New Mayfly v1.1 release date and Product Status page

On March 1 March 10 (edited Feb 24), we will be releasing the latest version of the Mayfly Data Logger, which is version v1.1. It is visually the same as the v1.0 board that was released in October and has all of the same features and specifications, with the only major change being the circuit that provides the switchable 12 volt boost output was redesigned to provide a higher power output. And 2 minor changes: one set of pin labels were slightly change and one solder jumper was added to the back of the board for an optional battery-measuring feature. (see more at Details and Specs)

The v1.1 boards will be available for purchase separately, and will also be included in all Starter Kit and Monitoring Station Kits. The v1.0 board has been discontinued and is no longer available.

Because it can be difficult keeping track of all the different new products and versions of EnviroDIY hardware, as well as the different buying options, we’ve created a new Hardware Status and Availability page. It has a table that shows the production status and availability of all EnviroDIY products in the EnviroDIY Shop and our Amazon storefront, as well as links to the active product pages. The table will be updated weekly, or whenever there are important changes to the availability of a product.

The reason for releasing the new v1.1 version of the Mayfly board only 4 months after unveiling the v1.0 board is also the reason it has been very hard to keep our inventory fully stocked lately or give exact dates on when things will be back in stock: the global semiconductor shortage. If you haven’t heard about this problem in the past 2 years, you’ll likely hear about it in the near future since the problem has continued to spread and worsen. Here’s a brief Wikipedia introduction to the topic, or you can type “semiconductor shortage” into your favorite search engine to read all the latest news about how the production of almost every electronic device in the world is being affected.

The issue has been a challenge for the design and production of our EnviroDIY products for the past two years. I started redesigning the Mayfly Data Logger in 2020 to account for certain components of the circuit that were becoming harder to find, and in 2021 the design went through a major revision every month or two when building and testing prototypes, because each time one version of a prototype was tested, more parts were unavailable when it came time for the larger production run, so more revisions were needed. A quick design turnaround in the late summer allowed us to manufacture the v1.0 revA3 boards that were released in October. I redesigned the board again in the fall to improve part of the circuitry, leading to the v1.1 boards that we’re releasing now.

Before we ship Mayfly boards, I visually and electrically check every board, add several hand-soldered components to the board, and then program the Mayfly with a test sketch for a final round of testing, followed by programming the final shipping sketch that produces the output you see when you connect a new Mayfly to your computer. I’m currently wrapping up that work with the v1.1 boards, in time for the March 1 release date. All of this work happens alongside new station deployments and ongoing maintenance for hundreds of stations and sensors as part of our ongoing projects at the Stroud Water Research Center. We’ll continue to support the and develop EnviroDIY products as quickly and efficiently as we can, given the limitations of the current supply chain and manufacturer limitations, and we hope the new status page will help keep everyone informed about where and when our products can be found. The photo above shows a portion of the latest batch of v1.1 boards being prepared for testing and shipping.

If you have questions regarding the production status or availability of any of our EnviroDIY products, check the table on the main status page, then ask your question in the dedicated thread for Hardware Status and Availability on the forum. If you have general technical questions about the new Mayfly v1.1 hardware, you can ask it in the dedicated Mayfly v1.1 technical questions forum thread.