Remote monitoring temp/humidity - experience with MarCell?

[Slowgowing]

I would like to remotely monitor temperature and humidity in a vacation home while living elsewhere. Internet service at the vacation home is very unreliable, but surprisingly, cellular service seems to work just fine.

There are tons of internet based devices that can do this remote monitoring, but given the known service issues, I searched for a cellular based device and found the following on Amazon:

MarCELL Remote Cellular Temperature, Humidity & Power Monitor: https://www.amazon.com/MarCELL-Cellular-Temperature-Humidity-Monitor/dp/B00QRMFEAQ

The MarCell requires a monthy subscription, but given the unreliable internet, this seems workable to me.

Do you have any experience with this particular device that you can share?

Are there other devices that I should consider or that you would recommend?

Thanks!

 

[skyking1]

my tendency is to roll my own solutions using linux, if you are geekish that is also an option.
The arduino community has probably addressed these questions many different ways.
if not geekish, ignore this post.

 

[njhowie]

I think the Marcell solution you found is going to be the best you can do for a non-internet access environment. You could rig something up using a cellphone as a hotpot, but then you're still going to have to pay for cell service for the phone you'd leave there for the hotspot. So the $8.25 monthly subscription shown on Amazon is a very good price in that regard.

 

[skyking1]

Here is $5 for 500 Mb of data from T-mobile.
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-internet

Use this $90 hotspot
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/product-details/franklin-t10-mobile-hotspot/Black

Roll your own linux app and sensor suite on that. Not for the faint of heart

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/jithinsanal1610/diy-arduino-based-home-monitoring-system-take-care-of-elders-dc4844

This would work for a remote camera setup too. The hotspot plus a solar panel to power it, maybe some additional battery for overnight/bad weather spells.
I just got this solar panel kit not long ago.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T9VZDFT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The charge controller has a couple of USB ports on it. A crafty person could build something and hang it in a tree up out of sight and in the sun.

 

[jimbee]

I use a raspberry pi with a camera module pointed at a thermometer. The pi runs a web-based camera interface, and I access my home router using OpenVPN from my cell phone.

Since your ISP is sketchy, the Marcell device looks pretty good.

 

[donheff]

If internet is sketchy and cellular is good, how does the costs/speed trade off for a dedicated cellular hotspot for all of your internet services look? My BiL uses one for his vacation home and likes it.

 

[upupandaway]

Here is $5 for 500 Mb of data from T-mobile.
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/prepaid-internet

Use this $90 hotspot
https://prepaid.t-mobile.com/product-details/franklin-t10-mobile-hotspot/Black

Roll your own linux app and sensor suite on that. Not for the faint of heart

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/jithinsanal1610/diy-arduino-based-home-monitoring-system-take-care-of-elders-dc4844

This would work for a remote camera setup too. The hotspot plus a solar panel to power it, maybe some additional battery for overnight/bad weather spells.
I just got this solar panel kit not long ago.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08T9VZDFT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s02?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The charge controller has a couple of USB ports on it. A crafty person could build something and hang it in a tree up out of sight and in the sun.

If you wanted something less technical you could stick with skykings cellular hotspot suggestion then go with either a normal wifi connected solution for temp/humidity or Samsung smarthings. The benefit of smarthings would be at a rather low cost you could add water sensors, motion sensors, and other items at a whim. In fact every door sensor has temperature already built in. This would also let you deploy very affordable wyze cameras if you wanted.

 

[pb4uski]

I would like to remotely monitor temperature and humidity in a vacation home while living elsewhere. Internet service at the vacation home is very unreliable, but surprisingly, cellular service seems to work just fine.

... Do you have any experience with this particular device that you can share?

Are there other devices that I should consider or that you would recommend?

Thanks!

What I do for this is I use Skyroam Solis hotspot. 1GB of data is $6/month and 1GB is plenty for that sort of use. I did that at our Florida condo last summer and it worked great. The Solis also include a battery that will rund for a day or two if the power goes out.

I paid ~$65 for a couple refurbished Solis hotspots but it looks like they are now in high demand and more like $160.

Now that I think of it, I should put the Blink sync module that I use on a small UPS... the Blink cameras are battery operated so that isn't an issue.

With the Blinks I can monitor temperature but not humidity. I may add a wi-fi thermostat to the collection before I leave for the summer.

 

[skyking1]

you could point a blink at the display of an indoor/outdoor weather station and get temp/humidity in and out, rain, etc.

 

[skyking1]

What I do for this is I use Skyroam Solis hotspot. 1GB of data is $6/month and 1GB is plenty for that sort of use. I did that at our Florida condo last summer and it worked great. The Solis also include a battery that will rund for a day or two if the power goes out.

I paid ~$65 for a couple refurbished Solis hotspots but it looks like they are now in high demand and more like $160.

Now that I think of it, I should put the Blink sync module that I use on a small UPS... the Blink cameras are battery operated so that isn't an issue.

With the Blinks I can monitor temperature but not humidity. I may add a wi-fi thermostat to the collection before I leave for the summer.

Does the hardware have a dyndns client built in?
you can get 1 GB for $8 that never expires, so it keeps accumulating. I could see that paying off when you snowbird, you could have enough data saved up for when you are on location too.

 

[Slowgowing]

Thanks for all of the responses/ideas!

I'm not a tech geek whatsoever, but it seems reasonable to buy a hot spot device, couple with an inexpensive monthly plan, and then use that internet connection for monitoring device(s). Pretty sure I can handle that - lol.

Some of the Amazon reviews for the Solis that pb4uski suggested are not very glowing.

Verizon cell coverage is decent at the vacation home, and assume T-mobile coverage would be too, so the device upupandaway suggested is certainly worth looking into.

In event of a power failure, it would be helpful if the hotspot and monitoring device(s) have a battery back up - will look into the specs for these hotspot devices. A UPS may be a solution for that.

 

[skyking1]

most of them have a decent sized internal battery.
The franklin offered by T-mobile has 3000 mAh, for example. They claim a 9 hour battery life.
YMMV!
What I noticed when researching this question was the difference in the device interface.
The franklin is a full featured router with port forwarding and firewall rules, etc.
That will be my choice, because when you roll your own and put a server behind it, you want access to the server without being beholden to somebody's app.
I will put a raspberry Pi with dnydns client on it so I can always find it. The Pi will run a lightweight debian and have many apps, the most important being zoneminder.
Zoneminder is a complete camera server app that allows connection of many common camera models that are not cloud based. it provides motion detection and notification, remote control of PTZ cameras, and much more.
You are not putting your stuff up in the cloud across someone else's server or paying a monthly fee.

 

[pb4uski]

Does the hardware have a dyndns client built in?
you can get 1 GB for $8 that never expires, so it keeps accumulating. I could see that paying off when you snowbird, you could have enough data saved up for when you are on location too.

No idea on the first part on dyndns client... if fact, I have no earthly idea what that is.

On the second part, that is a new plan to my knowledge and I like it... I think I could do the 6 months that I am gone for $16 rather than $32 since the bandwidth of the Blink is so low. Thanks for the tip.

 

[pb4uski]

...Some of the Amazon reviews for the Solis that pb4uski suggested are not very glowing. ...

My personal experience is different. While the software and set up is a bit archaic, it works pretty good and the support has been good as well.

I have 3 units... one for Florida for the summer when we are gone to run the Blink security cameras, another one that we use for internet when traveling/camping and a third that my 88-yo uncle uses as his home internet connection (his internet needs are very modest... just email and some occasional websurfing and doing his taxes).

 

[skyking1]

that makes sense for the light user. No need to plunk down 30~40 for a traditional ISP, and the added benefit of taking it on travels.
Many folks are simply not one with their phones, and doing an email on one when you are used to keyboard, mouse, and big screen is often a bridge too far.

 

[Bamaman]

It was mentioned that you can get a security camera and watch the place 24/7. It also can record and notify you of anyone coming on your property.

A T Mobile sim card costs $10 per month per camera. You can also move the camera back and forth, up and down.

 

[isisdave]

I have a free T-mobile line from one time they were offering it for buying something, and I have used that for a low-volume hotspot in situations like you describe. It worked well, and I left it plugged into a charger.

You can probably find a similar low-cost phone or such. My only worry was that if it ever slipped out of Tether mode, for example if power went out and eventually it came on but didn't reinstate Tether, there was no one nearby to reset it.

 

[pb4uski]

That's why I like that the Skyroam Solis has a built in battery... last 16-20 hours.

 

[Slowgowing]

Good to know your experience with Solis has been good.

Although my current 55+ loyalty plan thru Verizon includes unlimited hotspot data, it does not support separate mobile hotspot devices.

Since Verizon appears to be a non-starter (unless I change plans; which I am reluctant to do at this point given extra cost), the Solis you suggested, and the T-mobile solution from upupandaway are certainly worth a close look.

Thanks!

 

[OldShooter]

... Verizon cell coverage is decent at the vacation home, and assume T-mobile coverage would be too ...

Not necessarily. Verizon and T-Mobile are not necessarily on the same towers. In our case at the lake, VZW is good, but the T-Mobile cell is in town/5 miles but blocked by a small hill. These are line-of-sight type services so that kind of blockage matters. VZW is on a tower that is on that hill, hence the good signal.

I have tried to use T-mobile twice and both times found that they were lying to me about coverage. In both cases, too, they refused to refund my first month payment so I had to get it back via the card issuer's complaint procedures. Never again T-Mobile for me.

IIRC the cell companies are not willing to say where their towers are. Possibly there are internet sites that have this information. I have an Android app called "Network Cell Info" that shows both signal strengths and shows a little map with the location of the cell tower that the phone is using. If you could get this app or a similar one on both a VZW and a T-mobile phone you might learn a lot.

 

[skyking1]

the website cellmapper.net is great for full browsers too.
https://www.cellmapper.net/map?MCC=311&MNC=480&type=LTE&latitude=47.04263681478827&longitude=-122.38672905890242&zoom=14.868553503000053&showTowers=true&showTowerLabels=true&clusterEnabled=true&tilesEnabled=true&showOrphans=false&showNoFrequencyOnly=false&showFrequencyOnly=false&showBandwidthOnly=false&DateFilterType=Last&showHex=false&showVerifiedOnly=false&showUnverifiedOnly=false&showLTECAOnly=false&showENDCOnly=false&showBand=0&showSectorColours=true&mapType=roadmap

 

[pb4uski]

....Although my current 55+ loyalty plan thru Verizon includes unlimited hotspot data, it does not support separate mobile hotspot devices. ...

Could you just use a cellphone as a hotspot with your current 55+ Verizon plan? Keep it plugged in and if the power fails the onboard battery wold carry it for 8-10 hours?

 

[Slowgowing]

Yes, I thought about using a spare phone just as you suggested.

I need to check with Verizon, but I think the phone would have to have active cell service. That monthly cost would be more than the prepaid t-mobile and Skyroam Solis solutions.

The 'break even' point will take a little longer because I would have to purchase the t-mobile or Solis device, but already own a spare phone.

Verizon did tell me that their hotspot device fee is $20/month -- more expensive than t-mobile or Solis.

 

[Freedom56]

It's not that complicated. We use our Honeywell Wifi thermostat to remotely monitor temperature and humidity at our condo. We can also control the thermostat remotely. We also have three FOSCAM pan/tilt cameras to monitor the interior. We have have high speed internet in our building but you can set up a Wifi hotspot with an old cell phone.