an ESP8266 ESP-01...quite cheap, and just let it do a time sync occasionally, then the time is always accurate. Might have to go back to just red and green without the yellow, but that should be sufficient...you could even just go to a single green LED, that's how the clock we had for our kids a few years back worked. Take a look at "OK to Wake" alarm clock and light. Same concept, but with a clock display and in a pre-made format...which of course isn't as cool or fun! With the ESP-01, you could also drive an I2C ht16k33 and have a plethora of LED's. I have a prototype binary clock with just such a setup...need to finish that project some day!

I don't see anything in the photos or notes about venting for the area where the battery is located. When a standard wet cell battery charges, it gives off hydrogen gas when charging, which could be explosive if it builds up and finds a spark...please consider adding some venting to prevent something bad from happening...I also see comments about weight...the tires should have a weight rating printed on them at maximum inflation. Should be pretty easy to weigh the trailer and find out for sure.

Can you provide some additional details as to how you did the low battery signal trigger? I've got a PowerBoost 500 I've been trying to get to communicate with a Pi digital camera without much success. Sounds like your transistor is the trick...but I'm not sure exactly what to use or how...