Weather Station Project #5 - CWOP up - Adding WeatherBug

The weather station has been humming along very nicely over the past several weeks.  Within a day, my data was put up to Weather Underground and I have been able to review what has been happening on my iPhone apps ever since.  I also got a station ID from CWOP and have been able to update the data to them since.  I got a communique from a CWOP handler and my data has passed the first wicket.  Now I need to find out how good the data is - they are doing some analysis on it.  Hopefully I will meet with a thumbs up and my data will be incorporated into the national weather picture.  My only hesitation at this point is noticing that my barometric pressure reading seems to be higher than the nearest two stations to me consistently.  I may have to calibrate it downward.  I am at a loss to determine how I might measure the value at my house to get an accurate reading.  But I will do some more research and make that determination.

Update: I noticed that the quality control site for my CWOP ID is now reporting an analysis line (as of last night).  So looks like I might be able to get a better feel for what is off kilter now.  Also thinking of putting a patch on the weewx software to send updates to WeatherBug network (if they will have me).

Just signed up for WeatherBug Backyard network.  Have a station ID and information.  Will need to modify the weewx software to accommodate http://sourceforge.net/p/weewx/wiki/weatherbug/ which is a patch to get information out to WeatherBug.

Just Purchased an RPi B+

I was at the local Micro Center and just happened to see that they had a few of these in for $35.  I just did install the 6-20-2014 version of Raspbian via a Windows build.  There are a number of differences on the board that would cause havoc with some of the things I own.  For instance, since they are using a microSD card and the HDMI port is in a different location, I will not be easily able to use it with my MediaPi case; bummer.  It appears that some of the cables that I have should be able to fit onto the GPIO header, even though it has extra pins.  The I2C pins that were on the B have been moved to the GPIO header, but none of the boards that I own use this connector.  I have to be careful in the future to make sure that whatever boards I buy, that they work with the B+.  I am interested in finding out if the power supply they added is all that it is put up to be, especially on the USB ports.  I haven't heard anyone chime in about loss of Ethernet when the USB dongles draw too much power; but time will tell.  More later.


Update: it looks like the new power supply is able to deliver up to 1.2 amps to the USB hub.  That in itself is a remarkable improvement - bravo!  That means that I will not have to be saddled with an external usb hub when I do my experiments.  Looks like I will need to buy a couple more of these.

New Twist on Mobile Pi Access

I just ordered a XMBC MediaPi package from Amazon (MediaPi on Amazon).  I was intrigued by the fact that it is a self contained box with power supply and USB hub powered from a single power supply input - all you do is add the RPi.  This will save loads of time developing my own package to take into work with me.  All of the important ports are available on the outside of the MediaPi package (located at the back).  The input for the SD card has been moved to the front.  This should allow me to work on RPi projects by bringing it into work, having a wi-fi usb adapter to interface to my DIR505L which then can interface via wi-fi to my iPad/bluetooth keyboard combo.  Best of both worlds.  More when it comes in.

Update (from my review):  ... I
originally got this case for the purpose of having a portable Raspberry
Pi (with usb hub). What attracted me to it was the integrated 4 port
hub, mounting for the RPi B, and having all the connections to the back
(SD card to the front). My case was made in India and came in a
Recycled Corrugated box. Designers are in Great Briton. The case fits
handily in a satchel that I carry to work and alleviates me from having
to carry more than one power supply with associated cables and all that
entails. It is obvious that the case was made for the RPi B as a media
case running XBMC/OpenElec, there are no openings for GPIO or camera
cables that you would use if you were in a hobby mode (meaning you would
have to cut your own). Putting the Pi into the case and connecting the
cables took all of 3 minutes. Getting the lid on is a little more of a
challenge but doable. The Pi clips into a slot made for it inside the
case with two tabs and indentations around the edges. There are two
plastic mounds that are threaded for the mounting points on the RPi B
and two screws are included for this purpose. When you get the lid on,
there are two additional screws included for the back to make sure the
lid doesn't come off. Additional niceties include an LED for the front
that indicates when power is applied, an on-off switch on the back so
you are not compelled to unplug the power supply each and every time.
The instructions are adequate to get you going but do not go into any
great detail about orientation of some of the components (like the SD
slot on the front). I noticed this morning that there is a row of red
LEDs that can be seen through the louver on the back, when I shutdown
the RPi these red LEDs went out and seemed to indicate that it was okay
to turn off power (have to verify that one). The only complaint I would
have is that the SD slot on the front seems to be under a lot of
pressure and pushes the case up so that is does not fully join between
bottom and top on the right side front. That is a minor nit. The case
itself is not flimsy, but I wouldn't try storing the largest book you
own on it or throwing it around a lot. It doesn't look half bad sitting
on a table, i.e. I wouldn't feel embarrassed having it in my living
room. I'm kind of cheap so the $60 price tag did throw me off
initially, but the components seem of decent quality. The fact that you
get a "true" current feed coming out of the 4 port usb hub is nice (3
amp power supply, allowing for 0.5 amp for each usb port, plus 0.7 amp
for the RPi, and 0.3 amp remaining for the rest). That is something
that you normally don't get from most over the counter usb hubs (most 7
port usb hubs have a 1-1.5 amp power supply and the usb spec says each
port needs to provide 0.5 amp apiece - you do the math!).

Weather Station Project #4 - Installed weewx on RPi

Whew, after resetting the Vantage Vue console (by pulling the batteries and putting them back in) the USB port came back up.  In addition, the console did not lose any of data that had already been recorded.  I was able to load weewx onto the Raspberry Pi, configure it, and get data.  The steps that I used (from Weewx on Rasp! (Chris Davies-Barnard))were:

(1) used raspi-config on a new SD with Raspbian; set my location (US), keyboard (US), timezone (Eastern), setup SSH, setup expand to full SD size, etc.

(2) added user weewx:
sudo su; adduser weewx; usermod -a -G sudo weewx

(3) added prerequisite packages:
sudo apt-get install python-configobj python-cheetah python-imaging
sudo apt-get install python-serial python-usb
sudo apt-get install mysql-client python-mysqldb
sudo apt-get install python-dev python-pip
sudo pip install pyephem

(4) check to see if ntp was setup correctly

(5) installed weewx:
wget http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/weewx/weewx-2.6.4.tar.gz
tar -xzvf weewx-2.6.4.tar.gz
cd weewx-2.6.4

(6) modify setup.cfg to add root directory:
home = /home/weewx/system25

(7) build and install weewx
python setup.py build
python setup.py install

(8) configure the weewx.conf:
cd /home/weewx/system25
su -l weewx
mkdir public_html
nano weewx.conf
-->>
#debug = 0
WEEWX_ROOT = /home/weewx/system25/
[Station]
location = xxxxxxxx {set to my  home location}
latitude = xxxxxxxx {set to my home latitude, dec degrees}
longitude = xxxxxxxx {set to my home longitude, dec degrees}
altitude = xxxx, foot {set to the altitude of the ISS placement on my roof}
station_type = Vantage
[Vantage]
type = serial
port = /dev/ttyUSB0 {this is the usb port that came up when the Vantage Vue was plugged in}
[StdRESTful]
[[Wunderground]]
station = xxxxxxxxx {set to my Weather Underground station number}
password = xxxxxxxxxx {set to my Weather Underground password for the station}
rapidfire = True
[[CWOP]]
station = xxxxxxx {set to my Citizens Weather station number}

(9) mod the permissions on the usb port and check the weewxd run
sudo chmod 777 /dev/ttyUSB0
./bin/weewxd weewx.conf

after weewx connects to the console, you should see lots of packets of weather data dumped onto the command line.  stop with a control-c

(10) start the weewxd in the background and check that it is still there
nohup ./bin/weewxd weewx.conf > /dev/null & echo $! > run.pid

this will start weewxd with our configuration file setup and send the command line into a null dev black hole.  We will still be sending packets of weather data to Weather Underground and the Citizens Weather (CWOP) locations.

(11) check the running of weewxd:
ps -e | grep weewxd

Update: I need to setup /etc/rc.local to run weewxd on boot.  I encountered a storm after my weather station was running for several days and the power went out and stopped the data flow.  I discovered this when I went to Weather Underground during the storm to see how it was recording rainfall and I notice it had been off for 20 minutes.

Weather Station Project #3 - Setup of RPi

I worked on the interface from RPi to the Vantage Vue console last night.  I started with the latest version of Raspbian but found that raspi-config would not allow me to open up the SSH server.  I back peddled to the July 2013 version and that seemed to give me the ability to setup the SSH server and then update/upgrade to the latest versions of the software.  I was using portions of the procedure from Weewx on Rasp! (Chris Davies-Barnard).  I used the instructions to setup the weewx user, install the prerequisites, install weewx, and configure.  I have not tested the weewx install with the console at this point, that is tonight.  Update to follow.

Update: I added the weewx software to the RPi and then proceeded to put the USB interface on the Vantage Vue.  But, I didn't turn the power off to the console before mounting it!  That I believe is a mistake.  Now, I cannot get the weewx to communicate with the console.  My only hope is unplugging the power and doing a hard reset to the console.  Hopefully the USB port will come up like I want it to.  Otherwise, I am out the cost of the USB port and/or possibly a console which was messed up.  My setup is below.



I did some thinking about how I wanted to add both a UV and Light (for Solar Radiation) sensor to another RPi and connect it to the weewx software.  This should be easy since weewx is written in Python.  Here is my idea so far:

Weather Station Project #2 - Vantage Vue is in

I received the Davis Instruments Vantage Vue weather station. The box looks like so

I was rather pleased with the quality of the product. The reviews on Amazon rate it as a 4.5 out of 5 with 309 reviews. I generally don't like to order something without at least 50 - 100 reviews so this is way past that point. My son-in-law was nice enough to come over and put it up on the roof for me.


I got the ISS to mate with the console and it has been working for the last couple of days without any problem.


I am also now exploring the use of the RPi with weewx software to link into Weather Underground and with NOAA.

-- LW

Weather Station Project #1 - Purchased Weather Station - Vantage Vue

I just purchased a Davis Instruments 6250 Vantage Vue on Amazon.  My current weather setup started showing signs of sensor failure this weekend, first with the humidity sensor and then with the rain sensor.  This setup is about 5 to 6 years old so it is probably about time to replace it.  I was somewhat annoyed with the purchase since I have to purchase a $129 component in order to interface the readout with a Raspberry Pi USB port.  That is outrageous!  From what I know, the Davis Instruments provides the best customer service that is out there for most medium capability weather stations, so I decided to bite the bullet and pay the price.  The sensor unit is self contained and has a solar panel for power (i.e., it will save trips to the roof to change the batteries).  The picture of the unit looks like this (from the Amazon site):

From what I understand of the unit, it has high praise, being rated 4.5 out of 5 overall out of 306 reviews.  The unit looks clean so it will not be an eyesore being mounted on my chimney.

Current plans are to sample the information coming across the USB line from the Vue with the RPi, process/archive the data, and then send response to Weather Underground/WeatherBugNet.

Update: apparently the software of choice here would be WeeWx (http://www.weewx.com).  The Davis Vantage Vue is supported, as is uploads to Weather Underground and CWOP (interface to Weather Channel).  I was not able to figure out how to be a part of WeatherBug network; it seems that is closed to PWS implementations.  Anyway, good information to know.