Controlling physical objects with your Raspberry pi is a challenging and rewarding way to get started with coding. Check out my first attempt!
If you can get past the hilariously bad silicone application job and wire management, you’ll notice a 12v solenoid connected to a Raspberry Pi via GIPO pins. The most challenging part of this project, was powering both the Pi and the solenoid from the same source. I used a Buck converter to step 12 volts down to 5 volts after powering the solenoid. After hanlding the electronics behind my project, I went over to https://openweathermap.org/ and signed up for a free API key. It was easy enough sorting through open weathers documentation that I was able to add a regularly scheduled weather look up feature, which would serve as one of the parameters to determine when “ItGetsTheHoseAgain()” would run (My function programed to open the solenoid valve for 15 minutes). If you can’t tell where this is going yet, this hideous creation is my new irrigation control valve/computer for my newly built planter box.
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