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Archive: Member Activity Updates

Status updates will be turned off on February 3, 2020. This page serves an archive of all member activity updates from 2015 until the feature was turned off. An archive of group activity updates is also available.

  • Lev posted an update 2019-12-26 18:31:55
    New guy here. I have a very marginal trout stream near me. Its surrounded by development and is very flashy – especially in the spring. I’d like to measure water temperature, DO and maybe pH. Do I need to take samples and send them to a lab? Do I add chemical parameters into a data logger by hand? I guess I need to know more about how to best monitor my stream. I was hoping there would be an automated way to monitor the stream 24/7.

    • Sara Damiano replied 2019-12-30 21:45:08
      Before you can decide on the best way to monitor your stream, you really need to come up with a concrete question (or questions) about your stream that you desire to answer. Once you’ve decided on the question, developing the monitoring plan is much more straightforward. Without that question, any monitoring is likely to end up being a waste of time and resources.Of the parameters you mentioned – temperature is fairly easy and inexpensive to measure continuously. Dissolved oxygen probes are expensive and require significantly more maintenance than a simple temperature probe, but continuous DO is definitely doable. Unless the question you want to answer is strongly dependent on pH or acidity, I’d recommend steering away from attempting anything with continuous pH. Probes for pH are expensive, short lived, and need constant calibration and maintenance.
  • Marion posted an update 2019-12-02 17:25:35
    I am looking for the Sodaq_PCint_PCint0 library. Long ago I installed Sodaq_PCint_Mod in my Mayfly libraries folder. I have not been able to find the _PCint0 library in the latest libraries on Github. Was the Sodaq_PCint library updated to a version the same as _PCint0?

  • Randy Metzger posted an update 2019-10-21 16:33:16
    @shicks Shannon, I am new to the site. I am working on a monitoring project with a local non-profit studying acid mine drainage in the Schuylkill River and tribs. As I do not have any programming experience, I was wondering if there is a kit that is all inclusive with probes to purchase somewhere? Even if I need to program it I could work on that. Also is there any workshops for teachers coming up through Stroud that pertain to the dataloggers? I am in Schuylkill County (Pottsville/Hamburg) area and it isn’t that far away from your base of operations! Thanks

    • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2019-10-21 20:42:51
      We don’t provide kits or sensors since there are an unlimited number of sensors (in a variety of configurations) that people could use with a Mayfly logger. We only offer the Mayfly board, or the starter kit, and a handful of accessories that work specifically with the Mayfly. Everything else is sources from various stores and online vendors. We occasionally have workshops to teach certain EnviroDIY methods, but don’t have anything coming up. There is sufficient information in the EnviroDIY Sensor Station Manual that explains how to build your own station, where to get the parts, and how to install it.
  • Aaron posted an update 2019-10-02 22:27:35
    @srgdamiano Hi Sara, I’m new to the Mayfly and trying to get a handle on the output power as it’s not quite as intuitive as the arduinos I’m used to working with. I’d like to connect a MatixBox MB 7383 ultrasonic sensor requiring a 5v power supply. I see there are both digital and analog grove connectors featuring a power and ground pin with a jumper to switch between 3.3 and 5 volts (I assume you simply swap the position of the attached jumper?). However, I’m not getting any voltage reading across these grove pins. I don’t get any voltage across the Sw5 pins either (I thought those were power supply?) and only get 3.3v as expected across the 3v3 and gnd pins on the analog and digital rails. I understand these are basic questions, but I’m having trouble finding detailed instructions – could you point me in the right direction? Many thanks.

  • dan@wachusett posted an update 2019-08-20 13:17:22
    @shicksThanks for your help troubleshooting. Our Mayfly successfully logged data from the Hydros21 over the weekend. Next we will activate the SIM card and upload the sketch to send data to the Data Sharing Portal. Overall the instruction manual was fairly accurate and got me through most of the steps to program the Mayfly very easily. Other than the 2 microSD card issue, the only other stumbling point was that a 57600 baud rate would not send output to the serial port monitor after the SDI-12 Address Change sketch was uploaded. I had to use 115200.
  • Gera posted an update 2019-08-15 17:18:22
    @srgdamiano Hello Mrs. Sara, I hope everything is well on your behalf, So at the moment I am trying to store data in a SD card, the SD card I am using is the one that came with the mayfly kit and I was trying to test out the simple file example code that the Envirodiy website has. When I try to compile it, it says that the next three things were not declared in this scope: setupLogFile(), createDataRecord(), and logData(). I understand the meaning of “were not declared in this scope” but what I am confused with is why is that kind of error happening. I am using Atom with platformIO to test the program and have the SD library installed. They really need to be declared somehow? I think there may be one library that I am missing but I am not sure which one is exactly. I tried SdFat library as well and still the same problem shows up. I am going to try to use this to record data on the Temperature/Humidity sensor I have but I need to figure out this problem first. I hope to hear from you soon!

    • Sara Damiano posted a new activity comment 2019-08-16 20:16:07
      In the future, please create a forum post instead of a status update.To use PlatformIO, the code has to be structured like proper C++. That is, move the definition of those three functions to above the loop and setup functions. They must be at least declared above the setup and loop. If you’re using the Arduino IDE, which that sketch was originally written for, it has some fuzziness that lets you write improperly structured code. PlatformIO is by far a better IDE, but it requires proper code.
  • Gera posted an update 2019-08-15 17:18:22
    @shicks Hello Ms. Hicks, I hope everything is well on your behalf, So at the moment I am trying to store data in a SD card, the SD card I am using is the one that came with the mayfly kit and I was trying to test out the simple file example code that the Envirodiy website has. When I try to compile it, it says that the next three things were not declared in this scope: setupLogFile(), createDataRecord(), and logData(). I understand the meaning of “were not declared in this scope” but what I am confused with is why is that kind of error happening. I am using Atom with platformIO to test the program and have the SD library installed. They really need to be declared somehow? I think there may be one library that I am missing but I am not sure which one is exactly. I tried SdFat library as well and still the same problem shows up. I am going to try to use this to record data on the Temperature/Humidity sensor I have but I need to figure out this problem first. I hope to hear from you soon!

    • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2019-08-15 23:35:05
      It sounds like you’re having issues with not properly declaring the libraries required for the sketch, or not having the libraries installed on your computer. I use the standard Arduino IDE, but Sara (and others) who use Platform IO will need to help you since I’m not as familiar with the library functionality with that software.
  • Luis Andres Guillen posted an update 2019-08-02 12:53:06
    @shicks0 Have you tried getting a quote for the Proteus? Maybe is worth it until the technology is more widely available.
    Thanks for the video, I had no idea of that environmental problem, I’m actually going to El Cuyo on Sunday, and later to other parts of Yu, and visit Tulu, the week after next. Are you at an NGO, University? Maybe there is a Cenote I should avoid? but even more important how can we not contribute to that contamination.

    • Diatrix posted a new activity comment 2019-08-02 15:52:22
      I tried to get the quote, but I didn’t get a reply. It was a few months back. I also asked for a data sheet, so maybe they were afraid that I’d get something from it.
      I’m part of Red Tulum Sostenible, an NGO, but the project is my own. Most comercial cenotes are fine. Maybe avoid cenote CarWash, for it’s proximity to the garbage dump.
      As for avoiding being part of the problem, if you can, stay somewhere that has a dry toilet (baño seco) and don’t use sunscreen, even organic one. Use long sleeves and a hat if you need sun protection. If you want to meet for a chat or something while you’re here let me know, otherwise enjoy your holiday.
  • Heather Brooks posted an update 2019-07-26 16:51:00
    Community websites with open registration are a constant target of spammers. EnviroDIY.org has extensive measures in place to deter them but sometimes they sneak through. Today a spammer registered with a clean Gmail account and quickly began sending friend requests. I blocked the account as soon as I saw the activity and I apologize for any inconvenience. I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that they should check the user’s profile before accepting a friend request. If the profile photo or “About Me” text in the Profile tab look suspicious, don’t accept! Feel free to reach out to me with any questions or concerns. Thanks!

    • JiadaH2O posted a new activity comment Yes. I just got one friendship request. This should be same as what you said. Thank you for your reminder.
  • Gera posted an update 2019-07-25 17:57:27
    @shicks Hello Mr. Hicks, I hope everything is well on your behalf,
    I wanted to ask you something real quick, what kind of pin number I have to write down in the analogRead() function for the grove sockets to read data coming from there? I would like to know all of them, the 22, 6, AA0, or how I should write it down if it is in a different way. I hope to hear from you soon!

    • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2019-07-25 21:17:18
      It’s Ms. Hicks, actually. But the If you want to read an analog signal using one of the two analog Grove sockets on the Mayfly board, they are actually connected to the auxiliary 16-bit A/D converter, which is an ADS1115 chip. You’ll need to use an ADS1115 library, which has the commands you use for reading an analog voltage with any one of the 4 channels on the ADS1115. This is in addition to the standard lower resolution analog pins that you can read with the Mayfly (A0 through A5), but are only accessible through the 20-pin header on the lower lefthand side of the Mayfly. You can study the Mayfly schematic to see how all of these different features are connected. D22 is the enable line for the aux 3.3v regulator which also powers the 5-volt boost regulator. If you’re using any of the Grove ports, you’ll need to activate D22 in order to send power to the Vcc pin of the Grove sockets, and you can choose which voltage (either 3v or 5v) by using the jumper pins next to each Grove socket.
  • Mark posted an update 2019-07-19 13:42:46
    We will be using this temperature sensor https://www.adafruit.com/product/381

    • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2019-07-19 14:10:23
      If you use a DS18B20 sensors, it requires a pullup resistor on the data line. You can connect the sensor data line to pin D10 and then just close the solder jumper SJ12 on the back of the Mayfly to enable the builti-in pullup resistor for that data pin. This saves you from having to add a separate resistor somewhere on the board to pullup D10.
  • Turtle4Life posted an update 2019-07-16 14:04:49
    I find your blog interesting and the idea of storm snakes whimsical yet very practical. I am new to the EnviroDIY community and am looking for projects that can stir up the imagination and interest for your Seneca youth. I have recently been awarded a Water Protectors Grant which is geared to bring students outside to investigate the environmental concerns that we need to take notice of before it is too late.
  • FavyMaks posted an update 2019-07-16 06:11:45
    So am new to envoronment monitoring, to start, i was given a 5TM with the decentlab monitoring solution. i am trying to interface the device with my PC to log the data but can’t. is there any software i need to install first to allow for the connection?. please i will appreciate any insight on this
  • Heather Brooks posted an update 2019-06-14 15:08:59
    Members are reporting getting “Page Not Found” errors when trying to reach many pages, especially those under the Mayfly item in the main menu. Be assured, the pages are still there. I am monitoring the situation and working with our web host to pinpoint and fix the problem. I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
  • Scott Ensign posted an update 2019-05-06 01:18:21
    I’m connecting an ESP8266 V1.0 with a Mayfly. Can anyone suggest a simple sketch that scans for available wifi networks (and displaying them by printing to the terminal) and displays confirmation of the connection with my wifi by printing something to the terminal? Ultimately, I’d like to send sensor data to Monitor My Watershed, but the first step is confirming that I am reaching the internet.

    • Sara Damiano posted a new activity comment 2019-05-10 20:20:28
      Well, the *easiest* way would be to take the ESP bee off the mayfly and connect it to a UartSBee and then talk to the bee directly using AT commands and a serial port.If you’d rather keep it attached to the Mayfly, you can use the basic example for the StreamDebugger (https://github.com/vshymanskyy/StreamDebugger) library to communicate with the ESP.The list of ESP commands is available here: https://www.espressif.com/sites/default/files/documentation/4a-esp8266_at_instruction_set_en.pdf First, make sure the ESP is responding by sending just “AT” and waiting to get and “OK” back.To see all the wireless networks available, send “AT+CWLAP” and you should get back a “+CWLAP:” followed by a list of access points.To set some access point as the default (saved to memory) you use “AT+CWJAP_DEF=,” (ie, ‘ AT+CWJAP_DEF=”abc”,”0123456789″ ‘)Then you can check if you’re actually connected by sending “AT+CIPSTATUS” which will return “+CIPSTATUS:#” where:
      2: The ESP8266 Station is connected to an AP and its IP is obtained.
      3: The ESP8266 Station has created a TCP or UDP transmission.
      4: The TCP or UDP transmission of ESP8266 Station is disconnected.
      5: The ESP8266 Station does NOT connect to an AP.If you only want to connect to the access point one time (and not save it to flash) use AT+CWJAP_CUR instead of AT+CWJAP_DEF.
    • Sara Damiano posted a new activity comment 2019-05-13 23:25:37
      Um.. and it’s also possible that the esp I gave you had a botched firmware upgrade. If you’re not getting connected, come and demand a better one from me.
  • Sara Damiano posted an update 2019-01-29 17:30:46
    @shicks1 I would love to see any code you have working between theAtlas Sensors and ModularSensors. Could you submit a pull request?

    • Adam Gold posted a new activity comment 2019-01-29 17:50:39
      Just submitted the pull request. Thanks!
  • Scott Ensign posted an update 2019-01-29 15:19:42
    @shicks1 Hey, Adam. I know you are exploring the Atlas Scientific sensor suite, so I want to connect you with Jim Moore (@shicks3) who has experience with the Atlas sensors. Perhaps one (or both) of you can submit a blog post with your application, hardware, and code?

    • Adam Gold posted a new activity comment 2019-01-29 17:25:27
      Thanks, Scott
    • Heather Brooks posted an update 2019-01-12 12:38:17
      A spammer managed to sneak past the website’s defenses this morning. If you received a friend request from “laur” you can ignore it. That account has been suspended. Sorry for any inconvenience.

      • SGFulton posted a new activity comment 2019-01-13 00:09:03
        Thanks for the notification. I did receive such a request (which is why I logged in tonight) but now I’ll just ignore it.
    • Jesse posted an update 2019-01-03 21:25:15
      Hi, I’m excited to be a part of the forum. Let me kick things off with an anomaly! I have a Mayfly with a gauge sensor and I went to go collect the data and clean the probe. When I sat down to look at the data, I was getting negative readings. It was fine and then the depth got lower and lower and then suddenly went negative. Has anyone had this problem before???

      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2019-01-11 01:26:47
        Hello Jesse, great you joined. Can you need to provide a bit more information. It is **normal** ~ though perhaps undesirable and non-intuitive ~ for a depth measuring instrument to show a slightly negative depth when outof water. Depending on the type of physical sensor they don’t know 0.0 – they have to be calibrated for it, and even that, unfortunately can drift,
        When there is a need to measure low stream flows, what I do is make sure the sensor is in a “pool” of water up stream of the flow measurement place. I try and make sure that the sensor is capable of measuring at least a couple of inches of water depth before the water flow dries up.
      • Jesse posted a new activity comment 2019-01-11 12:52:23
        Hi Neil, Thanks for your reply! This sensor is submerged deep in a pool. After I saw that it had a negative reading, I cleaned the outside of the probe, put it back in the water, and took another reading and same thing, negative numbers. Some I’m not sure what to try. “
    • Davey Jones posted a new activity comment “We have an old PP Systems multi-channel unit which I would like to adapt based on your system. If you have any extra info that would be super
      thanks
      davey”
    • colemanjj posted an update 2018-11-18 03:16:32
      @shicks4, I’m interested in your mention of working on a “Water Depth probe using gas sensor”. I’ve been testing a water depth probe made with a atmospheric pressure sensor (BME280) in mineral oil and encapsulated in a section of PVC with a flexible diaphragm at one end. It seems to be working but I need to calibrate etc. I haven’t seen this idea proposed anywhere and feel like I’m out on a limb with this experiment. Any thoughts? john

      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2018-11-19 17:53:15
        Hi John – feel free to email me direct on neilh at biomonitors.com as I get it quicker.
        comments: generally pressure sensors are pretty easy to understand and calibrate for a water column – but the devils in the detail. What range (eg 0-10′) and accuracy do you want.
        1) for the BME280 it hasn’t got an easy mechanical port to isolate the pressure on – but sounds like you are referencing to absolute – and then probably taking the I2C wire out.
        I was choosing the MP3V5010 with a dual port – but requires a port to atmosphere.
        2) You may want to consider whats the accuracy of the measurement you desire.
        3) Calibration is placing it a water column, noting the results, and then changing it. Typically for calibration it might only be a couple of depths. Initially though you might want to do it for 10depths to check linearity
      • colemanjj posted a new activity comment 2018-11-19 20:18:34
        I’ve got the calibration OK and I’m using another BME280 for atmospheric compensation. Both BME280s use I2C.
        What I’m unsure of is submersing the BME280 in mineral oil. It seems to work but I haven’t heard of anyone putting the BME280 in mineral oil, or any pressure sensor in mineral oil for that matter, to isolate it from the water. Any thoughts?
        The dual port MP3V4010 looks interesting. Maybe I’ll get one and try feeding it mineral oil in one tube (sealed underwater) and atmospheric air in the other. I don’t want to use air in both tubes because the effect that temperature would have on the air pressure in the tube under water.
      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2018-11-21 18:36:44
        BME280 – I don’t know. Its a materials/chemistry issue – how does mineral oil react with the materials in the sensor. Probably easy to test – but how to do longer term reliability testing.
        Years ago, a Motorola/Freescale product “Pressure sensor” engineer suggested I use a high molecular silica gel for interfacing to its air sensor diaphgram. Silica gel thats not reactive – I’ve got it somewhere if you are interested.
        As you identify, the issue is how to have a filler/gel that doesn’t change its volume with temperature. In addition, the gel transmitting the pressure from the water to the diagraphm 1) needs to not dissolve into the water 2) be sufficiently viscous/mobile to transmit the pressure from 0C to 20C.
        If you do look at the MP3V5010 I can share the analog amplifier and interface circuit I’ve had good success with.
        BTW – whats the range of water depth do you want to measure, and to what accuracy. That defines a lot of parameters.
      • colemanjj posted a new activity comment 2018-11-27 15:58:32
        neilh, Thanks for your thoughts on this.
        I’m looking at small rivers and streams. So depth change is generally less than 10 feet, in most cases max change of 1-5 feet. I’d like to get less than 0.1% accuracy and +_ 0.1 inch but I could live with as much as +_ 0.5 inch if I had to.
        I’ve been running the BME280 in the mineral oil for about 8 weeks now and getting +_0.12 inch (0.3%) accuracy over, independently measured, 36 inches of water depth change. That’s probably as precise as I can measure given the crude system I’m using for independently measuring the water depth.”
      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2018-11-27 19:43:39
        that sounds pretty fantastic. Of course doesn’t indicate long term reliability and the issues are mechanically how to connect the water pressure with the mineral oil. I’d be interested in how you are thinking about doing it in a steam with the logger connection is say 20′ above the point of measurement. But its giving me someother ideas. I’m primarily interest in how to measure the low flow side accurately +/-0.005ft/+-/2mm – and the high end over a couple of feet can be more like +/-0.05′ or ~0.5″
    • Cal posted an update 2018-10-22 16:46:26
      Has anybody seen a voltage spike recorded by the Mayfly? I have 2 Mayflies measuring water level each powered simply by a 6600mah LIPO battery – no solar panel and no other sources of power. I’m using the sleeping option so that each Mayfly wakes up every half hour and records sensor values plus the battery voltage. The Mayflys have been deployed for about 2 weeks. For several days the voltage on one of the Mayflies was just over 4v. Then it jumped up to 5.8v and slowly decayed back to 4v over 7 hours. Is this a battery glitch? or a Mayfly measuring glitch? Software? Other?

      • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2018-10-23 02:52:52
        What version of Mayfly do you have? v0.3, v0.4, v0.5, or v0.5b?
      • Cal posted a new activity comment 2018-10-23 10:44:56
        All my Mayflies are v0.5b.
      • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2018-10-23 13:53:15
        I haven’t seen an issue like that. The battery voltage is measured by a simple resistor divider across the battery input, and measured by an analog pin on the micro, so it’s unlikely to randomly drift, unless there is something wrong with the analog reference pin (AREF) or your battery. If it happens again, maybe check the lipo battery voltage occasionally without disturbing the rest of the setup. You can just put your voltmeter leads on the pins of one of the battery JST sockets. That way you can see if the actual battery voltage is wandering, or if it’s a measurement issue with the Mayfly.
      • Cal posted a new activity comment 2018-10-23 18:14:05
        OK. If/when I see this happen again, I’ll check the battery with my voltmeter.
      • neilh replied 2019-02-05 18:49:22
        Unfortunately I am seeing some issues with the LiIon battery measurement. I think the issue is that the battery measurement uses a 10M/2.7M resistor with a high impedance Analog input, and if its in an RF noisy location (roving cell phones) it can detect some of that energy. Wires can behave in two ways – on the one hand they conduct current, and the other hand they can act as antennas – the difference is on the terminating impedance/resistance.
        I have had a Mayfly running next to a stream in an urban location, and it hasn’t shown any +Ve spikes. On my test bench – a noisy RF location I saw lots of funny spikes on V_Batt measurement that I wasn’t able to understand.
        I have modified one of my Mayfly 0.5b for R1/R2 to be 1M/270K, and also connected Vbatt to ADS1115/ExtV and had it running, but I haven’t had time to analyze it in detail yet.
      • Cal replied 2019-02-05 22:07:08
        Neil – I saw the spike on my Mayfly for the 2nd time last week. I think I have a different problem than you – and I think my problem is battery related. The spike goes from 4v to 5v then tapers back down over several hours. I can’t imagine any stray electromagnetic field causing that kind of jump for that kind of time span in the middle of nowhere northern Michigan. I have 4 of these batteries and only 1 is exhibiting this kind of behavior so far. When the snow clears in June I’m adding solar panels and LTE-M modems to my stations. I expect to see a much different voltage profile then with the XBee drawing amps of power and the solar panel catching brief periods of sun.
      • neilh replied 2019-02-06 16:55:48
        Cal – Some thoughts, if you are using the Mayfly’s battery measurement its not actually measuring the LiIon battery voltage. How are you connecting the solar cell and what rating is it?
        If the battery is charging, its taking current and the voltage indication is close to that of the battery – depending on how much solar there is. For the voltage indication to go to 5V it could be because the battery charging is not taking as much current as can be supplied by the solar panel.
        So what rating is your solar panel?, what connection are you using (ext or USB input) and does the measured voltage go to +5V when the sun could be intense or likely for the the battery to be charged.?
      • Cal replied 2019-02-07 17:22:08
        Neil – there is no solar panel on this setup. We swap the battery with a new charged one after 3 months use.
    • Dimitris posted an update 2018-10-01 11:21:42
      @shicks6 Hi , I am coming from Greece/Europe. I would like to establish some monitoring stations here in my university (www.ntua.gr). I have tried to purchase the Mayfly but Amazon does not deliver this or the starter kit to Greece. Is there any thought for Mouser delivery channel ? In case I cant find anyone to deliver the data logger to Greece, Is there any possibility of the schematics (Gerber files) of the PCB ? along with the BOM ?

      • fisherba posted a new activity comment 2018-10-01 13:38:47
        Hi Dimitris, I am just a Mayfly user, not the manufacturer or distributor. My understanding is that there are tariff and trade complexities in distributing it in Europe. I heard that the folks at the Stroud Center explored this when they first started distributing the Mayfly, but I don’t really know the details. All of the files that are available for the Mayfly are here: https://github.com/EnviroDIY/EnviroDIY_Mayfly_Logger
        The schematics are available, but not the source files for the PCB. I can’t imagine that they will make them available. Perhaps a collaborator here could order some for you?
        Beth
    • Heather Brooks posted a new activity comment 2018-09-25 13:48:20
      Welcome, Javier! I’m glad you found this community and hope it will be useful for your projects in Argentina.
    • tim-mech posted an update 2018-08-22 19:01:14
      Watching today’s webinar with Erick Burres and Dr. Dave Arscott!
    • @shicks7, I completely missed this turbidity question. We have used Yosimetech (http://www.yosemitech.com/en/) turbidity sensors, but there’s enough hassle in ordering (customs hang-ups every time) and creating a RS-485 shield to communicate with those, that going with the Campbell sensor might be in my future.
    • mytapwater posted an update 2018-08-08 18:55:29
      working on my water quality data project US drinking water quality data by zip code
    • wopo posted an update 2018-08-06 04:43:27
      Hello! At least I bought the MayFly Datalogger via ebay. The problem is, that there seems to be no bootloader burnt in. I get the message: “avrdude: stk500_getsync() attempt 1 of 10: not in sync: resp=0x30” or similar.
      Please give me a hint to overcome this problem. Best Regards Wopo
    • Walter posted an update 2018-07-21 00:16:20
      @shicks HI, Hi Shannon, I really appreciate all the information you and the members have posted, recently I adquire a mayfly board and a OBS+ tubidity sensor for our community water service, but honestly don’t know how to do the wiring. do you have a dia
    • Walter posted a new activity comment 2018-07-21 00:03:30
      HI, do you have a diagram or wiring map so I can understand how to connect the OBS sensor to the mayfly data logger please?
    • wopo posted an update 2018-06-27 13:37:21
      Your Datalogger where to buy? During planning a logger like yours I found your device. Unfortuately this device can’t supplied via amazon to Austria. Where I can buy the very nice device. Best regards Wopo

      • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2018-06-27 13:58:12
        We currently only sell them through Amazon’s North America storefront, so they aren’t available directly from us in Europe.
    • kenve posted an update 2018-04-12 19:32:56
      @shicks8 Have you discovered any sensors for pH, Temp, DO, and Conductivity since your post last year?

      • suketunaik posted a new activity comment 2018-04-13 02:37:20
        yes, I have been using Atlas Scientific sensors. They have very good customer support. Always willing to help.
        I have duplicated my setup and now have three separate sensor sites all loaded with Atlas sensors. Make sure to use EZO carrier boards, sensor circuits, and the probes-all from Atlas. Call them up-they will explain all to you in detail.
        I also have Global Water sensors but they work off of 12 V supply. I haven’t tried using Global sensors (or any that require 12 V) on Mayfly boards but I was told that there is a way to do it by using a booster that goes from 5V to 12 V. You have to flip the switch on Mayfly (lookup schematic for version 0.5-it’s within the blocked labeled 3.3 V) and output 5V. Hope that helps.
    • lilcano posted an update 2018-01-17 07:53:27
      Has any one here worked on sending and receiving data from any SDI-12 based sensor using XBee RF radios? Please help with a sample sender and receiver code(Python if possible)
    • Patrick Lorch posted an update 2018-01-03 20:51:25
      I recently discovered a site called FarmHack (http://farmhack.org/tools) through the a Bioneers podcast (http://www.bioneers.org/). I wondered if there was anything like it for environmental monitoring. Then I got a survey about my use of WaterWiki and rediscovered EnviroDIY.

      • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2018-01-04 03:08:19
        That’s cool, it’s always interesting to learn how people find out about EnviroDIY. I met one of the founders of Farmhack last year at the Gathering for Open Science Hardware, and there’s definitely some crossover potential for our hardware and applications.
    • jcoffey posted an update 2018-01-02 12:58:27
      Shannon, Hope your holidays went well. We are looking to purchase materials to engage our technology students with the task of building a Mayfly Logger Station. Could you possibly provide us with a parts/components list of what we need to purchase? We would like to begin with the Spring Semester this year.
      Thanks, Jim Coffey Upper Perk HS 267-733-7153
    • Stanno posted an update 2017-12-23 15:47:58
      Hello, I am developing a low cost stream monitor for University of Baltimore for my internship. I’ve gotten mildly far using an Arduino Mega clone, but I am way behind schedule because of technical difficulties with the SD card reader (Hence the first two letters of my username). Is there any suggestions for what I should do next?
      Here’s what I am considering:
      -Getting another SD card reader
      -Getting an SD card shield
      -Getting an entirely new board, but this could possibly require me to start over and do a lot of work.
      I could post my Arduino IDE source code here if enough people say to do it, also I know I could be a little more specific with my problem in this post, but I am sort of limited on time here and also limited on space. More details coming soon!

      • Heather Brooks posted a new activity comment 2018-01-04 15:02:50
        Hi @shicks9. These status updates don’t go out in the daily or weekly email digest, so unless people stop by the site regularly they’re easy to miss. Since you haven’t gotten a response to your question yet, I’d recommend you repost it in one of the forums (https://envirodiy.org/forums/) or groups (https://envirodiy.org/groups/).
    • Matt’s Garage posted an update 2017-10-05 22:16:02
      Looking for water monitoring
    • wirot posted an update 2017-09-14 04:46:21
      Hello, are there someone who experience in online water quality monitoring system, I will setup more than 50 stations in Thailand, joint me please.

      • Heather Brooks posted a new activity comment 2017-10-05 12:41:33
        Hi @shicks0! Since you haven’t received a response to your question, I would recommend posting it in one of the forums. There are several forums; choose the one that best fits what you’re looking to do: https://envirodiy.org/forums/

        • Matt’s Garage posted a new activity comment 2017-10-05 22:17:59
          What are you looking to monitor?
        • wirot posted an update 2017-09-14 03:39:37
          427_0-89343400-1505360376_20160125_133404.jpg
    • Jake Pullins posted an update 2017-08-15 17:14:28
      @shicks Hey there! You seem to know the ins and outs of exactly what I am looking to do to help make storm water monitoring more cost effective to help out our company! I would greatly appreciate the opportunity to pick your brain about which options to consider for our ambient monitoring applications.Thanks!
      JP”
    • Craig Stubbs posted an update 2017-08-05 21:39:45
      Hi, Can you let me know how I might access Mayfly Data Logger equipment in Australia? I have a few projects which could really use the extra features the Mayfly has over an Arduino Mega.”

      • Heather Brooks posted a new activity comment 2017-08-08 12:59:54
        Welcome to EnviroDIY! Last I heard, international sales were still problematic but I’m going to refer you to @shicks for the latest information as she handles (among many things!) the equipment merchandising.
    • SkipF posted an update 2017-08-05 11:47:00
      I’d like to measure wind speed and direction with a gravity sensor on a pvc pole.
    • neilh posted an update 2017-07-26 17:49:46
      Beware cellular reseller Kore Wireless Group. The Cellular Industry has not been that friendly to small users. Back in 2009 I though I had got lucky with a small MVNO Wyless providing cellular IoT data connections at a reasonable rate.
      At the time I had some customers monitoring a number of remote rural stream where the only signal around was Verizon which used CDMA. I combined an embedded Multitech CDMA modem with the pressure sensor. I was hoping to be able to grow the number of customers I had, but I only ended up with the number of units installed less than 10.
      It did work pretty well for the past 6yrs. For new monitoring, I switched to using Onset equipment. However they only use ATT GSM which isn’t as widespread.
      Then Kore Wireless acquired Wyless – and this April Kore gave me a 2 month notice they were declaring an end-of-life to the Verizon plan I had. I contacted the product manager, and initially he said there was a good confidence they could switch it to another plan. Then I heard nothing, but on my bugging the product manager, a week before the end-of-life date, he said that the plan subscription would be a minimum that was equivalent to 1000% increase.!!
      I pleaded this wasn’t going to work, and told them the context – it was monitoring streams with endangered species in. He agreed to extend it while I looked for other options. I talked to a Verizon representative, who didn’t get back. I asked for it to be extended to the end of the year – then they terminated the data link.
      So some background – these providers are virtual networks called MVNOs – they are buying data access in bulk and can have some nefarious practices. Even the relationship I had with Wyless – they would periodically double bill a month, the first time I went into it in detail, and they claimed it was an accounting practice change, the 2nd time I protested it, but got nowhere – they had my credit card. The 3rd time, I realized I was on the hook and couldn’t do anything about it.
      So beware not having an alternative way of changing the provider if they get nasty.
    • SGFulton posted an update 2017-07-26 16:48:32
      Hi Shannon,Stephanie Fulton again. I was wondering how often you read the Decagon CTD-10’s using the SDI-12 library when you’re datalogging? We’ve been running them here in the lab to test the accuracy using Arduinos (Megas and Unos primarily) and the SDI-12 library. However, we’re taking a measurement every 5 seconds and averaging over 5 mins, and we’re seeing a lot a random bad data. Conductivity is the worst…we gets a number of zeros and other values way below tap water (currently about 114 uS/cm), as well as bad max values. I’d be happy to post my code and results, but first wanted to ask if you or anyone else has tried taking measurements more often than every 5-15 mins. I’m also taking air temp and barometric pressure using a T5403 (Sparkfun) once every 5 mins, since we were seeing some weird patterns that seemed correlated with either temp or pressure (haven’t seen that problem recently…could’ve been an artifact of an earlier Arduino setup). Thanks, Stephanie
    • Sara Damiano posted a new activity comment 2017-08-01 16:45:25
      I think right now we’re taking 10 readings very quickly (as fast as the CTD can) and averaging them. Then we repeat that every 5 minutes.
    • Sara Damiano posted a new activity comment 2017-08-02 15:56:22
      Also, please post questions like this to the forums instead of as a personal update.
    • xama posted an update 2017-07-06 16:28:55
      @shicks1 did you find a solution? I’ve the same problem
    • Sedhead posted an update 2017-05-09 18:49:13
      What’s the update on Mayflys?? I’m addicted. Can you hook me up soon? I would love to know when the next batch is available!

    • COBY posted an update 2017-03-07 19:30:50
      @shicks2 We have a 4 Mayfly data logger starter kit and we are trying to connect a Decagon CTD-10 sensor and we are having issues with finding the required code to program it and the wiring diagram. Would you please direct us to this information.
      Sincerly Cobleskill Instrumentation class.

    • Paul Dyer posted an update 2017-01-23 00:38:13
      Still looking for an example on how to read 0-5 V at 16 bit resolution. Can’t seem to get it to work. Maybe my board is bad?

    • ArnoudC posted an update 2017-01-17 17:19:44
      @shicks5 Dear Neil, I read you have experience with Particle. I have bought a Particle Electron for remote monitoring via mobile phone network. I also have a Mayfly to locally record the data. Is there a way I can “combine” Particle Electron and Mayfly? For me, the advantage of Particle is that is already comes with a chip that operates in Latin America. Friendly greetings, Arnoud

      • neilh posted an update 2017-01-17 17:40:24
        @shicks3 sure you can – whats your situation? Probably best to post in a logger forum. A wheel can be attached to an engine, but is that any use without the car and energy source!
    • Paul Dyer posted an update 2017-01-09 22:27:27
      Hello Can anyone tell me when more example sketches will be listed? Looking for a bare-bones 16 bit 0-5V dc data logger to build off of. Thanks Paul
    • neilh posted an update 2016-12-15 22:15:33
      For anybody at AGU in San Francisco interested in sensor type technology, there is Tech Mixer open invite from
      http://www.schmidtmarine.org/events
      December 15th, from 6:00 p.m. to 9 p.m – 101 THE EMBARCADERO, SUITE #118 , SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105
      https://www.google.com/maps?q=101+The+Embarcadero+Suite+118+San+Francisco,+CA,+94105+United+States

      • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2016-12-09 05:09:01
        I’ll be at the AGU meeting on Wednesday thru Friday. I’m also giving a presentation on Friday morning about EnviroDIY and our citizen science and education efforts.
      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2016-12-09 17:06:01
        Thanks for the reference, I’ll look you up. I haven’t got a ticket yet as its out my pocket
        Tere is a Tue 6:30pm-8:30 networking http://thrivingearthexchange.org/fall-meeting-2016/
        that I’m thinking of but sounds like that will be before you get there.
      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2016-12-09 22:51:10
        The remote access lectures have been posted
        https://fallmeeting.agu.org/2016/files/2016/11/On-Demand-Fall-Meeting-Sections.pdf
      • neilh posted a new activity comment 2016-12-09 22:52:26
        H52G Water and Society:
        Water Resources Management
        and Policy in a Changing World V
        10:20 A.M.-12:20 P.M.
        Room 3002, Moscone West”
    • neilh posted an update 2016-11-30 02:41:24
      I’m thinking of going to the AGU in SF Dec 12th?
      I’m looking over the sessions. I live 40miles N of SF so fairly easy to go down for a day.
      Anybody know some sessions they know about and recommend on terra firma monitoring.
      Last year there was a networking presentation on newly launched http://thrivingearthexchange.org/
    • neilh posted a new activity comment 2016-11-30 02:34:43
      Hi Shannon, (response to your pvt msg – attempting to post here)
      Yes I’ve got some RS485 transducers communicating. I’ve used the Sparkfun version in the past.
      The key is that a protocol runs on top of the RS485 – sometimes called modbus – and some people represent it is a set of archaic concepts.
      The full modbus may be useful in some SCADA apps, but I think its simpler to think of it as a query and response protocol.
      I’ve really managed to make it work by using a Salae logic 8bit analyzer to be able to see what is actually being emitted onto the bus protocol, validate the CRC. I’ve looked at some Arduino libraries, but they appear confusing – maybe I haven’t take the time to make them work. Also it turns out Keller switches the CRC bytes around.This is my code –
      https://bitbucket.org/neilh20/nuttapps/src/c62a41fe9f256076a5ea1aab423a95b9c55b1b30/examples/ae/aelog/?at=work_ensy1b
      see ae_mdm_phy.c This “aelog” subsystem reading from a Keller NanoLevel and then sending it to a particile.io photonWiFi, which transmits over wifi to thingspeak.It has options for other transducers including Insitu, however each transducer manufacturer does a little differently.
      The environment is PX4 like (nuttx) , running on an Olimex-H407/, STM32F407/200kram (similar to the emerging Arduino Otto).
      I’ve gone with the OlimixH407 as it is industrial quality, has a 12V input and a number of peripherals I need, and plugable RS485.
      I’ve been running it off a +12V supply, for the RS485.
      I’m about to add a switched 12V boost, which I just realized I can run off the switched USB host +5V
      The base Nuttx implements Posix calls, and a shell (linux sh like) Some of which makes life easier, and some of it is going to require Arduino like evolution.
      My workflow env http://nuttxworkflow.blogspot.com/2016/05/tutorial-bitbucket-branched-workflow.htmlWhat sensors are you looking at?
      What supply voltages do they need?.
      How are you connecting into the Mayfly.
      I bought a Mayfly mega1284/ram16k, and familiar with its architecture. In a past project used its sibling mega2560/ram8K extensively.
      Great to see the work you’ve been doing with the Mayfly, but haven’t had an application for it yet.
  • neilh posted a new activity comment 2016-11-30 02:29:05
    Test.. having problems responding to msg
  • Marion posted an update 2016-10-28 04:34:14
    Is there any data available for estimated power drain from Mayfly logging 2-4 sensors once every 5 to 10 minutes- running only on the LiPo battery and without solar recharging?

    • Heather Brooks posted a new activity comment 2016-11-07 14:42:20
      Hi Marion. If you haven’t received an answer for this yet, you could repost it in the Mayfly forum (http://envirodiy.org/forum/dataloggers/mayfly/). It will reach more people that way, as it will go out in the RSS email.
    • Shannon Hicks posted a new activity comment 2016-11-16 18:34:49
      It really depends on what sensors you’re using. The board uses very little power while sleeping, so all of the power drain you should be concerned about is related to the sensors and how much they draw, how frequently you sample, and how many seconds you have to leave them on in order to take a measurement.
  • Heather Brooks posted an update 2015-01-28 21:00:47
    Welcome to EnviroDIY @shicks4! Feel free to contact me with any questions as you explore the website.