Website fun.

Hmmmmmm...

ODOTS is intended as an accessible project (broken record time WHOOP WHOOP), which means that ideally the general public should be able to snoop around the design documents and software with little effort. I have spent today throwing together a Github Pages website to do exactly this:  https://ljones278.github.io/ODOTS-Release/. 

the website

Eventually it will sit on top of a repository that contains all the latest release versions of software and hardware designs and act as a guide on which files to use for which purpose. It can also be used as an update bulletin, which will be useful for showing off to potential users or just the orienteering community at large.

Eagle eyed readers will notice the new logo, this is actually just a re-work of the old one so that it can be used in-line rather than as a separate image. This is far more handy, I actually made it so that it would fit in my User Guide footers!

In line logo.

The other thing to happen today was that RS managed to turn around the order I put in yesterday in record time and I received all of the parts for the first Proof of Concept test build!

Real orders come in boxes.

 I was not really mentally prepared for the task of soldering up the board for the first time, so I will admit that the website may actually be a massive exercise in procrastination! The other step in delaying the inevitable was to sort all the components into component boxes. This is a pretty cool step as it means that I know when I am starting to run low on any single component, as well as being able to quickly spot which type of resistor is which. I am aware of the ESD risks, hence the AtMega chips are still in their bag, but for the rest of them it does not really pose a risk here.

So organised...

Finally, the last thing done yesterday was to pick up the proof of concept power supplies, which are the power banks isible in the photo above. These are pretty nifty, containing a LiIon cell, a charging point and an inbuilt voltage regulator, and all for a price that I could not buy the battery for. (What do you mean, "cut corners". I am sure the batteries and charges are made to the normal high quality standards of their source shop).((Poundland)).