Pull Fiberglass thingys off the PCB
When the PCBs get made at the factory, they have to add little “rails” to hold the boards in place while they install everything with robots! You can just pull these off!
Obtain the Mystical “Switch Flipper”
It had been foretold for ages that one day a PCB would be designed with a secret extra tool built in allowing those with even the stubbiest of fingers to flip switches. The time is here! On the bottom of your PCB, attached to those Fiberglass thingys is a tiny tool that can help you flip tiny switches when needed!
Connect Mothbeams to Mainboard
The Mothbeams are made to pop right onto the mainboard of the Mothbox! There’s some things you can adjust first though!
(Optional) Configure Mothbeams
Power
Default Power
We usually just leave all the switches in the default “OFF” position. This will give a mothbox about 18 hours of runtime when using 1 Visible and 1 UV Mothbeam and taking a photo every minute with a recalibration every 10 mins.
The mothbeams allow you to set how powerful they are with little switches. The more switches you turn on, the brighter they will be, but they will also run through your battery faster!
Note: there is a discrepancy in wiring in the Mothbeams **labeled v5.0.1 ** and the **current going out in them is a bit different ** than what is printed on the boards
| Configuration | 5.0.3 (Vis) (mA / Watts@12V) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 17 mA / 0.20 W |
| 1 | 165 mA / 1.98 W |
| 1 and 2 | 303 mA / 3.64 W |
| 1, 2 and 3 | 463 mA / 5.56 W |
| 3 and 4 | 379 mA / 4.55 W |
| 1, 3 and 4 | 478 mA / 5.74 W |
| All 4 | 570 mA / 6.84 W |
Remove the protective sticker over the switches.
Switch your desired switches (I usually use a tool or bit of wire to flip the tiny switches). Note that sometimes (like in the image below) the factory installs the switch bank upside down. That’s not really a problem, just refer to the markings printed on the board (70ma or 150ma)
Here’s my unscientific breakdown of the switch modes
- 0 Switches: Minimal Power - Pretty bright!
- 1 Switch: Extra Bright
- 2 Switches: Very Bright
- 3 Switches: EXTRA BRIGHT
- 4 SWITCHES: VERY VERY VERY BRIGHT AND HOT (I don’t ever use this)
I usually switch just the first switch (+70mA), and this is QUITE BRIGHT. You probably want to switch at least the first 70mA switch on, but I wouldn’t reccomend 3+ switches unless you really really need it to be exceptionally bright! (Or power and heat are not a problem for your setup).
UV and Visible
You can also decide which mothbeams to connect. The board can support up to 3. These can all be UV, all Visible, or a mixture. You can control each of the 3 Attractors individually too, so this can be used for experiments between different wavelengths of light! ** More mothbeams does mean it will use more power!**
Connect Mothbeams
Now that your Mothbeam is setup, you can just pop them on! Connect it to the top layer of the right angle pins sticking out (the bottom pins are just for spacing and aren’t connected to anything).
Hold in place with Zip Tie
In this latest version, you can use a single zip tie, threaded through 2 holes to hole each Mothbeam secured in place.
Trim the tail of the zip tie when you are done!
You can connect up to 3 Mothbeams to your board on the front:
but we generally just have 2 (one UV one Visible) in our standard arrangement
Also you can attach a 4th attractor to this “External Attractor” connector in any kind of arrangement you want:
Connect Camera to Mainboard
Prepare Camera
The Arducam comes in a little box with one WHITE cable and one BROWN cable.
The white cable is, unfortunately, usually the one attached, and it is for older computers. We will swap it for the brown one!
First, you can take the little plastic protector off the front of the camera:
Next, use the ends of a small screwdriver or tweezers to slide the camera cable lock. You just need to budge it a little bit. The white cable should slide free easily now!
Now you will connect the brown cable. Make sure the black side of the end is facing the back of the camera like this:
When connecting the brown cable make sure that A) The black side is facing the back of the camera as shown B) The WIDE side of the cable is connected to the camera
Slide the cable in firmly, and then use your tool to snugly lock down the camera connector lock. Sometimes you need to press one side and then the other.
Give the cable a light tug to make sure it is securely connected.
Make sure to tuck the brown cable through the hole in the red board (as shown in the photos below).
Camera to Board
With its brown cable attached, position the camera on the front of the board so the cable lines up with the slot for it.
Note how the holes line up:
Position the glare blocker over the camera and again make sure all the holes line up. Note the orientation of the glare blocker. In the latest 3D print, there are arrows on each side that point UP and a horizontal bar indicating the top side:
Now you will add some thin cable ties to two holes in the glare blocker.
The red thing on the camera has really small holes, so you want to use really skinny zip ties for this!
Make them go through the mainboard, out the back, and back to the front of the mainboard.
Now get two more cable ties and secure the camera module down.
Tighten it up, and trim the dangly bits.
Connect the Pi
The Pi is a little computer that controls all the functions of the mothbox!
Real Time Clock Battery (RTC)
The pi needs a tiny battery of its own to keep track of the passage of time even when it is fully off! Plug the battery cable into the tiny port labeled “bat” on the Pi. Notice that if the HDMI port is facing up, the RED wire on the battery is on the right side!
The batteries usually come with a little piece of double sided tape. Use that to stick it to the side of the ethernet port on the pi.
Connect Camera Cable
Lift the connect flap on CAM port 0 on the Pi
I use a fingernail for this.
The black side of the brown camera cable needs to face the side of the PI that the SD card is in.
Slide the cable in, and firmly press down the camera cable closer to make a snug connection.
You might want to give a VERY GENTLE tug on the cable to make sure it’s fully connected.
Connect Pi to Mainboard
We made our own fun connection to hold the raspberry pi. It’s a bit novel, but it pops in and holds it securely.
Line up your Pi pins with the socket like this:
You will need to tilt the Pi at a slight angle as you first press it in. Then it will straighten out and slide right into its slot.
Congratulate Yourself! You got most of your Mothbox’s electronics connected!