Open Water
open-water

_Main image above is by Suzanne McDaniel, and was taken at Island End River in Chelsea, MA, part of the Mystic River watershed. Suzanne's photo was one of the winners of the [MyRWA photo contest](http://mysticriver.org/photo-contest/)._ ## The Open Water Project The Open Water Project aims to - develop and curate open hardware and open software useful for water-related applications - build and facilitate data infrastructures that allow for easier sharing of water data - encourage the growth of communities focused on 'free and open' approaches to water science - support ongoing work by grassroots communities interested in their own local water quality issues To this end, we've been focusing on several initiatives, in particular: **The RIFFLE: An Open Source Datalogger.** We are working to develop an open source hardware datalogger that can be placed in the field for extended deployments and measure common water parameters like: - temperature - conductivity - depth - turbidity The main Public lab wiki for this device is [here](http://publiclab.org/wiki/riffle). For recent research and descriptions of projects, you can search for 'riffle' on Public Lab, via [this link](http://publiclab.org/search/riffle). **The Coqui: using audio as a sensor data format.** We're also exploring using audio frequencies to convey sensor readings -- like a modem, but even simpler -- in order to make sensor readings more accessible for people (or to enable data transmission over ubiquitous audio jacks on PCs and smartphones). Read more about this idea on the [Coqui wiki](http://publiclab.org/wiki/coqui), or look for recent updates on Public Lab [here](http://publiclab.org/search/coqui). **A mailing list.** Sign up for the [plots-water-quality email list](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/plots-waterquality), and participate in discussions about low-cost, open source water quality monitoring tools and techniques. [![riffleStraightUp.png](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/012/225/medium/riffleStraightUp.png)](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/012/225/original/riffleStraightUp.png) [![Riffle-ito.png](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/012/226/medium/Riffle-ito.png)](https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/012/226/original/Riffle-ito.png) [![riffleLabel2.png](//i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/014/362/medium/riffleLabel2.png)](//i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/014/362/original/riffleLabel2.png) ##Fracking and Water Quality + Runoff There are also unique water issues related to frac sand. To get some background information and to explore options for addressing water issues as they relate to frac sand mining in your community, [head on over to the frac sand wiki page](https://publiclab.org/wiki/frac-sand). ## Community Projects We'd also like to use this wiki as a place to post links to other projects that embody an 'open science / open source' approach to hydrology and water technologies. Please add your links below! - InfoAmazonia Network: http://publiclab.org/wiki/infoamazonia-network...


Author Comment Last activity Moderation
mathew "Chris, you're definitely right about the long thin piping, it is designed to be completely "potted," or filled with some sealant or epoxy. Its the..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
cfastie "This is a good definition of the problem: "..sensors be exchanged easily between bottles and; caps seal between sensors and bottles with cheap, of..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
laurenrae "Apparently we have a long way to go before "Gizmo" will be deployed in the field. USGS has installed some optical sensors for nitrate, but they ar..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "I see the frog in those traces.... nice! " | over 9 years ago
madelinebilis "@gabirielle It was pretty easy and it's not super expensive to do! " | Read more » over 9 years ago
gabirielle "i would love if i ever could test it " | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "Oh, toilet tank analogy is great! @cversek was talking at LEAFFEST about how, in the water <--> electricity analogy, the only sticking point..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "changing the capacitance is really easy to explain to people. every transition from a peak to trough of the wave form is queued in by the filling ..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "yes. we should. It isn't directly evident why we would use audio, given that it is so incredibly data-intensive. We have to make that argument RE:..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "Aw, shucks :) But yes, it's so cool that we might find some part of design solution space that satisfies all of these! Before Ben pointing me to t..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "Your diligence in solving this calibration problem in the most user-friendly way that ALSO involves simplifying the electronics AND the signal out..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "Here's an example of a cheap, through-hole 'trimmer capacitor': http://www.amazon.com/Through-Trimmer-Variable-Capacitors-Brown/dp/B00G9BJTJW/ref=..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
boczniak "very good news :) " | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "Ah darnit, I deleted my comment above by accident, instead of editing it ... Okay, the punchline is: The only ways to compensate for the effect t..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "My endocrine system can't handle all of these ups and downs. But tonight ends on an up. " | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "UPDATE: We can dial in the capacitance! Ben pointed me to the fact that 'trimmers' exist: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Murata/TZB4R500EA1..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "Yes! And before, when we had a different relationship between freq and conductivity, the only way to do that tuning was to tweak the probe -- and J..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "this is super excellent. does this mean that people can assemble DIY probes with slightly different relationships that we can now tune to standard..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "(maybe that should prompt me to reconsider my life direction?) " | Read more » over 9 years ago
donblair "YES! :) I was dancing around with glee last night when I saw the equation for freq vs. resistance and capacitance for the 50% duty cycle! " | Read more » over 9 years ago
warren "This is great news!!! And well presented! " | Read more » over 9 years ago
btbonval "Recently bumped into this: http://circuitmaker.com Haven't looked much into it, but the front page shows there are some collaboration tools as par..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "I'm fully in support of distributing proto-boarded Coqui's over circuit boards, mainly because we may need to add parts/change the resistor and cap..." | Read more » over 9 years ago
mathew "Upverter is nice, Eagle is just as user-friendly as a CAD software from the 80's is expected to be... We should find someone to give us all a KiCAD..." | Read more » over 9 years ago