Remote Temperature Monitoring for pets

[Bill WA6YBD]

Using an Android smart phone (LG G3 in my case) I downloaded a program from the Play Store called Temperature Surveillance. There is no trial version only a purchase version for ~$2.50. The program has several features that make it ideal for temperature monitoring and reporting when used in an RV environment.

At a minimum, 2 cell phones are required. One must be a smartphone the other can be a simple phone as long as it can receive SMS (text) messages. There must be cell phone coverage at both locations.

The program monitors the battery temperature in the LG G3 phone which is OK however the temperature of the battery will increase as the phone charges. To eliminate any false temperature alarms it is best to charge the phone fully before using as the battery will heat up as it charges. I would also recommend allow the phone to cool for several hours to allow the battery to return to the ambient temperature. As the ambient temperature rises so will the battery temperature. The displayed temperature reads very close to the actual ambient temperature.

Another neat feature is the phone checks to see that power is connected. Meaning the charge cord is connected to the phone, an AC charger and the charger is connected to AC power outlet. You must use an AC wall-wort charger and NOT a mobile charger that plugs onto a cigarette lighter socket. The reason for this is, should the shore power go away for any reason, the power form the AC wall-wort charger would go away and the phone would see that as a power failure and sends you a message the AC shore power has failed. This would give you a message instantly and before the coach heats up to the temperature trip point. It will also send a message the power has been restored should the power come back on.

Should the temperature exceed either of the trip points and/or the shore power or generator fails the smartphone will send a detailed text message to the other phone. You can at any time send a text message (status) to the smartphone and it will respond with the temperature and power condition at that time. The temperature appears to be sampled approximately every 2 to 3 minutes.

There are program setting for:
• hi and lo temperature alarm trip points
• Phone number to text (the number of the other phone that is carried with you while you are away).
• Allow asking for status, check this box to allow you to check the status at any time
• From any phone, allows you to ask for status from any phone.
• Number of SMS per day, max number of texts sent per day. I set this to 50.
• Temperature units (degrees F or C)

I have been playing with the program for several days and so far I am convinced it will work and allow me a comfort factor while I’m away from the RV and our 2 dogs are safe from overheating.

There may be a version of this program for Apple iPhone users but I do not have any Apple products and have no way of checking the apple store for this or similar program. Perhaps an apple user can check and chime in.

~Bill

[Pusherman]

Admittedly I have not researched this option very deeply, but what little research I did find stated that only the Samsung S4 and Note 3 have ambient temperature sensors on board. The rest monitor the phone's battery temperature.

Are you sure your LG G3 can monitor ambient temperature?

[Bill WA6YBD]

Hi Don,

My LG G3 does not have an ambient temperature sensor but it does have a battery temperature sensor which is almost as good. The only problem is the battery will get warm as the phone charges but once the battery cools down the battery sensor will act as an ambient sensor but will be slower to respond to temperature changes due to the thermal mass of the battery. But I can live with that. In actuality the battery sensor moves quicker than I thought it would and tracks very well.

If your phone has a ambient sensor you should be good to go. The program senses which type of sensor is available and displays the selection (s). The ambient sensor will also respond to a battery that is charging as the internal temperature of the phone will rise during the charge cycle.

The only concern is some phones do not have either type of sensor and rely on a temperature being supplied by the internet. These phones would not work as no local temperature is available.

There are several free temperature monitoring programs that can be downloaded and installed that will tell you if your phone supports internal temperature monitoring. I was not able to find a free program that included text notifications. But for $2.50 its worth checking out.

~Bill

[Pusherman]

Thanks Bill!

I expect I will have some sort of Temp monitoring solution for my RV by this summer, so I appreciate any and all ideas!

Thanks again.

[Cover Dog]

We use a free app call Alfred. We use it as a video security system and temp. monitor. We set up a laptop or IPad to view the inside of the coach with a digital thermometer also visible within the picture. When you leave you activate the app on the iPad as the camera, and just use your cell phone to view it whenever you want.

It will broadcast audio so we sometimes talk to our dog when we are away. It will not alert you of a temp. rise/fall, but you can see that when viewing.

[krnlueck]

Thanks Bill. I am in the market for some sort of temp alert for our motorhome for our cats. I have been using a system from Cell Sign Technologies called Smart Home. It has worked great alerting me to power outages and temperature changes via SMS text messages. I pay $12 monthly for the service. It cost about $120 when I bought it, however after less than a year the device seems to be fried and of course it's out of it's warranty. The new one has doubles in price so I'm looking for something else that may last a little longer. The guy I bought it from thinks it may have taken some sort of surge, but we have a Progressive Industries surge protector on our motorhome, which from my understanding is supposed to prevent just that type of thing. I just ordered the app you mentioned but doubt it will work with hubby's very old cell phone. I have a new Smart phone but his is still in the dark ages.

Am wondering if anyone else has found any other options?

[Bill WA6YBD]

Hi krnlueck,

As long as his old phone can receive a text it should work just fine. You will have leave your phone in the MH to do the monitoring. Be sure to put his phone number into the app as the phone to call in the event of an event.

Let us know how it works out for you also be sure to cancel the the $12.00 a month older sevice.

~Bill

[age1456]

Check out Temp Stick by Ideal Sciences.....works great. afzB4SJABY52oF4hpOb26l06ApRj0FgtbnaZw9sV-RL4InFi6MgZUQ8RoCllvw_wcB

[age1456]

http://idealsciences.com/?gclid=CjwK...UQ8RoCllvw_wcB

[radcac]

Originally Posted by age1456

http://idealsciences.com/?gclid=CjwK...UQ8RoCllvw_wcB

This is what we use. So far it works great.

[C.Martin]

https://campgroundtales.wordpress.com

That's a little write-up I did to share our system with others that may be interested.

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by Bill WA6YBD

Using an Android smart phone (LG G3 in my case) I downloaded a program from the Play Store called Temperature Surveillance. There is no trial version only a purchase version for ~$2.50. The program has several features that make it ideal for temperature monitoring and reporting when used in an RV environment.

At a minimum, 2 cell phones are required. One must be a smartphone the other can be a simple phone as long as it can receive SMS (text) messages. There must be cell phone coverage at both locations.

The program monitors the battery temperature in the LG G3 phone which is OK however the temperature of the battery will increase as the phone charges. To eliminate any false temperature alarms it is best to charge the phone fully before using as the battery will heat up as it charges. I would also recommend allow the phone to cool for several hours to allow the battery to return to the ambient temperature. As the ambient temperature rises so will the battery temperature. The displayed temperature reads very close to the actual ambient temperature.

Another neat feature is the phone checks to see that power is connected. Meaning the charge cord is connected to the phone, an AC charger and the charger is connected to AC power outlet. You must use an AC wall-wort charger and NOT a mobile charger that plugs onto a cigarette lighter socket. The reason for this is, should the shore power go away for any reason, the power form the AC wall-wort charger would go away and the phone would see that as a power failure and sends you a message the AC shore power has failed. This would give you a message instantly and before the coach heats up to the temperature trip point. It will also send a message the power has been restored should the power come back on.

Should the temperature exceed either of the trip points and/or the shore power or generator fails the smartphone will send a detailed text message to the other phone. You can at any time send a text message (status) to the smartphone and it will respond with the temperature and power condition at that time. The temperature appears to be sampled approximately every 2 to 3 minutes.

There are program setting for:
• hi and lo temperature alarm trip points
• Phone number to text (the number of the other phone that is carried with you while you are away).
• Allow asking for status, check this box to allow you to check the status at any time
• From any phone, allows you to ask for status from any phone.
• Number of SMS per day, max number of texts sent per day. I set this to 50.
• Temperature units (degrees F or C)

I have been playing with the program for several days and so far I am convinced it will work and allow me a comfort factor while I’m away from the RV and our 2 dogs are safe from overheating.

There may be a version of this program for Apple iPhone users but I do not have any Apple products and have no way of checking the apple store for this or similar program. Perhaps an apple user can check and chime in.

~Bill

Bill...

In paragraphs 3 and 4, you talk about temps of the phone battery based on whether it's plugged in to its own AC charger or not. You stated "the battery will heat up as it charges". Then you mention how it "checks to see that power is connected".

If it's connected to AC, doesn't that heat up the cell phone battery giving you a reading higher than the temperature inside your RV, which is what you're trying to monitor in the first place?

I'm confused.....and it doesn't take much.

Thanks

[Bill WA6YBD]

Hi Ken,

Yes the battery temperature will cause a higher temperature reading. However once the phone is fully charged the phones internal charger will switch to trickle charge and the battery will cool back down to ambient. To eliminate this problem have the phone fully charged before leaving. I leave the phone plugged in over night. In the morning the phone will be fully charged and case temperature will be at ambient. The phone will now track the temperature inside the coach.

If the phone is close to being fully charged when connected to the charger it will not have a chance to heat up the battery before switching to trickle charge.

You can also not connect the charger to the phone however in this condition it system will not inform you of a power failure. However it will inform you should the temperature reach the alarm set point. As long as you are not hours away you will have plenty of time get back.

Hope this all makes sense,

~Bill

[dsurette]

We also use Temp Stick by Ideal Sciences. Great peace of mind while travelling with our three cats. We use it with a Verizon Hot Spot.