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--- projects:blinker:work_logs:10_new_design [2023/04/12 08:03] – tjhowse
+++ projects:blinker:work_logs:10_new_design [2023/04/12 11:40] (current) – tjhowse
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 Some caches have puzzle components where riddles must be solved or clues must be found to complete a part of the coordinate. For example one of my caches is not found at the posted coordinates, the location is offset by a few hundred meters in a random direction. In the fiction of the puzzle our GPS was faulty. It was precise, but not accurate; it could reliably reproduce coordinates for a given physical location, but those coordinates didn't align with anyone else's. To make the puzzle soluable we provided calibration coordinates for a reference point you could find with your eyes. Once the player had found the calibration object (a specfic flagpole outside a stadium), they could calculate the offset for our 'faulty' GPS and work out the actual location of the cache.
-I want to use a blinker as a part of a geocache. The coordinates posted on the website would be the location of the blinker, hanging high in a tree. A cryptic hint would instruct the finder to look upwards at dusk to see the blinking LED. The message could be a relative offset, like 'TWO HUNDRED METERS EAST' or absolute coordinates. This information would lead the player to the actual location of the cache. The main challenges of this idea are ensuring the blinker gets enough sunlight to charge, and securing it high in the tree without harming the tree.
+I want to use a blinker as a part of a geocache. The coordinates posted on the website would be the location of the blinker, hanging high in a tree. A cryptic hint would instruct the finder to look upwards at dusk to see the blinking LED. The morse coded message could be a relative offset, like 'TWO HUNDRED METERS EAST' or absolute coordinates. This information would lead the player to the actual location of the cache. The main challenges of this idea are ensuring the blinker gets enough sunlight to charge, and securing it high in the tree without harming the tree.
 One way to solve the sunlight problem would be to equip the blinker with two sets of solar cells. Conecting two parallel arrays of four series cells, sandwiching the electronics between them, or in a triagular arrangement with the two arrays steepled to catch the most sun. There will be limited ability to control the rotation of the blinker around the Z (up/down) axis once the blinker is hanging in the tree. However the solar cells generate decent voltage with indirect sunlight, so exact alignment isn't super important.