SitkaNet Updates

SitkaNet Updates

November 30, 2021

The node is nearly completed. The team reconfigured the wiring inside the node to make it better organized and is working on creating the 3D printed inserts for the node and batteries. The code refactor has been completed and works on the node. Testing is scheduled to begin next week and we are planning on continuing testing into January to make sure the kinks are worked out before sending the node north to Sitka.

October 10, 2021

2 new members joined OPEnS/SitkaNet (Will & Dustin). Redesigned node; batteries are no longer in the lid. This should stop them from falling out when the case is opened. Building node #8 (Science Center Node), whose purpose is to serve as an educational node to teach people how the nodes function. Code refactor is in progress, convert the rushed Loom 2 code to natively supported Loom 3 to avoid as many dirty implementations as possible.

July 19, 2021

OPEnS, UO, and SSSC teams did fieldwork in Sitka from July 8th to July 15th. Hub (and router) at the USFS was replaced and the nodes at GAV4, HAR5, and HAR6 were reprogrammed and batteries were replaced. The original GAV4 node was damaged from rainwater/bear attack and was replaced by a new node currently named GAV7. A mini node (Nib) was built and used for testing in Sitka. Nib was left at the SSSC alongside the old USFS hub and other materials such as two sets of spare batteries, USB cables, and dry packs. An inventory of hardware currently at the SSSC was done and can be viewed from a link on the main SitkaNet wiki page. LoRa issues persist.

June 23, 2021

Node has been deployed at the CTEMPS field for testing. Work is being done on the hub to ensure reliability in preparation for trip to Sitka next month.

April 15, 2021

Team put pause on meetings until further notice due to natural pause due to both a new OPEnS student lead and waiting on a new person for on-ground work in Sitka. Current plan is to set up and operate a smaller, modified SitkaNet system in Oregon including 2 nodes and a hub in order to test and confirm any issues with the deployed Sitka nodes. Work on the project continues and team will likely meet again as we get closer to summer. SitkaNet will be presented at the OPEnS Lab House on April 20th and has also been approved for the OSU College of Engineering Expo in June.

March 29, 2021

Team is going to focus on troubleshooting known issues and continuing to work on V3 updates over the next couple months during OPEnS team transition and transition to a new team member in Sitka (likely starting this summer). Troubleshooting 4G/router issues to continue this week as well as LoRa antennae, batch transmits, and updates to nodes in following weeks. Team looking to test new nodes/hubs in Oregon, then in urban Sitka, then move new parts into the surrounding area in Sitka as a way to test nodes before they are fully deployed in the hills. Potential to build a diagnostic tool to bypass entire system and check individual node sensors.

March 15, 2021

Two more node electronic sets will be built for swapping sets in the field alongside one set of sensors to be set at the Sitka Science Center with one of the spare electronics set-ups. Small modifications are likely to be made to electronics sets in order to allow easier swapping of the M0 and programming remotely.

March 1, 2021

Brief meeting to discuss antennae and router updates. Hub should be completed very soon and then Corvallis team will be testing router connection locally. Antennae and mounting supplies are being sent to Sitka within the week. Potential to work with group at UO if LoRa issues continue.

Feb 22, 2021

Antennae testing went well and new antennae has a much better signal strength than previous. OPEnS team is continuing to work on testing the router connectivity and issues as well as node to hub connections. New hub and node currently being built. Team discussed issues relating to SD card logging from data found at GAV site. 4 hour period of no logging during which there were 100 tips from the tipping bucket. Investigating whether that issue is related to excessive rainfall that occurred on that day. This is a recurring issue, but not one that impacts the overwhelming majority of the data.

Feb 15, 2021

Antennae, wiring, charger, and other materials to be sent to Sitka soon. Trip was made to the GAV4 node and consistent data was retrieved from the site. That data is now being analyzed in addition to other data points. Team is going to look into SIM card and data related issues since data usage is far higher than calculated. Focus over the next week will be on SIM card/data, rain gauge data, building a new node/hub for troubleshooting in Corvallis, and data comparisons with the USGS on the UO side of the project. Hardware X paper was submitted. Current plan is to troubleshoot from Oregon and potentially send someone to Sitka in early summer (COVID restrictions permitting).

Feb 8, 2021

Trip was made to the HAR6 node. Found issues with both data transfer to CSV and the node time clock. Troubleshooting continues for these issues in addition to antennae mounting, internet/ethernet, and other small technical issues. Team is considering sending 1-2 people to Alaska soon if issues cannot be resolved remotely. Currently testing a new antennae and plan to send new antennae as well as battery charging supplies to Sitka.

Jan 29, 2021

After experiencing some issues with the internet connections at the hub locations, 4G routers have been added to both hubs provide a more reliable connection. The hubs have also been updated to log received data packets to SD card to aid in troubleshooting and to streamline manually collecting data if uploading to the spreadsheet fails. The nodes have experienced issues with false accelerometer readings, which has drained the batteries of several nodes. Also, the cold weather seems to have affected the batteries more than expected, further decreasing the battery life of the nodes. To solve these issues, the nodes are being reprogrammed to remove the accelerometer "panic mode" functionality and to increase data collection intervals to 15min. This should allow the nodes to reach the planned 6 month battery life. Directional antennas for the nodes are being considered to improve LoRa signal strength.

August 7, 2020

All nodes and hubs have been installed in the field in Sitka. All six nodes are collecting data and working as expected. We ran into an issue with one of the hubs not receiving data from the nodes. We believe this is due to an antenna issue and are confident it can be solved.

July 25, 2020 - V2 Field Deployment

Six nodes and two hubs have been built and fully tested for over a month and are ready to be deployed in Sitka, Alaska

May 11, 2020 - Continued V2 Field testing and HardwareX journal

Field testing is ongoing. We have made a couple modifications based on feedback from the testing. These include increasing the length of sensor cables to increase speed and ease of installation. We are also testing different modifications to the STEMMA sensors to increase their effectiveness in saturated soil conditions. The best solution is to add layers of heat shrink to tune the sensor to the soil conditions specific to each deployment location. We have also started writing an article for HardwareX.

February 17, 2020 - V2 Field testing

One node has been placed in the field to test durability and sensor characteristics.

November 6, 2019 - V2 Development

Version 2 is being developed. The first prototype should be done and ready to test by December 13.

October 2019 - Version 1 Outcomes

We were able to successfully gather data from the nodes, but the battery life of the nodes were much shorter than expected. Additionally, some of the sensors have failed due to water exposure.