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 and also provides a battery backup.

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 attached to an Arduino Uno, a Raspberry Pi, ethernet cable, a cooling fan, and optional temperature and humidity sensors.

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

The list below may be incomplete and is 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

Electronics - Introduction

Electronics - Parts

Electronics - Labeled

Hardware

Hardware - Introduction

Hardware - Parts

Hardware - Labeled