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New enclosure ready for testing

A project log for Vending Machine for Birds

Simple, inexpensive bird feeder that dispenses peanuts in exchange for dropping stuff in a hole. A vending machine for clever birds.

stephen-chaseyStephen Chasey 03/25/2024 at 15:310 Comments

To avoid problems associated with feeding pigeons in my neighborhood I revised the design to accomodate peanuts in the shell, which corvids love. After some trial and error (and some poor designs) I finally have my test candidate assembled. It's not as small or pretty as I want it to be, but I think it will work. This is my 7th enclosure design and the 5th one based on 110mm PVC. I also made a base out of a discarded wooden pallet so I can move it around easier.

It does have enough room for batteries and an opening below the platform to get a mains line or solar charging cable in. The bottom comes off by loosening a hose clamp to replace batteries. The electronics are accessible by removing the top (everything above the camera arm). 

A wide-angle camera is mounted on a rotatable mount so you can position it as you like. The deposit hole and dispense chute are on either side of the platform to reduce the chance that a bird drops food into the deposit hole and the dispense chute is 50mm instead of 32mm to accomodate the larger unshelled peanuts.

Now to put the electronics inside and do some more tests before setting it outside. It should be out back by this weekend.

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