End of Week One

At college today. Wrote a project spec and some other documentation.

Spent session two re-reading "Serial Port Complete" - Jan Axelson

This evening I read the MODSERIAL code and other serial libraries on http://mbed.org/

Found sources on ebay for MAX232 TTL/RS232 converters in case I need them, including RS232<>USB - although looking at the Atlas-Scientific page, they output 0-5v rather than +- 12v so I won't need a convertor

Did a cursory search for funding opportunities for Urban Sustainable Development projects - which is what this project to be the first step towards a full blown urban renewal project through hydroponic growing, using renewable energy sources to run HIDs when the sun don't shine, preferably a water mill.

Read deeper into Reverse Osmosis water purification techniques. Although not strictly part of the specification, RO water is preferred to raw tap water and also facilitates the use of rain / river / waste domestic water in a hydroponic system. Also by passing spent water through an RO unit it can be released safely into the environment which might be more convenient than re-using it as an input. Especially good for funding applications: a farm that produces drinking water as well as food from sea / river water or at least one that outputs waste water that is cleaner than it arrived. The RO most suitable to the starter operation is the M500P-UV which is £259 and can produce 189 litres per day, and consumable filters per year of £29.95 + £54.95 + £24.95 = £109.85

Subsequently read on and discovered that if you source your RO from the tap, lots of water >50% is not filtered at all and discharged to wherever your "waste" pipe goes, along with any precipitate. So it's better for filtering a source such as a stream or sea water but not already potable water.