Week of 1/27-1/31

This week was steady work on the Hunter's Journal project. With the code finished, I moved to updating the Device's 3D model to fit all the electronics. That didn't take long, as I really needed to do is resize it and make mounts for the PCB, LEDS, and OLEDS, which is very easy. I cut out the PCB and attempted to solder it. I say "attempted" because while I was soldering; the solder itself made a bridge that when I tried to fix it, it just got worse. Also some of the pads on the PCB came off, but that's because I had the soldering iron too hot. Having to remake the PCB gave me some time to think about how I'm going to power the device once it's in the Journal. A cord would just make the Journal unable to move anywhere, it would have to stay near an outlet. The batteries we have in the shop are way too big and would look so out of place with the rest of the design. I briefly considered using the little coin batteries we have, but I learned that they didn't give enough power to the electronics(They need 5V and the coins only give 3V). After searching for sometime, I found a battery pack by Adafruit that may be viable.

(The Adafruit Battery Holder I found that could work)

The battery pack/holder provides more than enough power(6V because of 4 AA batteries) and I could make it fit with the rest of the Journal design.

I also tried to change from Metro Mini I've been using on my breadboard to a Breadboard Arduino. I'm not opening up the device once I put it all together so I incase I do another coding project, I don't have to use a different Metro Mini. It's been some time since I made a Breadboard Arduino and it has shown; after I wired everything and tried to upload the code I've written, it just didn't upload. like, at all. I waited like 5 minutes for it to upload and nothing happened. So, that's something on my plate to figure out.

(The backup for the leather found on Amazon)

I also did some research for the Journal part of the Hunter's Journal. Mostly the aesthetic parts on the Journal can easily be made out of paper or a similar material. The outside of the Journal is a problem because It's leather. My Abuela has some old leather bound books that, I think, she wouldn't mind if I take, but I'm going to ask just to be safe. But, I did find a cheap backup if my grandmother is unwilling to part with the old books. I plan on to least 3D printing the Device base and ordering the battery pack/holder.

(The plan for the wires in the Device base)