Monnit provides an easy and cost effective way to wirelessly monitor your temperature critical applications and know immediately if there is an issue.

Includes:

• 1 USB Wireless Gateway
• 2 Wireless Temperature Sensors
• 30 Days of Free Online Monitoring

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In this issue

You Speak, We Listen!

Here at Monnit, we are proud of our relationship with our customers. These relationshipsenable us to improve our products and meet your needs.

You tell us what you need, we listen and make it happen.

Recent Suggestions Have Led To:

• All Sensors Now Include a Reset / Power Button
  (Sensors can be turned off when not in use)
• Ability to Manually Trigger a Sensor Read / Heartbeat
• Faster Sensor Sync-Up with USB Gateway
• Optional 2 AA Battery "PAK" for Extremely Long Life

Let's take a look in our Crystal Ball to see what the future holds at Monnit?

If we look carefully into our crystal ball we can see a humidity sensor on the horizon. Monnit's humidity sensor is a relative humidity sensor, so it measures both air temperature and moisture. Relative humidity is expressed as a percent, giving you the ratio of actual moisture in the air relative to the highest amount of moisture the air at that temperature can hold. This sensor will work great for server rooms, commercial and residential HVAC systems, green houses or even help you predict the weather. Keep your eye on the crystal ball and this sensor will be here before you know it!

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Are you on the right frequency?

When selecting a wireless sensor network there are few things you should consider to ensure that you are selecting the right frequency for your specific needs.

Radio Strength Over Distance
When a radio transmits a signal, that signal gradually loses strength over time and distance. When the transmitter and receivers are too far apart, the receiver can not "hear" the signal. The higher the frequency of the radio (i.e. 2.4GHz is > 900MHz) the quicker the wave loses its strength, resulting in shorter distances a transmitter and receiver can communicate. Side by side, a 900MHz signal will transmit almost 2.5 times further than a 2.4GHz signal. Additionally, the superior performance characteristics of 900MHz products tend to require less energy (resulting in lower power requirements) than wireless products in the 2.4Ghz frequency.

Obstructions to Radio Signal
Another thing to consider when selecting a wireless sensor network frequency is the environment where it will be used. Higher frequency radios such as 2.4GHz, tend to propagate poorly through walls, trees and other obstructions. Even in line-of-sight situations higher frequency radios lose strength due to the size of the wave itself. A 900Mhz (and 868MHz) frequency has a 12 inch radio wave (from peak to valley) and can penetrate obstacles more efficiently.

Radio Frequency Congestion
An advantage of the 900MHz frequency is that it is not nearly as crowded as higher frequency bands. Blue Tooth devices, standard WiFi networks (802.11.x), Zigbee and other 802.15.4 devices all share the 2.4GHz frequency band creating radio interference. Most consumer electronics on the market today, run in the 2.4GHz band, making it the most crowded band in the market.

Monnit's 900MHz and upcoming 868MHz wireless sensor networks provide a high performance, low power (and extremely low cost) alternative to similar products in the 2.4GHz space. When deploying these networks in North & South America (900MHz) and the EU (868MHz), these products can be used without any additional government approvals.

« Read Other Tech Tips from the WiSe Guys

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