Wireless Sensors for Hobbyists

I’m lucky enough to work in the New Forest and on my drive to work in the mornings I often see the ponies munching at the frosty grass and think blimey that must be freezing. I wonder how they cope with temperatures in the late twenties in the summer and down to minus 2 – 3 in the winter. I’m certainly not designed for the winter months, and nor are my snakes!

Monitoring temperature of exotic animals

I’ve owned snakes for five years now and the delicate creatures are a bit ‘princess-like’ in their aversion to the cold, they can’t cope with temperature variations like the ponies. If the temperature is not just right they can go off their food and if there isn’t a subtle drop in temperature for winter then they’ll struggle to know that it’s breeding season. My apartment doesn’t really have a reliable heating system, one minute it’s ridiculously hot, the next super freezing. So I have to keep a close eye on the snakes, making sure they’re at the right temperature all the time. Precious things.

To ensure that they’re comfortable and happy I’ve been using the FilesThruTheAir™ WiFi-TH for the last year. It’s resulted in one or two trips home to stick the heating on early, which has been a bit nice for me too. It also reassures me that the humidity levels are good to allow for shedding.

When it comes to breeding I also use the WiFi-TP as the device has a probe that I can sit amongst the incubating eggs. When you’ve got a clutch of eggs potentially running into thousands of pounds, it’s always reassuring knowing you will be sent an email if the temperature spikes, averting your whole clutch from dying.

I look after the technical support for the FilesThruTheAir™ sensors, so get to see new customers all of the time. I know it’s not just me that is devoted in my care for animals. Another customer I’m aware of uses the sensors to monitor the hibernation of his tortoises.

Temperature monitoring for foodies

Other hobbyists such as horticulturalists monitoring greenhouse conditions for growing tomatoes and seed germination also rely on our devices. Some use the sensors to stop frosts from ruining a crop while others use large temperature differences to trigger flowering. We’ve got a great contingent of home brewers too who really love our wireless sensors as they can see what temperatures are being experienced even while they’re away from home via their smartphones. Those with fancy wine cellars and also people that are curing meat find our sensors ideal, due to their simplicity to set up and use.

Recommended sensors for hobbyists

A really great ‘all-rounder’ is the WiFi-TH, which measures humidity and temperature (between -20 °C and +60 °C, and 0 %RH to 100 %RH). Alternatively, the WiFi-TP measures temperatures between -40 °C and +125 °C.

Monitoring temperature and humidity for your hobby?

I’d love to hear more about your hobby and how you use temperature sensors. I’m sure others would find your stories interesting, we might all learn something new! Email me at marketing@corintech.com, we can post your comments on our website for all to enjoy.

Jody McGrath - Sales Co-ordinator, Corintech Ltd