Difference between Nettigo and Sensor.Community kits

Hello

Can someone who is knowledgeable about such things give me a brief summary of what is the difference between the Sensor.Community (airRuhr) kits, the Nettigo STD kits, and the Nettigo PRO kits, other than the obvious price difference! All available on the Nettigo shop. I get that there is some duplication of things because of the shortage of the BME280 sensor and alternative kits being made available but I’ve struggled to get a real clue as to the difference between the various types and it’s a bit confusing.

Context: I’ve recently invested in Ecowitt weather station and recently added their AirQuality sensor, and I’m about to start fettling with FOShk-plugin and maybe weewx to be able to publish that AQI data more widely, but could also invest in project equipment like Sensor.Community / Nettigo - the only other one I’m really looking at is Gaia (Gaia Air Quality Monitors - Product Series)

In the airrohr the PM sensor is installed in an open pipe (protecting against wind & rain). The Nettigo air monitors “NAM” (STD and PRO) have a different housing and feature a heating element, which is supposed to reduce the effect of high humidity. The difference between STD and PRO is that the STD has a Wifi antenna directly on the esp8266 board, whereas the PRO has an external WiFi antenna. The NAMs run their own firmware, which afaik has its roots in the airrohr firmware but is developed by different folks.

3 Likes

Great, thanks for the insight. I thought the difference were something like that but I couldn’t find a succinct descripton of the difference.

For anyone that uses the Nettigo kits, if you can stand in the proposed install location and get a decent Wifi signal on your phone, I assume the internal Wifi antenna is sufficient.

Also, acknowledging that this is the Sensor.Community forum, and I’m asking question about related but competing solutions, is there any perceived negatives with going with the Nettigo kit and their fork of the firmware against the native project software?

1 Like

Hello @nephilim , @plunet ,
I just installed what I think is an AirRohr kit (am I right?), bought from Nettigo, which is this one, announced on Nettigo as a replacement for the original kit which is not available because of a shortage on pressure sensors.
This is my first kit and I’m quite proud as everything works fine, apart of course the absent P measurement.

Now I have a second location I’d like to kit, and I found on Netigo they do have P sensors, but only within some larger kits, like that one, which strongly resembles mine but with a different casing and various extra niceties, like an external wifi antenna, a heater associated to the PM which is expected to alleviate humidity impact on the particles, and apparently an extra red sensor that I don’t recognize for the moment.
It is however called a Nettigo monitor rather than AirRohr (plus it seems to be preset in polish language and with Polish-only assembly instructions :woozy_face: )

Do I understand correctly that, once installed, it’ll connect properly to the same community network?
And is there an experience here with this kit?
(e.g. can someone confirm that If I manage to input my local wifi netwwork on the Polish interface then I’ll reach a panel offering the possibility to switch to english?)

TIA!
Hervé
esp8266-13514300 :wink:

(I searched for alternate suppliers too, but disagree with the Gaia way of renting-only, and the only other third-party I found was a German company that seems to only deliver to German locations…)

1 Like

I have a NAM kit but with BME280 and SHT35. I can assure you that it will send data to madavi, the sensor.community map and your local influxdb just like the airrohr. It’s funny that the soldering instructions are also available in English but the final assembly is not. However, you can always use google translate. Also for the interface, such that you can switch it to English. If you struggle, I can send you a screenshot, where in the configuration the language is set.

My experience… I can see that the heating element is working at high humidity. But that data is difficult to judge, because all of the SDS11 I have tested after getting my airrohr in the first place read significantly lower. The first batch was reading about half of the SDS I bought for my airrohr. The batch I got a few weeks ago is “just” 30-40% lower. Once I get a proper SDS I can start looking at the differences between the airrohr and NAM concepts.

2 Likes

As far as I can understand things, available for purchase at Nettigo as of Sep 2021 are:

Luftdaten/airRohr/Sensor.Community kits

Sensor.Community Original - €50-53 - out of stock due to lack of BME280

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BME280 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • nodeMCU v3 ESP-12E with internalWifi
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    English KIT-1873
    Polish KIT-2003

Sensor.Community Updated - no pressure sensor - €53

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • SHT31 humidity/temp sensor (no pressure)
  • nodeMCU v3 ESP-12E with internalWifi
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    English KIT-2113

Nettigo Standard kits

Nettigo Standard Original - €77 - out of stock due to lack of BME280

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BME280 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini with internalWifi
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    English KIT-2106
    Polish KIT-2064

Nettigo Standard Updated - €77

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BMP180 and SHT31 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini with internalWifi
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    English KIT-2145
    Polish KIT-2141

Nettigo Pro kits

Nettigo Pro Original - €82 - out of stock due to lack of BME280

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BME280 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini PRO with external Wifi option
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    English KIT-2107
    Polish KIT-2100

Nettigo Pro Updated - €82

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BMP180 and SHT31 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini PRO with external Wifi option
  • in kit form that needs soldering and physical assembley
    Polish KIT-2155

Nettigo Pro Soldered kits

Nettigo Pro Soldered Original - €115 - out of stock due to lack of BME280

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BME280 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini PRO with external Wifi option
  • all presoldered but needs physical assembly
    Polish KIT-1909

Nettigo Pro Soldered Updated - €115

  • SDS011 particulate matter sensor
  • BMP180 and SHT31 humidity/temp/pressure sensor
  • NAM heating element control assembly
  • wemos D1 mini PRO with external Wifi option
  • all presoldered but needs physical assembly
    Polish KIT-2159

I think I have got all of the above right.
Apparently it’s easy enough to change the firmware from Polish to English (or vice-versa) after initial basic configuration - for example the updated Pro and Pro Soldered only currently have a Polish version at the moment.

The slight differce there is in the way the various kits are described makes it very difficult to work out what the total list of options are and what is available so assuming the above is correct hopefully this is useful.

EDIT: updated to include some corrections and bulleted list of key components

1 Like

I think I am probably going towards getting the Nettigo rather than the Sensor-Community unit.

Having a heated sensor to minimise the risk of false high readings on days when it’s misty or foggy I think is worth having.

And for the sake of an additional €5 for the option of the wemosD1mini being upgraded to the PRO which supports the external antenna if you need it and has 16M of onboard flash compared to 4M is worth having in case I want to do anything else at a later date.

I agree that it’s a little odd that the final assembly instructions do not appear to have an Englsh page but I doubt that google translate is going to struggle to give me enough of a clue on how to put the unit together when it includes pictures.

Thanks for the offer from @nephilim to assist with a “how to change the firmware language” if you get stuck

Feliciations a @Herve5 for getting your AirRohr kit assembled - you’re ahead of me. Hopefully my previous posting helps decode the options that are available, but if you’re looking at the Nettigo Pro like me it seems it’s currently only available in polish firmware, but hopefully easy to change.

Thank you, @nephilim , @plunet !
Indeed the choice for me, for my second location, is between

  • just duplicating my existing device, abandoning P measurements
  • get a costlier ‘Pro soldered updated’, a somehow bigger device but that I could still put out of sight on my Paris balcony.

I have to make up my mind today as I want to order and receive it before I move to Paris, in 10 days :slightly_smiling_face:

I’ll keep you informed, specially if I get to work from the Polish how-to!
Thank you again,
H.

2 Likes

ordered, today, the second one…

My Nettigo Pro (KIT-2155) is in the post on the way from Poland…

I just received the second one here in Paris this morning. Now I’m facing the terrible perspective of assembling it with only incomplete Polish how-tos :woozy_face:

1 Like

Hi Tomo,
You have written great summary. I’ll try to add some clarifications.

As for mid Oct one change: KIT-2113 is replaced by KIT-2132: Nettigo: Sensor.community KIT (SDS011/SHT31), English language, harness cable edition

KIT-2132 is the same sensors like KIT-2113. Standard jumper wires are replaced by harness cable with XH connectors. That means connection is sturdy (no more random disconnections) and easier to build - each connector is different, so there is only one place where it can be plug-in:

NAM and SensorCommunity kits differences

Main differences:

  • NAM has heating chamber, so high humidity does not yield in higher PM readings
  • NAM has to be soldered (this not applies to KIT-2159 ofc)
  • NAM currently has both temperature/humidity sensor (SHT31 like in SC kits we sell now) and pressure sensor (BMP180). BMP180 is supported by SC firmware, but we don’t see easy way to connect both sensors to nodeMCU.
  • NAM versions STD are running on module with PCB WiFi antenna (like in nodeMCU in Sensor Community kits), versions PRO have external antenna for WiFi - so they offer better range compared to PCB antennas.
  • NAM has dedicated case, some think it looks better than standard case from pipes in SC
  • For NAM case we have dedicated mounting brackets making easier hanging sensor on wall or pole: Nettigo: Mounting bracket for Nettigo Air Monitor 0.3

NAM runs different firmware than SC, it sends data to SC API by default. You could use SC software, but AFAIK heating chamber won’t be supported. Currently NAMF (NAM firmware) is only in English, Polish and Hungarian.

I think that are main differences between these kits.

Lack of BME280

BME280 have started to show for order in China again. The problem is that theirs price went up over 100% So kits with BME will cost more (something like ~7 EUR more).

3 Likes

Hi plunet,
were you able to continue the comparison between the two sensors? Nettigo kit and Ecowitt?

Unfortunately I’ve been impacted by some health issues recently and I’ve not been able to move forward with building the Nettigo AirMonitor, but if I do I will report back.

Hi Herve5
Did yo manage to assemble and install your Nettigo Pro?
How is it functioning?
Cheers

@Paolo Assembly was very easy; it works perfectly since then.
The only issue I had with it is the fact that the temperature measurements are performed twice, because there are two T sensors, and there is a 1°C difference between them.
I consider this comes from the fact the second T measurement is performed inside the box, so it get hotter because of the electronics dissipation.
I discussed the issue here on the forum.

Thanks Herve5

The information is useful.

Just a little background.

We are situated in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Coordinates: 29°20′00″S 31°17′30″E

We are a new Non-Profit Organisation representing an underprivileged community of over 500,000 people affected by sugarcane burning, toxic emissions from a Class A Noxious Waste site and from various other industries and a diesel driven supplemental power station.

Our government and local municipalities do not have monitoring equipment in our area. The existing equipment has not functioned since 2018. They do not have the funds or manpower to provide the service our community deserves. This is further compounded by rampant corruption.

A recent test, funded by one of our affiliate NPO’s, showed Benzene at above 62 μg/m3 on two separate occasions in August 2021, 12 times the SA National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

We have decided to establish an independent monitoring body.

We are developing an education program for the 20 schools located within a 6km area of the polluters are considering adding the units as a practical aspect to the lesson. We are hoping to have 4 to 12 units operational by March 2022.

All our funding is from donations, so purchases will depend on how much we can raise.

Thanks again for your very useful posts.

Regards

Paolo Del Fabbro

Beware that to my knowledge the Polish sensors we are discussing in this thread do NOT measure benzene.

Thanks Herve

We don’t want to monitor Benzene.

We want to use the PM2.5 and PM10 monitors.

They have enough information to start with.

We will ultimately have more sophisticated monitors to confirm the ones used for the schools educational project.

Thanks for your interest.

Regards

Paolo

OK, if it is just particles then you can aim for the most minimalist PM sensors here; you can discard extra measures like T or P.
I think there is a minimum cost kit here, less than 50€, that would fit.
But remember this kind of equipment is not really professional.
I think the real pro hardware involves for instance redundant sensors (no single failure possible) etc. But in such a case the cost is much higher…