Looking for ZigBee or 433MHz soil sensors!

Hello to #HomeAssistant gardeners! I’m unsure what’s good right now as far as those go. Smaller sensors are better, not as small as coin cell, and especially if I can get illuminance as a sensor.

Just unsure what to pick. Reviews are mixed on so many options it feels like. Some complain ThirdReality’s are too huge, some complain of disconnects.

Right now I’ve a generic larger ZigBee one and a tiny BLE MiFlora, and open to others.

@homeassistant

  • Geologist@lemmy.zipEnglish
    2·
    1 day ago

    I use the ecowitt wh51, and they work pretty well. I have the 433mhz ones, but I’m using the ecowitt gateway, and not a rtl usb adapter.

    They’re not that small though, but they run off a single AA battery, and the battery life is pretty good. Integrates well with home assistant.

  • whaleross@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    I got some from Ali Express. They seem ok for the price. Dirt moisture and air temp and humidity. Dual AAA though so kind of large.

    • Kay Ohtie 🔜 FWA@blimps.xyzOP
      1·
      1 day ago

      @bravesilvernest Dang, was hoping it’d play nice with the RFlink style boxes, the fact I’d need a dedicated RTL for it (that doesn’t overheat either, had that issue) is a bit oof. But I’ll keep it in mind. I’ve also seen that exact form factor in ZigBee.

  • SayCyberOnceMore@feddit.ukEnglish
    2·
    1 day ago

    Have a look on yoochoob for “the guy with the Swiss accent” (I forgot his real account name) - he did an interesting article on soil sensors.

    I bought a zigbee sensor off Ali Express and it’s fine, but it’s waaay to.big for a small pot plant, but fine for a large one… so “big” vs “small” is kinda relative to the plant you’re monitoring.