EnviroDIY | Cal | Activity https://www.envirodiy.org/members/ckillen/activity/ Activity feed for Cal. Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:56:11 -0400 https://buddypress.org/?v= en-US 30 hourly 2 9cddef1a9859f11f9c0517071fb33cc0 Cal started the topic System Hangs with Hologram Outage in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/system-hangs-with-hologram-outage/ Thu, 01 Aug 2024 12:53:46 -0400 During the Hologram outage last week, 12 of my old stations in the field (all Mayfly 0.5 and Digi modems) stopped reporting measurements over the Internet.  Then when Hologram fixed the problem, 10 of these stations (which have been running since 2020), came back online and reported all their measurements including the time Hologram was down.…[Read more]

]]> c1a8f2b4d3ff064bf4f6d2c291835781 Cal replied to the topic Trouble locating information on new LTEBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-locating-information-on-new-ltebee/#post-17641 Tue, 28 Feb 2023 15:39:45 -0500 Thanks all for your replies and help.  I didn’t know about the MTU and limiting my message buffer under 1500 will easily solve that problem.  I’ve put recovery code in my sketch to gracefully power down and reset the modem if it ever gets into a non-responsive state.  I’ll be installing several units (Mayfly 1.1 and Sim7080) this summer. Thanks again.

]]> e3b0b6179fcff7d464caa97ddb561656 Cal replied to the topic Trouble locating information on new LTEBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-locating-information-on-new-ltebee/#post-17632 Sun, 26 Feb 2023 23:04:52 -0500 I’ve had 2 problems with the SIM7080G modem on the Mayfly 1.x board.  I wonder if anybody else has had the same problems or has any information that would help me.

My code is uses the TinyGsm library, and some parts of the ModularSensors code but is otherwise custom code. The code has been working in the field with Mayfly 0.5 and Digi LT…[Read more]

]]> 86363b0c019ea0dc9508b139cfcdb1f7 Cal replied to the topic Yosemite library cant be found! in the forum Environmental Sensors https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/yosemite-library-cant-be-find/#post-17558 Thu, 26 Jan 2023 12:04:23 -0500 Thanks for the reply Neil.  The only reason I picked this thread to post was it started with a title “library can’t be found”. That’s been one of  my problems.  Let me know if there is a better place to post.

Here’s a compile problem that I’m working on now:  ….librariesModularSensorssrcsensorsApogeeSQ212.cpp:84:17: error: ‘class Ada…[Read more]

]]> cc8afa4c42ec2d5b9b1a50b805e53136 Cal replied to the topic Yosemite library cant be found! in the forum Environmental Sensors https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/yosemite-library-cant-be-find/#post-17555 Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:44:45 -0500 Trouble Compiling

We have several installations of Mayfly .5 & Digi modems in the field running code we developed years ago on the Arduino IDE. This winter we want to convert our solution to run on our Mayfly 1.0 & SIM7080, so I started by downloading the DRWI_SIM7080LTE sketch + several libraries – and of course I can’t get it to compile. Que…[Read more]

]]> 13253161361ca9f0d5084d106bd5963b Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-17026 Sat, 21 May 2022 13:35:30 -0400 Shannon – thanks for your thoughtful reply.  I’m sure I’ll be able to find the problem now.  Answering your questions:

  1. I’m not switching D22 on.
  2. Humidity is a possibility. I’ll look for corrosion and add desiccant .
  3. I’ve had ants at another location but not this one…yet.
  4. I’ll make some tests as you suggest to isolate the problem.  It mi…

[Read more]

]]> f50ee4aa6094424c20d002965854a866 Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-17010 Sun, 15 May 2022 14:45:38 -0400 My stations as described above have been working fine for 3 years in the field.  I’ve had a few components fail (12-5v buck converter, XBee daughter card, resistor divider) but otherwise very stable.

However, one Mayfly (0.5b) seems to be performing fine with 2 exceptions:

  • the red LED3 is either solid ON or dim
  • the ADC that records the 12v…

[Read more]

]]> 2ad56e8721f6d04bc9c0c8251098fbe2 Cal replied to the topic Deep Cycle 12v Battery Recommendations in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/deep-cycle-12v-battery-recommendations/#post-16266 Fri, 14 Jan 2022 21:41:34 -0500 After struggling with power problems for years and buying several brands of 12v batteries and also using multiple batteries in parallel, I discovered I was looking in the wrong area.  The solution for me was to find where power was being used and replacing inefficient modules with efficient ones.  And the problems I found were surprising and p…[Read more]

]]> ba1e6555c4fb83e05e3f976b6db703ce Cal replied to the topic Stronger cell antenna? in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/stronger-cell-antenna/#post-14858 Mon, 23 Nov 2020 14:41:35 -0500 We just had an experience with antennae that might interest others.  We have a dozen sensor stations in the field measuring water level of lakes in north western Michigan.  Each station has an SDI-12 water level sensor connected to a Mayfly with a Digi XBee3 Cellular LTE-M/NB-IoT modem using a $3.00 antenna from Adafruit  …[Read more]

]]> e179b6e42c593fc821d85d8f3081a781 Cal replied to the topic MMW Data Outage? in the forum Monitor My Watershed https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/mmw-data-outage/#post-14315 Mon, 13 Jul 2020 11:58:08 -0400 All my devices came back online after 3:30 am ET – outage was around 15 hours by Hologram. I’m going to look at alternate providers if this happens again.

]]> 84b1d0791f85dd0b3df3de2d3f6a2fec Cal replied to the topic MMW Data Outage? in the forum Monitor My Watershed https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/mmw-data-outage/#post-14313 Mon, 13 Jul 2020 01:55:31 -0400 I know Hologram is having trouble. None of my devices could connect for past 7 hours.

]]> 0bd862fea4ca81d34239f39266bad6cf Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-13890 Wed, 04 Mar 2020 15:26:39 -0500 Yep – I had a problem with my library.  All is good now. Sorry for the fire drill.

]]> 14c38d5d659f88f3c8f32f8a1002133c Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-13880 Tue, 03 Mar 2020 16:50:44 -0500 Sara noted above that she re-wrote TinyGsm – so I decided it was a good time to update all my code with new libraries.  Trouble is, I can’t get TinyGSM with templates from EnviroDIY GitHub to compile on the Arduino IDE (I’m not using PlatformIO).  I’m sure I’m making a simple mistake or compiler option but can’t figure it out being a novice C++ p…[Read more]

]]> 26929dbef9d5c4f19e12917ba5e15b5b Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-13861 Tue, 25 Feb 2020 18:20:53 -0500 More news:

  1. The cutting and soldering of the Mayfly and XBeee adapter mentioned above works great!  I can now programmatically reset the modem if it gets into a non-responsive state.  I’m thinking of ditching my Sleep Mode code and instead doing a Shutdown(SD) and power off via A5 between communications. It may be less error prone and it does u…

[Read more]

]]> 680d8810ab82cd21a0acf98720265f70 Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-13850 Sun, 23 Feb 2020 16:12:19 -0500 I had something interesting happen to me last week – a brand new XBee  (with brand new firmware 11415) + brand new SIM card would NOT connect to the tower for days.  In desperation, I changed the Carrier Profile from 0 to 2 (AT&T) and it connected immediately.  After that, I changed the CP back to 0 and it connects fine.

All of my inst…[Read more]

]]> 26307795063448f929135c5cb597e7eb Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-13835 Fri, 21 Feb 2020 16:34:30 -0500 From time to time, some of my XBee radios in the field get into a state that won’t communicate.  Even though I can successfully execute AT commands nothing I’ve found but a power recycle will get it out of that state and communicating again.  One thing that can cause the problem is a power brownout but there are other causes that I don’t underst…[Read more]

]]> 2a4ca2b5d7874dda822910b801097b53 Cal replied to the topic Low power project in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/low-power-project/#post-12954 Tue, 25 Jun 2019 13:10:25 -0400 From what I read in the documentation, the following sketch should include these libraries for concurrent SDI-12 and RTC support.

#include <SDI12_PCINT3.h>
#include<Sodaq_PcInt_PCINT0.h>
void setup() {}
void loop() {}

But I get compile error:

librariesEnviroDIY_PCInt_PCINT0Sodaq_PcInt_PCINT0.cpp.o (symbol from plugin): In function…[Read more]

]]> 31b9586ca11ac2ac9f3b96b1af80f3f5 Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-12904 Sat, 18 May 2019 21:39:47 -0400 Thanks, Shannon, for your response, clarifications and tremendous work with the Mayfly. Addressing your questions:

I’m powering the CS451 with the same 12v battery that powers the Mayfly from the 12-5v USB converter. The ground (-) of the Mayfly & battery are common. I could not find anywhere in the Campbell Sci specs the voltage level for the…[Read more]

]]> 5eff833776f88a058728267b4ae5639b Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-12899 Fri, 17 May 2019 11:54:22 -0400 Next week I’m deploying several units – Mayfly with XBee using Hologram SIM, logging data from CS451 SDI-12 pressure transducers. They are replacing old 12v systems with Microhard 3G modems and CR300 Dataloggers. The old modems are power hungry and unreliable. The AT&T service is expensive and 3G will go away eventually. The dataloggers have…[Read more]

]]> 72bf6e36aeffef46217356db235159f8 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12886 Sat, 27 Apr 2019 01:30:44 -0400 After a few months of successful communication with the DIGI XBee3, I am now starting to get failures with longer and successive Internet messages. Delays between sending messages helps.

I believe the problem is power related even though I’ve made the solder jumper. Once the XBee fails to transmit, I have to power-cycle it or airplane mode…[Read more]

]]> fecbf8df126441ef689c906ce93e5e4c Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-12848 Fri, 15 Mar 2019 00:28:19 -0400 Thanks Sara. I think a cheap 12v to 5v phone charger will work well for me then.
As for the LiPo battery – I will use a small one. Our transmissions are short and the LiPo will be recharged from the lead-acid battery.

I have the V0.5b version of the Mayfly – so I could use the 12v input. But I’m a little worried though that the voltage may…[Read more]

]]> 18988cf40b916ab4902bb30dad0a3acf Cal replied to the topic Battery Power Options in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/battery-power-options/#post-12843 Wed, 13 Mar 2019 17:19:51 -0400 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]

]]> 58c5a9a5d580cf70d470e7bec0e11f9d Cal posted a new activity comment https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3561/#acomment-3808 Thu, 07 Feb 2019 17:22:08 -0500 Neil – there is no solar panel on this setup. We swap the battery with a new charged one after 3 months use.

In reply to - Cal posted an update 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. […] ]]> b1c8112c5b1971bad1b1c777a0419d70 Cal posted a new activity comment https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3561/#acomment-3805 Tue, 05 Feb 2019 22:07:08 -0500 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]

In reply to - Cal posted an update 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. […] ]]> 5ceff662aa891d0d15d3d31a93572878 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12750 Fri, 25 Jan 2019 23:14:04 -0500 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]

]]> b8a83975bddab083944f4cb91b94596e Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12749 Fri, 25 Jan 2019 23:02:49 -0500 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]

]]> d325698fcfb442d24c8c4db0840365ae Cal replied to the topic Trouble initializing XBee3 LTE-M in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/trouble-initializing-xbee3-lte-m/#post-12731 Wed, 23 Jan 2019 15:10:06 -0500 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]

]]> efe1fe7c5f86b014e484920291734fa8 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12727 Sun, 20 Jan 2019 23:57:31 -0500 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 .ino

My 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]

]]> 7a0cdb4589dd16d5f8f93090e7291c4f Cal posted a new activity comment https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3561/#acomment-3565 Tue, 23 Oct 2018 18:14:05 -0400 OK. If/when I see this happen again, I’ll check the battery with my voltmeter.

In reply to - Cal posted an update 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. […] ]]> 09307c3872acd4a6a3addc1111368319 Cal posted a new activity comment https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3561/#acomment-3563 Tue, 23 Oct 2018 10:44:56 -0400 All my Mayflies are v0.5b.

In reply to - Cal posted an update 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. […] ]]> 160c642fe45a473524979c4b51c647ee Cal posted an update: Has anybody seen a voltage spike recorded by the Mayfly? I […] https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3561/ Mon, 22 Oct 2018 16:46:26 -0400 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]

]]> 8 bb2f79f791d32b9eda30ba85acd754c9 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12414 Mon, 24 Sep 2018 15:33:36 -0400 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.

]]> 50115983531aaf277a28c0bd8a2454a2 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12387 Mon, 17 Sep 2018 13:36:31 -0400 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]

]]> b1204c3e2250f2477dff8d7d27e69c70 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12380 Thu, 06 Sep 2018 15:34:14 -0400 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]

]]> e168919e2a4d4d714a1d55ff88e17e52 Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12376 Wed, 05 Sep 2018 20:40:43 -0400 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.

]]> 7e5373ffabcd3b8e6f2614275baad23a Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12370 Wed, 29 Aug 2018 13:51:45 -0400 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]

]]> 4771afc221afe111548b28215baed03f Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12362 Sat, 25 Aug 2018 15:51:32 -0400 Does anyone know when 3G will be available on the Mayfly?

]]> a70838d27aa1dd86eed1bb09a420138e Cal replied to the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/#post-12353 Mon, 20 Aug 2018 01:40:52 -0400 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]

]]> 2e9be71b25fc01b563a6a4447dc69c01 Cal started the topic GPRSBee in the forum Mayfly Data Logger https://www.envirodiy.org/topic/gprsbee/ Sun, 19 Aug 2018 13:50:48 -0400 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]

]]> eeb2646426803b211306dbc5b3185328 Cal became a registered member https://www.envirodiy.org/activity/p/3400/ Fri, 10 Aug 2018 13:50:10 -0400 0