Overview

The sensemetrics platform is compatible with the Geokon Geonet 8800 series wireless datalogger. This guide will quickly walk you through the setup geonet connection process and configuring associated vibrating wire sensors on the logger.

• Add a Geokon Geonet
• Modify Sampling and Reporting Intervals
• Configure Vibrating Wire

Adding a Geokon Geonet

1.  Make sure you have turned on at least one gateway Thread that is within range of the Geonet node and is Always On power mode. If you do not have any Threads on your project, follow this link to learn how to add a Thread.

2.  Attach the antenna to the Geonet Node.

3.  Confirm the Dipswitch settings are preconfigured to the sensemetrics option. Important snipits from the Geokon manual are included below. The full Geokon Geonet 8800 manual can be found here.

4. Prior to installing the D cells, ensure that the battery select switch is set to the “OFF” position (Figure 8). Configure the battery-type switch setting to the correct setting. (For units manufactured prior to June 2017, move the battery select switch to the OPPOSITE setting of the type of battery that will be installed.)

Prior to June 2017:

5.  Insert the batteries.

6.  Toggle the switch to the "On" Position to turn it on. The LED on the right side should flash once.  After roughly 2 minutes of boot cycle the Geonet will go into "Hunt Mode".  The Geonet will look for a Thread every 10 minutes and then revert to the default hourly reading frequency once it has reestablished connection to a Gateway Thread. The connection status of the Geonet can be determined by clicking the Status button on the side of the Device and looking at the status indicated by the light. Once the Geonet has connected, you can add the Device to the sensemetrics app.

7. Add your Geonet as a connection in the sensemetrics platform. The steps are the same as adding a Thread except choose Geonet as the connection and enter the serial number.

This completes the initial connection of a Geonet node onto the sensemetrics platform.

The Geonet Nodes will use the mesh network to connect to your gateway Thread and to your sensemetrics application. You will see the nodes populate on the connections side of the Connectivity module.

Connectivity | Network

Modifying Sampling and Reporting Interval

The Geonet is default set to a 60-minute reporting interval and 60-minute sampling interval which means the Geonet will take one reading at the top of the hour and send that reading at the same time.

The Geonets' reading intervals and reporting intervals can be customized to match the project needs. These parameters are changed in the configuration page of the Geonet which is accessed by navigating to the device in the Devices & Sensors list on the right-hand side of the Connectivity module and then clicking the device you wish to configure.

Within the configuration page of the node are two drop downs that specify Sampling Interval and Reporting Interval.

Connectivity | Geokon Device | Edit Configuration

Sampling interval is how frequent the node will take a reading. The sampling interval can be set to the following settings.

• 60 secs
• 5 mins
• 15 mins
• 30 mins
• 60 mins

Reporting interval is how frequent the node will send these readings to sensemetrics. The reporting interval can be set to the following settings.

• 15 mins
• 30 mins
• 60 mins
• 2 hours
• 4 hours
• 8 hours
• 12 hours
• 24 hours

To elaborate, if a Geonet node is set to 5-minute sampling interval and a 60-minute reporting interval then readings will be taken every 5 minutes and then at the top of every hour, the 12 readings taken in the previous hour will be uploaded. 

Note: If a node is set to an extended reporting interval (e.g. 24-hour reporting interval) any new changes won't be applied until the Geonet reconnects to sensemetrics.

Vibrating Wire Configuration

The Vibrating Wire Sensor on the Geonet will need to be configured to the specific VW sensor you are using. First, navigate to the device in the 'Devices & Sensors' list on the right-hand side of Network and click the device you wish to configure.

You will be taken to the 'Details' tab for the selected device. Click the 'Edit Configuration' tab in the side navigation menu. Finally, click the blue "Edit Configuration" button under VW Channel Information.

Connectivity | Device | Edit Configuration

Within the configuration modal you should specify the input type, sensor category, and sensor type for each channel. Dependent on your inputs, different parameters will be available for selection.

Connectivity | Device | Edit Configuration Tab | Edit Configuration VW

Click Apply when finished and make sure to click Submit within the configuration page to write the settings. Once saved, the configured vibrating wire sensor will populate beneath the Geonet Device and can be viewed by clicking the drop-down arrow.

Connectivity | Network

Additional calibration factors and other parameters will need to be entered for some types of vibrating wires, see the Vibrating Wire article for details.

Please note: Check the firmware version of the Geonet you plan to install. FW vers. 784 and 786 may not function properly when connected to Sensemetrics and should not be used. FW vers. 793 and later may result in issues with older Geonets equipped with a multiplexer.