Chris Yun, August 27, 2025
Great news! Revision two of our buoy has recently launched at Pfister’s Pond.
This marks the end of a long-term development process which has led us to our final version of the buoy. Although the electronics remain mostly the same, there have been some upgrades to both the software and hardware of the buoy!
Our dissolved oxygen and electrical conductivity sensors are now modular, being attached to the top of the watertight box through a sealed hole. Another quality-of-life change is a ring and carabiner to quickly anchor the buoy to the bottom of the pond.
We now also have a reliable way of tracking when the buoy runs out of power out in the field. This was a recurring issue of revision one, as often you would find the website not displaying live data because of this issue. We believe that this was caused by the battery pack not holding a sufficient amount of charge during peak sunlight hours, and this issue has been reflected in our battery pack upgrade for revision two. The new battery pack now holds 20,100mAh, compared to the previous 13,400mAh. If this issue persists, we will work towards funding a solar panel upgrade.
Those who have seen the buoy in the field might have also noticed the changes to the chassis of the buoy. We have now opted for thicker PVC pipes to enhance buoyancy and a solid piece of plastic lumber compared to revision one’s lighter sheet of plastic.
We believe that these upgrades will be able to last the buoy for the foreseeable future monitoring and protecting the pond. Please feel free to contact us if you have any suggestions, questions, or concerns!