[aprssig] Tiny Telemetry

Tue Aug 31 11:48:54 EDT 2004

I like that idea as well for IButton and 1-wire modules.  I just figured 
I'd throw out there that there appears to be no cheap APRS weather 
converter for 1-wire weather stations in the wild. :)  1-wire weather 
stations I think are the least expensive solution.

I also like the idea for telemetry of course.  The sensors are still 
relatively inexpensive there too if I recall, could be nice for balloon 
launches and amateur RC planes.

I feel your pain about the calibration issue.  I'm really not sure how I'm 
going to handle that at the moment.  I think the Oww daemon supports an 
offset, and since K1XVM's new Xastir server went online this past week 
(replacing the archaic Sun Ultra 1), there's plenty of capacity to handle 
it there.  I can think of situations where people don't have an urge to put 
an entire computer somewhere just to use a cheap weather station.   Maybe 
the price of embedded X86 hardware will come down and open for a variety of 
opportunities.

I do of course appreciate the fact that Xastir does support the 1-wire 
station. :)  I played with it when it was committed a while back.

--Droo, K1XVM

At 11:27 AM 8/31/2004, Scott Miller wrote:
>This is from an OpenTracker that was deployed in my backyard over the
>weekend with a 1-wire station and a solar panel:
>
>Sun Aug 29 21:52:36 2004  N1VG-4>APOT01:>1-wire weather station test 12.7V
>24C
>Sun Aug 29 21:52:36 2004
>N1VG-4>APOT01:!3457.55N/12025.44W_270/000g002t060OD1w
>
>Note that the temperature in the status packet is the board temperature, not
>the station temperature.  The voltage indication is handy for tracking how
>well the solar panel is keeping it charged.
>
>It's almost ready to go, but it's got a couple of deficiencies.  First, the
>only way to properly set the wind direction indicator is to rotate the
>entire unit or unscrew the wind vane and reposition it.  I'm planning to add
>an offset field to the configuration program, but it doesn't lend itself
>well to a live calibration like the uWeather, since the config program and
>bootloader don't actually talk to the sensors.  Second, the config program
>is really ugly at the moment, doesn't handle dual profiles, and isn't smart
>enough to switch between the tracker config screen and the weather config
>screen when you load the firmware.
>
>I'm not really sure if the dual config option is necessary, but it'd let you
>do stuff like reduce the beacon rate when the weather is calm, or maybe go
>into an alert mode when the wind gets above a certain threshold.
>
>Anyway, I'll probably be showing this in the demo room at DCC next week if
>anyone's interested.  But this isn't what I meant by 1-wire sensors for
>telemetry... I'm talking about a firmware version that'd talk to current
>loop sensors or 1-wire sensors and report their values in APRS telemetry
>format (or OpenTRAC, of course.)
>
>Scott
>N1VG
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Drew Baxter" <droobie at maine.rr.com>
>To: <scott at opentrac.org>; "'TAPR APRS Mailing List'"
><aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
>Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 7:40 AM
>Subject: RE: [aprssig] Tiny Telemetry
>
>
> > I have a 1-wire from AAG.  I have yet to use the thing but hopefully once
> > my tower goes up (Which was delayed, but I do have 48 feet of Trylon T300
> > sitting here, so it's gonna happen somehow).  I do think that it's
>probably
> > one of the cheapest weather solutions though for APRS, so support would
> > definitely be something of interest to someone, if not me in the
> > not-so-distant future.  Remote weather stations don't need to be
> > multi-hundred dollar Ultimeter or Dallas rigs.
> >
> > Byon's device doesn't do 1-Wire but it supposedly will 'in a future
> > version'.  I think that the only thing that does 1-Wire is the old TAPR
> > kit.  I think that means there's no 1-wire converter for APRS, correct me
> > if I'm wrong.
> >
> > --Droo, K1XVM
> >
> > At 10:13 AM 8/31/2004, scott at opentrac.org wrote:
> > >At the risk of restarting some old arguments on what's considered
> > >appropriate use of 144.39 and the APRS message formats, let me say that
>that
> > >sounds like a bad idea.
> > >
> > >The OpenTracker has 3 A/D inputs.  4 if you count the one used for energy
> > >detect on receive.  One's normally wired to a temperature sensor, another
>to
> > >the voltage divider, and the third is unused if you're not running in
>1-wire
> > >weather mode.  Right now, it'll report temperature and/or voltage in the
> > >comment field.  I've had a couple of requests to add 4-20ma current loop
> > >support to the other input, which I haven't done mostly because I haven't
> > >got any sensors on hand to test it with.
> > >
> > >If I can get a clear description of what people would like to see in a
> > >telemetry encoder, I'll work on getting that ready in time for DCC.  I
>can't
> > >guarantee it'll be able to fit GPS support in the same firmware, but
>it'll
> > >at least work (like the weather version does) in fixed mode.
> > >
> > >The new surface mount version is pretty small, and you can get power
> > >consumption under 4ma @ 12v.  And it'll be a heck of a lot cheaper than a
> > >KPC-3.
> > >
> > >So, if there's a telemetry feature you want, let me know - e.g., 4-20ma,
> > >1-wire sensors, whatever.  I'll see what I can do.
> > >
> > >Scott
> > >N1VG
> > >
> > >-----Original Message-----
> > >From: aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org
> > >[mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org]On Behalf Of Robert Bruninga
> > >Sent: Tuesday, August 31, 2004 5:27 AM
> > >To: aprssig at lists.tapr.org
> > >Subject: [aprssig] Tiny Telemetry
> > >
> > >
> > >Need a small APRS gizmo for remote telemetry?
> > >
> > >The pocket tracker which combines a TinyTrak
> > >and a small 144.39 transmitter and a 9v battery
> > >into a shirt pocket device (fits in an Altoids can)
> > >is ideal.
> > >
> > >Of course, it only processes GPS data, but wait!
> > >
> > >For other purposes, remember that GPS data is
> > >just numbers and there is nothing that says it
> > >has to mean LAT/LONG.  So if you want to have
> > >a quick way to get a unique telemetry system on
> > >the air, just have your little project output a GPS
> > >NMEA string but let the 13 or more digits mean
> > >whatever you want.  THen decode them on the
> > >other end...
> > >
> > >Anyway, just a quick way to get some unique
> > >telemetry on the air in a small off-the-shelf package...
> > >
> > >de WB4APR, Bob
> > >
> > >
> > >
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> > >
> > >
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