Knowledge Base

Batteries, Solar, and AC Power

A common question when deploying environmental monitoring systems is what type and how much power do I need. If under-designed the power supply could fail to provide adequate power, resulting in data loss. If over-designed the power supply can add an... Learn More

Alkalines and other primary cell batteries

Typically environmental monitoring systems are battery operated as they are either in remote locations, or need to be able to record data when power is unavailable. For the purpose of this section we are going to focus on battery systems with alkalin... Learn More

Grounding, Surge, and Lightning Protection

Electrical grounding is a commonly misunderstood and improperly implemented component of Environmental Monitoring Systems. Systems that do not use electrical grounding components can experience either complete system failures or continuous intermitte... Learn More

SDI-12 Sensor Protocol

SDI-12 is a data communications protocol developed specifically for environmental monitoring applications. The motivation to develop SDI-12 began in the 1980s when a group of environmental monitoring specialists started to become frustrated with the... Learn More