Waveshare ESP32-S3-A7670E-4G + 4G + HX711

This configuration uses the Waveshare ESP32-S3-A7670E-4G board with its A7670E modem to send measurements directly over the cellular network.

Image source: Waveshare.

Who Is It For?

Choose this configuration if the apiary has no reliable WiFi and you want a scale able to send measurements without a local gateway.

It needs more preparation than a WiFi configuration: SIM card, network coverage, power sized for the modem, and in rare cases, the SIM APN.

What the Board Provides

The waveshare_esp32_s3_a7670e_4g_hx711 firmware preset expects:

• an ESP32-S3;
• a SIMCom A7670E modem used by the cellular transport;
• a board designed with battery and solar charging in mind;
• a WS2812 RGB LED on GPIO38;
• the BOOT button as the configuration button;
• a MAX17048 battery sensor when detected.

What You Need to Add

• a weighing module for the expected weight range, made of a load cell and an HX711;
• a SIM card compatible with coverage at the apiary;
• a suitable cellular antenna;
• battery, solar panel, and enclosure for your installation.

Wiring

The Waveshare firmware uses dedicated HX711 pins:

HX711 signal	Waveshare pin
DT / DOUT	GPIO39
SCK / CLK	GPIO40

See the shared reference: HX711 wiring.

Firmware

Build and upload the PlatformIO environment:

pio run -e waveshare_esp32_s3_a7670e_4g_hx711 -t upload

For a board that should stay in configuration mode while provisioning, the firmware also provides:

pio run -e waveshare_esp32_s3_a7670e_4g_hx711_config -t upload

This configuration uses:

• the Hx711Sensor sensor;
• the Max17048BatterySensor battery sensor, if available on the board;
• the CellularHttpTransport transport;
• the waveshare_esp32_s3_a7670e_4g_hx711 hardware profile.

Runtime Configuration

After flashing, provision the board with bee-config:

• Bee Thing ingestion URL;
• scale token;
• APN, username, password, and SIM PIN when needed;
• HX711 calibration;
• sleep interval.

WiFi credentials are not needed in this configuration.

The first cellular transport only supports an HTTP URL. If you use an HTTPS URL, uploads will not work.

See: Firmware configuration, Calibration, and Diagnostics.

Known Limits

Power use strongly depends on network coverage, cellular attach duration, and measurement interval. Power must therefore be tested on your real installation.