HI Looking for as Lora type device for measuring water tank levels about 1km away. I dont want to connect it to TTN or internet in any way. I have a few servers at the house and run already mysql databases for other things. I want to log the tanks levels into the db. Also, I would like to run a relay and turn the pump on and off remotely as well, Lopy4 seems like it may be overkill.
As an aside, I already have a RPi and SEN0208 connnected to the house tank via wifi however I would like to move it to an aduino.
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Hi Michael. The way I see it, there are three separate parts to this project. The first is reading the tank level. The second, transferring that data, and the third logging the data.
For the first part, I would recommend an ultrasonic sensor, that measures the distance between the water and the top of the tank: https://core-electronics.com.au/weatherproof-ultrasonic-sensor-with-separate-probe.html
The second part is the transmission of your data. I would recommend hooking the ultrasonic up to a Pycom: https://core-electronics.com.au/pycom-lopy4.html with this: https://core-electronics.com.au/pycom-lora-sigfox-antenna-kit.html
Then finally I would recommend running a Rpi database connected to another Pycom that outputs the tank level at a specified time interval via a serial connection. https://core-electronics.com.au/raspberry-pi-4-model-b-4gb.html
Hope this helps!
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Presuming you’ve got access to power out at the tank, because you mentioned a pump also.
No power out there would make things more complicate, meaning solar / batteries and etc.
I’ve been recently working on a similar project. Where a old computer out in the shed is taking measurements of an attached rain water tank, hourly. Writing to a text file. Then rsyncing the results back to a rasperryPi which is doing the same to a tank attached to the house. Although luckily the shed is within WiFi range in my case.
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Thank you for your reply Mitchell. I am using that same level sensor and a RPi at the house already and was considering the Lopy4 for the remote tank. It would have to run from solar so I am looking for a low power solution that will cover the 1km distance.
I’ll need to find some tutorials on setting up the lopy4 for two way Lora networking to get the levels from the tank and also send pump on/off commands to it.
I have a couple of Arduino Nanos on the way to connect the radio to and I’ll use the RPi at the house to run the database.
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Hey Michael,
Sounds excellent, make sure to let us know how you go with the project! Some pictures would be great. (please note that you can actually submit a write-up to get a store credit reward if it’s added to the site from the link below)
Bryce
Core Electronics | Support
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