Freshly made in July! Updated boards with microUSB port and large quantities are available!

If you have questions, shoot me an email at liudrelectronicsolutionsllc@gmail.com or contact me on skype by searching my email. I'm happy to get you started!

USB interface compatible with PC Win 7/10/11/Mac/Linux/Raspberry PI/Beagle Bone Black

OR

UART Serial interface for Arduino, MicroPython, Particle Electron boards at 5V/3.3V logic (choose option)

Suitable for long-term deployment (months to years)

Live soil data from sample logger has concluded due to ground freezing

Download 2018 June to October data

Connects to SDI-12 sensors, expansion port for added features Free and open-source feature-reach Python data logging script for multiple sensors, sensing commands, and adapters

SDI-12 sensors are widely used in environmental monitoring including soil, streams, plants etc. On the other hand, data loggers designed for SDI-12 sensors are usually expensive and proprietary, making it harder to monitor and study soils and streams on a budget. This SDI-12 USB adapter makes it possible to directly interface SDI-12, Analog sensors, and GPS with a PC/Mac/Linux/RPI/BBB, on a budget. I have built numerous SDI-12 sensor data loggers. This is my latest design that is very easy to use. It also comes with free and open-source data logger program (Python script) for all operating systems. A section on SDI-12 sensors will guide you through it. A $5 Raspberry PI Zero is more than sufficient to log data.

• Connects SDI-12 sensors to PC/Mac/Linux/RPI/BBB over USB
• 4 SDI-12 screw terminal block connections for convenience
• Ext. or 5V power selector
• External power connection
• Fuse protected USB port, diode protected SDI-12 bus line

Options

• Add a terminal block to read 4 channel analog voltages (10-bit) select option on this page
• Add an extension board for 4-analog auto-scaling single-ended channels up to 20uV precision (same feature set as SDI-12 + Analog adapter) Buy this extension board. You can use up to 4 analog extension boards on one adapter.
• Add an extension board for 4 more SDI-12 sensor connection terminal blocks. Buy this extension board (coming soon!).
• Mounting hardware: 4 of each M3 8mm standoffs, screws, nuts
• Modify the interface into UART Serial to interface with Arduino, MicroPython boards, Particle Electron etc. This option will either disable the FTDI USB chip or not populate the chip and enable the UART Serial interface on a 6-pin male header. Both 5V and 3.3V logics are provided so you can use it on both 5V and 3.3V boards. You also need to supply 5V to the adapter now that the USB interface is disabled.

Sensors tested

In theory, all SDI-12 sensors should work with my adapter. I have so far tested these sensors to work:

• Acclima:TDR-310H, 310S, TDR-315, TDR-315L, TDR-310W
• Apogee:SI-411, SI-411-SS, S2-441
• Aquacheck:CKC 6 sensor probe
• Campbell Scientific: CS215, CS650, CS655
• Decagon: 5TE, 5TM, DS-2, ECRN-50, ECRN-100, GS3, MPS-6, NDVI SRS, PRI SRS VP-3, VP-4,
• Ecotech (Stevens Water): Tensiomark soil matric potential, pF probe soil matric potential
• EnviroPro: EP100G series soil sensors
• FTS inc.: DigiTemp Water sensor
• Gill Instruments: WindSonic Ultrasonic Wind Sensor
• Greenshield: Capacitive Soil probe
• Hongyuv: HY-WDC6SE Mini Weather Station
• HSTI: HydraSCOUT multi-sensor soil probe
• METER group (formally Decagon): Atmos14, Atmos 22, Atmos 41, ECH2O 5TE, ECH2O 5TM, ECRN-50, ECRN-100, GS3, NDVI, PRI, TEROS 12, TEROS 21 (MPS-6)
• Ponsel: Digital turbidity sensor
• Sentek: TriSCAN probe
• Sutron: Accubar Barometric Pressure Sensor, Model 5600-0120-3
• Unidata: Starflow QSD Ultrasonic Doppler Velocity And Depth sensor

Voltage sensors (hi-res analog extension board):

• Any sensors producing up to 6V of DC voltage can be measured with SDI-12 + Analog USB adapter
• Apogee SP-110 Self-Powered Pyranometer (Decagon sells them under PYR part number)
• Apogee SQ-500 Self-Powered full spectrum quantum sensor
• METER group ECH2O EC-5 (Decagon EC-5) (Soil volumetric water content sensor)

Data Logging (WIN 7/10/Mac/Linux/RPI/BBB)

Manual and data logging scripts from my blog (scroll to bottom):

You can sit back and watch the PC/RPI/BBB data collection Python script collect data automatically

• Sensor address
• Total data points
• Delay between data points
• GMT or Local time zone
• Just run the data logger script in Python. Your data will be stored where this script is so if you store the script in a cloud drive, you will be able to view your data remotely.

File Format

Your data will be stored in comma-separated-value (.CSV) format. The file name is the date and time when the script starts logging data. There are at least three columns.

The first column is the date and time the data point is collected. Depending on your choice, it is either in GMT/UTC or local time. The next column is the sensor address. The third column is the first value returned by your sensor. If your sensor returns more than one value, additional columns will contain additional values.

This file format is ready to be read by any major data analysis tools such as Excel, Open Office Calc, or the more expensive Origin Pro. Here is a sample of data collected from a Decagon 5TM soil temperature and moisture sensor. The first data column is the relative dielectric constant (1 for air, yes, it’s NOT in soil). The second data column is temperature.

• 2015/10/31 18:30:59, 1, +1.04, +25.0
• 2015/10/31 18:31:27, 1, +1.04, +24.9

Telemetry

Your PC or RPI/BBB must have access to the internet. Your data are sent to a server and stored there ready for retrieval and plotting in a web browser.