Reply To: Datalogger build

Hi neilh

This project is a dual purpose in that primarily will be a kick-off learning tool but also be used by local high school students. It is an outdoor project with no power source other than battery and/or small solar panel and will also need some sort of water proof containment such as the pelican cases SWRC use. The application will be in a stream with ranges of conductance of 80 to 1500. Water level has been recorded at a height of ~3.5 meters in years past. All three parameters (level, cond, and water temp) are required to be of any good analysis of the system so they are all of equal importance. I am very familiar with SDI-12 sensors and protocols. I do believe the decagon ctd can also be used in 485 format as well. I do not need to stick with that particular device though but haven’t found anything in the same price range or cheaper that could provide relatively reliable data.

My biggest issue getting started with building my own Arduino sensor system is how to choose the appropriate board to start with? What do I look for when determining the interface and add-on capabilities on the boards?