The network
This system avoids installing giant antennas or cutting trees to gain line of sight, is inexpensive to build and extensible, so that nodes can do different tasks, talk to each other, and operate for days at a time without maintenance. Xbee 802.15.4 standalone radios communicate with a base node. Remote nodes use rechargeable batteries. Sleep cycling cuts power use dramatically. Weatherproof. A passive infrared sensor reports motion, triggering DVR recording to a flash card.

 

Network nodes will be extended to points on the trail, so that events are shown on a map in real time. Trails were recorded on a mobile device using GPS. The software to manage the network was built with Max 5. It delivers API commands so that radios can be changed in the field from the home node on the fly, and has a checksum feature... it's still a little rough in terms of layout.


circuit schematic Max patch

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