SeaLabMOS Workshop
at Oceans Monterey

Monday September 21st

Before the workshop, please do the following:

1) Download and install the Arduino IDE https://www.arduino.cc/en/software/

2) Add the Philhower Board Manager URL and install the RP2040 board following Adafruit's instructions

A. Preferences > Additional Boards Manager URLs field > paste below URL

B. https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json

C. In Board Manager search for "RP2040" and install the "Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040/RP2350 by Earle F Philhower, III"

D. Tools > Board > Raspberry Pi Pico/RP2040/RP2350 > Adafruit Feather RP2040 Adalogger

Handout for workshop participants (click here)

The workshop will allow participants to

1) Assemble a SeaLabMOS system (first image below, the 2.0" Schedule 40 PVC version) from constituent parts (no soldering, sanding, or epoxy)

2) Get hands on with the SeaLabMOS family of systems: CTD (three of them: 1.5" and 2.0" PVC, steel), temperature logger (thermistor and DS18B20), bottom pressure recorder, and a surface float. A similarly made open-source portable atmospheric system will also be on hand. 

3) PowerPoint presentation (ack I know - it won't be that long I promise!) about existing sensor and component suppliers. This is to help the question I am often asked, "That's cool, but where do you find the sensors and other parts?". The short answer is Adafruit, McMaster-Carr, SparkFun, DigiKey, and others.

4) A semi-short dive into everything required for this work. 3D modeling / CAD (or even cardboard) for system trays and the like, soldering and wiring, datasheets (finding and reading), programming the system itself, deployment considerations, and then using Python for post-data analysis.

On the face of it, building your own system can seem overwhelming... Come to the workshop and hopefully you will walk away finding this work much more approachable! 

We hope to see you at the workshop! (OCEANS 2026 Monterey on Monday, September 21st)

Below is the proposal sent to the conference, if you are curious.

Tutorial title: Build Your Own Open Source CTD (and other systems)

Instructor names, affiliations and short bios

Sophie Scopazzi, Aspect Wave LLC, owner

Karl Nordhoff, senior Mechanical Engineering student at Cal Poly Maritime Academy

Sophie holds a Third Officer license in the U.S. merchant marine and has sailed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans on research vessels, a crude oil tanker and an expedition cruise ship. She has a master’s degree from Rutgers University in Operational Oceanography and has piloted Slocum gliders, a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle. Sophie loves to work on embedded systems and has programmed and built an ocean research buoy at Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Vallejo, CA and ocean sampling surface floats at the University of Hawai’i Applied Research Laboratory. Most recently, she continues to iterate upon the SeaLabMOS family of systems – open-source temperature loggers, bottom pressure recorders, surface floats, atmospheric weather stations, and conductivity-temperature-depth sensor platforms.

Topic description

Build an open-source CTD (and other systems) using consumer-off-the-shelf components for less than $500. Examples of system adaptability into a temperature logger, bottom pressure recorder, surface float, and an off-grid weather station will be in-person to experiment with during the workshop.

Learning objectives (these are not in a hierarchical order)

1.     Demystify existing sensors and components (ease of access, use, and ability)

2.     An introduction to the broad swath of knowledge required for open-source system building – soldering and wiring, basic shop tools, 3D modeling (not strictly necessary, but very helpful), programming of the system, deployment considerations, and post-deployment data analysis (Python)

3.     Actionable step to follow to building your own system (identify sensors/hardware from suppliers, programming languages to use, etc.)

Outline of Content ~adjusted for half-day format (it could also be a full day)

1.     PPT about the different systems (0.3hr)

a. Many possible consumer-off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors that can be integrated SeaLabMOS and other systems

b. The sensors and components the examples in-person use

c. Cost and use case examples from real SeaLabMOS deployments

2.     Preview steps to building (0.1hr) Leave PPT slide up

3.     Everyone watches / rotates through building one/two CTDs (cost constraints) with Sophie (1.1hr) and experiments with / checks out the other systems

4.     Short break – questions, make smaller groups (0.1hr)

5.     Split into smaller groups (max ~2-3 ideally) to build a temperature logger (same parts and steps, except without the salinity sensor) (1.7hr)

6.     PPT about actionable steps for building the system you want to build (0.2hr)

a. Identify basic parameters like variable sampled, endurance, etc.

b. Identify suppliers and their datasheets

c. Locations with open-source resources available

Instructional approach, such as lecture, demonstrations, hands-on exercises or software tools

Short PPT lecture followed by hands-on instruction and system building. People can get hands-on with systems already built to see possibilities: temperature logger, bottom pressure recorder, surface float (two kinds), and an off-grid weather station.

Optional attendee requirements, including equipment or software attendees must bring or install in advance

Optional, but recommended to bring a laptop with Arduino IDE already installed for programming systems.