WiFi - Hive scale with the Particle Argon microcontroller board

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Project description

An online hive scale is an ideal tool for any beekeeper. It keeps them informed about the nectar flow at the apiary at all times, eliminating the need to perform certain checks on the colony. It provides information about the colony's food reserves without unnecessarily disturbing the bees. In winter, it's even possible to draw indirect conclusions about brood activity based on food requirements.

Why should I build a hive scale myself?

The easiest option, of course, is to buy a ready-made hive scale. However, this also has its drawbacks. The relatively high price alone can deter many beekeepers from purchasing a very useful hive scale. By contributing your own labor, you can save at least a third of the cost. It's possible to build a high-quality hive scale for between €250 and €350. The amount of work involved is very manageable.

For me personally, however, the sense of achievement and joy that comes from learning something new and building it myself counts far more than the money saved. Only then am I able to adapt the hive scale to my needs and make improvements. This allows me to easily adapt the hive scale to technological developments, for example, and doesn't have to buy a new scale immediately when my requirements change. Converting a Wi-Fi hive scale into a GSM hive scale is also very easy. All I have to do is replace a component and slightly modify the program code.

In the following I will explain the construction and programming of a stick scale in a few simple steps.

Structure and hardware

Determining the weight of a bee colony and transmitting the values ​​over the Wi-Fi network essentially requires three components: a weighing module, an HX711 measurement amplifier, and a Particle Argon microcontroller board. The remaining components are required for the power supply. A waterproof housing is also required to ensure the hive scale can also be used outdoors.

Weighing module

The weighing module consists of an aluminum frame and a load cell. The load cell is an aluminum block with a strain gauge. The load cell requires a supply voltage and delivers a signal voltage that changes proportionally with the load on the load cell.

X711 measuring amplifier

The HX711 module is a measuring amplifier with an integrated A/D converter. This allows the load cell's signal voltage to be amplified and passed directly to the microcontroller board.

Particle Argon – WiFi microcontroller board

The Particle Argon is a microcontroller board with a WiFi module and an integrated charge controller. This allows charging the LiPo battery using a 5V solar panel.

Power supply

The power supply requires a 3.7V LiPo battery (e.g., 2000mAh), a USB cable, and a 5V/10W solar panel. The power supply can be interrupted using an on/off switch.

Breakout board

The breakout board allows for proper connection of all components without additional cables or soldering. The components are simply connected via plug-in connectors. Additionally, two temperature and humidity sensors can be connected via a plug-in connector.

Waterproof housing

To ensure safe outdoor use of the DIY Wi-Fi hive scale, a waterproof housing is required. This ensures that all electronic components are safely protected.

Installation and programming

For the Wi-Fi hive scale to send the measured values ​​to the cloud4Bees data server, three more steps must be completed:

1. Connecting the Particle Argon to the Particle Cloud

2. Transfer the program to the Particle Argon

3. Connect and calibrate the hive scale with the cloud4Bees data server

1.) Connect the Particle Argon to the Particle Cloud

Particle's setup page guides you step-by-step through the setup process. Go to the page: https://setup.particle.io/

First, you need to create an account or log in if you already have one.

Then you can select your device (Argon) on the setup page. You'll briefly see which parts you need (Argon, USB cable, and antenna). On the next page, you can have the link for the Particle app sent to your smartphone.

Now you can install and open the app on your smartphone. You can now log in to the app and complete the setup.

If everything worked, Argon will appear in your account. To do this, open your account in a browser: https://console.particle.io/devices

2.) Transfer the program to the Particle Argon

There are two ways to program Particle Argon: You can either install the Particle Workbench or program Particle Argon using the Web IDE.
FFor a quick start, I would recommend the Web IDE.

You can easily download the program for the WLAN stick scale into your Web IDE using the following link: https://go.particle.io/shared_apps/61a0aad8de87cd0008e4d399

Click "COPY THIS APP" to copy the program to your Web IDE.

Now all you have to do is select your device (Argon). Once it's connected to the Particle Cloud (the LED will pulse cyan), you can "flash" the program to the Argon. The "Flash" button is located in the top left corner of the Web IDE.
 

The first flash can take quite a while, as the device OS is also upgraded to version 2.2.0 according to the firmware. After successfully flashing the program code, the Argon will reboot. The LED will initially flash green, while the Argon attempts to connect to the Wi-Fi network. The LED will then flash green quickly for a short time (Argon is connected to the Wi-Fi network) and then pulse cyan (Argon is connected to the Particle Cloud). We'll see what happens next in the program once we've connected the Particle Argon to the computer via the serial port and started a serial client. More on this in the next step.

3.) Connect the hive scale to the cloud4Bees data server and calibrate it

A channel must now be created for the hive scale on the cloud4Bees data server. Create an account and log in. Click "New Channel" and create a new channel. Here you can enter a name for the data channel and a description. By checking the "Make Public?" box, you can also make the data channel visible to others.

In the "Field 1" field, enter the weight in kg. In the "Field 2" field, you can also enter the voltage in V if you are interested in the battery charge level.
 

Now you can select the "API Keys" tab. The "Write API Key" will be required in the next step to set up the stock scale.

To configure the stock scale, we need the option of serial input. For this, we use the program "Putty." Putty is a free SSH and Telnet client developed by Simon Tatham.

https://www.putty.org/

https://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/latest.html

• Download putty.exe

• Click on putty.exe to start Putty

We now need to determine which port the Particle Argon is using to communicate with the computer. To do this, we connect the Particle Argon to the computer using a USB cable and open the Device Manager in Windows. Here we see that it's port COM14. We need to adjust this accordingly in Putty under "Serial line."

Before we start configuring the scale, we put aside a weight we know (e.g. bucket of water, weight plate, etc.).

Start configuration:

• Press the reset button on the Particle Argon to restart the program.
  (Wait until the Argon is connected to the PC → an audible signal)

• Start serial connection (click the Open button of Putty)

The following entries must now be made via Putty’s serial input:

(The configuration dialog starts as soon as the Argon has connected to the Particle Cloud – onboard LED pulses in cyan)

1. Do you want to perform the setup for the cane scale? y/n
   → y

2. Enter the API key of your data channel: XXXXXXXXXXXX

3. Now place a known weight on the stick scale (e.g., 10 kg) and enter it via the serial input (e.g., 10).
   
   → 10
    

4. Do you want to save the scale factor and offset to the EEPROM? y/n

   → y

5. You have successfully completed the setup of the cane scale. The program will now continue running. All measured values ​​will be determined and written to the specified data channel. The cane scale will then enter sleep mode for one hour to save power.
    

6. 

    

7. If you made an incorrect entry during setup (e.g., a typo when entering the API key), you can repeat the setup. Simply press the reset button, open Putty's serial input, and follow the input dialog.

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