Building a Seismic Vault

[David & Laura]

Greetings!

Glad to be a backer for the RaspberryShake project.

We're currently in the process of building a small seismic vault on our property, where we will be installing our Raspberry Shake alongside a GeoSig seismometer. As a critical aspect of seismography is the coupling of the accelerometer to the Earth, we've been researching the various tradeoffs between cost, sensitivity, and avoiding man-made seismic noise.

Our current plan is a small concrete sensor pad poured directly onto exposed bedrock, with an isolated vault shell for environmental protection. Thermal insulation will be via polystyrene sheets, with a small drain at the bottom for any condensation. Power and communication will be provided via Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Based on our research, here's what seems to be good about our site and plan:

* Located on grade 5 bedrock (relatively un-fractured)

* 10 KM away from heavily travelled roads, and 200 meters away from the nearest (lightly travelled) road

* Relatively dry location

Here's what seems to be not so good:

* Located on the surface, rather than a meter or so below grade

* Will not be buried under soil

* Nearby trees (20 meters away) will conduct wind-generated seismic noise

This is our first seismic vault, so we're undoubtedly going to make some mistakes, but that's how you learn. We'll post pictures as our project progresses, and if anyone else is thinking about how they're going to couple their Shake, let us know!

Some good resources include:

* https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0144/ofr-02-0144.pdf

* http://foresight.ctbto.org/download/attachments/12189794/T4-P06.+Modernization+of+the+Yellowknife+Seismic+Array,+(PS09).pdf

* http://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/escidoc:4023:5/component/escidoc:4024/Chapter_7_rev1.pdf

* https://www.passcal.nmt.edu/content/instrumentation/field-procedures/seismic-vaults/broadband-vault-construction

David Slik

VE7FIM

[heliconia50]

HI David,

Make the vault bigger!  Yes, I know you didn't say how big it was but it was my biggest mistake on my first three vaults.  

Don't worry much that t is above ground, lots of the vaults I work with today look like cement outhouses 2 meters x 2 meters.  I will try to post some pictures and maybe have a section in the book about making a goog-enough vault.  Don't pay too much attention to the URLs you posted until you get your first very fancy seismograph.  Those URLs are for Class A broadband and the installation cost.

From what you describe you are going to have a great installation.  Remember to make som room for the future stuff you are going to get,  Make room for batteries, converters ethernet switches, lots of wires.

Angel

[David & Laura]

Good advice. I'll see what I can do about enlarging it. I was originally going to use a 14" square pre-cast concrete tile as a removable top, but that will get heavy if I go much larger.

I'll see if I can go for 24" by 24" interior area.

I'd love to see some photos, if you can, and that's an excellent suggestion for a section in the book.

For example, what would be the best way to couple the Shake's geophone to the concrete pad?

I've been planning to include a battery, power converter and Ethernet switch (all fan-less), so that's already in the plan. However, I've read that it might be best to put them outside the vault itself (or at least not on the pad), since magnetostriction in cheap power conversion electronics can result in vibration, and thus add noise to a seismic installation.

Thanks,

David Slik

VE7FIM

[heliconia50]

Hi Dave,

Shake is a weak motion device and the coupling does not have to be hard like for an accelerometer.  We are measuring sub-micron motons. 

I will give some thought to making an anchorable base like we use in some of our other stuff.  

Angel

On Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at 12:44:57 AM UTC-5, David & Laura wrote:

[chris...@aol.com]

    DON'T use either gavel or rebar in seismic vaults. Gravel and Iron have different expansion coefficients to the cement and sand. Changes in temperature cause cracking and generate random impulse noise. Cast the plinths etc. with only cement and sand 1:1, cover with polythene / plastic and allow to cure for at least two weeks, preferably four.  Chris Chapman 

[David & Laura]

That's really good advice. We weren't going to use rebar in general, but would have mixed gravel into the concrete, so this came just in time.

We're building the vault on an outcropping of rock. Any suggestions on how to minimize similar thermal expansion noise coming from the rock/concrete boundary? Given our inability to bury the vault, there will be fairly wide (up to 30 degrees) temperature variations in a typical day.

We were going to drill a series of holes into the rock with a small (one inch) rock drill, and stick some threaded metal bars with rock-tite, in order to help couple the two surfaces, but we suspect that would result in the same problems as with rebar.

Thanks,

David Slik

VE7FIM

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi David, 

    You don't say what sort of rock you have. I would chisel the surface ~flat, but rough / ridged. Then 

I would paint the surface with a slurry of pure cement. Cover it with plastic, let it ~set, but not dry. 

Then cast the plinth 4" or more thick. After you have poured the cement, push ~1" stick in vertically 

to remove air bubbles, level the surface and cover with  polythene sheet. Cast the walls surrounding 

the plinth / build them out of brick, but not in contact with the plinth. If you use bricks, wet them before 

cementing them - this greatly improves the cement / brick bond. Add polystyrene insulation and a 

weatherproof layer outside the wall. Cover with polythene sheet for ~ 2 weeks. Cast a cover cap out 

of cement and sand of a size to cover the side walls. Cast holes near the edges for lifting rope loops. 

Design a ~conical weatherproof top cover with polystyrene insulation and tie it down. 

    You can buy cheap battery LCD digital thermometers with an internal sensor and an external wire 

probe, which read to 0.1 Deg C. They also record minimum and maximum temperatures which can 

be reset. Mount one under a window flap on the outside of the vault, north side, with the probe in 

contact with the plinth / a seismometer.  If you have any power supplies, mount them near the top of 

the enclosure.      

     With the walls in good thermal contact with the rock and foam insulated (2"), I would expect daily 

plinth temperature variations from Max to Min of just a few C Degrees. You can improve this, if 

necessary, by covering the rock surrounding the enclosure with an insulating layer, maybe 1 to 2 ft 

wide. This would reduce the atmospheric heat input into the rock, but it probably won't be required.    

I hope that these suggestions are of some help.

    Regards, 

    Chris Chapman

From: David & Laura <davida...@lambertlake.ca>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sat, 17 Sep 2016 20:18
Subject: Re: Building a Seismic Vault

That's really good advice. We weren't going to use rebar in general, but would have mixed gravel into 

the concrete, so this came just in time.

We're building the vault on an outcropping of rock. Any suggestions on how to minimize similar thermal 

expansion noise coming from the rock/concrete boundary? Given our inability to bury the vault, there 

will be fairly wide (up to 30 degrees) temperature variations in a typical day.We were going to drill a 

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[David & Laura]

It's fairly fine-grained agglomeratic basalt. Since weathering makes it prone to fracture, removing a few inches is always a good idea.

These suggestions really do help. Thank you!

I will have a PoE power converter, and the Raspberry Pi generates some heat — would it be best to have them located off the plinth and separated by polystyrene insulation?

The GeoSig unit I'll also be putting in there has a base plate for mounting, which makes things a little easier. I think it will be easier to drill a hole for the M8 concrete anchor after the plinth has cured.

It's going to take some time to get everything together, so I'll post pictures as things progress, and I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Thanks,

David Slik

VE7FIM

    Chris Chapman

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[John Beale]

Maybe I just worry too much but I always feel that un-reinforced concrete will crack sooner or later. I wonder about fiber-reinforced concrete. The Helix micro-rebar looks interesting, but it seems to be a strictly professional-use only product, not a DIY Home-Depot project.

[Kelly Gann]

Well, USGS discourages the use of rebar, and if you are on "virgin" non-back filled earth, especially bedrock and not supporting any structural load, I don't think cracking will be an issue. Probably contingent on being below the frost line as well.  My plan at this point is to build my "vault" under my single story house in the crawl space. I've considered fiber reinforced mix too, no more than I need, don't see a down side to that. 

[chris...@aol.com]

Dear John, 

    You are defiantly worrying too much ! 

    Reinforced concrete is MUCH more likely to be noisy - the USGS warn about this - you use 50:50 

sharp sand and cement. Fiber reinforced concrete is likely to be glass - but the expansion coefficient 

is unlikely to match that of the sand and cement. 

Dear Kelly, 

    The frost line is a good consideration. Putting the vault under the house is a good idea, so long as 

you don't have noisy children. Don't put it close to an outside wall and mount it away from water and 

drain pipes - you don't want to record every loo flush ! 

    I mounted a geophone on a ceramic plate and listened to the output with an audio amplifier and 

headphones, as well as recording the trace at the same time. 

    Regards,

    Chris Chapman

From: Kelly Gann <kelly....@gmail.com>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 0:05
Subject: Re: Building a Seismic Vault

Well, USGS discourages the use of rebar, and if you are on "virgin" non-back filled earth, especially bedrock and not supporting any structural load, I don't think cracking will be an issue. Probably contingent on being below the frost line as well.  My plan at this point is to build my "vault" under my single story house in the crawl space. I've considered fiber reinforced mix too, no more than I need, don't see a down side to that. 

On Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 3:29:45 PM UTC-7, John Beale wrote:

Maybe I just worry too much but I always feel that un-reinforced concrete will crack sooner or later. I wonder about fiber-reinforced concrete. The Helix micro-rebar looks interesting, but it seems to be a strictly professional-use only product, not a DIY Home-Depot project.

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[Kelly Gann]

Thanks Chris, our house is 3,700 square feet with some post and beam supports, I need to crawl back under and find a place that is away from both post supports and the outside wall in an optimal location away from high traffic areas. No noisy children to speak of except when the grandkids visit, just the wife and I and (4) 50-85 pound coonhounds.  There is a I believe, University of Washington Six Component Broadband/Strong Motion (like I know what that is) seismograph about 10-15 miles away from me that should be nice to compare seismogram. https://www.pnsn.org/seismogram/current/gnw   I'm assuming that "cultural" noise will be much easier to distinguish from actual earthquakes, as long as it doesn't overwhelm it? 

Best, 

-Kelly

On Thursday, September 22, 2016 at 12:23:55 PM UTC-7, chris...@aol.com wrote:

Dear John, 

    You are defiantly worrying too much ! 

    Reinforced concrete is MUCH more likely to be noisy - the USGS warn about this - you use 50:50 

sharp sand and cement. Fiber reinforced concrete is likely to be glass - but the expansion coefficient 

is unlikely to match that of the sand and cement. 

Dear Kelly, 

    The frost line is a good consideration. Putting the vault under the house is a good idea, so long as 

you don't have noisy children. Don't put it close to an outside wall and mount it away from water and 

drain pipes - you don't want to record every loo flush ! 

    I mounted a geophone on a ceramic plate and listened to the output with an audio amplifier and 

headphones, as well as recording the trace at the same time. 

    Regards,

    Chris Chapman

From: Kelly Gann <kelly....@gmail.com>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thu, 22 Sep 2016 0:05
Subject: Re: Building a Seismic Vault

Well, USGS discourages the use of rebar, and if you are on "virgin" non-back filled earth, especially bedrock and not supporting any structural load, I don't think cracking will be an issue. Probably contingent on being below the frost line as well.  My plan at this point is to build my "vault" under my single story house in the crawl space. I've considered fiber reinforced mix too, no more than I need, don't see a down side to that. 

On Wednesday, September 21, 2016 at 3:29:45 PM UTC-7, John Beale wrote:

Maybe I just worry too much but I always feel that un-reinforced concrete will crack sooner or later. I wonder about fiber-reinforced concrete. The Helix micro-rebar looks interesting, but it seems to be a strictly professional-use only product, not a DIY Home-Depot project.

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[Brett N]

David,

I have found that most advice about seismic vault construction is directed at supporting high-gain long-period instruments.  At low frequencies (0.01 Hz) the horizontal channels in particular, are exquisitely sensitive to ground-tilt noise, and all the precautions suggested are well worth observing.  However, with the Shake, which is a vertical sensor with a low frequency cutoff of 0.5 Hz it's not nearly so much of a problem.  Naturally, you want to minimize the effects of nearby foot traffic, machinery and road traffic, but it just can't see the kinds of motions that sophisticated vault designs are attempting to minimize.

A good location for the Shake would likely be on the concrete slab of the lowest floor, near a foundation wall and away from furnaces, washing machines and such.

Brett

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi David, 

    I suggest that you keep both your seismometers as FAR AWAY as possible from foundation walls. 

The top of a wall is usually sticking tens of feet above ground. It is effected by the wind and wind 

noise is transmitted down. Long period seismometers may also be effected by sunshine falling on the 

wall, giving variable tilts. 

    The Raspberry Shake circuit board is not protected against moisture, although it does run quite 

warm. Neither is it protected against bugs, which are attracted by warm objects. Maybe cover it up with 

an old Aluminum saucepan and weight, tape or putty it down ?  

    Regards, 

    Chris

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[John Stuart]

I have decided my uber-sensitive RaspShake must move-out of our basement (see attached heliograph).

I read through the previous posts to this thread, and listed some of the recommendations:

Considerations for building a back-yard seismic vault for the Raspberry Shake

• ·         Concrete pad poured on bedrock.
  
• ·         Isolated vault shell for environmental protection
  
• ·         Thermal insulation, polystyrene sheets
  
• ·         Condensation drain hole
  
• ·         Data and power: PoE
  
• ·         Locate as far as practical from houses, streets, tall trees.
  
• ·         RF shielding from transmitter antennas.
  
• ·         Room for future devices, batteries, Ethernet switches, etc.
  
• ·         Don’t use rebar or gravel in concrete. Use 1:1 sand : cement for plinths
  
• ·         Glass mounting plate mortared to concrete ( see pg. 8 in USGS pdf below)
  
• ·         Monitor internal temperature variations; Max/Min digital thermometer.
  
• ·         Noise test: mount geophone on ceramic plate, listen to / record mic level audio.
  
• ·         Raspberry Shake: moisture and bug protection, heat transfer, convection air currents
  
• ·         Raspberry Shake: provide 0.4W+ heat transfer, limit convective air currents
  

USGS vault construction reference: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0144/ofr-02-0144.pdf

I have a question about heat transfer vs. keeping the RaspShake sealed from moisture and bugs.  If I mount the RaspShake in a sealed cast aluminum box, or plastic box, will there be enough heat transfer to prevent the Raspberry Pi from overheating?  Of course the bigger the box, the more heat transfer area there will be.  The RaspShake only produces 0.4 W of heat, so I thinking that an aluminum box with room for the RaspShake will conduct & radiate enough heat to limit the internal temperature rise to (say) 10C above ambient.  Any thoughts or empirical data out there?

John Stuart, KM6QX

Lafayette, CA.  

[Branden Christensen]

Hi John:

Some comments below. 

I have decided my uber-sensitive RaspShake must move-out of our basement (see attached heliograph).

Awesome analysis. Thanks for sharing! 

I read through the previous posts to this thread, and listed some of the recommendations:

Considerations for building a back-yard seismic vault for the Raspberry Shake

This is mostly super overkill from a practical standpoint but that is the beauty of hobbies- you are not bound by anything practical :)

• ·         Concrete pad poured on bedrock.

• ·         Isolated vault shell for environmental protection
  
• ·         Thermal insulation, polystyrene sheets

This is unnecessary for Shake though desirable for "broad band" seismic instruments or those who can see super low frequency signatures down to, for example, 0.001 Hz. What this does for broad bands is diminish the rate of temperature change- something that is best accomplished by combining insulation with mass (for example, place the instrument inside of a concrete tube and then insulate around the tube). This is an important source of long period noise. BUT Shake is deaf to such low frequencies and will not benefit from insulation or additional mass. 

• 
  
• ·         Condensation drain hole
  
• ·         Data and power: PoE
  
• ·         Locate as far as practical from houses, streets, tall trees.
  
• ·         RF shielding from transmitter antennas.
  
• ·         Room for future devices, batteries, Ethernet switches, etc.
  
• ·         Don’t use rebar or gravel in concrete. Use 1:1 sand : cement for plinths
  
• ·         Glass mounting plate mortared to concrete ( see pg. 8 in USGS pdf below)
  
• ·         Monitor internal temperature variations; Max/Min digital thermometer.
  
• ·         Noise test: mount geophone on ceramic plate, listen to / record mic level audio.
  
• ·         Raspberry Shake: moisture and bug protection, heat transfer, convection air currents
  
• ·         Raspberry Shake: provide 0.4W+ heat transfer, limit convective air currents

All overkill (for Shake) BUT since you are clearly motivated to obtain the most desirable environment for your Shake to maximize it's potential, go for it! After all, building a seismic vault is fun and having one open the doors for more experimentation with more instruments. If I were you, I would start scouring Ebay to try and get your hands on a broad band instrument. Then you can geek out measuring earth modes. 

USGS vault construction reference: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0144/ofr-02-0144.pdf

I have a question about heat transfer vs. keeping the RaspShake sealed from moisture and bugs.  If I mount the RaspShake in a sealed cast aluminum box, or plastic box, will there be enough heat transfer to prevent the Raspberry Pi from overheating?

No, it will overheat. Temperature fluctuations will not, anyway, affect the Shake's performance other than killing it if you create an environment where it could overheat. Also, all electronics when operated at higher temperatures degrade faster. 

 Of course the bigger the box, the more heat transfer area there will be.  The RaspShake only produces 0.4 W of heat, so I thinking that an aluminum box with room for the RaspShake will conduct & radiate enough heat to limit the internal temperature rise to (say) 10C above ambient.  Any thoughts or empirical data out there?

Keep geeking out and please, get your hands on a broad band. You will love it. Also, visit some seismic vaults, there are TONS in California. This seismology thing is definitely in your blood. In fact, you should consider accelerometers and infrasound too.   

Have fun!

John Stuart, KM6QX

Lafayette, CA.  

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Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
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[John Beale]

I do not see any problem with putting the Shake in a metal box, or even a wood box. I wouldn't use a super-insulated foam  chest without doing some more measurements.

For what it's worth... I measure my Shake to average around 1.5 W total power consumption, with occasional momentary peaks to 2.1 W (ethernet traffic and/or SD card writing I presume). It's not a huge amount of power.

In these conditions, with the shake in the clear laser-cut plastic box it came in, all sitting on my desk, ambient air = 21 C, the internal CPU temp stabilizes at 48.3 C after a few hours.  The outside surface temperature of the box ranges between 2 and 5 degrees above ambient.  The RPi CPU (SoC) will automatically reduce its clock speed if it reaches 80 C, but it works fine up to that point. So I have about 30 deg.C  of temperature margin for (ambient temperature rise) + (insulation effects).

I plan to put the whole thing, along with a 48V->5V PoE power supply in a somewhat larger box which will be sealed as nearly air-tight as I can, to keep out the bugs from making nests inside (already had to evict a spider that crawled into the stock plastic box!). I do not anticipate any thermal problems but I'll report back if I see any.

[John Stuart]

Thanks John Beale for the empirical data.  Your 1.5 W measurement seems reasonable, but a lot more than what is shown in the RaspShake's technical specification document:

http://manual.raspberryshake.org/_downloads/SpecificationsforRaspberryShakeV4.pdf

Right now I have some power resistors dissipating 5.00 W under a Glad 64 oz. plastic food container.  After an hour, the temperature is about 9 C above room temperature.

I my garage I found an old Sportsman's Dry Box with O-Ring (see attached file) which has inside bottom dimension of 7" x 12".  I think I'll cut a rectangular hole in the bottom to fit the RaspShake with leveling screws, then bolt the box to my concrete pad with a rubber pad gasket to keep the rain from getting underneath. Moisture seepage will still be possible, so maybe I'll need a couple of screened vents to let the RaspShake's heat evaporate the moisture out of the box.  Also, being a plastic box, WiFi will still be an option.

Earlier today I switched my RaspShake over to use PoE via 50 ft of Cat5.   Using an $18 "PoE to micro-USB splitter/adapter for Raspberry Pi", from Amazon.  Works well.

John Stuart

Lafayette, CA

   

   

[John Beale]

I see what you mean; I read: "Power Consumption (estimated) 0.4 Watts at 5.14 Volts; 80 mA "

but I don't know what they measured there, maybe just the add-on Shake board by itself (ADC + analog front end)?

The idle current of a R-Pi v3 doing nothing at all is 260 mA at +5V.  Add 80 mA to 260 mA and you get 340 mA  (1.7 W at 5V) which is in the ballpark of what I measured.

[John Beale]

I removed the 3 provided leveling screws and blu-tacked the box flat on a ceramic floor tile. I added 3x M6 leveling screws to the tile itself, and a 48V->5V PoE adaptor and put a thin plywood box over the whole thing. I haven't sealed it up yet; there is a 0.5 mm gap around the PoE adaptor, but not much more.  When sitting in the garage at 15.6 C ambient, the CPU temp has been stable at 45.1 C for some hours. So adding the wood box is +5 C on the CPU temperature, relative to just the original plastic box, other things being equal.  No problems there, but if I was worried about the temperature, I could remove the top of the interior plastic box and probably get back that +5 C, now that I have the outer box to keep the drafts and bugs out.

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi John, 

    How much heat is being contributed by the PSU ? Do a temperature test after removing it ?
Just a thought, but you can buy Aluminum or preferably whitemetal boxes, which would conduct heat 

better than a ceramic tile and can be fitted with leveling screws. 

    Regards, 

    Chris
From: John Beale <beale...@gmail.com>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Dec 12, 2016 5:33 am
Subject: [Raspberry Shake Community Forum] Shake in a box

I removed the 3 provided leveling screws and blu-tacked the box flat on a ceramic floor tile. I added 3x M6 leveling screws to the tile itself, and a 48V->5V PoE adaptor and put a thin plywood box over the whole thing. I haven't sealed it up yet; there is a 0.5 mm gap around the PoE adaptor, but not much more.  When sitting in the garage at 15.6 C ambient, the CPU temp has been stable at 45.1 C for some hours. So adding the wood box is +5 C on the CPU temperature, relative to just the original plastic box, other things being equal.  No problems there, but if I was worried about the temperature, I could remove the top of the interior plastic box and probably get back that +5 C, now that I have the outer box to keep the drafts and bugs out.

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[John Beale]

I agree some kind of metal enclosure would be better for heatsinking, and easier to work with and drill holes in. I used the ceramic floor tile because I had a box of spare tiles handy, and a set of diamond hole-cutting drills. Also it is not going to bend, so once leveled on a concrete surface think it should stay level.

I haven't done a careful test, but from input power measurements my 48V->5V DC-DC converter is very efficient and the case does not get perceptibly warm to the touch (the Shake plastic case does get just slightly warm on top). I can measure it but my guess is the DC-DC converter contributes less than +2 C to CPU temp.

[John Stuart]

Today I realized that street traffic vibrations were traveling down my concrete driveway, into my garage foundation, into my house foundation, into my back yard of 3'x3' concrete pads (really all one pour, up against house foundation) to the 'pad' where the RShake was sitting inside a plastic dry box.  I moved the box with RShake over to an isolated 2'x2' concrete step stone, and the traffic vibrations are less than half of what they were.  And, I can no longer see the house heater blower fan (but Swarm's FFT can still measure the 17.6 Hz peak when its running).

You can see the improvement by looking my RShake  RFD2F, starting at 2016-12-13, 00:08.

Now I'm waiting for an earthquake, , , , ,

John Stuart      

Lafayette, CA

[John Stuart]

Raspberry Shake is doing well in my $15 dry-box vault.  Not on bedrock, but the concrete stepping stone has been in place for decades. The brick is necessary to twist the plastic box's bottom enough to not wobble on non-perfect concrete surface.

Noise level was down to 54 counts RMS last night, and this morning it detected a M1.7 at a distance of 42 km (3 km off the San Francisco coast).

Attached are two Swarm images of the M1.7 .

Conclusion: The Raspberry Shake doesn't need a fancy vault; just a dry and bug-less box in a quiet location.

John Stuart

Lafayette, CA 

[John Beale]

Your dry box looks like a great option, and you've proved it does the job. Did you cut out the bottom as described? What did you use as the bottom gasket?  I'm wondering if it would be easier to seal just three solid feet (short bolts?) through the bottom, spaced to match the pattern of the 3 leveling screws on the Shake. Unless that would be too tippy with the size of the box. I assume another hole in the side for the ethernet cable?

On Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 6:43:04 PM UTC-8, John Stuart wrote:

I my garage I found an old Sportsman's Dry Box with O-Ring (see attached file) which has inside bottom dimension of 7" x 12".  I think I'll cut a rectangular hole in the bottom to fit the RaspShake with leveling screws, then bolt the box to my concrete pad with a rubber pad gasket to keep the rain from getting underneath. Moisture seepage will still be possible, so maybe I'll need a couple of screened vents to let the RaspShake's heat evaporate the moisture out of the box.  Also, being a plastic box, WiFi will still be an option.  [...] this morning it detected a M1.7 at a distance of 42 km

 

[John Stuart]

John Beale

No, I did not cut a hole in the bottom because sealing all moisture out would be difficult, and the vibrations of interest should pass up through the plastic bottom without any attenuation. So the only hole for the Cat5 is a plastic 3/4" conduit fitting, sealed with Duct Seal putty. ( Cat5 RJ-45 connector will pass through the 3/4" fitting.)

The attached photo shows the ribbed bottom of another  MTM dry box (in front), larger than the one I used, and another dry box (in rear) made by Plano.  I now plan to set the MTM ribbed box into some Quikrete when I have finalized its location.  Need to figure out way to keep the RShake's leveling screws from sliding around inside; maybe three 1/8" drill bit 'dents'. 

West Marine carries the Plano brand, but I like the MTM design better; you can make the lid removable by clipping off some little nibs along the hinge. I think Walmart still carries the MTM dry boxes, or Amazon.

John Stuart

Lafayette, CA

 

[John Stuart]

I found a smaller dirt / moisture / bug proof case for the RShake. (ref my earlier posts in this thread).

The Pelican 1120 case is a perfect fit for the RShake, a PoE Splitter, and some extra Cat5 cable.  I had some concerns about the RPi overheating in a small sealed box, so I have been running some tests in a home-made temperature test chamber.

 

With the RShake running, I ran the chamber from 17C up to 35C.  The heat, dissipated by the RShake and PoE splitter, was able to transfer through the Pelican's polypropylene case walls, keeping the interior within 4 or 5C of ambient (test chamber) temperature. 

Outdoor locations will still need a sun and rain shield of some kind. I'm thinking wrapping the case with some synthetic garden fabric that would block the radiant solar heat, noisy raindrops, and pecking birds.

The bottom of the case does have four 'feet', which means that it will probably rock a little on any non-smooth surface. So adding three feet, or leveling screws to the bottom would be a good idea.  Attached is an applicable idea I found on an UK (Chris?)  webpage.

John Stuart

Lafayette CA

[John Beale]

That looks like a tidy arrangement. Have you tried this setup in operation? I wonder if the PoE DC-DC converter right on top of the sensor may generate some high-frequency noise that magnetically couples into the windings of the geophone, and/or the cable to the RShake board input.

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi John, 

    A geophone is encased in a steel cylinder and the windings are magnetically well shielded, but the power supply should not be sitting on top of the RShake.  

    Regards, 

    Chris

From: John Beale <beale...@gmail.com>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Tue, Jan 17, 2017 7:22 pm
Subject: [Raspberry Shake Community Forum] Re: Building a Seismic Vault

--

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Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
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[John Stuart]

Good question John.  Yes I was running the RShake to produce heat while in the test chamber, but I didn't look for electronic noise because the chamber has circulating fan vibration that would mask any small electronic noise.

I just ran some more tests with the RShake on my basement floor (+-200 ct pks) and placed the PoE Splitter 6" away, and then right on top of the RShake sensor. (For a while, I was chasing a 20.2 Hz signal, but it wasn't from the splitter.)

Here is the spectrum with the PoE splitter sitting on top of the geophone / sensor.

For the good of the cause, I felt obliged to find out what was inside a $7 PoE Splitter.  I was surprised!  This model is made specifically for the Raspberry Pi's, so it has a 48VDC to 5VDC converter, some LED indicators, and other? stuff.

I tested the splitter for RF emissions with my trusty AM battery powered radio and heard nothing. I did not measure higher frequencies with a spectrum analyzer, assuming the DC-DC converter is running at several 10's of kHz, and well filtered by RShake board.

So I can't detect any reason why this DC-DC converter can't co-habituate with a Shake in this Pelican. . .  :)

John Stuart

Lafayette, CA

.

[Bob H]

I've received my Shake and I was previously planning to attach it to a large, heavy retaining wall that we have behind the house we are building. I think attaching it to the foundations of the house would mean too many flushes get recorded. But the comments about 'no rebar' have me nervous now?

Also I was also planning an aluminium IP68 case, which when bonded to a concrete wall should act as a good heatsink. I'm surprised this was put down as an idea?

[Branden Christensen]

Hi Bob:

Feel free to install on the retaining wall. You will get great results. 

The Raspberry Shake was designed to be installed beneath your desk and in other places with lots of cultural noise. It will work well under all normal circumstances in your home. If you want to go the extra mile to reduce cultural noise, awesome. If not, no problem either. 

I think the retaining wall is a great idea. And the aluminum case will work out well to protect the unit from the weather. 

yours, 

Branden Christensen

Director, OSOP

USA: +1-206-414-1288; Panamá: +507-6747-1427

Get yours now! Visit shop.raspberryshake.org

On Wed, Jan 18, 2017 at 11:59 AM, Bob H <b...@orbit.me.uk> wrote:

I've received my Shake and I was previously planning to attach it to a large, heavy retaining wall that we have behind the house we are building. I think attaching it to the foundations of the house would mean too many flushes get recorded. But the comments about 'no rebar' have me nervous now?

Also I was also planning an aluminium IP68 case, which when bonded to a concrete wall should act as a good heatsink. I'm surprised this was put down as an idea?

--

Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
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[Wobbly]

I've just finished concreting up a simple seismic pier, I'll post photos when it's set a bit.  Given that the Shake is designed to function perfectly well just sitting in someone's basement, I figured I didn't need to go overboard in terms of building a full USGS-grade vault, so it's just about 1m of concrete going down into the clay soil under the house (bedrock is 15m further down), the whole lot raised about 150mm off the ground in case of water flows (that happened to be the width of the framing timber I had lying around), and then a flat tile pressed into the top of the concrete pier with three indentations ground in for the feet to slip into so it can't slide around.  It's protected from rain, the day/night temp variation here is at most 5 degrees, and the nearest vibration source due to traffic is quite some distance away, so it's a pretty decent setup without spending a fortune on construction.

[Angel Rodriguez]

Hi,

I look forward to the pictures.  I also have a question for the whole group.  What platform would be the best to share picutures, Facebook, google+ or something else.  I have to admit being a noob about social media.

Angel

Shake forum on google.groupsSome useful links:

 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself

On Tue, Jan 24, 2017 at 12:28 AM, Wobbly <fvy...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've just finished concreting up a simple seismic pier, I'll post photos when it's set a bit.  Given that the Shake is designed to function perfectly well just sitting in someone's basement, I figured I didn't need to go overboard in terms of building a full USGS-grade vault, so it's just about 1m of concrete going down into the clay soil under the house (bedrock is 15m further down), the whole lot raised about 150mm off the ground in case of water flows (that happened to be the width of the framing timber I had lying around), and then a flat tile pressed into the top of the concrete pier with three indentations ground in for the feet to slip into so it can't slide around.  It's protected from rain, the day/night temp variation here is at most 5 degrees, and the nearest vibration source due to traffic is quite some distance away, so it's a pretty decent setup without spending a fortune on construction.

--

Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
---
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[David J Taylor]

Hi,

I look forward to the pictures. I also have a question for the whole group.
What platform would be the best to share picutures, Facebook, google+ or
something else. I have to admit being a noob about social media.

Angel

==============================

Angel,

Isn't there a Photos (and files) area associated with the Yahoo group?

Personally I can't stand Facebook and don't use it, and I would prefer not
to use Google+. Twitter is my favourite, and images are allowed. But
having your own site out of someone else's control is best.

For sharing I tend to use One Drive (Microsoft), DropBox, Google Drive etc.
according to need, but other photo sites are available.

Cheers,
David
--
SatSignal Software - Quality software written to your requirements
Web: http://www.satsignal.eu
Email: david-...@blueyonder.co.uk
Twitter: @gm8arv

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi Angel, 

    Facebook for me, please.

    Regards,

    Chris

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[Mercalli]

My two cents worth... I have philosophical problems with Facebook, and do not use it.

[Tycho Aussie]

I use lots of social media, and find that when it comes to photos, I tend to use Facebook as the photos, when shared as public, are linkable to other websites. I've also used Google+ and I don't see any downsides to using it. I think Google+ is probably a good way to go since we already have this google group here that we use anyway.

-Dan

On Tuesday, January 24, 2017 at 4:50:09 AM UTC-5, Angel Rodriguez wrote:

Hi,

I look forward to the pictures.  I also have a question for the whole group.  What platform would be the best to share picutures, Facebook, google+ or something else.  I have to admit being a noob about social media.

Angel

Shake forum on google.groupsSome useful links:

 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself

On Tue, Jan 24, 2017 at 12:28 AM, Wobbly <fvy...@gmail.com> wrote:

I've just finished concreting up a simple seismic pier, I'll post photos when it's set a bit.  Given that the Shake is designed to function perfectly well just sitting in someone's basement, I figured I didn't need to go overboard in terms of building a full USGS-grade vault, so it's just about 1m of concrete going down into the clay soil under the house (bedrock is 15m further down), the whole lot raised about 150mm off the ground in case of water flows (that happened to be the width of the framing timber I had lying around), and then a flat tile pressed into the top of the concrete pier with three indentations ground in for the feet to slip into so it can't slide around.  It's protected from rain, the day/night temp variation here is at most 5 degrees, and the nearest vibration source due to traffic is quite some distance away, so it's a pretty decent setup without spending a fortune on construction.

--
Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
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[chris...@aol.com]

Hi Mercalli, 

    Would you care to share your philosophical problems with us - so that we can all learn ? 

 
    Regards,

    Chris
From: Mercalli <jwhitm...@gmail.com>
To: RaspberryShake <raspber...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Jan 24, 2017 5:46 pm
Subject: [Raspberry Shake Community Forum] Re: Building a Seismic Vault

My two cents worth... I have philosophical problems with Facebook, and do not use it.

--
Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
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[Kelly Gann]

I concur with Google + Photos, it works well and as already pointed out, we are using this forum.. 

Regards, 

Kelly

[dave d]

Flightaware has a similar issue  - Approximately 10,000 Raspberry pi's running on their network.

  They choose not to use one of the forum programs that support attachments.  I'm assuming for security reasons.

So , photos are provided through links to personal photo sites 

Imgur is quite popular with it's ability to group by catagory with several methods of embedding.

 

 

 

[Bob HANNENT]

I tend to share photos with Google Photos, doesn't have to be Google+, it is good because you can share one photo or an album. But if you don't do Google then Dropbox is great.

I have Facebook but I limit what I share there and it is good not to mix your social and outward information.

Bob

On 24 January 2017 17:46:18 GMT+00:00, Mercalli <jwhitm...@gmail.com> wrote:

My two cents worth... I have philosophical problems with Facebook, and do not use it.

--
Sent from my Android device with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.

[Mercalli]

There is a list of stations in the GSN and ANSS seismic networks. The URL is:    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/monitoring/operations/network.php

You can click on a station code and get more data about the station. Some of the locations include site photos. Among others, there are shacks, caves, vertical shafts, and earth sheltered man made cellars. The most common theme I saw was a box made of "Trex" (TM) composite decking material mostly buried. Inside they put two of the watertight storage containers with screw on lids and surround them with what looks like sand, or sometimes concrete mix. One of the containers is for electronics, the other holds the instrument. Looks like the instrument container has a piece of PVC drain pipe in it, surrounded by foamed in place polyurethane-isocyanurate insulation; "Great-Stuff" (TM) foam. The instrument appears to be secured by a removable cloth bag full of sand. (Do not crush your RaspberryShake)

The trademarks mentioned are used as examples and do not imply any endorsement on my part.

[NeilT]

Angel,
People seem to be posting pictures on this Google group with no problems don't they?
Multiple sites will result in things like
Double posting to multiple sites... Wastes everyone's time
no one knows where to ask questions any more
No one knows where to go searching for answers any more
Different people will frequent different sites.. You split the population possibly.

This is a technical product that needs a technical forum.
That must be searchable, allow image upload and ideally have sub forums.

None of the geek projects I dable in use fb, Twitter or google+

(I await to be shot down and told I'm stuck in the noughties)

[Angel Rodriguez]

Hi,

I tend to agree.  I will only answer questions here.  

But I also agree that lots of pictures would only clutter this group.

I also do not use Facebook, but my wife uses a hugely popular plant group on facebook that only post photos and she thinks that for sharing photos it can't be beat.

I am willing to try the google+ for light stuff and this forum for technical stuff.

All comments welcome.

Angel

Shake forum on google.groupsSome useful links:

 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself

--
Some useful links:

Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
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[Kelly Gann]

Although people can post pictures here, (and do routinely), I don't find it easy to sort and categorize, or even find pictures within this user group. I think using what Tycho set up to be visually more suited. 

My 2 cents. 

 

On Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at 10:44:57 PM UTC-7, David & Laura wrote:

Greetings!

Glad to be a backer for the RaspberryShake project.

We're currently in the process of building a small seismic vault on our property, where we will be installing our Raspberry Shake alongside a GeoSig seismometer. As a critical aspect of seismography is the coupling of the accelerometer to the Earth, we've been researching the various tradeoffs between cost, sensitivity, and avoiding man-made seismic noise.

Our current plan is a small concrete sensor pad poured directly onto exposed bedrock, with an isolated vault shell for environmental protection. Thermal insulation will be via polystyrene sheets, with a small drain at the bottom for any condensation. Power and communication will be provided via Power over Ethernet (PoE).

Based on our research, here's what seems to be good about our site and plan:

* Located on grade 5 bedrock (relatively un-fractured)

* 10 KM away from heavily travelled roads, and 200 meters away from the nearest (lightly travelled) road

* Relatively dry location

Here's what seems to be not so good:

* Located on the surface, rather than a meter or so below grade

* Will not be buried under soil

* Nearby trees (20 meters away) will conduct wind-generated seismic noise

This is our first seismic vault, so we're undoubtedly going to make some mistakes, but that's how you learn. We'll post pictures as our project progresses, and if anyone else is thinking about how they're going to couple their Shake, let us know!

Some good resources include:

* https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2002/ofr-02-0144/ofr-02-0144.pdf

* http://foresight.ctbto.org/download/attachments/12189794/T4-P06.+Modernization+of+the+Yellowknife+Seismic+Array,+(PS09).pdf

* http://gfzpublic.gfz-potsdam.de/pubman/item/escidoc:4023:5/component/escidoc:4024/Chapter_7_rev1.pdf

* https://www.passcal.nmt.edu/content/instrumentation/field-procedures/seismic-vaults/broadband-vault-construction

David Slik

VE7FIM

[Kelly Gann]

Stage two completed, Cat5E cable with PoE ran under the house, sitting on the footing wall. Seems to be a bit quieter than sitting on a tile floor, standard (USA) wood joist/subfloor. 

Attached is a before/after swarm capture. Next step, digging the vault. 

[Branden Christensen]

Spectacular!

[Wobbly]

So here's the pictures, taken a few days ago.  It's in the space under the house. sitting on top of a concrete pier that goes down about 1m.  In the first photo, depending on which order Google displays them, you can see the three points ground into the blue tile for the Shake to rest in.  This is without the Shake and cabling installed, I'm waiting for the concrete to cure a bit more before I seal everything up in there.

[Kelly Gann]

A meter deep! Hard work and well done!

[Wobbly]

Finally got around to getting a photo of the completed unit.  The two lines are 12VDC from an IP54 power supply running into a 5V UBEC (so I'm not getting a drastic voltage drop from running 5VDC over a long cable) and ethernet to a WiFi bridge in a watertight enclosure, which electrically isolates all the outdoors gear from the interior network.

[Branden Christensen]

Nice job! Now let's see how things look when the earthquakes come rolling by.

Yours, 

Branden Christensen

Director, OSOP & Gempa GeoServices

Director, Raspberry Shake project, @raspishake

USA: +1-206-414-1288; Panamá: +507-6747-1427

Get yours now! Visit shop.raspberryshake.org

On Sat, May 6, 2017 at 2:07 AM, Wobbly <fvy...@gmail.com> wrote:

Finally got around to getting a photo of the completed unit.  The two lines are 12VDC from an IP54 power supply running into a 5V UBEC (so I'm not getting a drastic voltage drop from running 5VDC over a long cable) and ethernet to a WiFi bridge in a watertight enclosure, which electrically isolates all the outdoors gear from the interior network.

--

Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/

Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raspberryshake/
Hashtag: #rasperryshake

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[Matthew Delaney]

Thanks for posting that and to all these examples. I have my unit in the basement of my home. It's an unfinished full basement, poured concrete floor and poured concrete walls. Above it is a 1 story wood framed house. I am getting a lot of "house noise"...walking and so forth. It's really bad from the basement itself, either someone walking on the basement floor or the washing machine or sump pump running. I want to move it outside to try to reduce that. I'm already using PoE and have experience in mounting equipment outdoors (even another Pi which serves as a sky camera), but what I wasn't sure about is the seismic portion of the mounting. Based on what I've read here, it sounds like coupling to bedrock is not that important. I see your base was 1m deep. Is that necessary, or would a thinner slab be sufficient? Is there any benefit to burying the Shake, or is having the mounting slab recessed, but with the top at ground level, just as good? I don't know how deep solid rock is here, but it's probably a few meters at least (given all the homes here have full basements and water/sewer pipes that come in from under the floor)

[Branden Christensen]

Hi Matt:

Good morning mate. I am just getting back from vacation and I wanted to share a few comments on your most recent email. 

Thanks for posting that and to all these examples. I have my unit in the basement of my home. It's an unfinished full basement, poured concrete floor and poured concrete walls. Above it is a 1 story wood framed house. I am getting a lot of "house noise"...walking and so forth. It's really bad from the basement itself, either someone walking on the basement floor or the washing machine or sump pump running. I want to move it outside to try to reduce that. I'm already using PoE and have experience in mounting equipment outdoors (even another Pi which serves as a sky camera), but what I wasn't sure about is the seismic portion of the mounting. Based on what I've read here, it sounds like coupling to bedrock is not that important. I see your base was 1m deep. Is that necessary, or would a thinner slab be sufficient? Is there any benefit to burying the Shake, or is having the mounting slab recessed, but with the top at ground level, just as good? I don't know how deep solid rock is here, but it's probably a few meters at least (given all the homes here have full basements and water/sewer pipes that come in from under the floor)

Answers to these questions are tough. They depend a lot of the individual site. A 1 meter pier can improve the signal to noise ratio. If it is attached to bedrock, even more-so. Burying could also cut down significantly on cultural noise, or even natural noise such as that generated by trees swinging in the wind. The deeper the better. 

But Raspberry Shake was not designed to be installed on a pier or underground. It was designed to be operated in noisy environments like your basement. Though, there is certainly no harm in going to extra mile! And the quieter the site, the smaller the earthquakes you will be able to see. So there are benefits!

We would all benefit from hearing the results as you experiment with different options. Please keep us posted. 

Yours, Branden

[Wobbly]

On Sunday, May 14, 2017 at 11:51:05 AM UTC+12, Matthew Delaney wrote:

I see your base was 1m deep. Is that necessary, or would a thinner slab be sufficient? Is there any benefit to burying the Shake, or is having the mounting slab recessed, but with the top at ground level, just as good?

The 1m depth doesn't have any special significance, it was just how far it was practical to dig in the limited space under the house.  Rock is at least 15m further down, there's no way I could get to that.  Above that it's all hard-packed clay.

[Eddy]

Bumping up an old thread but I thought I need not make a new one with a similar topic.

Just thought I should share the making of an amateur seismic vault I constructed recently to the group here. I find reading up how other people make their vaults/buried their geophones et cetera interesting and provides much insight, so I hope mine helps/add into it too.

It's in google docs and shared via this link:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jDCPo179oMHIPKIHKg3gMU2vVehKJEjWCI1VsEj1Nes/edit?usp=sharing

cheers.

Eddy

[Ian Nesbitt]

Eddy,

This looks fantastic! The many man-hours you spent on this project paid off. Looks like you've captured quite a lot of big quakes so far from the looks of the record on SWARM as well.

Ian

[Branden Christensen]

Eddy:

Buenos días. 

This is spectacular. Thank you for sharing this with the community. 

Could I download it as a PDF and add it to the manual at?: https://manual.raspberryshake.org/posthole.html

Yours, 

Branden Christensen

Director, Raspberry Shake project, Social Media: @raspishake

"Vive a tu manera" - Herencia de Timbiquí

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[Eddy]

Hi Ian, Hi Brendan,

Thanks for the kind words and reading the write up. 

@Ian, Yes, at least now the shake can detect quakes much better now which is what I intended it to do when I bought the RS4D. Though the thought of making a vault only came later after I operated the shake. At one stage when pouring the cement for the vault, I was questioning myself what on earth am I doing making myself doing such hard manual work. It was satisfying to see when things started to fall in place, after the cement has set especially.

@Branden, sure go ahead, why not. I actually wanted to convert it to PDF but thought sharing via google docs is much easier. Looking at Swarm/helicorder, it makes me wonder how nice if I could have got a RS3D instead to see the other motions, but it is beyond my budget. One day I suppose. And we shall see what OSOP comes up in the future.

For the medium plan, there is a plan to create a webpage to show the local weather status with EQ view (maybe live helicorder, which some has done here, though I don't think it will be straightforward). A twitter account is also on the list.

[Branden Christensen]

@Ian, Yes, at least now the shake can detect quakes much better now which is what I intended it to do when I bought the RS4D. Though the thought of making a vault only came later after I operated the shake. At one stage when pouring the cement for the vault, I was questioning myself what on earth am I doing making myself doing such hard manual work. It was satisfying to see when things started to fall in place, after the cement has set especially.

And it amazes me what people will do for a hobby!!!!! But it shouldn't, should it? Having hobbies is a splendid way to spend time, energy and resources. 

 

@Branden, sure go ahead, why not. I actually wanted to convert it to PDF but thought sharing via google docs is much easier. Looking at Swarm/helicorder, it makes me wonder how nice if I could have got a RS3D instead to see the other motions, but it is beyond my budget. One day I suppose. And we shall see what OSOP comes up in the future.

We sure will! We have a lot of projects in the pipeline and no loss of appetite for innovating.

I will add this to the manual then. 

For the medium plan, there is a plan to create a webpage to show the local weather status with EQ view (maybe live helicorder, which some has done here, though I don't think it will be straightforward). A twitter account is also on the list.

EXCELLENT!!!! I cannot wait to see your posts. Make sure to tag us using @raspishake so I can retweet your posts and get them some more exposure amongst the Raspberry Shake Community. Once you are on twitter, follow Steve Caron: https://twitter.com/SteveBCaron. He is always posting earthquakes detected by his RS4D that trigger all 4 channels. 

Is that Kinabalu Malaysia?

Branden

[Eddy]

Is that Kinabalu Malaysia?

Branden

Yes you are correct Branden, I am in Malaysia. The place I am is called Kota Kinabalu (City of Kinabalu), in the state of Sabah.  

[chris...@aol.com]

Hi Eddy,

    The problem with U bends is that, over long periods of time, they trap condensed water.

Immersing electrical cable in water is definitely NOT a good idea. I would suggest using

plastic water pipe and 15mm / 1/2" nominal water pipe fittings to house the cables - you can

get 'tank' connector fittings with rubber washers and 'O' rings to seal the pipe to the plastic

drum.

    Seal the exit of the pipe in the house with reducing fittings and mastic / Silicone Rubber ?

This should prevent any "breathing" through the pipe as the air pressure and the

temperature change.

    I suggest that you put an inverted U vent with a bug seal of plastic foam in the top of the

plastic drum to allow air entry.

    To anyone else planning to make concrete, check to see if you can HIRE a concrete mixer

for a day, preferably driven by an electric motor !

    Good Luck !

    Chris Chapman

   

From: Eddy <ecl...@gmail.com>

--
Some useful links:
 
Manual: http://manual.raspberryshake.org/
Do It YourSelf Page: http://raspberryshake.org/do-it-yourself
Shop: https://shop.raspberryshake.org/
Website: http://raspberryshake.org/
 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/raspishake/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raspishake/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/raspishake/
Hashtag: #rasperryshake, @raspishake
DOI: https://doi.org/10.7914/SN/AM
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[Eddy]

HI Chris,

Thanks for pointing out the problem of the U Bent of the ABS pipe. I will have a look and see what I can do to reduce condensation in the pipe. Both ends of the pipe are sealed with cement, For the 90 degree angle pipe connectors, I didn't seal with PVC glue. I just wanted to have to ability to open it up just in case of anything. Will be of help now. 

Cheers

Eddy