Riffle: an Open Source Water Monitoring Approach
Overview
The Riffle is a collection of designs that take an open source approach to water monitoring, with the intent of making gathering water information easier and more accessible. It is part of Public Lab's Open Water Project.
For an overview of the design philosophy behind the Riffle, see this wiki page.
The first Riffle design was an ARM-based datalogger board enclosed in PVC; Public Lab has supported development of an Atmel328-based datalogger enclosed in a water bottle.
Water Monitor Designs
By now, several instrument designs have been constructed around the Riffle, some of which of are described in an array of Github repositories:
- Openwaterproject -- the main organization on github
- riffle_328 -- hardware designs, instructions and software for getting started with the Riffle_328 datalogger
- riffle_328-conductivity -- Design considerations around conductivity
- riffle_328-depth -- Depth measurement circuit prototype
- riffle_328-turbidity -- Turbidity sensor prototype
- riffle_328-thermistor -- Connecting a thermistor to a Riffle
- riffle_328-i2c -- Connecting i2c sensors to a Riffle
- riffle_328-one-wire -- Connecting one-wire sensors to a Riffle
Sensor Designs
We've started to summarize some of the approaches to sensing water parameters like conductivity and turbidity:
Project Status
- 2016 Riffle_328 Status. A small order of Riffle_328 boards arrived late April 2016, and were sent to Public Lab community members as a way of testing the design and informing further development.
Activity grid
Here are some activities the Public Lab community has conducted using the Riffle
| Purpose | Category | Status | Author | Time | Difficulty | Replications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riffle Beta project - Methane Gas Sensor | - | - | @Bob | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Soaring Riffle | field-test | - | @cfastie | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Compost is hot, says Riffle | field-test | - | @cfastie | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| How to bootload a Riffle #Arduino #water #science #tech | - | - | @zengirl2 | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| In the heat of the pile | observe | - | @cfastie | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Riffle and Thermsistor | - | - | @pdhixenbaugh | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Blink a LED - Write a 'Sketch' and build a breadboard circuit for the Riffle | build | review-me | @pdhixenbaugh | 1h | medium | 1 replications: Try it » |
| Riffle test 1 | verify | - | @cfastie | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Riffle Device: Water Conductivity Sensor | - | - | @rebeccah | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Riffle campout | test-limits | - | @cfastie | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.
How to get a Riffle
The Riffle is open source, and anyone can take the designs above to a PCB fabricator and have one made. Since the Riffle is not yet available for sale from public lab, if you are interested in buying one, add your information to this interest form, and Public Lab will facilitate a group order: https://goo.gl/forms/ENPvDsfkUbuXC6YF3