[Arduino] Simple telemetry sensor project discussion

Ashraf
Member • Jul 8, 2013

[Arduino] Simple telemetry sensor project discussion

[updated 30/7/2013]

Hi CEans,

Since my short break from work is looming soon, I thought I'd just share some plans I have in mind. I hope throughout this process we can all discuss and share ideas whilst I fabricate it 😀

Primary objectives
To detect rainfall and light intensity, sound alarm, record rainfall data and send data wirelessly to the computer. A simple GUI will be used to store data and plot graph

These objectives would cover the basics of:
- Reading from a sensor with Arduino
- Activating alarm/buzzer
- Interfacing the Arduino with Wifi shield
- GUI to obtain telemetry data (in the form of IP packets) from Arduino
- Store data in a simple flat file database & plot on graph (probably will use the Gambas programming language). Or any of you can contribute if you wish 😉

The data flow will be like this. I will upload a proper diagram later.
[Sensor] -> [Arduino] -> [Wifi shield] -> [Wifi router] -> [Computer]

Secondary objectives
Once primary objectives have met, we can easily extend functionality of the project to the below:
- Add other sensors such as light intensity, temperature, pressure & humidity. (Light intensity to use for future P.V projects)
- Interface with motors (e.g to close a rain cover for clothes lines when it starts to rain)
- Upload data from Arduino and/or GUI to Internet servers (e.g via FTP)
- Interface Arduino with GSM board to send telemetry data via SMS

RF vs Wifi
I initially thought of using simple RF transceivers to transmit data to the PC. However, I feel Wifi (IP in general) is more versatile to use.

Feel free to post any ideas or suggestions. I am to make this project simple from the start, but with added functionality as we go on.

Lets get started! 👍

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 8, 2013

I was just planning for such small but interesting projects on CE-Labs. And you started it. I am all IN for this project.

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 8, 2013

Harshad Italiya
I was just planning for such small but interesting projects on CE-Labs. And you started it. I am all IN for this project.
Yes, starting small is key. Especially when we already have the main tools. I think that's where CE Bot kind of got stagnant cause no one really had the equipment at the time 😛

What other ideas do you have? Feel free to start your threads as well!

Tagging #-Link-Snipped-#

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xheavenlyx

Member • Jul 8, 2013

Hi Guys, A disclaimer before I start taking part again. Due to time constraints and for the sake of science I will not partake in any small talk. So straight to the point 😉

1. There are companies which already have these devices. It will be worthwhile to work on this if the cost can significantly come down compared to these:

#-Link-Snipped-#
#-Link-Snipped-#

2. The dashboard idea is good as it will give data in digestible form. Imagine #-Link-Snipped-#

3. <a href="https://www.cdac.in/?id=wrf" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Error</a> Can CDAC start using this system?

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 8, 2013

I plan to use a stripboard as a rain sensor. Costs would certainly be low and reliability suspect, but commercialization is not a priority at this time 😛

This project is more for knowledge sharing on how to use the Arduino for different applications, and hopefully some added interests in discussions and participation from CEans.

Connecting to the cloud does have its potential uses. I was hoping in the future to have CE as a host for data collection from different CEan projects around the world.

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xheavenlyx

Member • Jul 8, 2013

Ohk yes, makes sense for a learning project because strip-board will not be commercially viable 😀

Good for learning.

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 8, 2013

For proof of concept I agree with #-Link-Snipped-#. We can start with stripboard.
Which Arduino board you own #-Link-Snipped-#?

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 8, 2013

Harshad Italiya
For proof of concept I agree with #-Link-Snipped-#. We can start with stripboard.
Which Arduino board you own #-Link-Snipped-#?

Tagging #-Link-Snipped-#
I have an Iteaduino (Duemilanove clone) -> #-Link-Snipped-#

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Abhishek Rawal

Member • Jul 9, 2013

I am obviously in for this project.I don't have Wifi shield,I gotta buy that.

But, let convert this project into reality now, No more mere ideas!, we will include the addons later once we are successful in our primary task.
Why don't we simply start it ? But, how we gonna discuss about our progress ? Here?

Off-topic : Is there any good editor supporting .ino files for arduino. I hate Arduino IDE. If there any, please link me. (Should have Linux support, running editor using wine is lame! )

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 9, 2013

If we can achieve same via RF then it would be great as Wi-Fi shield is costly as compare to RF.
Wi-Fi have short range if we compare it with SubGhz RF.

I don't have Arduino board but I will try to help with circuit designing and firmware.

What's your take on this #-Link-Snipped-# #-Link-Snipped-# and #-Link-Snipped-# ?

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 9, 2013
I have just checked about the price comparison between use of Wi-Fi and RF.
<a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11287" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Arduino Wi-Fi Shield - DEV-11287 - SparkFun Electronics</a> is around 90USD
<a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11018" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">SparkFun RFM22 Shield - 434MHz - DEV-11018 - SparkFun Electronics</a> is around 30USD

Another cheaper alternative is using 434Mhz <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10534" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">RF Link Transmitter - 434MHz - WRL-10534 - SparkFun Electronics</a> and <a href="https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10532" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">RF Link Receiver - 4800bps (434MHz) - WRL-10532 - SparkFun Electronics</a> it's cost is around 3.95+4.95 = 8.9USD

So Now I think we have to finalize few things to start this project.

Power-supply for device.

Core Hardware part. It may Arduino or any custom board. (Sesor side)

Receiver Hardware which is going to be connected with PC.

Rain sensor. How we will design it and how we do measurement.

GUI (PC side application is not my cup of tea. #-Link-Snipped-# It's all upto you or It would be great if any CS CEan wants to join in)

PS:- All these price are sparkfun price you may get it at lower price at local shop.
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lal

Member • Jul 9, 2013

The rain sensor is supposed to measure the amount of rainfall too. Right?

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 9, 2013

lal
The rain sensor is supposed to measure the amount of rainfall too. Right?
Yes, I think so but #-Link-Snipped-# please confirm about this and also share your idea on how can we measure the amount of rainfall by using stripboard?

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narayana murthy

Member • Jul 9, 2013

if my knowledge is useful
i am also in
is there anything i can do?
#-Link-Snipped-#: i am confused with post you are saying usage of GSM then what the need of RF
but i think RF means radio frequency signals if i am right
it will be more accurate than GSM because GSM depends on n/w signals
i got lot of problems using GSM in my project
i think harshed remember it as i asked his help in that
anyway in hardware or embedded program i am in i know something in that

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 9, 2013

#-Link-Snipped-# there is no chance for usage of GSM. We don't need global coverage and Wi-Fi or RF provides enough range. If we consider price factor then RF can be cheaper solution.

If we use GSM again we have to pay for either GPRS or SMS.

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 9, 2013

#-Link-Snipped-#
I had considered RF vs WiFi, and its worth deliberating.

RF
For RF, I would rather use a pair of <a href="https://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=45_81&product_id=57#.UdzJreeBnw5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">APC220 Radio Communication Module-DFRobot</a> @ $40 ($20 each, inc USB adapter and dipole antennas). Its reliable and simple to use. The cheap TX & RX isn't too reliable and at least we don't need to worry about having a dedicated hardware for the RX part connected to the PC. (Plus we need 2 x RX & TX for two way communications)

WiFi
I haven't actually tried the WiFi part yet before, so this will be new for me. There are two ways we can do this:
1) Using dedicated WiFi shield. Expensive but potentially easier to code with. Cheap one is here->#-Link-Snipped-# @ $54
2) #-Link-Snipped-# + #-Link-Snipped-# @ total $37.50

Why WiFi?
So my case for WiFi is this. In my project, I intend to rely on TCP/IP for communications to both the computer as well as the future objective to connect to the cloud directly (bypassing the computer). With WiFi, I don't have to worry about receiving hardware if there is an existing network at home. Range can be extended easily (range extenders, power-line Ethernet, etc). If there are multiple nodes (lets say this Arduino is 1 node), it is a lot easier to the computer/monitoring software to manage rather than an RF mesh.

The challenges I forsee with WiFi is coding with the TCP/IP stack and how reliable the transmission really is (after testing) in terms of latency. And Yes, 2.4GHz isn't a useful band for an indoor environment, though there are ways to overcome it. Also, WiFi will consume more power.

We can still use RF
I do however encourage you guys to use RF as well if not WiFi, for the sake of knowledge sharing (and making use of its advantages over WiFi). Perhaps the GUI can accommodate both types of communications?

#-Link-Snipped-#
At the first part, using a stripboard will just be used to detect presence of raindrops. To measure rainfall amount, a rain gauge needs to be used such as a Tipping bucket rain gauge. I'd focus on the stripboard part first and worry about the amount later 😛

#-Link-Snipped-#
Yeah, GSM is more of a secondary objective. Its more to explore the potential of sending telemetry data via GSM network. Again, for learning purposes 😀

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narayana murthy

Member • Jul 9, 2013

so i vote for RF because using RF we can communicate at any whether conditions
and there will be no other serious problems with it
i dont know much about wifi but my wifi goes down when whether is bad
so i am voting for RF

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 9, 2013

narayana murthy
so i vote for RF because using RF we can communicate at any whether conditions
and there will be no other serious problems with it
i dont know much about wifi but my wifi goes down when whether is bad
so i am voting for RF
Even RF range is affected by water and walls.

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narayana murthy

Member • Jul 9, 2013

Harshad Italiya
Even RF range is affected by water and walls.
we can make it by sending the signals in air at heights i have an idea on it

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 10, 2013

RF
For RF, I would rather use a pair of <a href="https://www.dfrobot.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=45_81&product_id=57#.UdzJreeBnw5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">APC220 Radio Communication Module-DFRobot</a> @ $40 ($20 each, inc USB adapter and dipole antennas). Its reliable and simple to use. The cheap TX & RX isn't too reliable and at least we don't need to worry about having a dedicated hardware for the RX part connected to the PC. (Plus we need 2 x RX & TX for two way communications)
2 x RX & TX ? Can't we use simple Transceiver? Or APC220 is transceiver only?

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 10, 2013

Harshad Italiya
2 x RX & TX ? Can't we use simple Transceiver? Or APC220 is transceiver only?
If I was to stick to RF, I intend to use 2 x APC220 (one for the Arduino, and one connected to the PC). However, whatever works well we can still use 😀

Are you ordering an Arduino?

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 10, 2013

ash
If I was to stick to RF, I intend to use 2 x APC220 (one for the Arduino, and one connected to the PC). However, whatever works well we can still use 😀

Are you ordering an Arduino?
I wish I can. 😕 I will contact #-Link-Snipped-# if I can work with him.

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Abhishek Rawal

Member • Jul 10, 2013

Harshad Italiya
I wish I can. 😕 I will contact #-Link-Snipped-# if I can work with him.
Sure. But how ? 😕
I wished physicist wouldve developed "Teleporter" so we can gather at one place in no time !

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 10, 2013

Abhishek Rawal
Sure. But how ? 😕
I wished physicist wouldve developed "Teleporter" so we can gather at one place in no time !
How long did it take for you to order your Arduino?

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Abhishek Rawal

Member • Jul 10, 2013

ash
How long did it take for you to order your Arduino?
I already have Arduino. I need a shield & few female jumpers.
PS: I am out of jumpers (>.<)

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 10, 2013

Abhishek Rawal
I already have Arduino. I need a shield & few female jumpers.
PS: I am out of jumpers (>.<)
Yes, what I meant was, when you ordered yours before, how long did it take to ship?

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Harshad Italiya

Member • Jul 10, 2013

Abhishek Rawal
I already have Arduino. I need a shield & few female jumpers.
PS: I am out of jumpers (>.<)
You can get it at cheaper price from Relief Road. #-Link-Snipped-# and #-Link-Snipped-# you can start development. I will help with extra hardware testing and designing.

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Abhishek Rawal

Member • Jul 10, 2013

ash
Yes, what I meant was, when you ordered yours before, how long did it take to ship?
2 days & around 10 hours.

#-Link-Snipped-# I'm on it ,gotta move my lazy ass & have to visit RR Electronics shop 😎

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Ashraf HZ

Member • Jul 29, 2013

Hi guys. Despite being unemployed at the moment, there still seem to be a lot of errands to run 😛

Any how, I plan to get a strip board tomorrow to work on the rain sensor & hopefully purchase the Wifi shield by the end of this week.

Attached is the Ardunio that I am using. Its an old model, but still works well.

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