Category: Sérénité

  • Decoding Deception: The psychology of Combating Misinformation

    Decoding Deception: The psychology of Combating Misinformation

    Coming in 2024: Modern society is grappling with the pervasive threat of misinformation spread, threatening detrimental effects on democracy and public health. Can misinformation actually be controlled? The stakes are high and when the truth is negotiable, we all pay the price.

  • SignalK SCANS Switch HowTo

    SignalK SCANS Switch HowTo

    SignalK Node.js plugin for ReSTful control of switches connected to GPIO pins on the Raspberry Pi. The plugin allows you to make ReSTful calls using GET and PUT to read and write the GPIO pin state. The purpose of the plugin is to provide a convenient way of controlling lights and other equipment from OpenCPN…

  • 290 Watt DC-DC Power Supply

    290 Watt DC-DC Power Supply

    In this post I discuss building a multi-voltage DC power supply, built from commodity components, that accepts 10 to 24 volts in and will supply 5V 10A, 12V 5A, and 24V 3A for powering Raspberry Pi’s, routers, POE equipment, etc.

  • Parts Replication System: Power Consumption

    Parts Replication System: Power Consumption

    Now that the prototype Parts Replication System (PRS) has been up and running for a bit I’ve been getting settings and procedures dialed in and collecting some data on power usage. The power consumption data were collected using the setup shown in the first photo and will be used to determine the power budget for…

  • Arch Project (Part 1)

    Arch Project (Part 1)

    Adding a sturdy sailing arch to Sérénité will provide space to attach the radar dome, antennas, and davits for the dinghy. It will also be the lynchpin in the larger project of “greening” power generation aboard Sérénité. The arch will serve as the attachment point for two wind generators (port and starboard) and form the…

  • Sérénité’s Parts Replication System (PRS)

    Sérénité’s Parts Replication System (PRS)

    Part 2: The Printer In my last PRS post I broached the idea of having an onboard 3D Printer to fabricate parts. After much consideration I decided to go with an economical, mid-range printer for the test. I needed one capable enough to make a variety of parts, with a good size build volume to…

  • Sérénitié’s Parts Replication System (PRS)

    Sérénitié’s Parts Replication System (PRS)

    Part 1 – The Idea A few years ago, while I was perusing NASA tech briefs, I came across an article about how they were testing additive manufacturing to replicate parts in space, on demand. That is, instead of carrying a store of spares onboard a Mars mission to replace anything that might break or…

  • Plastic, Plastic Everywhere!

    Plastic, Plastic Everywhere!

    We must do more to keep plastics out of the environment. From floating “islands” of plastic garbage that collect in the gyres of our oceans (Read more) to bits of plastic bags I find in the sediment that comes up with my anchor, plastic is a huge problem. Aside from the fact that seabirds, turtles,…

  • Tornado Trouble

    Tornado Trouble

    “Whirl, whirl, twist and twirl…” So, I fell asleep last night to the relaxing sounds of rain and distant thunder. Around 01:00, I was awakened by the sudden, violent movement of the boat in her slip as she was brought up hard against her mooring lines and rolled about 15 degrees to port. There were…

  • Sunrise Jellyfish Encounter

    Sunrise Jellyfish Encounter

    Aliens from the Abyss 😉