The resistance can be measured using a simple voltage dividier and an analog pin. It’s made of two exposed electrodes, and uses the fact that the more water the soil contains, the lower the resistance between the two electrodes. This meter is pretty easy to use manually but to automate the reading you need a microcontroller to read the value.Īnother type of simple soil sensor is a resistive sensor (picture on the right above). The more water in the soil, the higher the generated voltage.
When the probe is inserted into soil, it generates a small amount of voltage (typically a few hundred milli-volts to a couple of volts). In the left picture below, the tip (dark silver color) is made of one type of metal (likely zinc), and the rest of the probe is made of another type of metal (likely copper, steel, or aluminum). The probe is made of two electrodes of different metals. The way it works is by using the Galvanic cell principle - essentially how a lemon battery or potato battery works. For example, this Rapitest Soil Meter, which I bought a few years ago, consists of simply a probe and a volt meter panel. The simplest soil sensor doesn’t even need battery. With it, you can easily tell when the soil needs more water or when it’s over-watered.
#Opensprinkler setup wifi how to
In this blog post, I will talk about a cheap wireless soil moisture sensor I found on for about $10, and how to use an Arduino or Raspberry Pi to decode the signal from the sensor, so you can use it directly in your own garden projects.Ī soil moisture sensor (or meter) measures the water content in soil. I found a few different soil sensors, learned about their principles, and also learned about how to make my own. So I started seriously researching the subject. At the Maker Faire this year I got lots of questions about soil moisture sensors, which I knew little about.
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