Solar Powered Soil Moisture Sensor
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update
I've let it be outdoor in the sun during 2-3 days now and it works well.
yesterday I took one of them and placed it in the garage, totally black whole day not even a lamp.
red line is when I moved it to the garage.
it is sending every 10 second. After ~20 hours the battery was to low to be able to run Pro Mini
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Do not let it run out of battery. I had to disconnect the power from solar panel to step-up and charge it(sun)for a few hours to get it to work again, or you could use some kind of connectors to disconnect. I was "smart" and solder it directly to step-up.
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Do not let it run out of battery. I had to disconnect the power from solar panel to step-up and charge it(sun)for a few hours to get it to work again, or you could use some kind of connectors to disconnect. I was "smart" and solder it directly to step-up.
I like this design. Do you think it will survive the Swedish winter days with their limited sun hours?
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I like this design. Do you think it will survive the Swedish winter days with their limited sun hours?
@martinhjelmare said:
I like this design. Do you think it will survive the Swedish winter days with their limited sun hours?
Yes, I think so. Today I send data every 10 seconds so if I send it once an hour it should not be a problem during winter. It will test to simulate rain and see if it is sealed enough.
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What kind of soil moisture sensor is it?
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I love this concept. This kind of setup could be used for outdoor temp, light, humidity, and other things and not having to worry about power with it being solar. It also keeps the arduino shielded from weather and such also which is nice. I may use this design for some of my new sensors.
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I love this concept. This kind of setup could be used for outdoor temp, light, humidity, and other things and not having to worry about power with it being solar. It also keeps the arduino shielded from weather and such also which is nice. I may use this design for some of my new sensors.
@dbemowsk
If you have the solar in the sun and the sensors in the shadow and protected from rain that will work.
My idea is to use a solar for all my outdoor sensors but have a bigger solar panel and a bigger(more mah) that feeds my nodes, rain, temp, hum, pressure, light, UV and in future lightning. -
It is just a simple pitchfork, like this http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pcs-Soil-Hygrometer-Detection-Module-Soil-Moisture-Sensor-Probes/2051713873.html
@mfalkvidd
Thanks for posting that link! Even though I don't believe in these types of sensors, I used your link to buy some anyway just because they're so darn cheap! -
@NeverDie
If you just want to know when it is time to water regular home plants (0.5-2 times per week normally) , they are more than good enough.If you want to maximize growth in a farming situation, you'll probably need to go for more advanced measurement methods.
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Good to know! I'll give it a try--I guess two months from now after they arrive. :wink: My wife has two dozen house plants, and so it would be nice if I could automate the monitoring.
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I have noisy measurement on analog input for battery voltage.
Anyone that know how I can solve that?
All pictures during night so there shouldn't be any sun that create power. See schematic above how it is connected.
First Node
No cap. Measures every 10 seconds, picture is 5 minute average.
Second Node.
10uF electrolyte cap between GND and A0. Measure every 30 minute. Picture is 5 min average.
Third Node
No cap. Measure every 30 minute. Picture is 5 min average.
I see a slightly better measurement on Seconds Node but can it be better? This is power directly from the battery and I think the battery should be more stable than this. I have other nodes were I measure the VCC on Arduino and that measurement is extremely stable. Maybe the analog input isn't better than what I get in the pictures?
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I have noisy measurement on analog input for battery voltage.
Anyone that know how I can solve that?
All pictures during night so there shouldn't be any sun that create power. See schematic above how it is connected.
First Node
No cap. Measures every 10 seconds, picture is 5 minute average.
Second Node.
10uF electrolyte cap between GND and A0. Measure every 30 minute. Picture is 5 min average.
Third Node
No cap. Measure every 30 minute. Picture is 5 min average.
I see a slightly better measurement on Seconds Node but can it be better? This is power directly from the battery and I think the battery should be more stable than this. I have other nodes were I measure the VCC on Arduino and that measurement is extremely stable. Maybe the analog input isn't better than what I get in the pictures?
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Could you show better scetch how you connect electicaly everything? how you sending data from arduino pro mini to Domoticz?
In your scetch I see only power->battery->step-up->MCU
@Huczas said:
Could you show better scetch how you connect electicaly everything? how you sending data from arduino pro mini to Domoticz?
In your scetch I see only power->battery->step-up->MCU
Electric connection as the attached schematic and NRF you connect according to MySensors instruction.
Data is sent through the NRF with attached sketch -
@flopp I had exactly the same problem with a solar powered node. I solved it by moving the battery measurement around in the sketch. The analog measurement is sensitive..
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@flopp I had exactly the same problem with a solar powered node. I solved it by moving the battery measurement around in the sketch. The analog measurement is sensitive..
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