Wireless Thermometers

[draines]

I ended up getting this model:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FX8ZGOO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was a little more pricey than I wanted at $56, but it has 3 sensors for me to monitor outside, inside the coop, and inside the run. I monitor the run since it is covered in plastic and gets a nice greenhouse effect during the day.

The girls (3 orps and 2 silkies) keep the coop an average of 5-8 degrees warmer than outside temp. They also keep the humidity lower when wet out, and higher when dry out...not sure exactly how that works yet?! )

The station is about 50 feet away from the sensors and they all work great so far.

Last night was 19'F here and they kept it at 27'F all night.
D

 

[PHmaddnes]

I was thinking of getting a weather station( AcuRite Weather Environment System 01056) that will support extra sensors via Wi-Fi and putting a temp/humidity sensor in the coop.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
PH

​

 

[draines]

PH,

My unit does temp and humidity and has three sensors plus the base station measures inside temp/humidity. It was $56 at the link above and works at over 50 feet from coop. We love being able to see the temp inside the coop at night and in the run.

Dan

 

[mattsanity]

Acu-rite is just fine in my experience for less sophisticated models, but they tend to be battery hogs. Lacrosse is better and Davis is the best but I also highly recommend ambient weather products. I have their weather station for my home station and it's the best mix of economy and function for me.

 

[chango]

I wanted some way of remotely monitoring the temps and humidity for my new flock for their first winter. Their pen (Cluckingham Palace) is completely enclosed in 1/2" hardware mesh cloth. The bad news is that this acts as a pretty effective Faraday cage - no wireless signals getting in or out. (The good news is that I can be inside the pen without my tin foil hat that keeps the government from monitoring my brainwaves -

.)

I had a bunch of leftover CAT5 Ethernet cable. The Palace is not far from the house, so I punched a hole in an exterior wall near a hub and ran the cable to the pen. I got the La Crosse Alerts mobile system with a dry temp/humidity probe for inside the coop and a wet temp probe for the waterer outside in the pen. The gateway for the system is inside the pen so the WiFi probes are just a few feet from it. The gateway needs AC power, but that is already installed for the bird-bath heater inside the waterer. The system can send me alerts via email or phone calls if temps go lower or humidity goes higher than I want. I can monitor all readings from my smart phone no matter where I am.

I know - not the least expensive way to go, way overkill for something that can be done my simply getting off my duff and walking out to the pen frequently to check up on the girls, which I enjoy doing and will continue to do, even if the weather is miserable. Still, I like the idea of getting alerts the moment conditions might turn uncomfortable or dangerous for the girls.

It would now be easy to install an IP video camera to keep an eye on things, but that is probably going too far, even for a geek like me.

 

[Cluckies]

I wanted some way of remotely monitoring the temps and humidity for my new flock for their first winter. Their pen (Cluckingham Palace) is completely enclosed in 1/2" hardware mesh cloth. The bad news is that this acts as a pretty effective Faraday cage - no wireless signals getting in or out. (The good news is that I can be inside the pen without my tin foil hat that keeps the government from monitoring my brainwaves -

.)

I had a bunch of leftover CAT5 Ethernet cable. The Palace is not far from the house, so I punched a hole in an exterior wall near a hub and ran the cable to the pen. I got the La Crosse Alerts mobile system with a dry temp/humidity probe for inside the coop and a wet temp probe for the waterer outside in the pen. The gateway for the system is inside the pen so the WiFi probes are just a few feet from it. The gateway needs AC power, but that is already installed for the bird-bath heater inside the waterer. The system can send me alerts via email or phone calls if temps go lower or humidity goes higher than I want. I can monitor all readings from my smart phone no matter where I am.

I know - not the least expensive way to go, way overkill for something that can be done my simply getting off my duff and walking out to the pen frequently to check up on the girls, which I enjoy doing and will continue to do, even if the weather is miserable. Still, I like the idea of getting alerts the moment conditions might turn uncomfortable or dangerous for the girls.

It would now be easy to install an IP video camera to keep an eye on things, but that is probably going too far, even for a geek like me.

Wow, sounds like quite a system....real nice!

Hahaha, I've bought my IP camera, just finishing up my bigger run to set it up

get it! lol (i'm an enabler)

 

[chango]

Wow, sounds like quite a system....real nice!

Hahaha, I've bought my IP camera, just finishing up my bigger run to set it up

get it! lol (i'm an enabler)

Which camera did you get? Maybe I will do it someday. What I would like to do is to see them at night in their coop when there are cuddled up and sleeping. That would probably involve some kind IR light source. After reading about chicken vision:

https://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/chicken-vision/
http://www.onceinnovations.com/wp/w...0/Science-of-Poultry-Vision-Single-Pages1.pdf

it is clear their tetra chromatic vision is very different from ours with their superior sensitivity in the red/IR spectrum. For example, they see sunrise about an hour before we do. I fear even a weak IR source might interfere with their circadian rhythm.

On a related note, the girls can now stream videos from Netflix. "Chicken Run" is on the schedule for tonight.

 

[Cluckies]

Which camera did you get? Maybe I will do it someday. What I would like to do is to see them at night in their coop when there are cuddled up and sleeping. That would probably involve some kind IR light source. After reading about chicken vision:

https://mikethechickenvet.wordpress.com/2012/03/30/chicken-vision/
http://www.onceinnovations.com/wp/w...0/Science-of-Poultry-Vision-Single-Pages1.pdf

it is clear their tetra chromatic vision is very different from ours with their superior sensitivity in the red/IR spectrum. For example, they see sunrise about an hour before we do. I fear even a weak IR source might interfere with their circadian rhythm.

On a related note, the girls can now stream videos from Netflix. "Chicken Run" is on the schedule for tonight.

I got this one from amazon, keep in mind I have not set it up yet, so have no review yet...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003LNZ1L6?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00