Safeswim Bay Monitor

A MicroPython project for Raspberry Pi Pico that monitors swimming conditions at Auckland Bays using the Safeswim API and displays the status via an RGB LED.

Features

• Real-time water quality monitoring
• Visual LED status indicators:
  • Red LED: Swimming not recommended
  • Green LED: Safe for swimming
  • Disco mode: Special conditions/warnings
• Automatic WiFi connection with fallback options
• Hourly updates
• Connection status feedback via onboard LED

Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi Pico W
• RGB LED
• Resistors for LED (if needed)
• USB cable for power and programming

Pin Configuration

• Red LED: GPIO 16 (PWM)
• Green LED: GPIO 17 (PWM)
• Blue LED: GPIO 18 (PWM)
• Onboard LED: Used for WiFi status

Setup

1. Clone this repository
2. Create an env.py file with your WiFi credentials:

SSID_ANDROID = "your_android_hotspot_name"
PASSWORD_ANDROID = "your_android_password"
SSID_IPHONE = "your_iphone_hotspot_name"
PASSWORD_IPHONE = "your_iphone_password"

3. Upload all files to your Pico W
4. Power up the Pico W

How It Works

1. The device attempts to connect to WiFi using provided credentials
2. Once connected, it queries the Safeswim API every hour
3. LED colors indicate swimming conditions:
   • Red: Not safe for swimming
   • Green: Safe for swimming
   • Disco mode (random colors): Special conditions
   • LED off: Error state or no data

WiFi Connection

The system tries to connect in this order:

1. Android hotspot
2. iPhone hotspot

The onboard LED indicates connection status:

• Flashing: Attempting to connect
• Solid On: Connected
• Off: Connection failed

Error Handling

• Network issues: Automatic reconnection attempts
• API errors: LED turns off, error logged to console
• Invalid responses: LED turns off, error logged to console

Dependencies

• MicroPython for Raspberry Pi Pico W
• urequests library (included in MicroPython)

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and pull requests.

License

MIT License