Wireless Soil Scout prototype radio signal reception compared to the attenuation model

Wireless underground Soil Scout prototypes, introduced here for the first time, were used for remote soil monitoring during 5 months in real conditions. Every Soil Scout transmitted moisture and temperature data once every 10 min. The prototype system works well. A signal attenuation model is able to predict long periods of lost signals when soil moisture and on-soil vegetation conditions change. The model attenuation −98 dB is the threshold level for distinguishing probable failure from success, even if the system hardware design would suggest −110 dB. Individual transmission failures do not always correlate to changes of condition. Further work should focus on increasing transmission power and improving knowledge of the effect of vegetation.