Arnia Hive Monitor

[herefordshirehoney]

I've put my thoughts on the forum - tbh they are a lot of teething issues that hopefully they resolve

 

[wirralLes]

Thanks for that, best to wait a while.

 

[victor meldrew]

Ok for the techno freaks to play with I suppose. I have such as a son (the elder one) but as a practical tool for bee keeping, it's worth I can't evaluate beyond perhaps." We can do it therefore we must?
Rather like a lot of the electronics in modern cars, when the basic, readily understandable internal combustion engine is still the heart of the vehicle whereas most of the gizmos serve only to render repairs to be the costly preserve of the manufacturers . God save beekeeping from such a fate !
VM


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Ok for the techno freaks to play with I suppose. I have such as a son (the elder one) but as a practical tool for bee keeping, it's worth I can't evaluate......
VM

Slightly callous attitude towards the heir to the Meldrew millions, if I might say so!

Dusty

 

[victor meldrew]

Slightly callous attitude towards the heir to the Meldrew millions, if I might say so!

Dusty

With 16 descendants and counting, Meldrew millions will be sorely stretched
Vm

 

[wirralLes]

Low cost system??

I see that Beezinga is quoted (Bee Craft magazine Sept 2013) as being in the process of producing a hive monitoring kit for ~ $40.

Amazing if they can do it, as (without any weighing option) the Arnia kit was/is around £120? and even home-grown versions using the Arduino or Raspberry would come in at ~£40.

Whatever system gets produced I wonder how they'll manage to keep the kit propolis free.

 

[domino]

£60per hive per year?

That's a bit steep for me .... I like the idea but I also like poking around in my hives.

 

[madasafish]

Rather like a lot of the electronics in modern cars, when the basic, readily understandable internal combustion engine is still the heart of the vehicle whereas most of the gizmos serve only to render repairs to be the costly preserve of the manufacturers . God save beekeeping from such a fate !
VM

Some of us buy cars from people who actually make electronics properly (which of course excludes the French)..

I'll get my electronic concealment cloak...

 

[user 6228]

itas easy to see how the costs mount,the electronics isnt the main cost.
Connectors, boxes are the main unit costs.
if you need a IP65 connector a low cost one is £3 for each half
a box costs £3 to £10
A GSM phone module os only £12 (one needed per apiary)
but a 2.4Ghz radio link is only £1.50

 

[steve1958]

I keep Bees for the enjoyment it brings me.
My weekly inspections are something I look forward to as this is my time away from the hectic world, and everything that goes with it, including technology and computers.

 

[victor meldrew]

I often wonder when the " Weekly Inspection " became fashionable, I was taught to be sure of the reasons to inspect a colony before doing so ! The pleasure of looking wasn't regarded as a valid reason to disturb the working of the colony ( 24 hrs being quoted at the time taken for the colony to repair the damage created ).
VM

 

[madasafish]

"At the Hive Entrance" covers most of my inspections.. especially warres.

 

[steve1958]

"At the Hive Entrance" covers most of my inspections.. especially warres.

I find my Warre Hive to be the most fascinating of them all.
Interestingly enough weekly inspections do not happen with the Warre Hive.
But I do sit and watch the entrance to see what is going on

 

[Roola]

I just wondered if anyone on here had bought an Arnia device or had any involvement with the company? I am interested in these and as a result have emailed them twice this week and I have had no reply.

 

[Monty Stubble]

Also interested in remote hive monitoring...any progress?

 

[EdNewman]

I have two Arnia hive monitors with the weather pack. I have used one for the past year and probably won't be using it again next year. Problem I had included:
The weather pack was situated in a nice open spot yet showed the weather as being overcast all year. Rain sensor info isn't displayed anywhere.
Theft alert going off every other day for no reason.
This hive swarmed this year with no indication from the monitor at all that it was going to (the primary reason for having it!).
The monitor in the hive has two long training wires that just got in the way every inspection.

In summary I can actually think of a reason for having it in my hive!

Ed.

 

[user 6228]

I have two Arnia hive monitors with the weather pack. I have used one for the past year and probably won't be using it again next year. Problem I had included:
The weather pack was situated in a nice open spot yet showed the weather as being overcast all year. Rain sensor info isn't displayed anywhere.
Theft alert going off every other day for no reason.
This hive swarmed this year with no indication from the monitor at all that it was going to (the primary reason for having it!).
The monitor in the hive has two long training wires that just got in the way every inspection.

In summary I can actually think of a reason for having it in my hive!

Ed.

A hive is a hard place for electronics, hot, wet, acidic, and then there's the gnawing burrowing insects.(learned to my cost). Trailing wires inside the hive get in the way or get glued down in inconvenient places. I've come to the conclusion sensors have to be built in the hive or the frames inside

 

[Hombre]

@Derekm, do you think a suitable compromise for sensors might be for them to be built into the crown board? More portable than being built into the hive body and less hassle than in frames.

 

[user 6228]

@Derekm, do you think a suitable compromise for sensors might be for them to be built into the crown board? More portable than being built into the hive body and less hassle than in frames.

Yes I've thought along those lines as well. There are drawbacks(every approach has drawbacks )

If you have a feed eke on it will destroy any XY resolution and offset the temperature readings, So you will need frame feeders or have it very carefully built into the feeder board, so that it is not influenced by conduction by the sensor from the space above the feeder board.

edit:

perhaps this amalgam of ideas might work ... a thin frame or eke ... think crown board minus the board ~ 8mm thick. diagonal wires brace the board, a bee space from the top and the bottom. Attached to the wires are temp and humidity sensors. The sensor connections exit though frame (ribbon cable). This sensor eke then goes below crown boards, feeder boards etc. in normal operations it is left stuck to the top component crown board feeder board etc.

 

[pargyle]

@Derekm, do you think a suitable compromise for sensors might be for them to be built into the crown board? More portable than being built into the hive body and less hassle than in frames.

Well .. that's what I do ...