💬 Soil Moisture Sensor Pro Mini

[Grumpf]

Hi, I soldered 4 others, using AA holder instead, figuring it won't hurt as I have room for it. I changed:

//
/* Initialization */
//
void setup()
{
//Setup LED INFO pin
pinMode(LED_PIN_INFO, OUTPUT);
//Setup LED WARNING pin
pinMode(LED_PIN_WARN, OUTPUT);

//Set moisutre sensor pins
for (int i = 0; i < N_ELEMENTS(SENSOR_ANALOG_PINS); i++)
{
pinMode(SENSOR_ANALOG_PINS[i], OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(SENSOR_ANALOG_PINS[i], LOW);
}
//Blink leds to check

blinkLed(LED_PIN_INFO,800);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_WARN,800);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_INFO,400);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_WARN,400);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_INFO,200);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_WARN,200);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_INFO,100);
blinkLed(LED_PIN_WARN,100);
}
To test Leds when initializing and never managed ot have LED1 blink ? Dunno what I did wrong, I used correct resistor and normal 3mm leds, tested the pads and realizing that GND was the pad further from the edge; aligned with the - from the neighboor capacitor... What did I do wrong ?

Thanks,

Grumpf.

[tonnerre33]

@grumpf Hello,
if i remember well, we can't anymore change the state of the output in the setup function.
Try to do this in the presentation function ;)

[Grumpf]

Hi, it worked, you still can shake things a lil' bit in setup (sorry wasn't clear I meant the led test is working). Thanks for your time. I ordered more PCBs today and will keep you posted. I expect no trouble at all as it was designed very well. Thank you again for it!

[UL7AAjr]

Frankenstein monster)

[UL7AAjr]

Here is a core of my capcitive soil moisture sensor with NRF24L on board. It sends periodically measured value (about once per 10 minutes). Battery is CR2032 able to work about one year. Any two isolated electrodes can be connected.

[MikaelJones]

Nice! How long should we expect the 2xAAA batteries to last? Of course depending on quality but more than a year?

[UL7AAjr]

@mikaeljones
it's depend of how often sensor will send data. I suppose that much more then one year if exchange data interval will be 5 min. The problem is that nrf24L not reliable especially in "noisy" environment. And finding a free channel will take a time that affect battery lifetime .

[Thucar]

@UL7AAjr do you feel like sharing some information on that sweet looking sensor of yours? I'm doing my research on different styles of capacitive soil moisture sensors right now and would love to hear about your solution and the reasoning behind the choices you made :)

[UL7AAjr]

@thucar
Hello, i'm not sure it is to good idea to public links here, but there is my personal website where is some sensors examples in sensors history page http://vegimatics.com/products/history/

And of course, we can discuss here some interesting for you things)

[MikaelJones]

So would you say there are better solutions to building a soil moisture monitoring for many plants ol the cheap? For me, it’s mainly for fun and making sure I don’t miss watering my plants at home :)

[UL7AAjr]

@mikaeljones
I think the most suitable device for monitoring processes is a tablet PC based on Intel and Windows. There are simple and cheap models costing less than $ 200. This is much simpler and more versatile than developing advanced controllers with a display. In addition, you can get remote access in a simple way, for example, TeamViewer. Well, the simplicity of developing a program is also important.

Since I use the RS-485 protocol and Modbus, it's easy for me to connect all sensors and pumps via USB-RS485 adapter.

I do not use wireless sensors, as I believe that if a pipe comes to the plant for irrigation, it is not difficult to add a cable.

However, from time to time, I return to developing my own simplified watering controller :)

[schif]

Hello,

Thanks for this great project.

You have optimized the space used, battery and corrosion, good job man !

About the battery level, can i replace the 0.1uF by a 0.22uF ?
I only have this one.

Thank you

[tonnerre33]

@schif
Hello,
Thanx for you comment. Yes you can use it but use a ceramic capacitor ;)