Ready to put your Tech Tutors skills into practice? WILDLABS and Freaklabs are proud to announce our new virtual course: Build Your Own Data Logger. This eight-part video tutorial series will guide wildlife and conservation researchers through building and deploying custom hardware using the Arduino platform. To join, Register now!
This course is free to all, but if you would like to build along with the course in real-time, you can purchase the WildLogger board and kit for $30 (USD) here
About the Series
If our first season of Tech Tutors inspired you to put your conservation tech skills to the test, we've got a brand-new experience coming to WILDLABS! Where can you start learning how to use Arduino to build custom devices for wildlife and conservation research? Right here!
Beginning this November, WILDLABS and Freaklabs are proud to introduce an eight-part video tutorial series that guides wildlife and conservation researchers through building and deploying custom hardware using the Arduino platform. The series will use WildLogger - an Arduino-based board that’s designed for deployment - to create a custom data logger.
Are you new to Arduino, or maybe not entirely sure what Arduino is? Good news - this series is for beginners like you! By the end of our eight modules, you'll have the practical skills and knowledge base you need to deploy your creation for real.
The series assumes no hardware experience. It’ll cover common terminology, components, the hardware design stack, setting up the Arduino environment, programming and optimising your application, choosing and modifying enclosures, piloting, testing, deploying and troubleshooting.
You’re not on your own. Our interactive series makes it easier than ever to get feedback and guidance as you learn. Every two weeks, we’ll host a live Office Hours event to troubleshoot, answer questions in person, and release the next module in the series. We'll also have cheat sheets and code to download, plus a forum to ask questions between sessions. And of course, you can build along with the course in real-time with the WildLogger board and kit, available here.
The tutorial is free and allows you to move at your own pace with videos available to all on the WILDLABS Youtube channel. To navigate through all course content, visit the Course Directory.
To join this virtual course, register here!
Group curators
I'm an engineer and product designer working on wildlife conservation technology.
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Develops open source technology for wildlife and conservation researchers
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I would sum my role to be a Technical- and Mathematical minded zoologist, and with an approach of combining that with e.g fieldwork
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conservation and climate change research/tech at NORTHERN RANGELANDS TRUST
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WILDLABS Associate Specialist based in Southern California
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A ML/Data Engineer
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Researcher
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I'm an engineer and product designer working on wildlife conservation technology.
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Worked as a mechanical engineer for a defence co, then software engineer, then for a research lab specialising in underwater robotics.
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I'm the WILDLABS Research Lead at WWF-US
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As the FieldKit hardware ecosystem grows, Conservify is seeking a Junior Electrical Engineer to assist with testing, troubleshooting, prototype development, and developing production test fixtures for our growing...
9 December 2022
Article
Welcome to the eighth and final module of our Build Your Own Data Logger virtual course. We’ve built, coded and tested our data logger. Now we’re taking it into the field.
22 October 2021
Article
Welcome to the sixth module of our Build Your Own Data Logger virtual course. In these videos, we’ll discuss ways to protect devices from water, dust and animals. Then we assemble the WildLogger using cable glands so...
6 September 2021
Article
Welcome to the seventh module of our Build Your Own Data Logger virtual course. In this module, we take our fully assembled system into the lab, sandbox and pilot test environments.
6 September 2021
Welcome to the fifth module of our Build Your Own Data Logger virtual course. In these videos, we’ll optimise our data logger application, and add the finishing touches to application code so it’s ready for deployment.
25 May 2021
Article
Welcome to the fourth module of our Build Your Own Data Logger virtual course. In these videos, we'll tie everything we've learned so far together by creating our functional data logger application.
11 February 2021
Article
Welcome to the sixth and final part of Build Your Own Data Logger module 3. This new module covers interupts, PIR motion sensors and setting timers and alarms on our real time clock.
29 January 2021
Welcome to the fifth part of Build Your Own Data Logger module 3. In these videos, we'll get into the process of writing our data logger application and carrying out our proof-of-concept strategy.
22 January 2021
Article
Welcome to the fourth part of Build Your Own Data Logger module 3. In these videos, we'll get into the process of writing our data logger application and carrying out our proof-of-concept strategy.
21 January 2021
Article
Course Directory
WILDLABS Admin
Welcome to the Build Your Own Datalogger virtual course. On this page, you'll find a table of contents to help you navigate around the course and supporting materials.
21 January 2021
Welcome to the third part of Build Your Own Data Logger module 3. In these videos, we'll get into the process of writing our data logger application and carrying out our proof-of-concept strategy.
15 January 2021
Welcome to the second part of Build Your Own Data Logger module 3. In these videos, we'll get into the process of writing our data logger application and carrying out our proof-of-concept strategy.
8 January 2021
January 2023
1
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hey Tom,Since the output is dependent on a couple of factors such as the solar irradiance of the place, shading from the canopy, the type of solar panels (mono, poly or amorphous... |
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Autonomous Camera Traps for Insects, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Conservation Tech Training and Education, Sensors | 1 month 3 weeks ago | |
You can try Frank G.. He's a fantastically innovative engineer who founded and rubs the Maker's Space at Barstow College in Barstow, Calif. Frank is very familiar with... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 3 months 3 weeks ago | |
As an update from us, we are playing around with two alternatives:Banana PI BPI-M5 M5 4GB 4 x 2GHz Radxa Rock 4 SE I'll update once we have results! |
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Acoustic Monitoring, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Emerging Tech, Open Source Solutions | 4 months ago | |
HI Wayne. Sure. The main thing is selecting and interfacing the sensors that you'd need. If you had a water meter that fed out the data, then you could just timestamp it and... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 5 months ago | |
Thanks Thomas!! We do use slow curing resins with no heat generation |
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Biologging, Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 5 months ago | |
Hi Everyone,We chose sigfox becuase it seems to have better range and is plug-play, whereas LoRa requires more custom programming and updating. Getting a gateway cost us $... |
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Biologging, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps, Connectivity, Emerging Tech, Sensors | 5 months 1 week ago | |
Oh, that looks so good, and some heavy hitting design firms too! |
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Biologging, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Open Source Solutions | 5 months 2 weeks ago | |
Done lots of this over the years and it depends on the species really. If you want incubation behaviour and hence success or otherwise using temperature then the Thermocron... |
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Biologging, Sensors, Build Your Own Data Logger Community, Camera Traps | 6 months ago | |
Congratulations! You have now (hopefully!) reached the end of the Build Your Own Datalogger virtual course and have a real, working... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 1 year 5 months ago | |
Hi everyone, The final module of the course is now available: Module 8 - In the Field! We’ve built, coded and tested... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 1 year 5 months ago | |
Hi everyone, Module 7 is now available! Please use this thread to ask any questions that pop up as you work your... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 1 year 6 months ago | |
Hi everyone, Module 6 is now available! Please use this thread to ask any questions that pop up as you work your... |
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Build Your Own Data Logger Community | 1 year 6 months ago |
Solar panels in the tropics
26 January 2023 12:28am
27 January 2023 3:56pm
I've been intrigued by this topic. Thinking about ways you could use drones or some kind of launcher to deploy panels above the canopy. Sadly I live in the great white north so I have no way of testing any concepts. Maybe even some kind of solar balloon that could float above the canopy. Interesting design problem.
30 January 2023 10:10am
Hey Tom,
Since the output is dependent on a couple of factors such as the solar irradiance of the place, shading from the canopy, the type of solar panels (mono, poly or amorphous) and orientation of the panels, etc, I'd suggest you use a software to simulate the different parameters to get an almost accurate estimation of the output. You can try PVsyst- it has a free month trial (I haven't used it before but I hear it's great) or any other PV software :)
Junior Electrical Engineer (Hardware)
9 December 2022 5:04pm
Looking for Electronic Design Consultancy in California
26 November 2022 3:35pm
28 November 2022 9:52am
Hi, Synapse is a good option if you're looking for professionalism & speed, they're in San Francisco (and Seattle). It's a sister company to the one I work for in the UK so I could put you in touch with the right people if you're interested.
2 December 2022 7:31pm
You can try Frank G.. He's a fantastically innovative engineer who founded and rubs the Maker's Space at Barstow College in Barstow, Calif. Frank is very familiar with complexities, needs, and budgets of field-based conservation. His email address is: [email protected]
Global shortage of Raspberry Pis - What are the alternatives
3 November 2022 10:27am
18 November 2022 7:27pm
Hi @tom_august this is a very important topic given the global shortages we are seeing. I tend to use really low power micros rather than Pis for my stuff if I can, but I'd be very interested to hear about alternatives. I take it you are doing some reasonably heavy processing given the need for 4Bs? I have a few old 3s you are welcome to. A great list from @PshemekZ there. I don't know much about these:
But didn't see them in the list.
@Freaklabs will likey have some ideas too. Looking forward to hearing more.
Cheers,
Rob
21 November 2022 12:11am
Unfortunately not much to add. I think there was an assumption that Raspberry Pi's would always be available and it's turning out that it's unfortunately not the case. I'm guilty of this for standard chips. I didn't think there'd be such a huge shortage that spread across so many chip families which left us scrambling. I'm sure the supply crunch will ease up soon so the RasPi shortage should ease. It should be considered thought that should something happen to the Raspberry Pi Foundation, there's a possibility that the production could end. Since Raspberry Pi's are not open source, this would be devastating to many projects that rely on them.
As for porting to another platform, I guess the question would be which platform to bet on for the Raspberry Pi alternate and possibly eventual successor. It would probably need to be open source, widely available, and have enough community around it to support itself. Nothing immediately comes to mind (Jetson possibly but not open source and subject to whims of nVidia).
And perhaps this could turn into a community project to come up with an open platform that conservation communities can standardize on where availability could also be guaranteed. There's a lot of exciting things happening with the RISC-V architecture, which could be a good candiate.
24 November 2022 9:46am
As an update from us, we are playing around with two alternatives:
- Banana PI BPI-M5 M5 4GB 4 x 2GHz
- Radxa Rock 4 SE
I'll update once we have results!
Build Your Own Data Logger
24 October 2022 2:40pm
24 October 2022 3:06pm
HI Wayne.
Sure. The main thing is selecting and interfacing the sensors that you'd need. If you had a water meter that fed out the data, then you could just timestamp it and log it to the microSD card. Otherwise, for the data you're looking for, it's likely you'd need a water flow sensor and water pressure sensor. Flow would let you know the rate of water flow in a pipe, ie: usage. Pressure would allow you to detect if a leak occurs (slight decrease in average water pressure over time) or burst (sudden large decrease in water pressure).
At the moment, we're not actively selling the WildLogger since the chip shortage made inventory more precious. But if you email, we can arrange one if you were curious to try the course.
Akiba
Water leakage in aquatic tags at deeper depths
12 October 2022 12:37pm
20 October 2022 11:41am
Thanks a lot Alasdair, this is great. We will take this into consideration for our next testing phase.
Best
Hari
21 October 2022 4:12pm
I'll add - avoid fast curing resins/epoxies for, at least, two reasons:
1. The exothermic reaction between the two compounds can cause sensor issues (ie: heat).
2. Air bubbles will form (and cure) more easily in fast curing compounds.
23 October 2022 2:51pm
Thanks Thomas!! We do use slow curing resins with no heat generation
Rainforest SigFox available for use
26 August 2022 6:09pm
26 September 2022 10:20pm
Hi Roland,
This is really amazing, great to hear about your set-up! I'm just wondering what the overall cost was to set up this system? Just thinking in terms of setting up something similar in other parks and what they should expect with regard to price. Would also be great to hear about the overall effort, e.g., hours/team members required. It would be great to have this act as a blueprint for other organizations/research stations wishing to deploy a similar system within their respective national parks/areas/etc.!
10 October 2022 8:33am
Hi Rolland,
Interested too, but why did you choose SigFox (a private network) rather than LoRa (open network)?
Sigfox currently has some financial troubles that, don't know what it will become in the long term.
18 October 2022 11:55am
Hi Everyone,
We chose sigfox becuase it seems to have better range and is plug-play, whereas LoRa requires more custom programming and updating. Getting a gateway cost us $2000 for a year's lease + deposit. We covered solar power. There are also some 'minigateways' you can purchase but I don't know how they compare in range (plan to test). So far we are happy with the performance, in that it has worked consistency with no outages (once we stabilized the power supply). I think the annual costs are about $10 per tag. We are working on a paper that will describe this in more detail. So far just using for tracking tags but also looking at a trap sensor.
cheers
Roland
Open-source Argos satellite tag for bears - available now
7 October 2022 4:49pm
9 October 2022 5:14am
Oh, that looks so good, and some heavy hitting design firms too!
Frontiers Symposium: Digital tools for reversing environmental degradation
5 October 2022 10:23am
Avian nest box monitoring
14 September 2022 2:30pm
14 September 2022 3:08pm
Maybe this is a starting point. Any idea if this product would work inside the box. Kestrel DROP D3 Wireless Temperature, Humidity & Pressure Data Logger https://amzn.eu/d/5VdQwtA
23 September 2022 12:34pm
I'd be interested in any camera monitoring setups that can be used inside a nest box. Most camera traps are too bulky for this purpose. All the devices I've looked at either need a wired connection or a wifi network to transmit images. I want one that can store all info to an SD card and preferably be solar powered. Obviously infrared or starlight sensitivity. Sound recording would be a bonus for some bird monitoring I want to do.
23 September 2022 1:16pm
Done lots of this over the years and it depends on the species really. If you want incubation behaviour and hence success or otherwise using temperature then the Thermocron IButton DS1921G is perfect. The new Blue Maestro is an option I became aware of this year but I haven't tested at scale.
In terms of cameras and endoscopes I've tailored many off the shelf products and built a few from scratch. When I get chance I'll have a look around and see what is still available.
How To Use An Arduino – Beginners Guide
1 September 2022 10:02pm
For anyone interested in WILDLABS' Build Your Own Data Logger course, this beginner's guide to Arduino may be a valuable resource! This page also includes links to other relevant resources on Arduino language and getting started with Arduino software for the first time.
Take the Build Your Own Data Logger Survey: End of Course Feedback
22 October 2021 11:47am
Module 8: In the Field
22 October 2021 11:38am
Module 8: In the Field

22 October 2021 12:00am
Module 7: Testing and Piloting
Module 6: Ruggedising Devices
Module 6: Ruggedising Devices

6 September 2021 12:00am
Module 7: Testing and Piloting

6 September 2021 12:00am
Module 5: Optimising your application
26 May 2021 10:13am
Hurray !, we were waiting impatiently for it, now we can put our babys to sleep and let them only work what is necessary!
I've started to see a bit of the content, and as always, it's exceeding my expectations.
Congratulations on your excellent work!
1 June 2021 8:25am
Thanks a lot for the new module!
It now keeps logging and logging and logging....
Greetings from Austria,
Robin
1 June 2021 1:47pm
Glad to hear it's working! We're now working on the last couple modules which is more mechanical and assembly. Hoping to get those out soon. We're feeling a bit of pandemic fatigue so progress is slower than usual. Ha ha ha.
Akiba
Module 5: Optimising Your Application

25 May 2021 12:00am
Wildlogger for freshwater monitoring
15 April 2021 2:00am
15 April 2021 10:34am
Hi Nigel.
At the moment, I don't know of any other groups doing water monitoring. @JAL is doing a cave monitoring project. The DS18B20 is a nice sensor. It was the original sensor I was going to use for the Wildlogger kit before switching to the DHT11. One thing is that you may need to test how waterproof it actually is. When I took them apart, there was just a heat shrink tubing seal to the DS18B20 with exposed pins inside the stainless steel tube.
I haven't had the chance to play with a DO sensor yet, but definitely hoping for more info once you deploy. It sounds like a fascinating project.
Akiba
17 April 2021 2:46am
Hi Nigel,
Are you interested in attended or unattended monitoring? You can take inspiration from openctd, also the cave pearl project which has a few variants. IMO the atlas instruments are probably the safest way to go. Water quality sensors are frightfully expensive, and even Atlas sensors are spendy in my book.
I heard there was a chap calibrating DS18B20 units (NIST traceable) for USD20 or so, that would partially remove the accuracy issue (the 18B20 is accurate to 0.5degC only). The 18B20 can come already waterproofed which is convenient.
BLE connection problems
5 April 2021 7:12am
10 April 2021 7:47am
Hi Jose.
I somehow missed this post. I can't fully understand the issue you're running into. Can you post the code you're using? Also if you can, perhaps a rough diagram of how you're interfacing the BLE HM-10 to the Wildlogger? It sounds like you somehow have it connected to the USB dongle interface? And then the other side of the Bluetooth connection is connected to the PC? It sounds like an interesting application.
Thanks.
Akiba
13 April 2021 6:43am
Hi Akiba,
It seems to me that I have not explained myself well, as it is a somewhat special topic, if you think I will answer you in private. These days I'm a bit busy, but I hope I can answer you soon
Best regards,
13 April 2021 7:43am
Hi JAL.
No problem. Feel free to email directly or private message through Wildlabs on the specifics. No rush either. I think it's interesting that there seems to be interest in adding a BLE interface to the system. It's the second time hearing about it :)
Akiba
Mid Course Check-In
24 February 2021 4:55am
6 April 2021 12:14am
Hi Egil.
I think we're seeing the benefits of dropping the whole series binge watch style versus trickling them out on a schedule. I think we all learned a lot on how to manage a workshop series like this. Ha ha ha. Future ones will be more compact and released as a set. That said, this first one is important because it sets the foundation of concepts that future series will build on. Almost all conservation technology revolves around data collection in some form so the data logger concepts will keep on popping up in more sophisticated devices as well, but with fancier bells and whistles :)
Akiba
7 April 2021 6:36pm
I think this whole series is a very valuable tool and will open up a vast amount of possibilities for people to collect data for their projects, so useful to have such a workshop here all in one place.
8 April 2021 2:28am
Thanks! We think it will be useful, especially if it can serve as a building block for courses with more sophisticated devices. I think it will be really interesting to see where this goes and what comes kinds of devices and projects come out of it.
Akiba
Power saving
15 March 2021 8:57am
15 March 2021 9:34am
Hi Nigel.
it makes sense that the batteries don't last long. Since we haven't discussed the power management part of the code, you're in active mode the whole time. The power drain will be high and you won't get more than a day or two of battery life.
What you need is to disable any peripherals you're using and put the Wildlogger into powerdown (aka sleep) mode. Then use the real time clock to wake your system up periodically to take measurements, say every hour. That's actually going to be what we do in module 5 which I'm actually working on right before I took a break to check the interwebz.
With the right power management, you should be able to keep the system going for a month or longer depending on the power draw of the sensors you want to use. With the DHT11, PIR, and SD card, we estimate around 2.5 months but that depends on the power draw of the SD card.
If you can have some patience,we'll be working on and finishing out module 5 soon. We'll let you know when it's available. In the meantime, if you need to deploy soon, I recommend you check out the Low Power library for Arduino and look at the examples.
Hope that helps.
Akiba
15 March 2021 11:42pm
Hi Akiba,
Yes, that does help. Nice to know we can expect 1-month using 3x AA 2100mAh batteries.
I had a quick look at the arduino.cc site for power management - it's all there, but looking forward to your advice/videos.
I'll move onto adapting our code for the DS18B20 temp sensor and Dissolved oxygen sensor [will soon post another thread for that]. No urgent rush to deploy yet, until code for these sensors is running ok.
Best Regards,
Nigel
Module 4: Tying It All Together
6 March 2021 1:17am
Hi JAL.
Oh, it looks great! I like the enclosure, too. I think you have more than enoug juice to power the device for a year. Ha ha ha. Although it's still upcoming, the low power mode will mean the total current draw of the Wildlogger with an SD card and DHT11 would be around 0.6mA if I'm not mistaken.
Thanks for starting this thread. I'm also interested in how other people will use the Wildlogger. When this is over, we'll have other short articles or videos on different applications you can do with it.
Good luck with the cave logging! Please keep us updated on how it goes :)
Akiba
9 March 2021 7:30pm
Yes, the power bank looks like a nuclear power plant for such a small consumption! ;-), but the reason for this mount is that I plan to use it on other devices. I like to use standard 18650 batteries, rechargeable, and that I can easily replace in case of failure. I also like its versatility to use different number of batteries, according to the needs
Thanks !
PD: I can't wait to put my device to sleep!
11 March 2021 3:34am
We've just winding down our most recent deployment and have restarted work on the course. So it should be soon. There will be updates soon.
Akiba
Possible command line uses
4 March 2021 10:53am
8 March 2021 1:38pm
Hi Akiba
Very useful the indications you gave me, now the double values that I introduce are shown in the same way.
Likewise, the main problem I had is that the value that I entered in setALSinterruptThreshold, did not match the value that I obtained in getALSinterruptThreshold. Luckily the relationship between these two quantities corresponds to a linear function, and I have been able to solve it by applying a correction factor
The problem I have now is that the modifications that I make with cmd, once I disconnect the serial monitor, are not kept in the program, and it returns to the initial configuration by default
For this reason, my question now is, is there any way that these modifications are permanently maintained in the program, or are they only useful for testing in real time?
Greetings,
8 March 2021 2:27pm
Ha ha ha. That's for the next series which will be the intermediate course. It includes writing metadata and configuration settings to the EEPROM. But if you want to move ahead on your own, try checking the Arduino EEPROM library and look at the examples. That's how you create your configuration settings as well as metadata.
Akiba
9 March 2021 7:24pm
Okay Akiba, I leave it in the drawer of pending things, if I have some time I would like to try it. Count on me for the next course!
Greetings !
Battery status monitoring no longer working
24 February 2021 10:13pm
3 March 2021 10:34am
Hi Phil.
I checked and there's no problem with your code. It looks like it's a hardware issue. I'll be sending out a replacement board to you. Can you confirm your address via DM, just so that I can make sure I don't send it to the wrong place?
Thanks
Akiba
3 March 2021 9:33pm
Hi Akiba,
Please see the email sent to [email protected]
Many thanks for your assistance.
Phil Young
8 March 2021 4:28am
Hi Phil.
A replacement board was just sent out to you. Thanks for your help with the pictures and the patience :)
Akiba
Hackaday Data Logging Contest
4 March 2021 1:28am
Module 4: Tying It All Together

11 February 2021 12:00am
WildLogger Add-On Board Requests
4 February 2021 2:10pm
5 February 2021 6:28am
Hi Akiba,
Yes, the TSL2591 has an interrupt pin and there are also a couple of example applications in the Adafruit and TSL2591MI libraries. I am doing tests making the connections with Dupont cables in the I2C connector of the Wildlogger, and for the interruption I will use the corresponding pin of the PIR connector
The connections do not concern me since, once the prototype has been tested and defined, my idea would be to make the maximum of welded connections to avoid failures
I'm still in the design phase, I already have the hardware quite defined, and now I have to enter with the most difficult part, the software, which for me is where I have the most difficulty
I have been gathering the elements to prepare the cake, and now is the time to enter the kitchen, I will not deny that I am excited and terrified at the same time
I'm already telling you ...
Regards !
5 February 2021 9:05am
Hi JAL.
Excellent! I'm glad you've already started on it and Dupont wires should be no problem. Let us know how it goes and if you have software issues, feel free to post them in this forum. Good luck and please take pictures of the modified Wildlogger and also the deployment. It sounds like an amazing application!
Akiba
5 February 2021 12:35pm
I appreciate your encouragement !
Don't hesitate that I will keep you informed of the progress that I am making
Happy weekend !
27 January 2023 1:23pm
Hi Tom,
I'm with Akiba, you have to test. A collaborator has deployed solar-augmented kit in secondary jungle and some of them got enough light, and others didn't, so it can work. The open circuit voltage of solar panels doesn't change a whole lot in dim light, but the current drops drastically. So you would choose an oversize panel of the same voltage (or a bit higher).
Thanks