http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ Botanicalls Forums: Recent Posts en-US Wed, 08 Sep 2010 06:36:44 +0000 bbpress 1.0-alpha-2 q http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/search.php http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=36#post-110 Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:39:13 +0000 jaredforshey 110@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Twitter pushed off closing down basic auth, but the newer, later deadline is almost here again. August 16 2010 is when the transition happens. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=36#post-109 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:39:48 +0000 jruys 109@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Update: It's working! I need to clean up the code a bit and document. </p> <p>If you're desperate to test let me know and I'll send you the beta code offline. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=36#post-108 Fri, 25 Jun 2010 07:52:34 +0000 jruys 108@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Can't get it to work yet. It turns out you have to call the API by its DNS name, not plain IP address like the current leaf code does. I've contacted the API provider to see if we can fix it.</p> <p>Once I got this working I'll post the new Arduino sketch to the forum. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=36#post-107 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:05:18 +0000 jaredforshey 107@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Slight update on the above: the comment I made before about having to add the /1/ isn't quite correct: the twitter API calls have always had that /1/ at the beginning. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=36#post-106 Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:33:13 +0000 jaredforshey 106@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Sorry if this has been addressed already!</p> <p>Twitter is closing basic authentication (used by Botanicalls and basically all Arduino twittering apps) June 30th. Basic Auth means that you log in to twitter by sending it a base-64 encoded has of "Username:Password" in the http header when attempting to post.</p> <p>They are requiring everyone to use the much more secure but complicated Open Authentication (OAuth) scheme to use the API. This is a problem because I can't find any oauth examples for Arduino and it's too complicated for me to figure out myself.</p> <p>Luckily, there's a site called SuperTweet.net that can do the heavy lifting. You go to SuperTweet, use OAuth to login to twitter, then sign up with Supertweet using a new password. Now you can use basic auth to post to supertweet which in turn uses your stored oauth token to post to your twitter account.</p> <p>All you have to do in the source code is change all references to twitter.com to api.supertweet.net and change the twitter IP to 66.180.175.246 (supertweet's IP). Also, replace the password part of "Username:Password" with your new supertweet password.</p> <p>Supertweet makes almost all the API calls available that Twitter has, but with a slight URL change. Most API called now have a /1/ in front. Instead of /statuses/update.xml, the path for supertweet is /1/statuses/update.xml.</p> <p>A guy called Neocat over on the Arduino Playground (google it) has a similar service hosted on google's appspot.com, but in practice we found that it is less straightforward and can be a bit laggy in returning response information. To be fair, we might have been calling it incorrectly!! </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=35#post-105 Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:43:58 +0000 Kate 105@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>test </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=34#post-104 Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:45:40 +0000 Clemens 104@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Hi, I'd just want to say thanks you! </p> <p>- To Rob for the great support and<br /> - Kati for the amazing track at Ignite (btw the better thing is PechaKucha, yeah!) and<br /> - the whole Botanicalls team for this great idea and the nice peace of hard- and software, so a nice idea to have a very technical circuit board designed as leaf! </p> <p>I considered to buy a kit some month ago. Because my birthday and Christmas came closer I thought about a fitting present (for me :-). But it's difficult to explain people why it's really great to have a twittering plant -- what is Twitter? Why do plants use it? Isn't it easier to put your finger in the soil to measure humidity or to have a look at the foliage color? </p> <p>So I got nice but not thrilling gifts and went to think geek to buy a Botanicalls kit myself. Ok it was not cheap - 99$ for the kit, 25$ for shipping and again about 30$ tax in Germany! But it was worth! </p> <p>I was a bit nervous about the soldering stuff but it works if you have really thin solder and drank not too much coffee! It's really satisfying to have the gizmo complete, working and no peace is broken while manufacturing! </p> <p>Now I have a nice internet enabled Orange Tree and a lot of fun with the gadget:<br /> <a href="http://twitter.com/botanicalls0161" rel="nofollow">http://twitter.com/botanicalls0161</a></p> <p>It's really a "multiplicator" have talked with a lot of people about Botanicalls and the most people (that one who have understood the story :-) love it! </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=33#post-103 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:15:34 +0000 rob 103@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Your soil may be very conductive. If this is the case, adjust the values in the code to compensate for the extra conductivity. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=32#post-102 Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:14:45 +0000 rob 102@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Sounds like the power supply is protecting itself from an electrical short. With the board unplugged, use a multimeter to check continuity between power and ground. You should NOT have continuity between these two, if you do then there's a short. Also check to make sure you soldered in the regulator the correct way. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=33#post-101 Sat, 30 Jan 2010 13:07:13 +0000 andymaxwell 101@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Hi there,</p> <p>I built a kit, stuck it in a large-ish plant, and even though it's been in the pot for a week without water, the moisture never drops below the high 80% range. The soil feels dry. Not bone dry, but absolutely not what I'd call 80% wet.</p> <p>So, of course, it never tweets. Only when I press the button.</p> <p>Is this normal? Did I do something wrong in assembly? Do I need to reset the values in the code to have it tweet when it gets to 85%? Any other ideas?</p> <p>Andy- </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=32#post-100 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 00:57:40 +0000 davetech 100@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I have the same problem. Although I have not soldered in a few years, it used to be my full time job so I am pretty sure that I followed directions and soldered everything clean. Any tips?? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=32#post-99 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 22:22:35 +0000 kingma3 99@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>no lights, the power supply red light blinks and that it. When I disconnect from the unit the power supply red light is steady on.</p> <p>What did I do wrong? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=30#post-98 Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:39:53 +0000 rob 98@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>Botanicalls obtains an IP address via DHCP. The XPort can also be <a href="http://www.ladyada.net/make/eshield/configure.html">manually configured</a> if desired. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=31#post-97 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:20:34 +0000 marcs_green_e-thumb 97@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>... in addition - <a href="http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?pmode=new_products" rel="nofollow">http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/categories.php?pmode=new_products</a> </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=31#post-96 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 13:12:27 +0000 marcs_green_e-thumb 96@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>i love the idea and approach of "botanicalls" - why not <a href="http://fritzing.org/projects" rel="nofollow">http://fritzing.org/projects</a> it? you might get some input on the waterproof/wireless issues and will surely receive positive feedbacks (well - in addition to the millions of already existing that is :) )<br /> thanks for sharing ! </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=30#post-95 Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:14:02 +0000 ohrobot 95@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>About the network connection</p> <p>1. How does the botanicalls obtain an IP adress, do you have to enter one manuelly or does it obtain one by DHCP</p> <p>2. Is there actually any way to do a manuell configuration for the network connection?</p> <p>3. Between me and the internet there's is a proxy server. Can botanicall deal with this? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=29#post-94 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 08:06:58 +0000 jruys 94@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I too was suffering from the dreaded 14 blinks but solved it. Documenting for the forum. </p> <p>After some debugging I found the plant keeps the Ethernet down and only activates it when it wants to Tweet. </p> <p>This is a good power saving model, but with a (Cisco) ethernet switch the issue is that a port blocks Ethernet traffic for about 10-30 seconds when a device comes online to find out if it is a normal endpoint or a connection to another switch potentially creating a loop. This is normal ethernet switch spanning tree behaviour.</p> <p>Problem is that by the time the ethernet port went into forwarding mode and the plant could actually get a DHCP lease, it had given up and was giving me 14 blinks.</p> <p>On a Cisco switch you can solve this by adding a command like</p> <p> interface FastEthernet0/1<br /> switchport mode access<br /> spanning-tree portfast</p> <p>which will disable spanning tree and make the plant happy again. </p> <p>I would recommend to review the plant's DHCP behaviour though: when the initial lease request fails, wait 30-60 seconds and try again. </p> <p>I agree it's unlikely a consumer is using an enterprise ethernet switch, but on the other hand no normal consumer has a twittering plant :-)</p> <p>Anyhoo - problem solved for me. Off to find a plant to monitor. My wife just decided to move the one I had planned to use as it was nice and close to an Ethernet outlet. Sigh. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=28#post-93 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:01:47 +0000 azizi 93@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>somebody help me..i need adc complte circuit diagram<br /> a </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-92 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 15:34:02 +0000 rob 92@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>The only update to the current kits is the power supplies. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=27#post-91 Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:23:15 +0000 Anna_B 91@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I dealt with the metal probes today. I don't what kind of steel they are, but they are most definitely steel. I broke one trying to bend it in two places so that I could fit it into a project, and thus had to find something to replace it. After a few hours of testing, I have learned that A) length doesn't matter it seems as far as different lengths, longer, and up to three inches shorter, and B) I replaced the probes with galvanized steel rods. They were "ties" for chain-link fencing, available at Home Depot and Lowes. They are about one gauge larger than the rods included with the kit, so you'll have to file them down to fit.</p> <p>I hope this helps somewhat. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-90 Thu, 22 Oct 2009 01:43:14 +0000 plantophile 90@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>So is there a new version of the kit? Or was this post used just to close an old topic?<br /> Are there any plans for a new version/design? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=6#post-89 Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:47:46 +0000 rob 89@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>This note is now obsolete. New versions of the Botanicalls kit come with a switching power supply that can be used on both 110 and 220 V AC mains power. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=27#post-88 Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:35:35 +0000 plantophile 88@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I was looking at mouser.com for ordering the atmega168 and noticed that there are several ICs that are very similar. Can someone provide some details as to which IC is the correct one?</p> <p>Also, what are the details of the metal probes? Are they galvanized? Does probe length change the reading values? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=25#post-84 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 19:34:51 +0000 rob 84@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>What cable are you using. Did you load the FTDI drivers if you are using the FTDI cable? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=25#post-83 Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:13:54 +0000 Neto 83@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I have everything working but still unable to connect to arduino on my Leopard MBP.</p> <p>I set the board to Arduino NG or older w/ATMega168</p> <p>But I just got 4 serial port options and all of them are Bluetooth related.</p> <p>Any tips? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=24#post-82 Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:28:25 +0000 jpatapoff 82@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>When I was trying to launch Arduino 16 on my MacBook I received an error:</p> <p>Cannot launch Java application<br /> Uncaught exception in main method:<br /> java.lang. Unsatisfied LinkError:/Applications/<br /> arduino-0016/Arduino 16.app/Contents/Resources/<br /> java/librxtxSerial.jnilib: no suitable image found.<br /> Did find: /Applications/arduino-0016/Arduino<br /> 16.app/Contents/Resources/Java/librxtxSerail.jnilib:<br /> No matching architecture in universalwrapper.</p> <p>After searching around, I found out all that needs to be done is control+click Arduino16.app and select "Get Info". Enable "Open in 32 Bit Mode" and everything should be good to go. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=23#post-80 Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:09:34 +0000 TimH 80@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>When this already cool product is completely developed with: solar power, wireless, &#38; waterproof housing; like it's expensive cousin eKo (camalienetworks.com) let me know immediately.</p> <p>We'll order at least 5 of them (one for each zone). Our HOA in parched California needs to conserve water, and what better way to assure our weather-based water controller is working than a small network of sensors for the plants.</p> <p>BTW, we'd also like a browser interface like <a href="http://www.newportus.com/i/zSeries.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.newportus.com/i/zSeries.htm</a> (in case you're asking). </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=18#post-79 Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:13:39 +0000 jpatapoff 79@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I found the FTDI cable at adafruit.com. Here is the direct link:<br /> <a href="http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&#38;products_id=70&#38;sessid=473b536364170b38ac677443217ab920" rel="nofollow">http://www.adafruit.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&#38;products_id=70&#38;sessid=473b536364170b38ac677443217ab920</a><br /> It is the "USB TTL-232" cable, which Rob has confirmed as being compatible. Can't wait to get started! </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=15#post-78 Sun, 17 May 2009 18:50:29 +0000 fraying 78@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>So are there directions out there anywhere that show how to plug in a small wifi router to the ethernet jack on the botanicall? My plant is near a power plug, but there's no ethernet in my house - it's all wifi. Any ideas? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=22#post-77 Sun, 17 May 2009 12:33:22 +0000 slachem 77@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>solved my own problem, turned internet connection sharing on. that did it. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=22#post-76 Sun, 17 May 2009 11:40:44 +0000 slachem 76@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>i just put together the kit and am having a 14 blink problem. i notice on network connections that while the yellow light is on the "acquiring network address" notation stays on until timeout occurs. what checklist of items should i check to see why a network address is not being acquired? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=22#post-75 Sat, 16 May 2009 20:00:32 +0000 dolapo 75@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I'll give it a shot. Thanks Rob. BTW, I don't see any markings on the picture you linked. Did you upload the correct image? </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=22#post-74 Sat, 16 May 2009 16:50:38 +0000 rob 74@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>The last time we heard about something like this is was a bad solder. Try reheating anything that looks iffy, making sure the solder flows into a nice "volcano" shape. I've marked some joins that look iffy to me <a href="/downloads/dolapo_forums_botanicalls-back.jpg">in your picture here</a>. Try fixing those by heating the join until the solder melts nicely, then adding a little bit more so that the flux from the new solder flows the old. </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=22#post-73 Sat, 16 May 2009 03:42:57 +0000 dolapo 73@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>I just finished putting my botanicalls kit together and now I'm getting the "unknown error" 14 blinks followed by a couple of quick flashes of the green LED on test.<br /> This is with all the following connection types<br /> 1. directly to the cable modem<br /> 2. through my router<br /> 3. through my macbook with internet sharing on.<br /> the yellow led on the xport does blink during the test, but i'm not really sure what that indicates. </p> <p>I've uploaded some pictures here:<br /> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#" rel="nofollow">http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#</a><br /> front: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#5336257975602667874" rel="nofollow">http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#5336257975602667874</a><br /> back: <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#5336257969738934530" rel="nofollow">http://picasaweb.google.com/dolapo/Botanicalls#5336257969738934530</a></p> <p>I haven't soldered in a while so my soldering got noticeably better while putting this together, but I don't see any obvious shorts or other screw ups. Any tips would be helpful, I can't wait to have this thing working :) </p> http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/topic.php?id=21#post-72 Thu, 14 May 2009 20:38:49 +0000 rob 72@http://www.botanicalls.com/forums/ <p>The message you're getting indicates that the device is not getting a proper IP address. Have you set up Internet sharing on your PC? </p>