linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf

linux.conf.au 2016 Open Hardware Miniconf

The February 1-5, 2016 Geelong linux.conf.au edition whose Open Hardware / Arduino Miniconf centered on the ESPlant ESP8266 environmental-sensor board, public hardware repository, assembly context, and attendee MQTT reuse.

Geelong, Victoria · Australia · 2016

LCA2016 ESPlant badge image

LCA2016 ESPlant

linux.conf.au 2016's Open Hardware / Arduino Miniconf produced ESPlant, an ESP8266 WiFi environmental-sensor board with solar-friendly power, onboard sensors, optional external sensors, Arduino firmware, and public hardware files.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

LCA2016 ESPlant source-backed

hardware architecture

ESP8266 environmental sensor platform

The repository documents ESPlant as an ESP8266 WiFi kit for transmitting environmental data, with Arduino IDE, Espressif SDK, and esp-open-rtos programming paths.

Compatibility: LCA2016 ESPlant

LCA2016 ESPlant source-backed

post-event firmware path

MQTT and LED-strip reuse path

Repository sketches include production-test, serial-sensor, and MQTT sensor firmware; Marc Merlin's writeup adds a participant LED-strip blinky reuse trail.

Compatibility: LCA2016 ESPlant

LCA2016 ESPlant source-backed

power architecture

Solar-friendly lithium power stack

ESPlant included a 16340 lithium-cell holder, solar-input-friendly charger interface, and automatic switching between solar input, battery, and USB power.

Compatibility: LCA2016 ESPlant

LCA2016 ESPlant source-backed

sensor interface

Onboard and external sensor bus

The board exposed BME280 and ADXL345 I2C sensors, screw-terminal ADC inputs for soil moisture, DS18B20, PIR, WS2812B LED strip support, and a switchable VSens rail.

Compatibility: LCA2016 ESPlant

LCA2016 ESPlant source-backed

support microcontroller

STM32F042 bridge microcontroller

An onboard STM32F042 acted as USB/serial interface and I2C ADC bridge, with ESP_Kwai library support and STM firmware material in the repository.

Compatibility: LCA2016 ESPlant

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

image provenance upgrade · official repository license and exact raster source · licensed official upstream render applied

The ESPlant visual uses the official `Photos/ESPlant.front.png` repository front render under the repository LICENSE statement covering photos and other documentation as Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0.

The public badge page, image archive, and API now point at a real upstream ESPlant render with source URL, license, attribution, and processing notes preserved.

revision and repository-depth caveat · source-backed but historical · needs board-revision audit

The public repository preserves source files, firmware, photos, wiki links, and features, but this pass did not audit exact production-board revision, BOM state, manufacturing count, or whether every repository image maps to the distributed LCA2016 boards.

The dossier records verified features and source locations while avoiding unsupported production-run or image-provenance claims.

Resources

Sources