Here is an attempt to list a few of the skill sections we might want as we document some of the skills that may be needed to build open source tools (this will be a very partial list I am sure - and I am sure that the categories will need to be worked out more carefully) Ideally we can match these up with on-line tutorials already out there and with local vocational programs etc.

Computer Skills

How to use this site How to use design software opensource programming documentation and use of repositories etc.

Hi, I just discovered this site and it Rocks! I've got several projects I'm working on right now and I wonder if anybody has feedback on these ideas.

1. A better (cheaper) Batt-Latch - basically just a timer that releases a pin, from there the Rube Goldberg possibilities are endless. http://www.novel.co.nz/webapps/site/76545/134711/shopping/shopping-view.html?pid=356247

2. Hypar roof for chicken tractors - advantage being perfect rainwater catchment in the low corners, disadvantage is difficulty covering it with a flat sheet, and vulnerability to high wind.

Completed

• consolidate the forums talking about the website into the new "Farm Hack Web Tools" Tool
• some work on the the "Farm Hack Web Tools" Wiki.
• fixed the links for forums on Tool pages.

@robrock GitHub has a great service called "Gist" which is for small code snippets. No Git knowledge required, just sign up for an account, paste your code snippets in, and then you get a handy embed code (see screenshot) that you can insert on Wiki pages. It saves all the changes you make to it in a git repository and also lets people for them. I forked your code into a gist of my own and pasted it onto the wiki. Wanna replace it with your own Gist?

Hi folks, I spent a couple of hours doing maintenance and fixing a nasty bug on the Tool profiles that was preventing tools from getting new images and in some case resulting in the Tool not having an image (Fido finally got its new logo!). I've posted this note to a new Tool, the "Online Farm Hack Tools" Tool. It's sandboxed for now. What do you think of making this Tool official?

Here are a couple of ideas as for goals related to this tool:

Some references used in this project are:

I've empirically determined that one has to use RTS/CTS flow control with the GPS module - it simply produces data faster than the Beaglebone can process it.

This just means that we'll be using more pins. And with the Beaglebone's multiplexed I/O system, it could mean that the processor spends more time handling the device than running the application software. However, this will need more testing to be sure.

With ever more detailed reading of the XBee specifications, I've determined that we can't get the address of the ear tag without using the API mode of the XBee. Further reading leads me to believe that each XBee has to be pre-configured to use either the API mode or the direct mode. The default (from the factory) is the direct mode, and it seems the API mode can only be enabled by using Digi's xctu utility to upload the correct firmware to the XBee.

This adds additional complexity to the project and requires a MS-Windows system to run the xctu utility.

It looks like the version of Angstrom that is on the prototype does not have a real-time scheduler. This means that things like cron jobs, page swapping, ... could interfere with proper detection of time-of-flight. So its beginning to look like we need to use statistical analysis instead of measurement of a few samples. This means longer times to deduce the distance of an animal (I'm hoping just a few seconds), and more battery drain (since we have to send a bunch of transmissions instead of one or two).

And, sigh, statistics isn't my strong point.

DB Co-op: appropriate mechanisms tailoring design for human power -- specifically wet material / weed shredder

Gowanus Canal Conservancy: in need of a weed shredder and compost sifter. As well as volunteers to propose projects that will trap and treat storm water - revitalize the gowanus canal community

Ellis of Build it Green!: Looking for people to propose projects for material waste re-use. Example was using wood from scaffolding to build raised beds in community gardens/urban farms/schools. BIG! acting as a resource