I bought used outdoor WiFi access point for couple of coffees. At first I wanted to use only the housing for conversion of the TTN Indoor gateway to outdoor gateway. But after some testing and factory reset of the AP I found out it is working and could be configured as stand-alone WiFi MIMO AP. Usually such APs require infrastructure, or at least some management server.
This is short tutorial how to send data from sensor connected to The Things Network via LoRaWAN to Weather Underground. I will use Scidrom air quality sensor whic I developed for students in local school. Just a quick reminder the “AQ” sensor detects PM10, PM2,5 particles, air pressure, temperature and humidity and solar radiation in visible in UV spectrum. More details are available in older post.
The solar radiation shield is a low cost DIY device to protect temperature, relative humidity and other sensors from the weather, while shielding them from the sun for highest accuracy. Provided here are instructions and files. It require some CNC machinig, but then it could be assembled in minutes. It is made from plant pot saucers.
A multisensor LoRa end device has been designed for connecting different sensors to LoRa network. It’s primary use can be LoRa weather station but is not limited only to enviromental applications.
Typical “weather” application is shown in image above: 1-LoRa sensor interface, 2-Particle sensor, 3-Sun shield with temperature and humidity sensors, 4-UV-index and illumination sensor, 5-solar panel for autonomous operation. Different sensors will be described separately. I hope this project could grow into different directions.
Every wine producer needs to know their temperature during fermentation. There are many small producers (like in our family) without high-end equipment for fermenting the grapes and must. We produce wine for our own use (around 1000 litres) and the technology relies mostly on experience and limited information about the fermentation process. One of the most important paramters is temperature or more specifically, the temperature profile (time dependance), its gradient and maximum value as well. In the past I connected simple I2C sensor to raspberry pi and sent data to mysql database via WiFi connection. It is shame to mention the power consumption of such thermometer.
Loradunchy module on top of the low cost solar cell
Recently, I placed LoRaWAN gateway at the top of the vineyard to cover all future need for connecting winegrowing sensors in all neighbouring vineyards. The r.pi thermometer was upgraded to LoRa and I used my own design, the LoRaDunchy module with small LiPo battery, TMP75 as sensor element and small solar cell for supplying the power. Solar power is somehow overkill for this application, but I want to check the real life solar powered sensor. It would be good experience for future sensors which I intend to place in the field for monitoring the microclimatic conditions (and possible prediction of the vine diseases).
LoraDunchy Connection diagram for thermometer application
This simple Helical Antenna can be used for most LoRa (and other small wireless device) applications, where space constraints exist. The construction is simple, made from wound solid Ag plated copper wire taken from piece of coaxial cable.
Helical axial antenna for 868MHz
Two options how to use this antenna on the PCB modules
There was no3D model for RAK811 breakout board with GPS tracker, so I made it from the drawings. I added plastic housing to be used with velcro straps. I prepared two models, one with only RAK811 and small LiPo battery and second one, 4mm higher with enough space for additional PCB with custom electronics. Enjoy.