Richard.C
Well-Known Member
It seems the subject of remote monitoring comes up almost every year, a few years ago I installed a
Raspberry Pi/Arduino based system from Skippersmate. That system worked very well and I was pleased
with it. A few minor niggles, the comms from the Arduino sensors was via bluetooth which occasionally
dropped out due to range limitations for the sensors in the engine room and lazarette, the video
feed was low res and the home made nature of the setup meant it was vulnerable and a little untidy.
So this year I set about using off the shelf solutions for video and temp/humidity monitoring.
This has meant it is not one system but it is all visible from my smart phone on 3 seperate apps
that actually gives me a better solution.
Firstly a Teltonika RUT950 provides internet connection via the marina wifi with fail over to 4G.
Having 2 sims seemed like a good idea at the time but thinking more now the RUT240 would be fine
and save a few quid. This is powered from the domestic 12V to maintain connection if mains fails.
Three Reolink cameras are giving 1080p quality video at a reasonable cost, Reolink app lets me see
those anywhere and control the one pan/tilt camera I placed in the boat. These are all battery
cameras so can be positioned anywhere.
I had been using thermostat plugs from B&Q for the heaters during the winter but once set there
was no adjustment without physically being on the boat. So the search began for a smart thermostat
plug and I've purchased a few Nashone wifi thermostat plugs from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NASHONE-Th...shone&qid=1638734096&s=kitchen&sr=1-1-catcorr
With these I am able to see the temperature, change the thermostat setting or manually turn on/off
all via the app from anywhere. Time will tell if these are reliable.
For temp and humidity I found an American company called Trakkit, they have small battery powered
units that connect to your wifi network and can be viewed in their app or via the web:
Trakkit THS - WiFi Temperature & Humidity Sensor
I currently have one in the lazarette, one in the engine room and one in the forward cabin. As well
as temp/humidity, powering one sensor from a USB plug allows me to also get a power failure alert.
Main device screen on web app:
Next level device summary:
All of this has been set up in the last 2 weeks and already proven valuable, for the first few days
of operation the interior sensor was recording humidity of around 54% +/- a percent or so. However
from Wednesday last week I noticed the humidity climbing to the point on Saturday that it was over 70%.
Last weeks chart of humidity:
I hadn't planned to visit the boat for a few weeks but at this point I decided there must be an issue
with the dehumidifier and made the trek down to the south coast. I did indeed find the drain pipe
blocked and the de-humidifier automatically shutdown. So glad I had the sensors on board and was able to
avoid any damp issues.
I hope this of help to anyone, obviously there's a lot of ways to skin this cat but this where I have gone this year.
Raspberry Pi/Arduino based system from Skippersmate. That system worked very well and I was pleased
with it. A few minor niggles, the comms from the Arduino sensors was via bluetooth which occasionally
dropped out due to range limitations for the sensors in the engine room and lazarette, the video
feed was low res and the home made nature of the setup meant it was vulnerable and a little untidy.
So this year I set about using off the shelf solutions for video and temp/humidity monitoring.
This has meant it is not one system but it is all visible from my smart phone on 3 seperate apps
that actually gives me a better solution.
Firstly a Teltonika RUT950 provides internet connection via the marina wifi with fail over to 4G.
Having 2 sims seemed like a good idea at the time but thinking more now the RUT240 would be fine
and save a few quid. This is powered from the domestic 12V to maintain connection if mains fails.
Three Reolink cameras are giving 1080p quality video at a reasonable cost, Reolink app lets me see
those anywhere and control the one pan/tilt camera I placed in the boat. These are all battery
cameras so can be positioned anywhere.
I had been using thermostat plugs from B&Q for the heaters during the winter but once set there
was no adjustment without physically being on the boat. So the search began for a smart thermostat
plug and I've purchased a few Nashone wifi thermostat plugs from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NASHONE-Th...shone&qid=1638734096&s=kitchen&sr=1-1-catcorr
With these I am able to see the temperature, change the thermostat setting or manually turn on/off
all via the app from anywhere. Time will tell if these are reliable.
For temp and humidity I found an American company called Trakkit, they have small battery powered
units that connect to your wifi network and can be viewed in their app or via the web:
Trakkit THS - WiFi Temperature & Humidity Sensor
I currently have one in the lazarette, one in the engine room and one in the forward cabin. As well
as temp/humidity, powering one sensor from a USB plug allows me to also get a power failure alert.
Main device screen on web app:
Next level device summary:
All of this has been set up in the last 2 weeks and already proven valuable, for the first few days
of operation the interior sensor was recording humidity of around 54% +/- a percent or so. However
from Wednesday last week I noticed the humidity climbing to the point on Saturday that it was over 70%.
Last weeks chart of humidity:
I hadn't planned to visit the boat for a few weeks but at this point I decided there must be an issue
with the dehumidifier and made the trek down to the south coast. I did indeed find the drain pipe
blocked and the de-humidifier automatically shutdown. So glad I had the sensors on board and was able to
avoid any damp issues.
I hope this of help to anyone, obviously there's a lot of ways to skin this cat but this where I have gone this year.
