Tree Carbon Capture Dendrometer

This is the beginnings of an Arduino sketch for prototypes of a device that measures the diameter of a tree. It is written to be able to support multiple sensors and transmitting devices via compile-time configuration in src/dendrometer/config.h.

Test sketches

receiver_test and transmitter_test (in the src/ folder) are Arduino sketches to test the functionality of the VirtualWire library. These sketches are confirmed to work when pin 12 of one Arduino transmitting data is directly connected to pin 11 of an Arduino receiving data, set up like in the following schematic.

The test Arduino sketches also work with real RF (radio) modules. In particular, the sketches were tested with HiLetgo 315Mhz RF transmitter and receiver modules. The following schematic shows how a circuit using these modules and the test sketches could be set up.

Loading the sketches onto Arduinos

Upload the receiver_test sketch to the Arduino that will receive data from the other Arduino. Upload the transmitter_test sketch to the other Arduino.

Running

When both Arduinos have power, the receiving Arduino should repeatedly output the following through the serial port (i.e. USB if connected to a computer).

Received: hello there!

Why are we using a superceded library?

It seems that there are many more easily found internet resources on VirtualWire than there are on its replacement, RadioHead. Based on RadioHead's list of supported chips, it's unclear whether it even supports the hardware we're using!