Remote monitoring: What sensors to use?

[Forty_Two]

My Raspberry Pi system monitors 4 battery bank volts, shore power status, two bilge pumps (including being able to remote run them by text), Passerelle up/down movement, temperature outside, in saloon & engine room. I also have a bilge depth float. I get a text if any voltage, temp or bilge water depth goes outside my high & low alarm settings. It's nice to know my heaters & chargers are doing their job.

I have 3 cameras looking aft, fwd & saloon. When shore power status changes or Passerelle moves I get a sms & a pic gets uploaded to my Web space. Caught a couple of blokes unplugging last year! Luckily the power box is by my berth.

I get a status sms each day with a set of three pics uploaded via 3g. Works well for me, nice to see the weather on the boat over breakfast during the winter. Can request a pic from any cam by text. I also get a log file with all the last 24hrs data at minute intervals which is great if you have any battery charging concerns. I use Raspberry Pi's for the cameras as well, all networked together.

It's all well worth it. As I said I have had several power outages which the Capitainerie sorted when I rang them. Two years ago I had a small leak & it was reassuring to monitor the bilge pumps till I got down to the boat & lifted her out to fix a seam that decided to leak.

My system is obviously home built & very custom designed so it combines two hobbies as well as giving peace of mind when the boat is some distance away.

 

[TwoHooter]

Aha, understood. With apologies to 2H for the o/t...

No need to apologise (provided the thread doesn't end up as the forum sub-variation of Godwin's law)

My Raspberry Pi system....

I read your Raspberry Pi thread when I started researching this, very impressive. Hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions:

• If you had to choose just one camera, which would it be?
• Is the temperature monitoring essential or just nice to have?
• Do you plan on fitting any other sensors in the future or do you think you have all you need?

 

[MapisM]

No need to apologise (provided the thread doesn't end up as the forum sub-variation of Godwin's law)

LOL, no worries.
After having unwittingly contributed to the creation of such forum law, the least I can do is avoid giving any further evidences supporting it...

 

[Forty_Two]

I read your Raspberry Pi thread when I started researching this, very impressive. Hope you don't mind if I ask a few questions:

• If you had to choose just one camera, which would it be?
• Is the temperature monitoring essential or just nice to have?
• Do you plan on fitting any other sensors in the future or do you think you have all you need?

Thanks

I don't have much experience with cameras & chose the official Rpi camera (it has 5M pix) as it interfaces easily to the Pi & Python (my programming language) & is low cost. I only take stills. I would prefer a slightly wider angle than the Rpi camera which is only 54 deg horizontally. I can see everything I want keeping the cameras inside which makes things easier.

I think you should first decide how you will see & control the camera as this will lead you to a Wifi or 3/4G setup & choose a camera to suit the interface. There are so many at low cost I think how you see it is the more tricky question. Maybe a camera with 3/4G built in as a stand alone item.

The Wifi option is nice as you will have more & cheaper bandwidth, the problem is whether you have Wifi that allows a continual login & how to login in if the passwords change etc. I use an Orange "Lets Go" SIM & get 5GB valid for 6 months for 40Euros which works really well for me.

I like the temp monitoring, especially since I added the engine room. This is of course the most important place :encouragement:. I know I am in a warm area but it does tell me my heaters are working & it's nice to get an alert if things go outside my set parameters.

The bilge monitor is very comforting. I use a float sensor from ASAP which slides up/down & I have calibrated it in my software to show mm. Having a 1969 Wooden boat there is always some water in my bilge & it's very good when there are bad storms (as last year) to know the water is where it should be - outside!

I haven't really come up with anything else currently apart from a heat/smoke detector I have near the battery chargers which I will add next. I am in the process of speccing my next system for 2017 using the Pi2 & the rather nice Pi Touch Screen together with an internal GSM module rather than the old phone I currently use. I am hoping to reduce the number of wires inside the box to make it neater etc.

My first system back in 2011 used an Arduino + old Laptop so the next will be my third gen so to speak. Wouldn't be without it, but then I am a control freak

 

[TwoHooter]

I think you should first decide how you will see & control the camera as this will lead you to a Wifi or 3/4G setup & choose a camera to suit the interface. There are so many at low cost I think how you see it is the more tricky question. Maybe a camera with 3/4G built in as a stand alone item.

I am hoping that our monitoring system will connect via the boat's Huawei router because I don't want to have more than one PAYG or contract SIM card. Our boat will be staying in UK/Irish waters for at least the next 18 months and I think all the UK PAYG SIMS are on 30 day expiry now (with the exception of a few new/old stock EE data cards on ebay). As I mentioned in another thread I find that a 30 day PAYG data card can easily expire before all the data has been used. So connection charges are becoming an issue and these will double every time I add a SIM card to the boat. I'd rather have sensors that connect wirelessly to the router than have (for example) cameras with in-built SIM cards.
This boat monitoring thingy is acronym soup.
Next post will probably be my chosen list of sensors.

 

[Forty_Two]

This boat monitoring thingy is acronym soup.

I agree that SIMs can be a real issue which is why I was delighted to find the French Orange one that gives me 6 months validity & easy to renuw every 6mths online. For the GSM SMS SIM I use Leclerc which charges 1.50Eu/mth to keep the SIM valid with auto top ups at a certain balance level.

There is a "3" PAYG SIM that has 12GB valid for 12 months for £56 which might interest you. They do three months as well. You can buy more data on line if you use it all early, you can buy it before expiry & the new data sits in a queue waiting for the previous to get used/expire.

At the last count I have 5UK & three French SIMs & it wont get any easier no matter what the new EU rules say!

 

[Racingfrank7]

I to am interested in this type of system's mentioned through out the post, but computers arnt really my thing I just like them to work and do what I want to do !
So my question is can anybody point me in the exact direction eh links to a system like trundalbug has where I can monitor a door switch power,temp, ect ect
Cheers
And sorry if I'm hijacking the thread !

 

[Trundlebug]

I to am interested in this type of system's mentioned through out the post, but computers arnt really my thing I just like them to work and do what I want to do !
So my question is can anybody point me in the exact direction eh links to a system like trundalbug has where I can monitor a door switch power,temp, ect ect
Cheers
And sorry if I'm hijacking the thread !

Lots of choice available.

Just search for "wireless gsm alarm" in ebay and scroll through the (very long) list.
Many systems have multiple PIR and door sensors, you only want 2-3 on a boat.
Other systems have smoke alarms and other features that are more suited. A variety of extra wireless sensors are available for one system, e.g. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wireless-...hash=item43e4ba6841:m:mnxNaVIAdWKiBN3nLipdCvA

In the 2-3 years since I bought mine, things have moved on further and app controlled options are now available, and affordable. Example: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/App-Contr...777195?hash=item2106c94fab:g:BCsAAOSwZ1lWdP7j

My advice is see what's available, decide what you want, then search for it to get the right package.
It's usually cheaper to buy as many things in one package as you can, as the extras individually are much more expensive.

Edit: How about this? Best £40 you'll ever spend
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wireless-...243395?hash=item43e7d40fc3:g:ZX4AAOSwKtlWiXsR

 

[chunky86]

I'm looking at something like this Isocketworld.com for monitoring the temperature of the boat over the frosty months and having the ability to heat the engine room from home is a big plus?
Anybody have any experience with such systems?
I would love to find a multi socket version to control other items on the boat also, but I'm not having a lot of luck..........

 

[gjgm]

Maybe slightly off thread, but reading re GoPro challengers and then smart home security in the paper today and came across the Yi Ants smart camera. Needs powering and wifi connection, but seems you can switch on and off, monitor and two way conversation and (maybe) motion sensor/reporting.. for about £25.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuh6ZY7lQZQ
Might be of interest to some...