StreamBeam a community funded, volunteer run organization has built some beautiful stream monitoring gauges using ultrasonic sensors, Particle Boron and Voltaic solar panels. The monitors are placed on bridges in Alabama and provide updated data every 15 minutes.
These systems were developed to support the local kayaking community, but we imagine the design could be useful to a wide range of people including researchers, local DOTs, and water boards.
The detailed BOM is as follows:
- Custom PCB Mount
- Maxbotix MB 7386 Ultrasonic Sensor
- Particle Boron
- 2500mAh LiPo Battery
- 6 Watt Solar Panel
With this version, StreamBeam has made a number of improvements. They recently switched from the Electron to the Boron and said they are achieving “better connectivity in more locations and reduced power consumption.” To make the solar generation more efficient, they modified the PMIC settings to set the charge voltage to 5.08 (closer to that of Vp on the panel) to increase power to the battery. Finally, they added solar radiation housings so that they can more accurately measure ambient air temperature and make generate more accurate river height measurements.
We’re excited to see how off the shelf components can be put together to make such a useful tool. We look forward to seeing more in action. View the live stream heights here.
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