Progress seems to have stalled, or at least we are not aware of any in the past week or so. I thought we were moving at the start of the month, but I have not heard much lately. I emailed the architect again today to ask, but with the long weekend coming up…
In the mean time, I have started purchasing components for my temperature sensor array. This will help me monitor temperatures under the home, as well as some of the earth tube and internal temperatures. This project will require me wiring up the semiconductor chips to some circuit boards, writing code, etc. I bought, and already mostly read, an ExtremeTech book on the subject. I also purchased some circuit boards and a USB connection from www.hobby-boards.com.
DS18S20 from Maxim Dallas Semiconductor… I will build an array with these, wire them into a circuit board, connect that to my computer and write code to record and display the temperatures under and around my home…
I separately ordered some DS18S20 one wire temperature sensors directly from the manufacturer, Maxim -Dallas Semiconductor, because Hobby-Boards wouldn’t meet their price. Maxim is actually being somewhat strange about it and require that I send in a signed statement saying that I don’t plan to use them in military applications or resell them… I need to get this all figured out ahead of time so I can test/debug the array before it gets buried. The soil temperature experiment used more expensive plug and play sensors, but these ones cost just a few percent of the price, allowing me to afford many more of them.
We have also got going on the bank paperwork. Part of the construction loan process is something called the “Sworn Statement”. It is a big long document where I will list the names and estimates from all my contractors, etc. The second page asks for information about the type of construction, down to detail such as the type and spacing of the floor joists or if the gutters will be aluminum or vinyl. It even asks about “sizes, features, brand, etc.” for the microwave. This is quite a paperwork hurdle, but I can understand why the bank would want to be sure we have our ducks in a row. Trying to put a positive spin on it, I guess this paperwork gives us a framework to organize our quotes over the next 6 weeks or so.
No time for eye candy today…