Projects in the field

Built for the paddock

Three solar-powered LoRa mesh builds for South Australian farms and vineyards. Each one runs on sunlight, works where there's no phone signal, and does one job well.

A weatherproof box on a post in a vineyard row, with an ESP32 LoRa board inside, a small solar panel on top and a soil probe in the ground.

LoRa meshSolarIrrigation

Smart vineyard irrigation

Not every row in a vineyard needs the same amount of water. Soil changes across a block, so some rows dry out days before others. This solar-powered LoRa mesh node reads the soil moisture in its row and switches that row's watering solenoids on and off by itself, independently of the rest of the block. Water only goes where the soil actually needs it, which saves the grower money on water and pumping and stops the wetter rows being overwatered. Each node also relays messages for its neighbours, so the mesh covers the whole vineyard without Wi-Fi or phone coverage.

A solar-powered monitoring box on an electric fence post, with a farmer checking a tablet and cattle grazing beyond.

LoRa meshSolarAlarm

Electric fence monitor

An electric fence only works while it's live, and a fallen branch or a shorted insulator can knock it out without anyone noticing. This node has one job: it watches the fence around the clock. If the fence goes off for any reason, the farmer gets an alarm on their phone, wherever they are. It runs on a small solar panel charging a pair of 18650 lithium cells through a full charge controller, with under- and over-voltage protection to keep the batteries healthy for years. The alert travels over a LoRa mesh, so the node works in paddocks with no phone signal at all.

A water level sensor on a fence post beside a stock trough, with a windmill and cattle in a dry paddock behind.

LoRa meshSolarWater

Trough and pump monitor

A large property can have dozens of pumps and troughs spread over many kilometres, and checking them all by hand means hours of driving every week. This node sits beside the trough and reports the water level, so the farmer can see at a glance that every mob has the water it needs. A trough that stops refilling usually means a pump problem, so the same reading confirms each pump is doing its job. Instead of a daily water run, the farmer only drives out when something actually needs attention. On a hot South Australian day, that early warning can be the difference between a quick fix and losing stock.

Something on your property you'd like to keep an eye on?

Every property is different. Tell me what you'd like to monitor or control, and I'll design a build around it.

See Custom Design Or request a callback