PlanetWatch FAQs

FAQ

What sensors exist?

There are 4 types and 5 devices currently:

Type 1: Arquino

This is priced at around €1600 + license cost (1 year @ €250, 2 years @ €375, 3 years @  €500). It's an outdoor, standalone unit that connects via an in-built SIM card (no wifi/ethernet). Rewards: max 133, but is reduced if you do not live in a Tier 1 area.

You cannot purchase it directly for now, instead purchase a license from PlanetWatch to book your reservation (first come first served). You will then be contacted when it's your turn, giving you 5 days to purchase the hardware.

 Type 2: Arianna

There are no devices of Type 2 currently for sale, PlanetWatch is seeking out a suitable device to onboard.

 Type 3: Kaiterra Senseedge mini

Indoor unit, connecting via wireless/ethernet. Costs you around €600 (price not fully determined yet) + license cost. 46 planets awarded every day (guaranteed till end of December). Then it will either revert back to 30, or kept at 46 following a vote. AMA explanation here

You cannot purchase it directly for now, instead purchase a license from PlanetWatch to book your reservation (first come first served).

 Type 4: there are 2 different sensors.

a) Atmotube pro

This is a portable device which requires a mobile phone to work. It can only talk to the outside world via bluetooth, therefore to earn max rewards (23 planets) you have to keep it close to a mobile phone that's powered on 24x7. The phone component makes this fiddly for most phones will try to shut off applications that it thinks are not in use to conserve power. This is especially difficult for iPhone devices; a typical Android device needs to be configured with always-on settings.

You can purchase this directly from the manufacturer site (or ebay, Amazon, etc), then purchase a license from PlanetWatch to activate it.

Stock availability: 2,000 Atmotube PROs should be available by the end of September/ early October, plus possibly 5,000 by the end of the year.

This sheet contains a list of user-submitted phone models that people have tried to use with AtmoTube

b) Awair Element

This was announced more recently and also rewards you 23 planets. It is not a portable device, but can connect directly to WiFi/ethernet so no mobile phone is required. If you want cheap(er)+plug it in and forget it, this is the one to go for. Unfortunately, Awair has recently pushed up the price of this unit by 40% in light of demand.

You can purchase this directly from the manufacturer site (or here @ Amazon US, or any other retailer), then purchase a license from PlanetWatch to activate it.

How many can I buy?

In a single residence you can have:

1xType 1

1xType 2

1xType 3

1xType 4 that remains stationary at residence

1xType 4 that moves out of the residence for at least 70% of the time

That 70% thing means as an example going 4 days a week to work, at least for 5-8 hours each time... and by going far away it means a REAL travel distance, not working in your garage. Remember that awair and Atomtube are both type 4, therefore this also means: - No 2 Awairs - No awair + atmotube if both stationary

Running costs

Data: Around 40MB/week

Power: Depends on device, but low power. Type 3 is 10W for example

How do I pay for a license/hardware?

First let's look at what pays what:

* Licenses: pay in PLANETs

* Hardware: pay in PLANETs (price is calculated in EUR, then you're asked to pay at whatever equivalent PLANETs)

* If you live in the US, until exchanges come online you get to pay in FIAT.

How do I purchase Planets?

At time of writing, you can only purchase PLANETs on Bitfinex.com, with more exchanges promised soon.

One-time setup:

1. Go install the Algorand Wallet (Android, iOS) on your mobile device. 
2. Click "Add new asset" and search/add for PLANET. However before this will work, you need a tiny amount of ALGO in your wallet, therefore go on Binance and buy+withdraw just a few ALGO to your address on your phone 

  

Buying Planets

Unless you like paying a lot in credit card fees, you will want to follow these steps. It's essentially: get the USD/EUR onto Binance, then convert/transfer onto BitFinex.com and then onwards to your wallet.

1. On Binance purchase BUSD via VISA/bank

2. Using your BUSD, purchase ALGO (algorand)

3. Transfer those ALGOs to Bitfinex.com.  ALGO has very low fees to transfer funds.

4. Sell ALGO to USDt or USD

5. Purchase Planets from the USDt you have

6. Transfer those planets to your mobile phone's Algorand Wallet

 

Yes, this is long-winded and annoying and will improve over time.