Floaty McFloatFace

thingiverse

This is Floaty McFloatFace. To learn more about the project, head to http://www.sparxcoreprojects.co.uk In experimenting with LoRa, I wanted to create a floating buoy that would send back over LoRaWAN sensor information like water temperature, air temperature, internal temperatures, GPS, and others. FMFF was created in order to be a test bed for these experiments. To extend the operation outside of what batteries can attain, I needed to use solar cells in order to keep the internal battery topped up. Aside from the specifics of the hole spacing on the carrier, the parts here should be able to be easily reused. For example, the clamps are in different sizes to accommodate different PVC pipe diameters. The 110mm clamp is designed to have 5 printed and bolted together, which gives you the ability to have 5 solar nacelles attached. The nacelles are made to slide into 110x60mm solar cells. These are typically 6v nominal cells, making them suited to LiPo charging with an appropriate charger. The carrier accommodates: 1 TTGO or similar (HelTec dev boards) 1 Neo 6M GPS board 1 BME temperature and humidity sensor 1 27x25mm vero board as a power and voltage divider board 1 32x25mm vero board as a sensor breakout board 4 LiPo 18650 cells I also made this Stevenson screen: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4166079 for use with the air temperature probe. All of this fits in a diameter of 46mm, making it fit into a 50mm ID pipe (55mm OD) and allowing any extra internal flanges and clearances. It's tight, but it fits! The carrier and top cap are designed to be fitted into a 55mm PVC pipe access port screw cap with a liberal application of silicone sealant where needed, like around the type N connector. The type I used has a thick rubber gasket that has provided great sealing in my tests. PolyPipe makes 55mm PVC pipe and all fittings found on eBay. The pipe is solvent welded to ensure watertight joints. You will also need to find a way of weighing this down if you are planning on floating it, as it will be top-heavy.