4D mounting questions

Just got my RS 4D and a Pi 3 model B – my first ever Pi project! I assembled per: https://youtu.be/4weBqaMND5M. The very end of the video explains the spring-loaded mounting screw. I haven’t yet tried actually screwing it into the floor, but I can’t figure out how I would attach the 4D once I’ve put the screw in the floor. It seems to me I would have needed to screw the bottom panel to the floor before having assembled the entire thing! Or am I missing something here?

Also, I’m trying to decide upon a mounting location. I have a single-story house, on a solid slab foundation. No basement. I could put it in garage, but can’t easily screw into cement floor, and I don’t have wired internet there, so I’d have to do WiFi. Also, would cars cause false readings? Or I can put it in kid’s bedroom closet, where I do have wired internet, but worried about people traffic, and wife might not want hole drilled in hardwood floor.

Help, please! Thanks,

  • Ken

Ken:

Buenos días.

The RS4D has a mounting slot in the base.

You would:

  1. Screw into the floor, leaving the screw some height (e.g., half an inch) sticking out;
  2. Place the fully assembled Shake over the screw and spring, allowing the screw and spring to enter the round hole in the bottom of the Shake;
  3. Slide the screw and spring into the narrow portion of the mounting hole in the bottom of the Shake;
  4. Use the leveling legs to provide upward pressure on the screw head and level the instrument at the same time.

Some photos (just the baseplate so that you can easily see things):

The best location would be mounted directly to the foundation of the house. As this is not always practical, most any other location will do. You will surely register lots of cultural noise (cars come in and out of the garage, people traffic, etc.) This is all normal in the world of personal seismology. Just wait until you see the spectrogram of your washing machine! As most of this cultural noise is high frequency, you will still be able to see the lower frequency earthquakes.

Have fun getting things set up!

branden

Thanks Branden for answering this one too. Now all I need is some time to reflash the card and mount the box to the floor! - Ken

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