[aprssig] Which Weather Station for a Mountain Top Digi

[Scott Miller]

Oh yeah, here's the under-the-hood picture of the latest revision:

http://n1vg.net/opentracker/images/proto-e.jpg

The case was originally designed to hold a through-hole board, and it 
needs a certain amount of space for the connectors anyway, so the new 
SMT layout looks a little sparse, despite having about twice as many 
parts.  It let me do things like add ferrite chips to all of the inputs 
and outputs, though.

The big pads marked GND, OUT+, and IN+ are the connections for the solid 
state relay.  Usually you'd bring 12 or 14 awg wires in through the 
grommeted hole at the back.  I decided that was more flexible than using 
those big PCB-mount PowerPoles.

Scott
N1VG

Scott Miller wrote:
> I've heard mixed things about the AAG 1-wire station's reliability in 
> harsh conditions.  I think it probably depends on how well you seal it up.
> 
> I didn't know they were making the T-238 again.  If you don't need a 
> local display, the Tracker2 will do the same thing, plus quite a bit 
> more.  In 1-wire mode it doesn't support the baro sensor yet, though. 
> You can use it with an Ultimeter 2000 series station too (much better 
> quality, IMO) or the LaCrosse WS2300 series if you're on a budget, but I 
> think the durability is probably no better than the 1-wire station.
> 
> The Tracker2 has the same power save option, and comes with a built-in 
> 20 amp solid-state relay so it'll power any reasonable rig without extra 
> switching hardware.  Current draw is < 20 mA.  It's $85, assembled and 
> tested with a case.  I've only got a few units on hand until the first 
> production batch is done in a few weeks, though, and no more 
> through-hole beta test kits.
> 
> You also get internal temperature and supply voltage (every packet, if 
> you want, or at selectable intervals), WIDEn-N digi, and remote command 
> capability.  Of course, if you've got the radio off most of the time, 
> you can't send it commands.  Unless you set an extra-long power-on delay 
> and know exactly when to send the commands, anyway.
> 
> It's at <https://www.argentdata.com/catalog/product_info.php>.
> 
> Scott
> N1VG