Introduction: LTE Water Level Sensor for Livestock Basins
This is an ultrasonic water level sensor that uses LTE connectivity to relay the water level of the basins to the farmer regardless of where the herd is located. Some level monitors exist already, but we paid special attention to weather-proofing the design, making sure the code would be error-proof over long time periods, and making sure it could be connected over long distances in case the herd was being grazed on a neighboring farm.
This open-source project was made at Concordia University's Innovation Lab as a part of the Regenerative Agriculture Challenge.
Supplies
JSN-SR04T Ultrasound Sensor
$15
ESP32-S3 SIM7670G 4G Development Board
$38
12V-5V USB step down converter
$13.80
IoT SIM Card Business
$50
Total
$116.8
Step 1: Connect Microcontroller + Ultrasonic Sonic Sensor + LTE Chip
Connect the ESP32-S3 SIM7670G 4G Development Board, the JSN-SR04T Ultrasound Sensor and the IoT SIM Card using the schematics that come with the products.
Step 2: Print 3D Model Components
Step 3: Connect Microcontroller to Computer Using Waveshare Driver and Create Thingspeak Account
Collect API for later use in the following step.
Step 4: Upload Code to Microcontroller Using Arduino Software
Install the ESP32 and TinyGSM libraries into the Arduino Software.
Select the correct device. ESP32-S3 Dev-Board.
Select the corresponding port to upload code.
Put Thingspeak API into the code.
Put Sim Card APN into code.
Arduino Code Below.
Step 5: Set-up Ultrasound Sensor
Thread the Ultrasound sensor into the 3D-printed cone. Then, connect the ultrasound sensor to the micro-controller.
Step 6: Attach the Device to the Water Basin
Attach the device to the ledge of the water basin using the screw and clamp. Make sure the cone is positioned on the side of the clamp pointing into the basin.
Step 7: Connect to Power
Connect the Device to a power source using the 12V-5V step-down converter. c
