Long range grow site sensors

Open Ag Technology Southeast GOAT
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@Madrandom I don’t have a complete picture yet, but I found pieces of the puzzle for long range sensors (save you a trip to remote grow site).

There’s a radio technology we can use called LoRaWAN that works with DiY smart devices like Raspberry Pi.

This community has the necessary info: https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/

There’s a tag in this forum to track topics about FIoT (Farm Internet of Things).

Here’s an old post inviting collaboration.

That might be something we could help revitalize, if needed.

I can kind imagine how all this would work together now. I think the cost of equipment would be reasonable, if the value of remote grow sensors is justification.

The radio can certainly reach a few kilometers, depending on power and antenna quality.

Let me know if you want to analyze it more closely.

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I found this tool on farm hack.

https://farmhack.org/tools/compost-sensor

It’s not a complete match but has some good ideas.

I like the form factor of a sensor head with tiny solar charger built in and a long range antenna mounted on a long tube or pole.

The sensors could be exposed on the head or through the down tube or both.

The tube could be mounted or free standing, depending on what’s being measured.

It seems like a versatile, rugged way to package a sensor with an SBC and radio.

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Awesome. I knew we could count on you. I was in Ohio for f-day all weekend, but was doing a bunch of native plant ID and spoke to a few guys on the board at my father’s ministry about what we were doing.

One software guy was totally on board, so we def have an ally in the midwest for whatever we need.

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Yes that is definitely one of the coolest tools on there.

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Those farm hack designs look interesting, though I wonder if the solar charging would be enough in shaded areas. Maybe worth testing with a smaller setup first?