SE01-NB -- NB-IoT Soil Moisture & EC Sensor User Manual
Table of Contents:
- 1. Introduction
- 2. Use SE01-NB to communicate with IoT Server
- 3. Configure SE01-NB
- 4. Battery & Power Consumption
- 5. Firmware update
- 6. FAQ
- 7. Order Info
- 8. Packing Info
- 9. Support
1. Introduction
1.1 What is NB-IoT Soil Moisture & EC Sensor
The Dragino SE01-NB is a NB-IoT Soil Moisture & EC Sensor for IoT of Agriculture. It is designed to measure the soil moisture of saline-alkali soil and loamy soil. The soil sensor uses FDR method to calculate the soil moisture with the compensation from soil temperature and conductivity. It also has been calibrated in factory for Mineral soil type.
It detects Soil Moisture, Soil Temperature and Soil Conductivity, and uploads the value via wireless to NB-IoT IoT Server.
SE01-NB supports different uplink methods including MQTT, MQTTs, UDP & TCP for different application requirement, and support uplinks to various IoT Servers.
SE01-NB supports BLE configure and OTA update which make user easy to use.
SE01-NB is powered by 8500mAh Li-SOCI2 battery, it is designed for long-term use up to several years.
SE01-NB has optional built-in SIM card and default IoT server connection version. Which makes it works with simple configuration.
1.2 Features
- NB-IoT Bands: B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B17/B18/B19/B20/B25/B28/B66/B70/B85 @H-FDD
- Ultra-low power consumption
- Monitor Soil Moisture
- Monitor Soil Temperature
- Monitor Soil Conductivity
- Multiply Sampling and one uplink
- Support Bluetooth v5.1 remote configure and update firmware
- Uplink on periodically
- Downlink to change configure
- 8500mAh Battery for long term use
- Nano SIM card slot for NB-IoT SIM
1.3 Specification
Common DC Characteristics:
- Supply Voltage: 2.5v ~ 3.6v
- Operating Temperature: -40 ~ 85°C
Soil Moisture:
- Range: 0-100.00 V/V %
- Resolution: 0.01 V/V %
- Accuracy: ±3% (0-53%)V/V %, ±5% (>53%) V/V %
- Measure Method: FDR , with temperature &EC compensate
Soil Temperature
- Range: -40.00°C ~ 85.00°C
- Resolution: 0.01°C
- Accuracy: -10°C ~ 50°C:<0.3°C, All other: <0.6°C
- Measure Method: RTD, and calibrate
Soil Conductivity
- Range: 0-20000 uS/cm(25°C)(0-20.0EC)
- Resolution: 1 uS/cm
- Accuracy: 2%FS
- Measure Method: Conductivity, with temperature compensate
NB-IoT Spec:
NB-IoT Module: BC660K-GL
Support Bands:
- B1 @H-FDD: 2100MHz
- B2 @H-FDD: 1900MHz
- B3 @H-FDD: 1800MHz
- B4 @H-FDD: 2100MHz
- B5 @H-FDD: 860MHz
- B8 @H-FDD: 900MHz
- B12 @H-FDD: 720MHz
- B13 @H-FDD: 740MHz
- B17 @H-FDD: 730MHz
- B18 @H-FDD: 870MHz
- B19 @H-FDD: 870MHz
- B20 @H-FDD: 790MHz
- B25 @H-FDD: 1900MHz
- B28 @H-FDD: 750MHz
- B66 @H-FDD: 2000MHz
- B70 @H-FDD: 2000MHz
- B85 @H-FDD: 700MHz
Battery:
- Li/SOCI2 un-chargeable battery
- Capacity: 8500mAh
- Self Discharge: <1% / Year @ 25°C
- Max continuously current: 130mA
- Max boost current: 2A, 1 second
Power Consumption
- STOP Mode: 10uA @ 3.3v
- Max transmit power: 350mA@3.3v
1.4 Applications
- Smart Agriculture
1.5 Sleep mode and working mode
Deep Sleep Mode: Sensor doesn't have any NB-IoT activate. This mode is used for storage and shipping to save battery life.
Working Mode: In this mode, Sensor will work as NB-IoT Sensor to Join NB-IoT network and send out sensor data to server. Between each sampling/tx/rx periodically, sensor will be in IDLE mode), in IDLE mode, sensor has the same power consumption as Deep Sleep mode.
1.6 Button & LEDs
| Behavior on ACT | Function | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Pressing ACT between 1s < time < 3s | Send an uplink | If sensor has already attached to NB-IoT network, sensor will send an uplink packet, blue led will blink once. |
| Pressing ACT for more than 3s | Active Device | Green led will fast blink 5 times, device will enter OTA mode for 3 seconds. And then start to attach NB-IoT network. |
| Fast press ACT 5 times. | Deactivate Device | Red led will solid on for 5 seconds. Means device is in Deep Sleep Mode. |
Note: When the device is executing a program, the buttons may become invalid. It is best to press the buttons after the device has completed the program execution.
1.7 BLE connection
SE01-NB support BLE remote configure and firmware update.
BLE can be used to configure the parameter of sensor or see the console output from sensor. BLE will be only activate on below case:
- Press button to send an uplink
- Press button to active device.
- Device Power on or reset.
If there is no activity connection on BLE in 60 seconds, sensor will shut down BLE module to enter low power mode.
1.8 Pin Definitions , Switch & SIM Direction
1.8.1 Jumper JP2
Power on Device when put this jumper.
1.8.2 BOOT MODE / SW1
1) ISP: upgrade mode, device won't have any signal in this mode. but ready for upgrade firmware. LED won't work. Firmware won't run.
2) Flash: work mode, device starts to work and send out console output for further debug
1.8.3 Reset Button
Press to reboot the device.
1.8.4 SIM Card Direction
See this link. How to insert SIM Card.
1.9 Mechanical
Main Device Dimension:
Probe Dimension:
1.10 Installation in Soil
Measurement the soil surface
Choose the proper measuring position. Avoid the probe to touch rocks or hard things. Split the surface soil according to the measured deep. Keep the measured as original density. Vertical insert the probe into the soil to be measured. Make sure not shake when inserting.
Dig a hole with diameter > 20CM.
Horizontal insert the probe to the soil and fill the hole for long term measurement.
2. Use SE01-NB to communicate with IoT Server
2.1 Send data to IoT server via NB-IoT network
The SE01-NB is equipped with a NB-IoT module, the pre-loaded firmware in SE01-NB will get environment data from sensors and send the value to local NB-IoT network via the NB-IoT module. The NB-IoT network will forward this value to IoT server via the protocol defined by SE01-NB.
Below shows the network structure:
There are two version: -GE and -1D version of SE01-NB.
GE Version: This version doesn't include SIM card or point to any IoT server. User needs to use AT Commands to configure below two steps to set SE01-NB send data to IoT server.
- Install NB-IoT SIM card and configure APN. See instruction of Attach Network.
- Set up sensor to point to IoT Server. See instruction of Configure to Connect Different Servers.
Below shows result of different server as a glance.
| Servers | Dash Board | Comments |
| Node-Red |
| |
| DataCake |
| |
| Tago.IO | ||
| General UDP | Raw Payload. Need Developer to design Dash Board | |
| General MQTT | Raw Payload. Need Developer to design Dash Board | |
| ThingSpeak |
| |
| ThingsBoard |
|
1D Version: This version has 1NCE SIM card pre-installed and configure to send value to DataCake. User Just need to select the sensor type in DataCake and Activate SE01-NB and user will be able to see data in DataCake. See here for DataCake Config Instruction.
2.2 Payload Types
To meet different server requirement, SE01-NB supports different payload type.
Includes:
- General JSON format payload. (Type=5)
- HEX format Payload. (Type=0)
- ThingSpeak Format. (Type=1)
- ThingsBoard Format. (Type=3)
User can specify the payload type when choose the connection protocol. Example:
AT+PRO=2,0 // Use UDP Connection & hex Payload
AT+PRO=2,5 // Use UDP Connection & Json Payload
AT+PRO=3,5 // Use MQTT Connection & Json Payload
2.2.1 General Json Format(Type=5)
This is the General Json Format. As below:
{"IMEI":"866207052559857","Model":"SE01-NB","temperature":21.7,"humidity":7.2,"conduct soil":2206,"soil dielectric constant":4.5,"battery":3.53,"signal":24,"1":{21.8,7.4,2282,4.6,2023/11/06 07:05:43},"2":{22.0,8.4,2533,5.1,2023/11/06 06:42:58},"3":{22.5,10.0,2832,5.8,2023/11/06 06:27:58},"4":{22.4,4.0,573,3.0,2023/11/06 05:58:02},"5":{22.5,4.0,570,3.0,2023/11/06 05:29:55},"6":{22.6,4.0,572,3.0,2023/11/06 05:14:54},"7":{22.6,3.9,574,2.9,2023/11/06 04:59:54},"8":{22.7,3.9,576,2.9,2023/11/06 04:44:54}}
Notice, from above payload:
- Temperature, Humidity, Conduct soil & Soil dielectric constant, Battery & Signal the value at uplink time.
- Json entry 1 ~ 8 are the last 1 ~ 8 sampling data as specify by AT+NOUD=8 Command. Each entry includes (from left to right): Soil Temperature, Soil Moisture, Soil Conductivity(EC), Soil dielectric constant & Sampling time.
2.2.2 HEX format Payload(Type=0)
This is the HEX Format. As below:
f86620705255985705640dd2150100031b088d097c003165488cf1089c034b09e5003365488af208cc03e30b10003a6548876e08bb018c023d001e6548806a08cb018f023a001e654879d308cf018d023c001e6548764e08d60189023e001d654872ca08df01880240001d65486f4608ea01870243001d65486bc2
If we use the MQTT client to subscribe to this MQTT topic, we can see the following information when the NB sensor uplink data.
Version:
These bytes include the hardware and software version.
Higher byte: Specify Sensor Model: 0x05 for SE01-NB
Lower byte: Specify the software version: 0x64=100, means firmware version 100
BAT (Battery Info):
Ex1: 0x0CC6 = 3270mV
Signal Strength:
NB-IoT Network signal Strength.
Ex1: 0x18 = 24
0 -113dBm or less
1 -111dBm
2...30 -109dBm... -53dBm
31 -51dBm or greater
99 Not known or not detectable
Soil Moisture
Get the moisture content of the soil. The value range of the register is 0-10000(Decimal), divide this value by 100 to get the percentage of moisture in the soil.
For example, if the data you get from the register is 0x05 0xDC, the moisture content in the soil is 05DC(H) = 1500(D) /100 = 15%.
Soil Temperature
Get the temperature in the soil. The value range of the register is -4000 - +800(Decimal), divide this value by 100 to get the temperature in the soil. For example, if the data you get from the register is 0x09 0xEC, the temperature content in the soil is
Example:
If payload is 0105H: ((0x0105 & 0x8000)>>15 === 0),temp = 0105(H)/100 = 2.61 °C
If payload is FF7EH: ((FF7E & 0x8000)>>15 ===1),temp = (FF7E(H)-FFFF(H))/100 = -1.29 °C
Soil Conductivity (EC)
Obtain soluble salt concentration in soil or soluble ion concentration in liquid fertilizer or planting medium. The value range of the register is 0 - 20000(Decimal)( Can be greater than 20000).
For example, if the data you get from the register is 0x00 0xC8, the soil conductivity is 00C8(H) = 200(D) = 200 uS/cm.
Generally, the EC value of irrigation water is less than 800uS / cm.
TimeStamp:
Unit TimeStamp Example: 64d49439(H) = 1691653177(D)
Put the decimal value into this link(https://www.epochconverter.com)) to get the time.
2.2.3 ThingsBoard Payload(Type=3)
Type3 payload special design for ThingsBoard, it will also configure other default server to ThingsBoard.
{
"IMEI": "866207052559857",
"Model": "SE01-NB",
"temperature": 22.3,
"humidity": 4.0,
"conduct soil": 572,
"soil dielectric constant": 3.0,
"battery": 3.55,
"signal": 23
}
2.2.4 ThingSpeak Payload(Type=1)
This payload meets ThingSpeak platform requirement. It includes six fields. Form 1~6 are:
Temperature, Humidity, Conduct soil ，Soil dielectric constant, Battery & Signal. This payload type only valid for ThingsSpeak Platform
As below:
field1=Temperature value&field2=Humidity value&field3=Conduct soil value&field4=Soil dielectric constant value&field5=Battery value&field6=Signal value
2.3 Test Uplink and Change Update Interval
By default, Sensor will send uplinks every 2 hours & AT+NOUD=8
User can use below commands to change the uplink interval.
AT+TDC=600 // Set Update Interval to 600s
User can also push the button for more than 1 seconds to activate an uplink.
2.4 Multi-Samplings and One uplink
To save battery life, SE01-NB will sample temperature & humidity data every 15 minutes and send one uplink every 2 hours. So each uplink it will include 8 stored data + 1 real-time data. They are defined by:
- AT+TR=900 // The unit is seconds, and the default is to record data once every 900 seconds (15 minutes, the minimum can be set to 180 seconds)
- AT+NOUD=8 // The device uploads 8 sets of recorded data by default. Up to 32 sets of record data can be uploaded.
The diagram below explains the relationship between TR, NOUD, and TDC more clearly:
2.5 Trggier an uplink by external interrupt
SE01-NB has an external trigger interrupt function. Users can use the GPIO_EXIT pin to trigger the upload of data packets.
AT command:
- AT+INTMOD // Set the trigger interrupt mode
- AT+INTMOD=0 // Disable Interrupt
- AT+INTMOD=1 // Trigger by rising and falling edge
- AT+INTMOD=2 // Trigger by falling edge
- AT+INTMOD=3 // Trigger by rising edge
2.6 Clock logging (Since firmware version v1.2.1)
Sometimes when we deploy lots of end nodes in field. We want all sensors sample data at the same time, and upload these data together for analyze. In such case, we can use clock loging feature.
We can use this command to set the start time of data recording and the time interval to meet the requirements of the specific collection time of data.
- AT command: AT+CLOCKLOG=a,b,c,d
a: 0: Disable Clock logging. 1: Enable Clock Logging
b: Specify First sampling start second: range (0 ~ 3599, 65535) // Note: If parameter b is set to 65535, the log period starts after the node accesses the network and sends packets.
c: Specify the sampling interval: range (0 ~ 255 minutes)
d: How many entries should be uplink on every TDC (max 32)
Example:
AT+CLOCKLOG=1,65535,1,5
After the node sends the first packet, data is recorded to the memory at intervals of 1 minute. For each TDC uplink, the uplink load will include: battery information + the last 5 memory records (payload + timestamp).
Note: Users need to synchronize the server time before configuring this command. If the server time is not synchronized before this command is configured, the command takes effect only after the node is reset.
2.7 Example Query saved historical records
- AT command: AT+CDP
This command can be used to search the saved history, recording up to 32 groups of data, each group of historical data contains a maximum of 100 bytes.
3. Configure SE01-NB
3.1 Configure Methods
SE01-NB supports below configure method:
- AT Command via Bluetooth Connection (Recommended): BLE Configure Instruction.
- AT Command via UART Connection : See UART Connection.
3.2 AT Commands Set
AT+<CMD>? : Help on <CMD>
AT+<CMD> : Run <CMD>
AT+<CMD>=<value> : Set the value
AT+<CMD>=? : Get the value
General Commands
AT : Attention
AT? : Short Help
ATZ : MCU Reset
AT+TDC : Application Data Transmission Interval
AT+CFG : Print all configurations
AT+CFGMOD : Working mode selection
AT+DEUI : Get or set the Device ID
AT+INTMOD : Set the trigger interrupt mode
AT+5VT : Set extend the time of 5V power
AT+PRO : Choose agreement
AT+RXDL : Extend the sending and receiving time
AT+DNSCFG : Get or Set DNS Server
AT+GETSENSORVALUE : Returns the current sensor measurement
AT+NOUD : Get or Set the number of data to be uploaded
AT+CDP : Read or Clear cached data
AT+SHTEMP: Get or Set alarm of temp
AT+SHHUM: Get or Set alarm of moisture
AT+SERVADDR : Server Address
MQTT Management
AT+CLIENT : Get or Set MQTT client
AT+UNAME : Get or Set MQTT Username
AT+PWD : Get or Set MQTT password
AT+PUBTOPIC : Get or Set MQTT publish topic
AT+SUBTOPIC : Get or Set MQTT subscription topic
Information
AT+FDR : Factory Data Reset
AT+PWORD : Serial Access Password
AT+LDATA : Get the last upload data
AT+CDP : Read or Clear cached data
4. Battery & Power Consumption
SE01-NB use ER26500 + SPC1520 battery pack. See below link for detail information about the battery info and how to replace.
Battery Info & Power Consumption Analyze .
5. Firmware update
User can change device firmware to::
- Update with new features.
- Fix bugs.
Firmware and changelog can be downloaded from : Firmware download link
Methods to Update Firmware:
- (Recommended way) OTA firmware update via BLE: Instruction.
- Update through UART TTL interface : Instruction.
6. FAQ
6.1 How can I access t BC660K-GL AT Commands?
User can access to BC660K-GL directly and send AT Commands.
6.2 Can I calibrate SE01-NB to different soil types?
SE01-NB is calibrated for saline-alkali soil and loamy soil. If users want to use it for other soil, they can calibrate the value in the IoT platform base on the value measured by saline-alkali soil and loamy soil. The formula can be found at this link.
7. Order Info
Part Number: SE01-NB-XX
XX:
- GE: General version ( Exclude SIM card)
- 1D: with 1NCE* 10 years 500MB SIM card and Pre-configure to DataCake server
1NCE SIM Card NB-IoT network coverage: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Russia, Slovak , Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, USA, US Virgin Islands
8. Packing Info
Package Includes:
- SE01-NB NB-IoT Soil Moisture & EC Sensor x 1
- External antenna x 1
Dimension and weight:
- Device Size: cm
- Device Weight: g
- Package Size / pcs : cm
- Weight / pcs : g
9. Support
- Support is provided Monday to Friday, from 09:00 to 18:00 GMT+8. Due to different timezones we cannot offer live support. However, your questions will be answered as soon as possible in the before-mentioned schedule.
- Provide as much information as possible regarding your enquiry (product models, accurately describe your problem and steps to replicate it etc) and send a mail to Support@dragino.cc.