Deconstructing Kit

Dev Kit Support
1

We are working to integrate the Bristlemouth kit into our system but are facing challenges with compatible pressure vessel connections. Specifically, we’re looking for connectors that match the wires in the kit to ensure seamless integration with our pressure vessel. Are there market-available connectors that are compatible, or are the connectors in the Bristlemouth kit proprietary? If they are proprietary, would it be possible to obtain these same connectors?

Additionally, my understanding is that the mote handles most of the data conversion from digital to DoPL. Is this component also available for us to obtain? Our current plan involves reversing the process on our system’s end to extract data from the Bristlemouth system using the established protocols. Essentially, we would create a development board to decode the information from Bristlemouth, then send it digitally to our microcontroller for transmission via the LoRaWAN radio. If anyone has any thoughts on this or information to share, anything would be very helpful at this point!

1 Like
2

Great question Jack!

My understanding is that you’re asking how to get from Bristlemouth jumper cables to digital data in your MCU, both from a mechanical-electrical perspective, and from a signal processing perspective. First, of course, let me know if I’m missing something. If I do understand correctly, then I can answer about the signal processing aspect. Someone else will have to answer about building/buying bulkhead penetrators.

For this kind of project, you’ll need to become familiar with the Bristlemouth Specification and related technical documentation. You can find the specification PDF, mote schematic PDF, and lots of other info by going to Bristlemouth Documentation and clicking into the “Open Standards” link, the first one in the page content.

To quote from section 4.1 “Overview” of the specification:

Bristlemouth leverages the single-pair ethernet (SPE) 10BASE-T1L standard to transmit data at speeds of up to 10 Mb/s over distances up to 1000 meters, while simultaneously delivering Power over Dataline (PoDL).

So if you’re building your own board instead of using the dev kit mote, you’ll always need a dedicated 10BASE-T1L chip in addition to your main processor. The dev kit uses the ADIN2111 from Analog Devices. The STM32U575 on the dev kit talks to the ADIN2111 using the OPEN Alliance 10BASE-T1x MAC-PHY Serial Interface, a.k.a., OPEN Alliance SPI.

Please don’t hesitate to reply with more questions. I’m excited that you’re exploring this option! It’s definitely a much harder road than using the dev kit for now, but in the long term we need many more companies making Bristlemouth compatible devices — sensors, yes, but also loggers and telemetry modules.

One brief, related, side note…

The core firmware team has been working hard for months on simplifying exactly this integration process. We’ve asked questions like:

  • What if someone wants to use a different MCU?
  • What if someone wants to use a different SPE chip?
  • What if someone wants to use a different RTOS?

We’ve made the path to real answers much more compelling and straightforward, and we’re so excited to share it! The work is coming together in a new bm_core repository on github. More info coming soon!

3

Hey there @jaszylu great question. The Bristlemouth connectors, penetrators, and jumpers are not proprietary–they’re o/s. Currently you can buy them directly from Sofar Ocean. I’ll send you a quick pm/dm/email with some details and pricing.

Looking forward to talking more about your project with you.

~Zack

1 Like
4

@jaszylu I love that you guys are doing integration at the mechanical level - I’ve also been working on some designs that have Bristlemouth sockets integrated directly into the housing and I’d be really interested to see how you’re thinking about doing that. As @zack_j pointed out, you can purchase some of that hardware directly from Sofar, but I know there is also a lot of interest in getting other developers and manufacturers to make their own BM compatible plugs and hardware. Please let me know if you’re considering going down that road. In the meantime, you can find specs and mechanical drawings for that hardware here: Notion – The all-in-one workspace for your notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.

I know a lot of us are excited to see what you come up with!

Eric

1 Like
5

@jaszylu let me know if you didn’t get my email – I wanted to send you the details for the hardware.

zzz

6

Hello,
I got your email! I’ve been looking at the details that I believe you sent to me. Our group is looking at some options currently, I’ll send you an email later this week. Thank you so much!

1 Like