Tinkering; Like Guntering for the Connected Generation.

emaherx

theemigrant wrote: »

Thats very interesting. Any chance of you doing a thread on autonomous items around the farm?. A bit like the gunthering thread without the sledge hammers

As suggested by theemigrant, here is a thread for all of those DIY automations we may have implemented around the farm.

So please share anything you may have implemented like:
Lighting
Electric Fencing
Milk tank temperature monitoring
irrigation
calf feeding, milk mixing heating etc.
gate openers
door automations
etc.

These don't need to be full DIY devices with lines of code (although thats welcome too), off the shelf WiFi and GSM switches / sensors etc being used in weird and wonderful ways that are specific to farming or horticulture etc is what I'd like to see.

I have a few bits that I'm going to share over the next while too.

Screenshot_20200422-142938 by Emaherx, on Flickr
Part of my home automation setup that is dedicated to just the farm yard. Built with https://www.home-assistant.io/
Home assistant is an Automation server which I have Running on a Raspberry Pi in my house which runs my Heating System as well as anything else I can integrate with it. There are more picks from my whole home Automation on Flickr https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMKqE5D and I will add more so feel free to look at them.

emaherx

I've a Glideroll Door with GDR+ motor retrofitted.
In the GDR+ Manual there is instructions for installing a wall mounted single push button switch, which makes integrating with a Smart Relay switch easy as long as it supports "inching" (Basically on for 1s then off)

switch by Emaherx, on Flickr

Here is an example of a Wifi smart switch.
https://ewelink.coolkit.cc/?p=143



These smart switches have their own apps for easy setup. They can also be integrated with Home Assistant (or other Automation server software) for centrlizing control of multiple devices regardless of brands and different native apps. The ITead/Ewelink Sonoff devices are also popular with a lot of DIYers as they can be flashed with custom firmware.

emaherx

I Use this 4ch Sonoff relay to control lighting and electric fence unit
https://www.itead.cc/sonoff-4ch-pro.html



I'm currently moving the consumer unit and generally tidying up some of the wiring in the yard and will take some pictures as I put it back together.
The plan here is to integrate the lighting controls into Home Assistant with a view containg CCTV so I will be able to turn on/off the lights when I click on the CCTV Camera that I want to view.

emaherx

I'm going to add in a bit from my heating system as it might interest someone who wants to monitor a Milk tank or Calf Milk Heater etc.

HW Temp by Emaherx, on Flickr
This is my Hot Water Control including Imersion and HW zone valve Thermostats and solar Hot tank Temperatures.

Heating Graph by Emaherx, on Flickr
Graphs are useful part of monitoring too.

IMG_20200425_105226 by Emaherx, on Flickr
Temperature sensors provided by PiHome, the advert is a room sensor, but its the same device only with internal sensor, chat with PiHome before ordering
to make sure you get tank probes.
https://www.adverts.ie/16402420
needs a gateway to connect to network
https://www.adverts.ie/16402355

The sesnsors and gateway are provided by PiHome for their Smart Heating System, I know nothing about their software but they use open source hardware based on Arduino and ESP8266 devices. You can build your own if you feel adventurous as they are based on the MySensors.org. but piHome has created a nice PCB package for a reasonable price.

IMG_20200425_105427 by Emaherx, on Flickr
inside the sensor.

IMG_20200425_105437 by Emaherx, on Flickr

IMG_20200425_105302 by Emaherx, on Flickr

ZETOR_IS_BETTER

Very interesting thread emaherx! Great to see.

mayota

Great stuff emaherx.

893bet

This is some of the automation I am trying to install.

These are gate hangers. Means a gate can be opened and closed with ease with out dragging it on the ground or it falling over from been tied with twine at the top.

complete image upload

Below is a chain in clip. Real labour saver. Open a gate in 5 seconds verse 5 minutes trying to untie baling twine then cutting it and retying 5 times a day.

closest bank to my location

Old lad ain’t convinced of this automation. Keeps on tying things.

emaherx

893bet wrote: »

This is some of the automation I am trying to install.

These are gate hangers. Means a gate can be opened and closed with ease with out dragging it on the ground or it falling over from been tied with twine at the top.

Below is a chain in clip. Real labour saver. Open a gate in 5 seconds verse 5 minutes trying to untie baling twine then cutting it and retying 5 times a day.

Old lad ain’t convinced of this automation. Keeps on tying things.

I'm fond of improving the yard by hanging gates correctly and replacing twine with chain myself but there is already a thread for that

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/post/113265468

893bet

emaherx wrote: »

I'm fond of improving the yard by hanging gates correctly and replacing twine with chain myself but there is already a thread for that

https://touch.boards.ie/thread/post/113265468

I know! I was joking. Hanging gates ain’t guntering! Closer to automation!

emaherx

893bet wrote: »

I know! I was joking. Hanging gates ain’t guntering! Closer to automation!

I got that but.....

It is guntering if it's on 2 sections of RSJ welded together to make one gate post also labour saving (people seem to miss the labour saving part of that thread)

emaherx

Came across this while browsing earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VkIftAhIY

Donald Trump

emaherx wrote: »

Came across this while browsing earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VkIftAhIY

Looks grand but I'd say it would be lifted quicker than any battery fencer.






A different type of tinkering sez you! (Maybe I'm not allowed to make that joke)

emaherx

Donald Trump wrote: »

Looks grand but I'd say it would be lifted quicker than any battery fencer.




A different type of tinkering sez you! (Maybe I'm not allowed to make that joke)

True, but it's the type of thing you could setup just for the days where you needed to cross in and out of a paddock. Also I find some fields are more likely for things to go missing than others.

I've farmed land where fencers were never touched and land where they wouldn't last a day and even land where you wouldn't hang a good gate for fear of it walking off.

893bet

893bet wrote: »

This is some of the automation I am trying to install.

These are gate hangers. Means a gate can be opened and closed with ease with out dragging it on the ground or it falling over from been tied with twine at the top.

complete image upload

Below is a chain in clip. Real labour saver. Open a gate in 5 seconds verse 5 minutes trying to untie baling twine then cutting it and retying 5 times a day.

closest bank to my location

Old lad ain’t convinced of this automation. Keeps on tying things.

Im sorry, I spit out my tea reading this
Thanks for the laugh;)

Edit: I have the same gate hangers.

Timmaay

Great thread, I have alot of interest in this whole area. I frustrating haven't managed to bring enough ideas to fruition, but do have afew sonoffs around the place, one on the milk tank, electric fencer and one measuring mains voltage (which regularly drops here). Biggest complaint about the sonoffs is the rubbish ewelink software. I've been meaning to start flashing them with tasmota but just haven't got around to it yet. I've also looked at shelly, which seem to be sonoffs main competition, I need to order afew of them to play around with them, they seem to be getting better reviews than the sonoffs.

I only recently got looking alot more seriously at sigfox however, it has a hell of alot of potential also, low cost, very low energy use, and no need for wifi. I can certainly see a future where you have dozens of sigfox devices all around the farm measuring various parameters and either letting you monitor the data or just setup to sent you alerts if necessary.

Timmaay

emaherx wrote: »

Came across this while browsing earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VkIftAhIY

Roughly 250e+vat (from Argentina) hmmm. I think the likes of this link would be alot cheaper and more KISS 2bh, I'm not too sure on the price of a proper kit but I keep meaning to make up afew for the main farm gates around here using just plumbing pipe and electric fence tape. It would serve the dual purpose of keeping tourist out also who keep mistaking the farm gate for the beach lane gate lol.

https://am.gallagher.com/global/support/videos/drive-through-electric-gate-kit

Thargor

emaherx wrote: »

Came across this while browsing earlier.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-VkIftAhIY

How many times could you drive a tractor over anything like that before its destroyed?

emaherx

Timmaay wrote: »

Roughly 250e+vat (from Argentina) hmmm. I think the likes of this link would be alot cheaper and more KISS 2bh, I'm not too sure on the price of a proper kit but I keep meaning to make up afew for the main farm gates around here using just plumbing pipe and electric fence tape. It would serve the dual purpose of keeping tourist out also who keep mistaking the farm gate for the beach lane gate lol.

https://am.gallagher.com/global/support/videos/drive-through-electric-gate-kit

Yes, it's a bit on the pricey side, could make something very similar for a lot less though. It was just something that popped up on my Facebook Feed thought I'd share. Of course the common low tech solution is probably much more reliable.

Edit:
KISS maybe, but not cheap either.
https://www.agridirect.ie/product/electro-drive-through-electric-fence-gate#

emaherx

Timmaay wrote: »

Great thread, I have alot of interest in this whole area. I frustrating haven't managed to bring enough ideas to fruition, but do have afew sonoffs around the place, one on the milk tank, electric fencer and one measuring mains voltage (which regularly drops here). Biggest complaint about the sonoffs is the rubbish ewelink software. I've been meaning to start flashing them with tasmota but just haven't got around to it yet. I've also looked at shelly, which seem to be sonoffs main competition, I need to order afew of them to play around with them, they seem to be getting better reviews than the sonoffs.

I only recently got looking alot more seriously at sigfox however, it has a hell of alot of potential also, low cost, very low energy use, and no need for wifi. I can certainly see a future where you have dozens of sigfox devices all around the farm measuring various parameters and either letting you monitor the data or just setup to sent you alerts if necessary.

The Shelly Devices look interesting and they are opensource and have an API available for developers which is useful. Last time I looked at them they only had a simple switch, but they have a decent selection now.

Yes, the Ewelink APP is rubbish and I don't use it anymore. One issue I had with the Sonoffs is they were very slow to respond sometimes, but newer firmware seems to have fixed this and also introduced a "LAN mode" which is useful for integrating with Home Assistant without the need for flashing tasmota or relying on an internet connection to their servers to work.

I've a mix of devices here Sonoff and Tuya Based as well as custom made based on Arduino. I'm trying to reduce my dependance on switches and devices which require access to their own cloud servers to work, I don't want to Automate everything then suddenly realise nothing works because my internet connection is down or the cloud servers are down. The Sonoff and Tuya devices can both be flashed with Tasmota, but Sonoffs new LAN mode reduces the need.

Here is some of PiHome's Arduino based switches. They consist of a board made by them which connects an Arduino pro Mini and a WiFi module via sockets and the second board is an off the shelf relay module. I find they make a nice package and can easily be reprogramed if nessacery, they have 6 GPIO pins exposed with pin headers. I've got a few extra Arduino Pro's so I can pop them out and for tinkering without interfearing with the original functionality.

IMG_20200426_072014 by Emaherx, on Flickr

IMG_20200426_072008 by Emaherx, on Flickr

Timmaay

emaherx wrote: »

Yes, it's a bit on the pricey side, could make something very similar for a lot less though. It was just something that popped up on my Facebook Feed thought I'd share. Of course the common low tech solution is probably much more reliable.

Edit:
KISS maybe, but not cheap either.
https://www.agridirect.ie/product/electro-drive-through-electric-fence-gate#

As Elon Musk says, the best part is no part, and the best process is no process lol, it's certainly been my mantra as the dairyfarm here has evolved from ayr to as simple and lazy a spring calving system as possible ha.

emaherx

Timmaay wrote: »

As Elon Musk says, the best part is no part, and the best process is no process lol, it's certainly been my mantra as the dairyfarm here has evolved from ayr to as simple and lazy a spring calving system as possible ha.

Said by the man who launched a car into space for fun!

blue5000

I think this thread has sorted out the engineers from the gunterers.



No cigarette lighter on the 5000, so just cut the plug off the end of the €15.99 didilaldi compressor and wrapped the wires around the battery terminals, took 15 mins to pump though.

The + is the one that used to have the fuse going through it, now has gaffer tape with +ive on it written with sharpie marker. One thing I learnt in a lab was 'label as you go'.

endainoz

emaherx wrote: »

As suggested by theemigrant, here is a thread for all of those DIY automations we may have implemented around the farm.

So please share anything you may have implemented like:
Lighting
Electric Fencing
Milk tank temperature monitoring
irrigation
calf feeding, milk mixing heating etc.
gate openers
door automations
etc.

These don't need to be full DIY devices with lines of code (although thats welcome too), off the shelf WiFi and GSM switches / sensors etc being used in weird and wonderful ways that are specific to farming or horticulture etc is what I'd like to see.

I have a few bits that I'm going to share over the next while too.

Screenshot_20200422-142938 by Emaherx, on Flickr
Part of my home automation setup that is dedicated to just the farm yard. Built with https://www.home-assistant.io/
Home assistant is an Automation server which I have Running on a Raspberry Pi in my house which runs my Heating System as well as anything else I can integrate with it. There are more picks from my whole home Automation on Flickr https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMKqE5D and I will add more so feel free to look at them.

I have a similar system myself in the shed. (But not anywhere near as sophisticated as yours!)

The home house is about 300 metres from the slatted house so last year I ran a network cable from the router in the house into the shed. Connected that to an older router in the slatted shed to get WiFi. I have two foscam cameras working off it for calving season. They are fantastic quality and a fraction of the cost than giving some lad over a grand to install it for you.

I also connected a sonoff smart switch to the lights in the shed. Put the smart switch into a weather proof box for safety. I also have the mains fencer in the slatted house for connected that to a TP link smart plug. I can work all of these from my phone which is really convenient. Especially the fence one, no more having to ring the mother to go out to the shed to turn off the fence.

emaherx

endainoz wrote: »

I have a similar system myself in the shed. (But not anywhere near as sophisticated as yours!)

The home house is about 300 metres from the slatted house so last year I ran a network cable from the router in the house into the shed. Connected that to an older router in the slatted shed to get WiFi. I have two foscam cameras working off it for calving season. They are fantastic quality and a fraction of the cost than giving some lad over a grand to install it for you.

I also connected a sonoff smart switch to the lights in the shed. Put the smart switch into a weather proof box for safety. I also have the mains fencer in the slatted house for connected that to a TP link smart plug. I can work all of these from my phone which is really convenient. Especially the fence one, no more having to ring the mother to go out to the shed to turn off the fence.

Sounds every bit as sophisticated as mine from a wiring perspective. My yard setup is basically the same as yours the only difference is I use Home Assistant to manage the devices. The setup in my house however is a bit more sophisticated and constantly evolving, my wife worries that she won't be able to work the house if something happens to me. (Although I have left all manual controls in place too just in case)

My yard setup started much like yours, I setup a load of cheap cameras but found the night vision was less than I would have liked (particularly red cows on fresh straw are invisible), smart switches added to the lights solved any issue there, and I'm glad it did too because I found the night vision is slowly fading over the past year, I think the LED IR bulbs are dying.

emaherx

blue5000 wrote: »

I think this thread has sorted out the engineers from the gunterers.



No cigarette lighter on the 5000, so just cut the plug off the end of the €15.99 didilaldi compressor and wrapped the wires around the battery terminals, took 15 mins to pump though.

The + is the one that used to have the fuse going through it, now has gaffer tape with +ive on it written with sharpie marker. One thing I learnt in a lab was 'label as you go'.

Labeling is always very important. Did similar before and reversed the polarity, compressor ran backwards with a loud pop followed by smoke. Funny enough it worked fine after connecting the right way which is unusual, normally I find once the smoke escapes you are goosed. I now have a power outlet on the back of all tractors for the baler / wrapper and beacons etc. that is handy for such things.

Edit: I like the chain and grease gun storage. Can't help but think you have a shovel (or possibly gun rack) on one of the mud guards.

emaherx

A little rainy day project, Liquid level monitor for Diesel, Kerosene, water etc.
It uses a Nodemcu Esp32 and a distance sensor like youd find in a car reversing sensor. integrated into Home Assistant using ESPHome.

IMG_20200518_155721 by Emaherx, on Flickr

Screenshot_20200518-161838 by Emaherx, on Flickr

endainoz

emaherx wrote: »

A little rainy day project, Liquid level monitor for Diesel, Kerosene, water etc.
It uses a Nodemcu Esp32 and a distance sensor like youd find in a car reversing sensor. integrated into Home Assistant using ESPHome.

IMG_20200518_155721 by Emaherx, on Flickr

Screenshot_20200518-161838 by Emaherx, on Flickr

Excellent, I must do something similar.

Timmaay

How does the nodemcu talk to the reversing sensor, does it have its own library? And how was the coding? Also any idea what the distance accuracy is like, I assume its fairly decent, them reversing sensors are defo alot better than ultrasound seniors etc that you commonly get with arduinos.

Finally any rough pricing on the parts?

But yeh I've been tempted to make something similar for the meal bin, my only fear would be dust covering the sensor.

emaherx

Sensor £10:99.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07V5H344W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

ESP NodeMCU £24:99 for 3 of them.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B074RGW2VQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


The Sensor I got came with a little interface board which connects to 2 GPIO pins on the NodeMCU it is compatible with the same libaries as the usual Arduino type sensors. There are many options for programing the device, it is compatible with the Arduino IDE, it can also be flashed with Tasmota like the Sonoff devices, there are loads of other options also, but the simplest option if using Home Assistant is ESPHome as it uses YAML configuration similar to Home Assistant itself and has support for many sensor types.

According to the specs on the Sellers page it is accurate to 1CM but I think it will be less accurate inside the tank due to noise in the enclosed space. I've only bench tested so far.

There are loads of examples online of similar projects such as this one:
https://www.rogerfrost.com/oil-tank-level-sensor-also-water-softener-salt-level/

Timmaay

Hmm in fairness it took me 2 mins get working an arduino ultrasound senior here that I bought as part of a senior kit a month ago and hadn't got around to looking at it yet. To solve the dust issue I could always made up some sort of box and put a small window operated by a servo, that only opens the once a day just before it measures a reading and sends it back. That uno I have obviously doesn't have WiFi or anything either, I've actually spent the last week trying to flash sonoffs with tasmoto to try use them as a cheap programmer/wifi monitor (some have temperature sensors so easy enough to provide an input), however I don't know if that all worth the effort yet, I really should just go with the likes of the nodemcu or a similar arduino with wifi onboard, or maybe an rpi zero w.

emaherx

What do you plan on using to monitor your sensor? if it is Home Assistant or OpenHab then ESPHome is still an option as you could use it to re-flash a Sonoff.

Although the NodeMCU's are so cheap, and have easy access to all of the GPIO Pins. The ESP8266 are even cheaper the the ESP32.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0754LZ73Z/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEySDRMV0E5TUsxV09LJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMTkwNTU5MklYVk1XRjBPWFI3ViZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDkyODcxMlU0UllCM1c0MUkzViZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2RldGFpbDImYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

Timmaay

I don't actually know what I'll monitor with, at the min all I'm monitoring are sonoffs using the ewelink. But yeh afew nodemcus are what I need next tho, or maybe something similar that can take 5v sensors.

emaherx

Do keep us posted with whatever you put togther.

emaherx

Converted sensor data which reads empty space into estimated fuel.

oil gauges by Emaherx, on Flickr

Sensor yaml for ESPHome in case anyone wants to do similar.

# Ultrasonic sensor - tank measurement
sensor:
  - platform: ultrasonic
    id: sensor_cm1
    trigger_pin: GPIO15
    echo_pin: GPIO16
    name: "Oil Ultrasonic Sensor"
    icon: "mdi: arrow"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "cm"
    filters:
     - filter_out: nan
     - multiply: 100
     #- sliding_window_moving_average:
      #   window_size: 12
       #  send_every: 12

# Oil Level Sensor
  - platform: template
    id: sensor_cm2
    name: "Oil level"
    icon: "mdi: arrow"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "cm"
    lambda: 
      return 150 - id (sensor_cm1) .state;

# Oil Percentage Sensor
  - platform: template
    name: "Oil Percentage"
    icon: "mdi: water"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 2
    unit_of_measurement: "%"
    lambda: 
      return id (sensor_cm2) .state;
    filters:
      - calibrate_linear:
        - 0 -> 0
        - 140 -> 100

# Oil Litres Sensor
  - platform: template
    name: "Oil liters"
    icon: "mdi: oil"
    update_interval: 10s
    accuracy_decimals: 0
    unit_of_measurement: "L"
    lambda: 
      return id (sensor_cm2) .state;
    filters:
      - calibrate_linear:
        - 0 -> 0
        - 140 -> 1500
    
    

5 wheel drive

Anyone make their own gps guidance system by downloading one of the apps onto a tablet and mounting aerial on roof. Some guys can even do their own auto steer.

emaherx

5 wheel drive wrote: »

Anyone make their own gps guidance system by downloading one of the apps onto a tablet and mounting aerial on roof. Some guys can even do their own auto steer.

I've dabbled a few times with Android phone/tablet and a windows laptop. But only using a cheap USB GPS. Really even DIY system using proper AGRI GPS unit gets expensive quick when you add cost of software and hardware.

5 wheel drive

Your probably rite. What off the shel system would fellas recommend? I've looked at a few basic models but the Trimble ez250 looks outdated.

emaherx

5 wheel drive wrote: »

Your probably rite. What off the shel system would fellas recommend? I've looked at a few basic models but the Trimble ez250 looks outdated.

It probably depends on what you need. What level of accuracy do you need? Even off the shelf entry level systems are quite expensive.

Some of the tablet apps may be good enough for some people, but there may not be much difference between a cheap external GPS unit and that built into a good quality phone.

If you were looking seriously at a DIY solution there is a PC software / hardware solution that can include auto-stear and implement controls like switching of individual nozels on a spray if over lapping strips of a field.

http://www.farmergps.com/index.html

endainoz

As a free option, I used the field navigator app, you can map out your fields accurately and set your implement length for each job. Used a cheap mount for the phone to hold It on the wind screen. It worked great for when I was allowed to spread fert. I'll be using it again to broadcast clover this year.

Micheal H

The setup I use is a cheap android tablet connected to a Garmin Glo via bluetooth which is mounted on the roof of the tractor.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-GLONASS-Receiver-Position-Information/dp/B07M9CZYTD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=garmin%2Bglo&qid=1590140869&sr=8-1&th=1

The software I use is called AgriBus-Navi, which costs 60 quid for the year, but it'll work just as well with some of the free ones available too. The field navigator app that endainoz mentioned is also a good one.

All in it costed about 270 for a sub-metre accurate guidance system. Perfect if all you need it for is spreading fertiliser and spraying. I've been meaning to put it into the tractor when I'm mowing to see how it fares when striping the field, but I always forget!

rounders

Hi lads, great thread!

In terms of contributing, mine is pretty low tech but effective. GSM plug, pop the electric fence into it and off you go. Way down the fields, find a issue, ring the fence and it's off. Talking about £20.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Wireless-Control-Household-Appliance/dp/B07SS8QM7Z/ref=pd_day0_c_107_3/260-6599422-3161917?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07SS8QM7Z&pd_rd_r=ff7b0afc-650b-4944-afcb-03fb7e6b349d&pd_rd_w=B6tga&pd_rd_wg=SUKeo&pf_rd_p=cb7ac7c9-1220-4f8e-9626-3d6840134f7f&pf_rd_r=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA&psc=1&refRID=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA

Has anyone used the Vodafone V sims for their devices and any alternatives? Internet at home would be touch and go so would be looking at basing my automation on a GSM network rather than the home network.

How did yet get started learning about all this stuff? I have a lot of automation ideas but don't have the experiance in Raspberry Pi's and arduino. I do have IT and farming background though

And finally, a company I was in contact with recently in Canada, calculates the weight of an animal just from the front two legs at a water trough, doesn't make economical sense for Ireland's farming margins but very interesting tech all the same https://youtu.be/-Non246rVAU?t=105

satstheway

rounders wrote: »

Hi lads, great thread!

In terms of contributing, mine is pretty low tech but effective. GSM plug, pop the electric fence into it and off you go. Way down the fields, find a issue, ring the fence and it's off. Talking about £20.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Wireless-Control-Household-Appliance/dp/B07SS8QM7Z/ref=pd_day0_c_107_3/260-6599422-3161917?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07SS8QM7Z&pd_rd_r=ff7b0afc-650b-4944-afcb-03fb7e6b349d&pd_rd_w=B6tga&pd_rd_wg=SUKeo&pf_rd_p=cb7ac7c9-1220-4f8e-9626-3d6840134f7f&pf_rd_r=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA&psc=1&refRID=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA

Has anyone used the Vodafone V sims for their devices and any alternatives? Internet at home would be touch and go so would be looking at basing my automation on a GSM network rather than the home network.

How did yet get started learning about all this stuff? I have a lot of automation ideas but don't have the experiance in Raspberry Pi's and arduino. I do have IT and farming background though

And finally, a company I was in contact with recently in Canada, calculates the weight of an animal just from the front two legs at a water trough, doesn't make economical sense for Ireland's farming margins but very interesting tech all the same https://youtu.be/-Non246rVAU?t=105

Hi. I had a vodafone sim in that exact plug socket and it stopped last week. Must have been there 5 years never stopped up. Would turn on and off with ringing up until a year ago but then only responded to text. Must get Nither vodafone sim as I miss it no end for fencer

rounders

satstheway wrote: »

Hi. I had a vodafone sim in that exact plug socket and it stopped last week. Must have been there 5 years never stopped up. Would turn on and off with ringing up until a year ago but then only responded to text. Must get Nither vodafone sim as I miss it no end for fencer

Our last one blew up from lightening last year and only got around to buying a new one last week. Your sim card probably expired in your case. The networks basically switch off a sim card after a while if you haven't used any credit. That's where the V sim is supposed to come in. Pay 2 or 3 euro a month and it is supposed to not die on you. Haven't tried them yet though

emaherx

rounders wrote: »

Hi lads, great thread!

In terms of contributing, mine is pretty low tech but effective. GSM plug, pop the electric fence into it and off you go. Way down the fields, find a issue, ring the fence and it's off. Talking about £20.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Professional-Wireless-Control-Household-Appliance/dp/B07SS8QM7Z/ref=pd_day0_c_107_3/260-6599422-3161917?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B07SS8QM7Z&pd_rd_r=ff7b0afc-650b-4944-afcb-03fb7e6b349d&pd_rd_w=B6tga&pd_rd_wg=SUKeo&pf_rd_p=cb7ac7c9-1220-4f8e-9626-3d6840134f7f&pf_rd_r=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA&psc=1&refRID=5NK88TCBZ22M2R34XSJA

Has anyone used the Vodafone V sims for their devices and any alternatives? Internet at home would be touch and go so would be looking at basing my automation on a GSM network rather than the home network.

How did yet get started learning about all this stuff? I have a lot of automation ideas but don't have the experiance in Raspberry Pi's and arduino. I do have IT and farming background though

And finally, a company I was in contact with recently in Canada, calculates the weight of an animal just from the front two legs at a water trough, doesn't make economical sense for Ireland's farming margins but very interesting tech all the same https://youtu.be/-Non246rVAU?t=105

Nothing wrong with using a GSM Switch, I've never actually used one though, when you ring the device dose it report back its current status? and give option to turn on off?

No expereince with the Vsim but sounds ideal for GSM devices. don't know of an alterative sim from other providers but there are alternative technologies. I've been reading up on LoRa which sounds ideal for remote locations. With LoRa you could build your own network or subscribe to a provider like SigFox. LoRa is a long range wireless communications technology designed speciifcally for IOT.

My own background is: I work as an engineer for a large multinational IT company. I spend most of my time maintaing Industrial Print Lines, but also network equipment, servers ATM's and Tape Libaries. I have a degree in Electronics and a higher cert in IT and some Cisco certs. But things have changed so much since I studied Electronics and very much for the better when it comes to DIY, everything is available now as modules meaning you don't need much knowlage of circuit design to build nearly any automation you can imagine. There are so many cheap and easily configurable microcontrollers with tons of features built in. Online resources these days make the programming end much simpler, most of what I have running now is just the bits of other peoples projects that I liked cut and pasted together.

If you'd like some help with an automation idea, I'd be happy to look at it.




The YouTube video is interesting, obviously not for most of our farms but I think this is as good a place as any to share what is out there.

rounders

emaherx wrote: »

Nothing wrong with using a GSM Switch, I've never actually used one though, when you ring the device dose it report back its current status? and give option to turn on off?

No expereince with the Vsim but sounds ideal for GSM devices. don't know of an alterative sim from other providers but there are alternative technologies. I've been reading up on LoRa which sounds ideal for remote locations. With LoRa you could build your own network or subscribe to a provider like SigFox. LoRa is a long range wireless communications technology designed speciifcally for IOT.

My own background is: I work as an engineer for a large multinational IT company. I spend most of my time maintaing Industrial Print Lines, but also network equipment, servers ATM's and Tape Libaries. I have a degree in Electronics and a higher cert in IT and some Cisco certs. But things have changed so much since I studied Electronics and very much for the better when it comes to DIY, everything is available now as modules meaning you don't need much knowlage of circuit design to build nearly any automation you can imagine. There are so many cheap and easily configurable microcontrollers with tons of features built in. Online resources these days make the programming end much simpler, most of what I have running now is just the bits of other peoples projects that I liked cut and pasted together.

If you'd like some help with an automation idea, I'd be happy to look at it.




The YouTube video is interesting, obviously not for most of our farms but I think this is as good a place as any to share what is out there.

You can ring it or text. If you text it tells you the status but I'd be trying to get the father using it so just go with the basics of ringing the box which changes the box to either on or off depending on it's current position when you ring it

Yeah was doing some reading on Sigfox networks last night. Is that primarily only good for sending small data points or could it support triggering a action like the GSM plug?

My background is Information Systems so I understand the high level systems but get lost completely once we start talking about circuits

emaherx

rounders wrote: »

You can ring it or text. If you text it tells you the status but I'd be trying to get the father using it so just go with the basics of ringing the box which changes the box to either on or off depending on it's current position when you ring it

Yeah was doing some reading on Sigfox networks last night. Is that primarily only good for sending small data points or could it support triggering a action like the GSM plug?

My background is Information Systems so I understand the high level systems but get lost completely once we start talking about circuits

Knowledge of circuits is less of an issue than ever, I made a RFID system for a college project using an Intel 8051. To use an 8051 you needed to build a circuit to connect separate Memory chips and a UART chip to communicate over serial and even quartz clock crystal for timing. The likes of Arduino and ESP based devices make this simple with built in flash memory WiFi/Bluetooth and even LoRa, the GPIO pins make connecting a multitude of pre built modules such as sensors or relays very easy.

Yes, only small packets but what could be smaller than on or off?

I'm not sure there is an off the shelf smart plug, but it's definitely doable. I was considering trying to make something for the out farms. But truthfully it's not because of any real need, just a curiosity. Not necessarily looking at Sigfox either, might try setting up my own LoRa gateway and seeing how far I can transmit/receive.

satstheway

V sims are very fussy in what the work afaik.
But that should broaden out over time.
For my job when the sim was in credit it could report back but it was not essential.
You text SN0000ON or sn0000off or ring. Always have a Gallagher tester in my pocket or touch fence off a post to check before I would grab it (just in case) with the tester and gsm you can find faults very easy

rounders

We're still on the dock leaf technology here!

I work off farm as a consultant with a cloud software vender but I'm focused more on the front end configuring with the customer rather than the back end tech.

One idea I've been play with is an online platform that is all based around the map for the farm. On it would be able to see all your animals using gps/geofensing on animals with alerts if they leave the paddock. Monitor the water usage through flow sensors in the water pipes to monitor flow and potential leaks, also have IOT values to turn off water so if you input that the animals will leave the paddock today at 4pm, at 2pm the vale would switch off to ensure the trough empties. When the GPS on the animals detect the animals enter a new paddock it would turn on the water.

Most useful part of all I think though would be something simular to what someone posted earlier where it lifted wire using a a little motor. On the out farm we have cattle, we could setup a timers to lift the wire at a particular time to give them more grass and use the Geofencing to confirm they have all moved to the next paddock before lowering it again. Pair all this up then with a little drone. You mark on the map which field you want the drone to go to and it would set off on a preconfigured route taking the stress out of flying a drone allowing you to focus on the camara output

All of this sounds great but I suppose the amount of value/time it would safe would be minimal

Timmaay

I went off and got myself a degree in mechanical engineering, then 3/4s of the way through a PhD, before bailing out and writing that up as a research engineering masters, before coming back home to be a horribly overqualified farmer ha. Spent my whole life tinkering around with some sort of electronics and engines and stuff, but I'll agree that it's all become a hell of alot simpler in terms of what kits you can buy off the shelf and get going with arduino etc.

I'm surprised items like bulk tank temperature, water pressure, electric fence voltage monitors etc haven't become alot more common on farms here yet, basically monitoring equipment that can and will save you money if they spot a fault before you do. I've had it in the back of my mind to go develop something that I could market to farmers, take the bulk tank temperature sensor, all you need to do is put an external temperature probe in beside the existing temperature probe, and have a microcontroller with a web upload of the temperature, a simple enough algorithm that knows the rough expected cooling profile of the tank and it will send you a text if something is astray. For more extensive farm wide use gsm/sigfox or yourown lora network would be necessary. If anyone want to help me develop something like the above drop me a pm ha 😅

rounders

Few of us on here with different backgrounds that would compliment each other. All we need now is the golden idea

emaherx

Ok, so what are we calling this new company?