Skip to content

Mark 0

Jump to bottom
Robert Petersen edited this page Jun 7, 2019 · 3 revisions

Mark 0

The Mark 0 is the prototype network seismometer.

Functional Design

The basic functionality of the Mark 0 is intended to be a simple seismometer with the expected characteristics of an Internet of Things (IoT) device:

  • Record ground acceleration
  • Make acceleration data available (for display or analysis)
  • Connect to the Internet (for updates and data publishing)
  • Be configurable from a phone over Bluetooth

Bill of Materials

In thinking about what a seismometer should do, i.e. measure movement of the ground, it is important couple the accelerometer to the ground as strongly as possible. The Mark 0 is constructed with easy of building prioritized over ground coupling. This, hopefully, makes for a good project but perhaps not so much a good seismometer. We will address this later in the Mark 0+ version. This bill of materials reflects certain decisions that are biased by the future direction we hope the project will go. That said there are other choices that one can reasonably make regarding particular items which might work better for you. For example maybe you don't want to solder, you could get components that already have pins soldered on.

  • Raspberry Pi Zero W - $10 We like the price and the form factor of the Pi Zero W, but any Pi should work if you have one around. We use Bluetooth for the initial configuration, though that can also be done by connecting over HTTP. So the Bluetooth and WiFi that come with the W arn't strictly necessary.
  • MPU-9255 - $10 If the Raspberry Pi is the brains of this setup the MPU-9255 is the brawn. This chip houses the accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer. The Mark 0 just uses the the accelerometer, but there is no doubt the creative minds out there can come up with uses for the gyro and magnetometer.
  • Micro SD Card 8GB+ - $5+ A Class 10 card is the fastest and you will want a fast card. Also the minimum required size is around 8GB maybe a less, but seismic data is stored on the card as well, so the more storage the better.
  • Break-away 0.1" 2x20-pin Strip Dual Male Header - $1 If you get the Pi Zero or Pi Zero W soldering on pins makes it easier to work with.
  • T-Cobbler Plus - GPIO Breakout Likewise having a GPIO breakout makes connecting to the MPU-9255 easier.
  • Breadboard & Jumper Wire $10 Until we figure out a "hat" or more permanent way of getting the MPU-9255 and Raspberry Pi together the breadboard is what we are using.
Clone this wiki locally