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Wireless Ice Fishing. Group 1 Lucas Sturnfield & Scott Wakefield ECE 445 Senior Design April 30, 2009. Introduction. What is Ice Fishing? How can it be made Wireless?. Objectives. … battery-operable …able to withstand sub-zero temperatures (F°) …enhances the conventional
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Wireless Ice Fishing Group 1 Lucas Sturnfield & Scott Wakefield ECE 445 Senior Design April 30, 2009
Introduction • What is Ice Fishing? • How can it be made Wireless?
Objectives • … battery-operable • …able to withstand sub-zero temperatures (F°) • …enhances the conventional Tip-Up system • …wirelessly compliments the flag notification system (targeted 100m operational range)
Benefits • Eliminates continuous visual monitoring • Immediate notification of fishy activity • Reduces effects of weather on notification, such as difficulty seeing the flag in morning fog • Extends fishing range beyond the discernment of human vision
Features • Battery powered (AAA) • Hand-held and portable • Operational RF range in excess of 100 meters • Implemented as an add-on module for pre-existing Tip-Up systems • System supports 10 unique Tag devices per deployment
Tag Design • Block Functionalities • Power Monitoring • Catch Logic • User Interface • Linx RF System
Tag Design: Power • Provides 3.3v regulated voltage from 4.5v battery power source • Selected voltage regulator provides an “error” line that pulls LOW when supplied voltage drops below 3.8v • This error line is used in logic to activate an LED to indicate a Low Power state (that is, a need to replace the batteries)
Tag Design: Catch Logic (no fish) (yes fish) Tip-Up system signals by raising a flag. Our approach is to sense when the flag is raised. • Implementation Ideas: • Use metal Structure in circuit • Optical Sensor • Pull-pin clipped to flag • Accelerometer • SPDT switch
Tag Design: User Interface • Power Switch • Indicator LEDS • Power ON • Power LOW • Transmitting • Config switches to specify Tag’s ID • Switches connected to Encoder IO Lines • Switches set HIGH will pass signal when Catch Logic triggers. Switches set to LOW will tie to GND. • Linx System broadcasts Encoder line state changes, effectively transmitting Tag ID when fish is on the line.
Tag Design: Linx RF Paired Linx System Encoder + Transmitter TX on High ENC Lines
Base Design • Block Functionalities • Power Monitoring • Linx RF System • User Notifications • User Interface • PIC
Base Design: Linx RF • Functional mirror of Tag RF • Passes state of decoder • lines to microcontroller
Base Design: User Notifications • 7-Segment Display • Beeper • LEDs • Power ON • Power LOW • 4 General Purpose • (Debugging, RSSI feedback)
Base Design: User Interface • Power Switch • Select/Reset Switch • Flip once to silence beeper • Flip back to reset system
Testing • Power Regulation • Temperature • Range • Lifetime • Did not get to effectively test: • Water Resistivity • Mechanical Ruggedness
Testing: Power Regulation All components require a minimum regulated 3.0v for operation. Therefore, the minimum operational battery supply is 3.7v
Testing: Temperature • Components most sensitive to temperature: • LP2989 (Voltage Regulator): −40˚C • ENC-LS001 (Encoder): −40˚C • TXM-315-LR (Transmitter): −40˚C • ......all components used are specified as able to function down to at least −40˚C • We were only able to get down to −20˚C (-4˚F) using the cold temperature facilities available • The device was fully functional at this temperature for the duration of the testing period (10 hours).
Testing: Range • Design Goal was a minimal range of 100m. • Empirical testing demonstrated operational range of ~130meters. • We could barely see each other waving at that distance, much less able to view a flag on the ground, so we claim that this design goal was achieved in good measure.
Testing: Lifetime • Our design goal was to develop a system that would last a good weekend of Ice Fishing (meaning that the system would be in an active operation state) • The Tag was expected to last many hours longer than the Base due to reduced electronic complexity. • We were unable to measure a time when the devices failed due to low power…
Testing: Lifetime We measured Peak-current draws of every component and are able to reasonably predict the lifespan of the device. • Conclusions: • We need larger resistors on the LEDs to limit current draw • (especially during Sleep) • We can add more batteries in parallel to increase total available mAh, and thus the lifetime of the device. • We can choose a lower power microcontroller solution
Product Viability • Similar Products on the market • http://www.strikesensor.com/ • Base: $30, Tags: $25 • Unique frequency per deployment (ours does not) • No unique ID per tag (ours does) • http://www.bbpie.com/ • Unit: $50 (only LED) • Our Current Design: • Base: $40, Tag: $25 • Most of cost is bulk sensitive • Estimate does not include manufacturing costs
Problems • Transmission Range • Antenna orientation is very important • Frequency Selection • 315MHZ is crowded • Low-Power Indication System
Credits • Prof. Gary Swenson • Mr. Peter Hedlund • ECE Electronics Service Shop • Dan Mast • Wally Smith • Mark Smart • ShapeMaster, Inc