Control Box

The control box is a weatherproofed case that encloses the control electronics of a PANOPTES unit. The control box has cables entering it for internet access and mains power (i.e. electricity: AC 120V/60Hz in much of the Americas, AC 240V/50Hz in most of the rest of the world). The components of a PANOPTES unit require DC electricity at 12V or lower, so the mains power is delivered to a Power Supply Unit (PSU) that performs the conversion.

The current design consists of an AC-DC supply to convert mains to 12V, a 12 V battery to power the unit for a safe shut down in the event of a power outage, a power distribution board, an Arduino Uno, a Raspberry Pi, GrovePi+, temperature and humidity sensors, ethernet cable, and a cooling fan. The power distribution board distributes the 12V to the Raspberry Pi and the cooling fan inside the box, and also to the weather station, mount, and camera box outside the control box.

Control Box Parts List

The list below is incomplete and only meant to give an idea of the parts involved in building a PANOPTES unit. For a complete and detailed list with website links to recommended parts for online orders, check the following link.

Electronics

Electronic Parts

Labeled

Hardware

Hardware Parts

Labeled