Hello everyone, I found this project only few weeks ago and I have been reading a lot about it.
It seems like a great idea with a lot of room for improvement and add-ons.
I have few questions to which I hope I can get an answer to.
My idea is to buy the expansion hat, to make everything easier. I have a Raspberry Pi Zero WH, can I use without any problem? Can I order one now, shipping to Italy?
I would like to use Hydrosys4 to control the irrigation of my garden, which surrounds the 4 sides of my house. It’s not a huge garden, let’s say it goes approximately 10 meters from the wall of the house, for each of the 4 sides.
I have a bit of concern about the distances involved in the project. I would like to have the Pi handy, maybe located in the garage. In this way it’s in a safe positions and constantly connected to the wi-fi.
Is there any distance issue from the Pi to the valves, which I expect to be located right outside the garage?
Is there any issue in having the soil sensors far from the Pi? How many meters can the cable run before the distance affects the signal?
Thank you for your help!
Hi Angelo, it sounds reasonable and I can run some tests to see if there is any signal loss due to the distance of the sensor from the board. Also rain sensor could be an option. What I really like about this project is its versatility. I would like to buy them the expansion board, I left you also a message on Tindie :)
Hi Umberto,
It's ok to use the Raspberry Zero W and I also think that there is no problem with the distance from the valves. About the distance from sensor this might be an issue depending on the sensors you want to use, but I cannot quantify it. I suppose you have to experiment yourself.
Maybe you can opt for a rain sensor instead of the Soil moisture sensors, this would simplify the system.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Angelo