Kits for school project

Hi All
We are considering developing a school project in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.

To keep things simple we have narrowed down our choice to the assembled Nettigo Air Monitor (KIT BME 0.3.3 PRO soldered) and the Gaia A12 kits.

Given intermittent power outages and WIFY connectivity we need robust units.

Can anyone let me know their experiences with either of this kits.

Thanks

Paolo for Communities Against Pollution Non-Profit

1 Like

Hi,
The Nettigo Kit is actually supported by Sensor.Community (because it is a SC kit) but the Gaia A12 kit is not. Actually waqi.info visualize our data…
I don’t know how is the customer support for the Gaia A12. By SC, you won’t be a customer but the community is huge and we always answer and solve issues.
You can also buy the element according to our website instructions and build everything yourself. It would cost less.
It seems that the Gaia A12 uses the DHT22 which is a very bad sensor for THP. Which sensor for the PM ? I hate closed source / close hardware project!
I can’t say nothing about the power supply issues you mentioned for the Gaia A12. In the SC kit the configuration is persistent so after a black out the sensor will start again without any problem. If you need solar power, some clever guy in the community developed cheap systems.
A French company is also producing interesting kits supported by SC:

They probably cost less than the Gaia A12. I can give you the contact.

Thanks PJG

The solar power seems like an option.

Can you please put me in contact with the Solar Power guy and also the French Company producing the supported kits.

Regards

Paolo

Evening PJ

Just a question the picture you showed in you post, is that the standard Nettigo Kit? Looks very different form the one available at the shop.

Regards

Paolo

No it is a kit build by Gabriel Delepierre / La petite fabrique de l’Isle d’Abeau pour Respire in Paris. This association is installing 300 sensors (150 are already there).

@gvidinski Can you explain him a bit more about your system ?

Did you get my messages ?

Evening PJ

I have received all the messages.

I will private mail you on the details.

Thanks

Hi pjg,
I’m sorry for the delay. It seems I was missing any notifications about PMs here. Anyway, I already changed my preferences, so I hope I’ll be updated regularly.
Is it Paolo that you ask me to contact? I’ll send him a PM in a minute.

Thanks,
Georgi

EDIT:
OK, I wasn’t aware that there is no PM system here, so tell me how can I be of assistance?

EDIT2:
Oh, I found it. :smiley:

A quick update on my work with Solar chargers. I’ve prepared a v2 that uses INA219 voltage and current sensor, which is widely available through number of vendors like Adafruit. Thus, makes voltage monitor option to be much easier for use by entry level users without bothering with the extensions needed by v1. Once I finish with my outdoor tests, I’ll public an update. One more think. I’ve changed the solar charger with another MPPT module (again widely available), which made the whole system be capable of faster charging during the day in matter of few hours only, prolonged battery charge and more stable behavior.

Georgi

Morning Georgi

Thanks for reaching out.

We started a conversation with PJ about the possibility of having solar powered units due to the constant power outages we are experiencing. He mentioned that some of the community members were working on solutions.

We are still finalising the choice of sensors and will reach out to you to see of the solar option will work with our final configuration.

We will keep you updated.

Thanks again for the offer of assistance.

Regards
Paolo Del Fabbro
for Communities Against Pollution.