Hive Monitor

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Please don't say the papers .

Only time I get a newspaper is when I need to light a smoker or unite two colonies - and I get that material from my mother's communal recycling bin as the man in the neighbouring flat gets the torygraph

 

[Bazzer]

I think this thread needs to be retitled "My television watching habit's" Nothing in it about Hive Monitors!

 

[Apiarisnt]

Just caught a glimpse on BBC 1 "One Show" something about a Hive Monitor that can tell you many things about your hives.. Will have to download it later.

Any idea what sort or brand of hive monitor they were showing? Wood's Apidictor will be 70 years old this year. With the proliferation of technology, and it getting ever cheaper, there seems to be geometic growth in the systems being suggested and offered. There are times when I even wonder whether some of them are technologies looking for justification, rather than bee husbandry looking for advancement.

 

[Pembroke]

I think this thread needs to be retitled "My television watching habit's" Nothing in it about Hive Monitors!

Unfortunately most hive monitoring companies come along with their latest setup, you can measure the temperature in the hive, the weight, maybe a camera inside to monitor the bees and all controlled by an app on your phone. The systems may work but the market or the marketing is limited and the company fades away until the next one comes along, rinse and repeat.

Anyway with a bit of application, maybe a bit of reading and simple programming of an Arduino or raspberry pi it's quite possible to make you own system rather than a bought in one and that's another problem the companies face. To make a good system and to profit from it's sale usually means they end up at such a high price, for what is quite a limited market that they can't compete with the home experimenters which some of the more inventive on this list might argue is one of the side joys of beekeeping anyway.

 

[Bryang]

Any idea what sort or brand of hive monitor they were showing? Wood's Apidictor will be 70 years old this year. With the proliferation of technology, and it getting ever cheaper, there seems to be geometic growth in the systems being suggested and offered. There are times when I even wonder whether some of them are technologies looking for justification, rather than bee husbandry looking for advancement.

I failed to hear who made it, as it was on BBC 1, it would be doubtful if they named the manufacturer. From what I could understand they were using sound and heat sensors. Some of the claims they made suggested that you could deduce if the bees were going to swarm, and that the honey was ready to be removed!!!

 

[Amari]

Can't imagine not keeping up with current affairs in the world, and not watching certain TV programmes.

What with a dicky prostate and hip pain I wake frequently at night and sometime can't get back to sleep. So I insert the earplug from my radio tuned to BBC World Service and listen/doze/fall asleep. That keeps me informed of world news. Some really excellent programmes too.
UK news: a glass(s) of wine with BBC Radio4 6 o'clock news.

 

[JamezF]

UK news: a glass(s) of wine with BBC Radio4 6 o'clock news.

I try to leave the wine until after breakfast, myself.

James

 

[Bryang]

Apiarist... The name of the company is AgriSound.. Cost of the product is £599 for two hives.

 

[JamezF]

Apiarist... The name of the company is AgriSound.. Cost of the product is £599 for two hives.

Eeek! I think I'd rather spend the money on more hives and leave the monitor well alone.

James

 

[JamezF]

There are some details about an open source solution here:

BeeMonitor — The MagPi magazine
BeeMonitor

Funny how these things work out. I've come across this person (Glyn Hudson) before, as I already use the OpenEnergyMonitor code for tracking our home power consumption (and have contributed some updates back to the project).

I might have to have a play with this and perhaps see if I can take it a bit further.

James

 

[drdrday]

I got a Broodminder hive monitor for Christmas - I was stuck for ideas of what my brother could get me and thought it would be a good toy to play around with. It's still sitting in my office at the moment as I don't want to open up a hive to put it in yet, but I'm looking forward to seeing what it tells me over the coming season.



Edit: Compared to most of the hive monitors out there, this only costs $35 for a temperature sensor only, or $65 for temperature and humidity - the only issue with the price is that you currently have to pay for postage from the states on top of this. They do scales as well, but that costs a couple of hundred dollars, so wouldn't be anything I'd be interested in just for playing around. It's not necessary to buy a hub to go with this system (although you can), and you don't pay any ongoing monthly fees for web data storage or access. All you need is a free app on your smart phone and it'll connect via bluetooth and download the data whenever you're near the hive. I found it quick and easy to link up to my phone.
Of course I have yet to see whether monitoring the temperature really can give you an idea of the state of the colony...

 

[BBC]

Just caught a glimpse on BBC 1 "One Show" something about a Hive Monitor that can tell you many things about your hives.. Will have to download it later.

It’s a company in York and they’re cal Agrisound.
Great idea and tech, but for the price of two hives, you’ll need deep pockets.

 

[robmort]

I've built my own hive monitor which reports weight to a site on the web that I can check at any time.
Also built a solar energy diverter based on OpenEnergyMonitor.

 

[JamezF]

I've built my own hive monitor which reports weight to a site on the web that I can check at any time.
Also built a solar energy diverter based on OpenEnergyMonitor.

What device did you use for the weight measurement?

James

 

[Beegarden]

It’s a company in York and they’re cal Agrisound.
Great idea and tech, but for the price of two hives, you’ll need deep pockets.

and .... if you go to their 'shop,' you are directed straight to Arnia, the trading name of Agrisound!

 

[robmort]

What device did you use for the weight measurement?

James

I used a frame with load sensors attached like these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253056651377?hash=item3aeb5a1071:g:bVcAAOSwkaZZcgcV

 

[JamezF]

I used a frame with load sensors attached like these:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253056651377?hash=item3aeb5a1071:g:bVcAAOSwkaZZcgcV

Oddly enough, I'd been looking at those myself

Did you just use the one per hive, or one at each corner?

James

 

[Midget Gem]

I've built my own hive monitor which reports weight to a site on the web that I can check at any time.
Also built a solar energy diverter based on OpenEnergyMonitor.

More details of both, please. Any photos? Any plans/diagrams?
I can't work these things out for myself but I can follow a set of instructions.

 

[JamezF]

More details of both, please. Any photos? Any plans/diagrams?
I can't work these things out for myself but I can follow a set of instructions.

There are quite a few details if you follow the links I posted earlier (post 30) that might well get you started.

James

 

[robmort]

Oddly enough, I'd been looking at those myself

Did you just use the one per hive, or one at each corner?

James

One at each corner to form a bridge circuit, and give an accurate overall measurement.