Martin's Eye Station Schematics - Internal - FIELD STATION

INTERNAL (v.2) | THE STATION'S BRAIN & BODY

The autonomous Field Station | Naturae Observatio has internal and environmental friendly systems to produce its own power, to work the observations of instruments and apparatus, and the running of communication to the mission control centre. This version of the Field Station is built to successfully manage its running up to 6 months without supervision.

Top Box

The top box houses three EFOY Pro 2400 Duo direct methanol fuel cells. These units provide the lion’s share of the power required for the 6 x 12V 45Ah Sealed Lead Acid batteries, which are connected both in series and in parallel. All three fuel cells connect to a cluster controller accessory which means they can synchronise the production of power in the most efficient manner. Two 20Wp solar panels connected to the batteries via an MPPT solar charge controller will also provide a limited amount of power in the summer months.

Air Intake
110W EFOY Fuel Cell
EFOY Cluster Controller
EFOY Control Panel
Raspberry Pi Monitoring System

Solar Charge Controller
24V to 5V DC-DC Converter
24V 135 Ah Battery Bank
Davis Weather Station Console
Thales (Satellite) MissionLINK Terminal Unit

Bottom Box Lid

The six holes cut into the lid of the bottom box, and correspondingly into the floor of the top box, allow for the fuel cell hoses to connect to the DCS. These holes are also used for venting the hot air produced by the fuel cells down into the bottom box, preventing the fuel cells from overheating.

Bottom Box

The bottom box stores the liquid methanol fuel (99.995% purity) in the form of six 60l fuel tanks. Three EFOY Duo Cart Switches (DCS) have been used to connect the fuel tanks to the fuel cells. The DCS will allow additional fuel tanks to be connected during the winter months (when the fuel cells will be in operation more often to keep internal components above freezing temperature).

In operation, the fuel cells produce clean wastewater which escapes through insulated exhaust hoses through the side of the top box. A heating element was installed to discourage the water from freezing and blocking the pipe.

Duo Cart Switch.
EFOY MT60 Methanol Tank.
Satellite Antenna Cable.

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FIELD STATION | NATURAE OBSERVATIO | MARTIN'S EYE

COAST LANDSCAPE AT FORLANDSØYANE, SPITSBERGEN, SVALBARD | LAT: 78.363333 LON: 11.614458

INTERNAL (v.2) | THE STATION'S BRAIN & BODY

Top Box

Bottom Box Lid

Bottom Box

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