Looking for ZigBee or 433MHz soil sensors! (blimps.xyz)

submitted 1 month ago by KayOhtie@blimps.xyz to c/homeassistant@lemmy.world

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Looking for ZigBee or 433MHz soil sensors!

Hello to #HomeAssistant gardeners! I'm unsure what's good right now as far as those go. Smaller sensors are better, not as small as coin cell, and especially if I can get illuminance as a sensor.

Just unsure what to pick. Reviews are mixed on so many options it feels like. Some complain ThirdReality's are too huge, some complain of disconnects.

Right now I've a generic larger ZigBee one and a tiny BLE MiFlora, and open to others.

@homeassistant

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[-] whaleross@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

I got some from Ali Express. They seem ok for the price. Dirt moisture and air temp and humidity. Dual AAA though so kind of large.

[-] Myphatself@mstdn.social 1 points 1 month ago

@KayOhtie @homeassistant I saw a few custom ones on Tindie that looked nice and affordable. Havent made the purchase just yet.

[-] Geologist@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago

I use the ecowitt wh51, and they work pretty well. I have the 433mhz ones, but I’m using the ecowitt gateway, and not a rtl usb adapter.

They’re not that small though, but they run off a single AA battery, and the battery life is pretty good. Integrates well with home assistant.

[-] Cyber@feddit.uk 1 points 1 month ago

Have a look on yoochoob for "the guy with the Swiss accent" (I forgot his real account name) - he did an interesting article on soil sensors.

I bought a zigbee sensor off Ali Express and it's fine, but it's waaay to.big for a small pot plant, but fine for a large one... so "big" vs "small" is kinda relative to the plant you're monitoring.

[-] syaochan@feddit.it 1 points 1 month ago

Andreas Spiess

[-] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

Just checking the HA forums is this guy https://community.home-assistant.io/t/soil-humidity-sensor-433mhz-decode/202335

I have the whoffset AQI that has worked well, and I'm always looking to expand lol

[-] KayOhtie@blimps.xyz 1 points 1 month ago

@bravesilvernest Dang, was hoping it'd play nice with the RFlink style boxes, the fact I'd need a dedicated RTL for it (that doesn't overheat either, had that issue) is a bit oof. But I'll keep it in mind. I've also seen that exact form factor in ZigBee.

[-] bravesilvernest@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 month ago

Tbh, I read both 433 & 908 on the same box and just switch every 10s :)

this post was submitted on 21 Mar 2026

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