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Blog LoRa MER Week 2: Boat in a Box
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Engagement
  • Author Author: fmilburn
  • Date Created: 12 Dec 2018 9:26 PM Date Created
  • Views 2199 views
  • Likes 11 likes
  • Comments 5 comments
  • mkr relay shield
  • buoy
  • mkr_giveaway_projects
  • sensors
  • lorawan
  • arduino_projects
  • lora
  • arduino mkr 1300
  • boat
  • arduino
  • mkr_smarterworld
  • wan_1300
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LoRa MER Week 2: Boat in a Box

fmilburn
fmilburn
12 Dec 2018
image

Arduino Home

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I am prototyping an intelligent buoy (that evolved into a boat) that uses LoRa to communicate with a base station using the Arduino MKR WAN 1300 as part of the Build A Smarter World promotion by element14 and Arduino.  This post is the third in a series, and an extension of last week where the project began the movement from a breadboard onto something more robust and suitable for field use.  This week additional sensors were added and a small board to hold sensor modules was constructed.

image

Implementation Status

The following features are now active:

Buoy:

  • ST3775 Display
  • LoRa Messaging
  • LoRa Reception
  • ICP10100  Atmospheric Pressure / Temperature
  • NEO-6M-0-001 GPS
  • Thermistor Water Temperature
  • Thermistor Air Temperature
  • KX224-I2C 3 axis Accelerometer

Base:

  • LoRa Reception (polls)
  • LoRa Messaging

 

A new hand wired board was constructed to hold the I2C modules and thermistors.  All other modules are mounted on or connect by ribbon cable to the daughter board that was described last week.  Power can be supplied from either USB or two "C" batteries.  The modules and parts have been attached to a cardboard box with Velcro and will be more permanently attached after the buoy is constructed.

image

This is the minimum implementation.  Also shown unconnected in the photo above are a turbidity sensor upper right and a small pump.  Both require 5V which is not currently available but may be implemented in the first floating prototype if time permits.

Sensor Output

The sensors all seem to be working well and giving accurate results.  Results are sent to the base station as comma separated values and displayed for now on a terminal window.

image

The sensor readings can also be viewed on the TFT screen at the buoy or if the buoy is connected to a computer on the serial monitor. 

Distance Tests

With the addition of the GPS it is now possible to get a more accurate estimate of distance between the base and the buoy.  My guesstimates of the distance were off last week and the distance from my home to the test site is closer to 700m than a kilometer.  During the week I was able to move the test out over the water where there is more unobstructed line of sight between antennas. Reception improved from -122 dB to -115dB.

Problems Encountered

  • Flakiness in the TFT Screen:  The screen does not always work on startup but will usually work when reset or powered on/off.  Probably due to transients and power instability on startup.
  • Power Hungry:  As reported last week, the MKR1300 does not have a good sleep mode in stock condition and is a need to be able to power on and off some of the other modules, in particular the GPS.
  • LoRaWan:  A considerable amount of time was spent trying to get a ESP32 TTGO all-in-one module to act as a single channel bridge to no avail.

Next Steps

Due to time pressures and the upcoming holidays (project due by January 15!) it is necessary to move on to the construction of the buoy itself.  Several possibilities are under consideration:

  • Box Shape, off the shelf plastic
  • Spar Shape, constructed of PVC pipe with everything inside
  • Spar with Box, attach box to top of spar
  • RC Boat, found a cheap one that might be fun

Comments, corrections, and ideas (especially about buoy construction this week) are always welcome!

Links

MKR WAN 1300: LoRa Marine Environmental Ranger

Week 1:  Making it Portable

Winners Announcement: Build a Smarter World: Build an Arduino MKR WAN 1300 Project for an Arduino Engineering Kit!

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Top Comments

  • tariq.ahmad
    tariq.ahmad over 6 years ago +4
    Hi fmilburn , There is a lot going on this holiday season and shipping for the Freedom of FPGA contest has not run smoothly. Would it make sense to push the deadline till a later date? The reason for doing…
  • fmilburn
    fmilburn over 6 years ago in reply to tariq.ahmad +3
    Hi Tariq, A couple of weeks would help me produce a better prototype but I am committed to getting something worthwhile up and working in any event. Frank
  • tariq.ahmad
    tariq.ahmad over 6 years ago in reply to fmilburn +3
    I have some work related as well as family commitments that also popped up around January so there seems to be a lot of reasons it will make sense to push the deadline further. Makes sense to make the…
  • fmilburn
    fmilburn over 6 years ago in reply to shabaz

    Hi Shabaz,

    A RC boat would definitely be the most fun option but probably also the least reliable in terms of seaworthiness and carrying load capability.  I may pick it anyway :-)

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  • shabaz
    shabaz over 6 years ago

    Hi Frank,

     

    It's great to see this progressing, it will be interesting seeing the measurements.. and the RC boat to send it to its mission : )

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  • tariq.ahmad
    tariq.ahmad over 6 years ago in reply to fmilburn

    I have some work related as well as family commitments that also popped up around January so there seems to be a lot of reasons it will make sense to push the deadline further.  Makes sense to make the announcement sooner or later so no one gets put out of their way unnecessarily.

     

    I will take a look at what makes sense and post an extension date tomorrow.   :-)

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  • fmilburn
    fmilburn over 6 years ago in reply to tariq.ahmad

    Hi Tariq,

     

    A couple of weeks would help me produce a better prototype but I am committed to getting something worthwhile up and working in any event.

     

    Frank

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  • tariq.ahmad
    tariq.ahmad over 6 years ago

    Hi  fmilburn ,

     

    There is a lot going on this holiday season and shipping for the Freedom of FPGA contest has not run smoothly.  Would it make sense to push the deadline till a later date?  The reason for doing these was to get the MKR line in the hands of members so they could show people what's possible with these boards.  We're getting great content such as this series,  there has been some rescheduling with the Arduino live streams.  I'm totally good with pushing this contest out further.

     

    Love seeing these projects come up.  The reason for including a Grand Prize this time and a completion date is because there was worry if it was too open ended, projects would slip through the cracks.

     

    Tariq

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