[Shannon Hicks]

We’d need more information in order to troubleshoot your problem.  Are you using an EnviroDIY Mayfly board, and if so what hardware version do you have?  What cell or wifi board are you using?  What Arduino sketch are you using on the board and are you using it mostly as-is, or did you rewrite any part of it or the supporting libraries?

[Shannon Hicks]

I found a schematic in your github repo, my suggestion would be to power everything external to the Mayfly with its own beefy power source, especially the relay bank.  It looks like you’re currently using the main 3.3v regulator of the Mayfly to power the relays and maybe some other things, which is probably what’s causing the brownout.  There’s a secondary 3.3v regulator that powers the SWITCHED_3V output (and the switched 5v and 12v circuits too), so that would be a better source for external devices (just leave pin D22 high all the time to leave the switched power outputs constantly on).  Most big external loads on the Mayfly should be connected to the switched outputs in order to provide a more stable voltage for the processor and other vital on-board circuitry.  Also, all of that power the Mayfly is providing to itself and all the peripherals has to run through the bq24074 charge controller, which handles all the power going into the Mayfly from either a battery or USB power (and also back out to the battery for charging), and sometimes it doesn’t like surges from motors and other heavy instantaneous loads.  So try powering that relay bank (and any other load) from an external source (making sure to tie all the grounds together for common reference) and see if that corrects your brownout issue.

[Shannon Hicks]

What version of the Mayfly board are you using?  And how are you powering the Mayfly?  Is the Mayfly providing the power for the sensor and vacuum pump too, or is that from a different source?

[Shannon Hicks]

You could also try putting an ammeter in line with the main battery (with no solar or USB connected) to monitor the current of the board during use.  When it’s sleeping, you should see a current of about 0.6mA  for your configuration.  If you measure a sleeping current above 1mA, then something is probably wrong, either the board isn’t properly sleeping, or something is drawing more power than it should.  Have you tried swapping or kist removing the microSD card?  Some cards brands use more power in a sleeping Mayfly than others.  And sometimes old cards that once were good will start to go bad and use more power than normal.  And on rare occasions, the pins of the microSD card socket (either the optional vertical or the horizontal on-board socket) will get bent and allow for a phantom current draw.  So monitoring the sleeping Mayfly current with no memory card can be a useful tool to locate the source of the issue, as well as removing any external sensors and the cell board, all one at a time, to locate anything using an unusual amount of power during idle or sleep mode.

[Shannon Hicks]

They’re spring-loaded quick connect jacks.  The wires go in the round holes not the rectangular ones.  If you tug on them and they don’t come loose, then they should be connected properly.  If they pop out, then you’ve just got to insert them further.  I usually use my fingers, but you could also use something like needle-nose pliers to push one wire at a time into the hole until you feel it securely click into place.  If you need to release them, put a small pointed tool like a tiny flat-blade screwdriver or some really pointy tweezers into the small rectangular hole next to the round one, and it will release the spring and allow you to remove the wire to try again.

[Shannon Hicks]

A description of the operation of the LEDs on the Mayfly board can be found here:  https://www.envirodiy.org/mayfly/hardware/details-and-specs/

For the one you asked about, it’s under part C:

C- Power LEDs and DIP switches:  LEDs indicate board power (green) and USB power (orange).  Useful for easily seeing if the board is on and if USB power is connected.  Green LED will be lit anytime the board has power and the power switch is in the ON position.  Orange LED will be lit anytime power is being supplied through the USB or FTDI connectors.  If Mayfly board is deployed in a sleeping logger station, it is recommended to set both DIP switches to the OFF position in order to save battery power.  Use a small pointed object to gently slide the small white squares of the DIP switch either to the ON or OFF positions.

Have you tried replacing the battery back on the station with a fully charged one?  Sometimes the Lipo packs won’t take a charge or charge properly and just need to be replaced with a new one.

[Shannon Hicks]

The Yosemitech Y-511A needs 12v to operate, so it won’t be happy if you modify the Mayfly jumper to set the 12v output to 9v.  I’m not familiar with the operation of the modbus wing you’re using so I can’t comment on its operation, but we have a new modbus adapter board with it’s own beefy 12v-boost Grove adapter board that will be available in the shop in a few weeks, so I think that might be something for you to try.  I can send you an email about it, and we’ll be posting examples here once they’re ready for release.

[Shannon Hicks]

There should be little adjustment screws or stops that allow you to calibrate the sensor to tip at exactly one millimeter of rainfall (which is 5.0 ml of water).  Did you try adjusting them and doing the calibration procedure before deployment?  You also have to ensure that the sensor is installed completely level and that it is mounted to a firm pole or mount that doesn’t move.  If any tipping bucket rain sensor is installed unlevel, it can cause accuracy issues and improper operation.  We’ve also encountered spiders that make webs during dry periods that can cause them to not tip properly during rain events (I don’t think that’s your current issue, but it’s something to watch out for on long deployments.)

[Shannon Hicks]

Can you share the model number and manufacturer of the rain gage, or attach a picture of it that shows the tipping mechanism?

[Shannon Hicks]

It sounds like things aren’t connected to the Mayfly board properly.  The 3.7v Lipo battery gets connected to only one of the JST jacks labeled LIPO BATT on the Mayfly board, then a 6v solar panel gets connected to only one of the jacks labeled either SOLAR1 or SOLAR2, and not both.  Are you using one of the old style glossy 3.5w panels, or one of the newer 5W ETFE panels with the textured matte finish?  They are in stock:  https://voltaicsystems.com/5-watt-panel-etfe/

What happens if you unplug the solar panel from the Mayfly board, what kind of reading to you get?  And have you tried swapping the battery pack for another one?

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