I want to connect a probe or sensor to my Zenseio Device, but it requires a voltage higher than 5V. Can I still use it?

I want to connect a probe or sensor to my Zenseio Device, but it requires a voltage higher than 5V. Can I still use it?

Zenseio Devices come with built-in auxiliary regulated power supply capabilities, and therefore can power devices that require a higher voltage to function. If the sensors are externally powered, CSMP device can generate appropriate supply voltage (5V, 8V, 9V, or 12V) on the VAUX header connector during the time the sensor is read. However, VAUX provides only one output, so if there are more than one sensor needing it, it has to be shared. See the note below for the practical considerations of sharing VAUX output.


Note: when sharing VAUX among two or more sensors (including SDI-12 probes), ensure the supply voltages are compatible with each other, or the sensors can get damaged from overvoltage. For example, if SDI-12 probe requires 2.7V to 16V supply and a pressure transducer requires 3V to 5V supply, set VAUX to 5V since it is common to both voltage ranges. However, in another example, if a pressure transducer requires 9V to 24V supply and a leaf wetness sensor requires 2.5V to 5V supply, these two sensors are not compatible with each other (since there is no voltage overlap that is supported by VAUX), and two separate CSMP devices have to be used for such two sensor.

To learn more, refer to the CSMP User Manual, or the LSMP User Manual.


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