Advanced Industrial
Scope
Provide support for SDI-12, 4-20mA and pulse counter sensors with flexible configurations. It is applicable to Agriculture & Environmental Monitoring applications.
General Information
| Host board | insigh.io main board |
| Supported Digital Interfaces | 2 x SDI-12 & 2 x 4-20mA & 1 x Pulse Counter |
| Sensor Headers | Fixed Terminal Block with push-in connection (no tools required) |
| 1x8-pin (SDI-12 & Pulse Counter) & 1x6-pin (4-20mA) | |
| Dimensions (L x W x H) | 41.3 x 47 x 16.7 mm |
| Weight | 16 g |
Example Applications
- Precision Agriculture
- Soil moisture, Electrical Conductivity, Volumetric Water Content, Temperature
- Environmental monitoring
- Water flow, water quality, Temperature, Humidity
Sensors Support (Hardware & Software)
SDI-12 Interface
| Number of Supported Sensors | Up to 2 (simultaneously), 3 pins (POWER,DATA,GND) each |
| Up to 9 if external combiner is used | |
| Supply Voltage | 12V DC (external power supply may be used as well) |
| Maximum Drawn Current | 1A |
| Sensor models sw support | General SDI-12 Commands Implementation |
| Fully tested against the following models: TEROS-12 (METER) & TDR-315H (ACCLIMA) | |
| Advanced Features | Resistors R7,R10,R3 for controlling “power” mode |
| Jumpers J5 & J6 for controlling “measurement” mode |
4-20mA Interface
| Number of Supported Sensors | Up to 2 (simultaneously) / 2-wire or 4-wire |
| Supply Voltage | 12V DC (external power supply may be used as well) |
| Maximum Drawn Current | 1A |
| Sensor models sw support | Sensor-agnostic, using a 2-channel analogue current sensing circuit |
| Fully tested with HAITRONIC 4-20mA 4-wire Digital Signal Generator Module Board) | |
| Advanced Features | Jumpers J3 & J4 for controlling “measurement” mode |
Generic Digital Interface
| Number of Supported Sensors | 1 |
| Supply Voltage | No, the sensor should be externally powered) |
| Typical Usage | Pulse Counter (feature not supported yet in firmware) |
| Advanced Features | Jumpers J7 for controlling “measurement” mode |
Advanced Features
“Power” mode
There are 2 “power” modes for both SDI-12 and 4-20mA controlled via the PCB hardware & firmware:
- “Heating” mode (default): It applies continuous 12V DC. This is required by some sensor for condensation avoidance (e.g. Oxygen Sensor SO-411 from Apogee). It is enabled through mounting R7 (1K) and not mounting R10 (0 Ohm) & R3 (1M).
- “Low-power” mode: This is a mode optimized for energy consumption. To select this mode remove R7 (1K) and mount R10 (0 Ohm) & R3 (1M). In this mode, the sensors are powered only during the micro-controller wake-up periods by enabling a special control pin from the firmware, i.e. IO37.
“Measurement” mode
In addition, with the use of Jumpers the user may control the “measurement” mode. There are 5 jumper sets:
- J5 & J6 controls the SDI-12 Sensor Port 1 and 2 respectively
- J3 & J4 controls the 4-20mA Sensor Port 1 and 2 respectively
- J7 controls the single Digital Port The operation is controlled as follows:
- If jumpers enable the “always-on” mode (left-center pins), then the sensor data can be accessed continuously.
- If jumpers enable the “on-demand” mode (center-right pins), then the sensor data can be accessed only when the proper control pin is enabled.
This is the most power-efficient mode. The control pins are:
- SDI-12 Sensors: IO42 & IO48 for Port 1 & Port 2 respectively
- 4-20mA Sensors: IO7 & IO8 for Port 1 & Port 2 respectively
- Pulse Counter Sensor: IO6
4-20mA Sensors Connection Instructions
Below you may find the proper connection instructions for 2-wire/4-wire sensors in case internal (own board) or external power supply unit is used:
-
Sensor Type: 2-wire
- Power Supply: Internal
- Sensor PWR pin connected to VIN board port
- Sensor OUT pin connected to OUT board port
- Power Supply: External
- Sensor PWR pin connected to External Supply Positive Pin (+)
- Sensor GND pin connected to External Supply Negative Pin (-)
- Sensor OUT pin connected to OUT board port
- Power Supply: Internal
-
Sensor Type: 4-wire
- Power Supply: Internal
- Sensor PWR pin connected to VIN board port
- Sensor 1st GND pin connected to GND board port
- Sensor 2nd GND pin connected to same GND board port
- Sensor OUT pin connected to OUT board port
- Power Supply: External
- Sensor PWR pin connected to External Supply Positive Pin (+)
- Sensor 1st GND pin connected to External Supply Negative Pin (-)
- Sensor 2nd GND pin connected to GND board port
- Sensor OUT pin connected to OUT board port
- Power Supply: Internal
Marking
| CE | planned |
| FCC | planned |
| RoHS | planned |
Custom designs
The existing boards are highly configurable and expandable so if the existing boards do not fit your need, get in contact with us and we will tailor a solution for you with your customizations.