Field Notes
Hive data, hardware, and the reasoning behind both.
Sensor builds you can solder on a kitchen table, inspection technique backed by what the frames actually show, and open notes from building BroodLink. Written for beekeepers who want numbers.
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★ Cornerstone guide
Build a hive scale with a Raspberry Pi and four load cells
A full parts list, wiring diagram, and calibration routine for a $38 scale that logs hive weight every fifteen minutes — accurate to ±40 g once tared against a known mass.
Start here
Latest
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Reading a brood frame: eggs, larvae, and what the pattern tells you
A spotty brood pattern has at least five plausible causes. Here is how to narrow it down before you order a queen.
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Why hive data should be shared, not siloed
Every beekeeper re-learns the same lessons in isolation. Pooled, anonymised inspection data would end that — here is the case, and the consent problem it has…
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Ambient temperature and humidity with a DHT22 on a Pico WH
Battery life, sample intervals, and why the sensor should never sit inside the brood box.
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Varroa counts: the alcohol wash, done properly
Sugar rolls undercount. Here is the protocol, the mite-per-hundred-bees threshold, and how to log it so the trend means something.