Materials
Within this page you can see all of the required materials for building the base unit, as well as the materials for adding sensors and other 'accessory' nodes. If you already have some of these pieces, for example, a 3d printer, you don't need to factor that into the cost. We have included every sensor that we currently support for the station within this list. If you have other sensors you wish to include, we would be thrilled for you to modify the codebase and send us a pull request or send a comment to us via our Contribution portal.
The station can be powered and connected via ethernet or independently. The materials needed will be different depending on which configuration you use. Pay attention to the headings on the table below to make sure the materials you purchase are appropriate for the configuration that meets your needs. If you need more information to decide which configuration is best for your specific circumstance, go to the Determining power & internet needs page.
Printing Gear
Only one roll of filament is required.
| Area | Component | Price Per Unit | Number of Units | Total Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Printing | Ender 3 S1 | $349.00 | 1 | $349.00 | (Amazon) |
| Printing | PLA+ Filament | $20.99 | 1 | $20.99 | (Amazon) |
| Printing | Tough PLA | $24.99 | 1 | $24.99 | (Amazon) |
Base Station with Independent Comms and Power
| Area | Component | Price Per Unit | Number of Units | Total Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Microcontroller | M5 atomlite | $7.50 | 1 | $7.50 | (M5) |
| Cables | qwiic to grove cable | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic adapter | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic multiport | $2.10 | 1 | $2.10 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 500mm | $2.10 | 1 | $2.10 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 200mm | $1.60 | 2 | $3.20 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 100mm | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | Grove to GPIO | $3.50 | 1 | $3.50 | (Seeed studio) |
| Cables | Qwiic to GPIO | $1.50 | 1 | $1.50 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | usbC=>usbA adapter (2pk) | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | (amazon) |
| Cables | usbC=>usbA 10ft cable (5pk) | $13.59 | 1 | $13.59 | (amazon) |
| Sensors | adafruit bme680 | $18.95 | 1 | $18.95 | (mouser) |
| Sensors | RG-15 Rain Gauge | $99.00 | 1 | $99.00 | (mouser) |
| Sensors | adafruit pm2.5 | $44.95 | 1 | $44.95 | (adafruit) |
| Sensors | adafruit ltr390 | $4.95 | 1 | $4.95 | (mouser) |
| Power | voltaic v75 (20mah) | $79.00 | 1 | $79.00 | (voltaic) |
| Power | voltaic 20w solar panel | $99.00 | 1 | $99.00 | (voltaic) |
| Power | Junction Box | $15.93 | 1 | $15.93 | Home Depot |
| Communications | KuWfi 4G Hotspot | $36.99 | 1 | $36.99 | (Amazon) |
| Communications | Redpocket 1 yr SIM (TMOBILE ONLY) | $30.00 | 1 | $30.00 | (ebay) |
Base Station using PoE
| Area | Component | Price Per Unit | Number of Units | Total Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PoE | PoE Converter | $39.90 | 1 | $39.90 | (M5) |
| Cables | qwiic to grove cable | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic adapter | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic multiport | $2.10 | 1 | $2.10 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 500mm | $2.10 | 1 | $2.10 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 200mm | $1.60 | 2 | $3.20 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | qwiic cable 100mm | $1.60 | 1 | $1.60 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | Grove to GPIO | $3.50 | 1 | $3.50 | (Seeed studio) |
| Cables | Qwiic to GPIO | $1.50 | 1 | $1.50 | (sparkfun) |
| Cables | usbC=>usbA adapter (2pk) | $7.99 | 1 | $7.99 | (amazon) |
| Cables | usbC=>usbA 10ft cable (5pk) | $13.59 | 1 | $13.59 | (amazon) |
| Sensors | adafruit bme680 | $18.95 | 1 | $18.95 | (mouser) |
| Sensors | RG-15 Rain Gauge | $99.00 | 1 | $99.00 | (mouser) |
| Sensors | adafruit pm2.5 | $44.95 | 1 | $44.95 | (adafruit) |
| Sensors | adafruit ltr390 | $4.95 | 1 | $4.95 | (mouser) |
Optional Materials
A note on optional materials. If you are hosting in a sunny place and running your station with a relatively low power configuration, you can use a smaller solar panel and battery (below). Additionally, for better print quality, a PEI plate can be quite nice, although not necessary by any means.
| Area | Component | Price Per Unit | Number of Units | Total Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power | voltaic 10w solar panel | $65.00 | 1 | $65.00 | (voltaic) |
| Power | voltaic v25 (6000mah) | $39.00 | 1 | $39.00 | (voltaic) |
| Printing | PEI Magnetic Flexible Heated Bed Plate | $25.99 | 1 | $25.99 | Amazon |