Monthly Archives: May 2014

Testers Wanted!

I’m nearing release on an exciting new version of growerbot, and I’d love to get samples into some plant hackers’ hands. Please email me if:

1. You are comfortable performing surface-mount soldering with *tiny* components.
2. You’re able to commit to sharing the results of your build within a month of me sending you a unit.
3. You have at least one existing plant on which you will use your new growerbot.

IMG_20140429_131316

The new units are going to be solar-powered, with wifi and eventually BLE connectivity. And, get ready to control your irrigation system too!

Thanks,
Luke

Wiring The LCD

By far the most error-prone (and poorly designed by me!) element of the growerbot v1 kit is the LCD. Here’s how the pin mapping works:

LCD1 -> D5
LCD2 -> D6
LCD3 -> D7
LCD4 -> D8
LCD5 -> D9
LCD6 -> D10
LCD7 -> GND
LCD8 -> 5V

Pin 1 is the farthest to the left if you are looking at the side of the LCD breakout such that the silkscreen is readable.

And, here’s the datasheet for the LCD used:http://www.lumex.com/specs/LCM-S01602DTR%20M.pdf .

Here are photos of the connections. Note that pins 15 and 16 on the lcd are not connected:

If you have any issues with yours, please let me know and I’ll send you a free replacement!