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@ckillen
Active 3 years, 4 months ago-
Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 1 months ago
I’m planning to replace some existing datalogging equipment with the Mayfly and keep some of the existing power equipment.
Today I have several stations each with Campbell Scientific dataloggers & sensors, standalone modems, solar panels, lead-acid batteries and charging circuits. The equipment is all 12v based. My desire is to pull out the d…[Read more]
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Cal posted a new activity comment 5 years, 2 months ago
Neil – there is no solar panel on this setup. We swap the battery with a new charged one after 3 months use.
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Cal posted a new activity comment 5 years, 2 months ago
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…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 2 months ago
Mdean,
When I went to Carrier Profile 2 (at&t) instead of CP 0, my connect time decreased by about 1 minute. Not a huge improvement. I’m hoping my long connect time is due to poor cell signal or bad configuration – and not a modem problem. I’m going to try to travel to a better area this weekend and see if I get connected faster. I’m also…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 2 months ago
Brian,
I feel your pain. I tried to get started months ago with logging_to_envirodiy and gave up. I believe the code is at too high a level to understand what is going on, what’s working and what’s not. You really need to get some “bring-up” software in place to be able to write AT commands and see the XBee respond. That’s why I went with the…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 2 months ago
Sometimes I get the XBee into a mode that won’t respond to AT commands. It has something to do with the sequence of bringing up power to the Mayfly and power to the modem. To get out of this mode, I’d like to try to programmatically “reset” the XBee modem via it’s reset pin #5. In the wiring diagram of the Mayfly, it shows a small circle around…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 3 months ago
After a sabbatical of several months, I’m now back working on the LTE-M XBee and I HAVE IT WORKING!
For software, I’m using:
– StreamDebugger
– Parts of Diagnostics.ino
– TINY_GSM_MODEM_XBEE
– My own .inoMy hardware is:
– My XBee (Digi XBee3 Cellular Smart Modem XB3-C-A2-UT-001)
– Mayfly 0.5b
– Soldered SJ13
– 3.7v Lipo battery
– USB to Wi…[Read more] -
Cal posted a new activity comment 5 years, 5 months ago
OK. If/when I see this happen again, I’ll check the battery with my voltmeter.
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Cal posted a new activity comment 5 years, 6 months ago
All my Mayflies are v0.5b.
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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…[Read more]
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OK. If/when I see this happen again, I’ll check the battery with my voltmeter.
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Cal posted an update 5 years, 6 months ago
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…[Read more]
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What version of Mayfly do you have? v0.3, v0.4, v0.5, or v0.5b?
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All my Mayflies are v0.5b.
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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…[Read more]
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OK. If/when I see this happen again, I’ll check the battery with my voltmeter.
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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,…[Read more]
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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…[Read more]
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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…[Read more]-
Neil – there is no solar panel on this setup. We swap the battery with a new charged one after 3 months use.
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 6 months ago
I’ve cut the trace at SJ13 and made the solder bridge to directly connect the LIPO battery to the modem. Now the LTE-M XBee doesn’t reply to anything – I’m sure it’s not powering on. Am I missing some switch or setting? I’m using some version of logging_to_EnviroDIY.ino.
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 7 months ago
I ordered some parts and I’m back working on this. I have 4 each of Mayfly’s (v0.5b), Hologram SIMs, and XBee3’s (XB3-C-A2-UT-001). I’ve had a little trouble getting the library straight and I intend to learn and install PlatformIO, but for now I’m working on regular Arduino platform. I’m running Sara’s “logging_to_EnviroDIY” … I don’t know if…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 7 months ago
OK – I’ve cleaned up my library problems as suggested. I’ve paired down the logging_to_EnviroDIY.ino to the bare minimum to check out the modem. I also turned on some debugging and I think I fixed a bug in the code that made it think it was connecting to a WiFi network. I know I got on the cellular network because it showed as active on…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 7 months ago
I just received the Digi Xbee3 that I ordered a week ago. Now I need a little help with a sketch to get me started. I tried using the code that Beth suggested (Logging_to_EnviroDIY.ino) but never got it to compile. Does anyone have a simple bring-up sketch for this module? You can contact me externally at ckillen@charter.net.
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 7 months ago
Thanks Beth and Shannon, I’m finally getting a chance to get back to this.
I’m NOT using any sensor with the ADS115 chip so I’ll go back to my 2G setup and comment out those lines of code. I’ll get back to you on my success/failure eventually.
The Digi XBee3™ Cellular Smart Modem, LTE-M seems to be what I want in the long run. I just ordered…[Read more]
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 7 months ago
Does anyone know when 3G will be available on the Mayfly?
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Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 8 months ago
Thanks for your posts Beth and Sara. The more I look into this, the more I believe that Sara is right; I just don’t have 2G service where I live. I found an old Raven 2G modem, plugged it in and it couldn’t connect either. Even knowing that, I tried to run the script that Beth suggested but couldn’t get it to compile:
error: ‘class…[Read more] -
Cal started the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger 5 years, 8 months ago
I have very recently purchased a Mayfly, GPRSBee (with SIM800H) and a Hologram sim card. Finding information on how to get the cellular communication working has been a nightmare. I’m sure there is some documentation out there somewhere but I haven’t found what I need: a step-by-step guide for loading/personalizing/testing the configuration. I…[Read more]
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Cal became a registered member 5 years, 8 months ago
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…[Read more]
Neil – there is no solar panel on this setup. We swap the battery with a new charged one after 3 months use.