[aprssig] Recommendation for remote APRS weather station

[n6lrv at outlook.com]

Thanks Scott. A voltage output is of no use to me right now but its Modbus RTU capabilities are. I'll keep watching your website for more on this.

Best Regards,

Gary
N6LRV
________________________________
From: aprssig <aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org> on behalf of Scott Miller <scott at opentrac.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 10:34 AM
To: aprssig at lists.tapr.org <aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Recommendation for remote APRS weather station

I just started writing the manual about a day ago and there's not much coherent information beyond my notes yet. I should have something readable soon.

The analog output is voltage, 0-3.3 volts. I thought about adding a 4-20 mA output but that might end up being another version - I'm trying to keep this one simple. The MCU had a 10-bit DAC available so the voltage output got added on as a bonus.

As it stands right now, the default output from the RS-232 output (available both in TTL and RS-232 levels on different pins) has a simple CSV output with a fixed number of fields to make it really easy to parse. It reports instantaneous, 2-minute, 10-minute, and custom averaging periods in m/s for wind and mm for rain, plus MPH and inches. Rain totals are 1-hour, 24-hour, and since manual reset. It also reports time in minutes since the last rain detection.

The Modbus RTU registers offer more options. It's set up as a matrix of parameters and units so you can get any of the measured parameters in any of the available units, which also include KPH and knots for wind. In addition to the custom averaging period there are also registers that will give you the average (or total, for rainfall) since the last read of the register, so the master can control the period just by setting its polling rate. There are some additional holding registers for stuff like fault detection.

To set up the analog output, you configure it with a source register number, min, and max. If you set max lower than min it inverts the output. So for example you might select "2 minute wind average in knots" as the source and set the range from 0 to 20, and 0 knots will produce 0 volts and 20 knots will produce 3.3 volts.

The alarm output isn't done yet, but it'll be configured through several registers that'll form a matrix of AND and OR conditions, so for example you could set the alarm to be active when the 10-minute wind average is over 15 knots and the 2-minute wind direction average is between 45 and 180 degrees.

Scott
N1VG


On 11/13/2024 10:00 AM, n6lrv at outlook.com<mailto:n6lrv at outlook.com> wrote:
Scott,

The project you're working on now is of interest to me. Will the analog output be voltage or current? Can you share a link for the WR-01 details?

Thanks,
Gary
________________________________
From: aprssig <aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org><mailto:aprssig-bounces at lists.tapr.org> on behalf of Scott Miller <scott at opentrac.org><mailto:scott at opentrac.org>
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2024 9:43 AM
To: aprssig at lists.tapr.org<mailto:aprssig at lists.tapr.org> <aprssig at lists.tapr.org><mailto:aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
Subject: Re: [aprssig] Recommendation for remote APRS weather station

You can add an external DS18S20 or DS18B20 sensor to the ADS-WS1.

We've also got a new ADS-WS2 in the works but it's not likely to be out
before Christmas. The WS2 will still do 1-wire but the main focus is on
Modbus RTU since that lets you do much longer cable runs more reliably
and there are a ton of sensors out there across all price ranges.

At the moment I'm busy finishing up the new WR-01 wind/rain sensor
interface - it's a waterproof box that connects to the same wind and
rain sensors as the WS1 and provides RS-232 and Modbus RTU over RS-485
outputs, plus an analog output and alarm output. It makes it a lot
easier to connect the sensors to an embedded device or a PLC.

Scott
N1VG

On 11/13/2024 8:50 AM, Jason Winningham wrote:
> I’m planning a remote APRS weather station. What are the current best options for the sensor hardware?
>
> The obvious (for me anyway) first choice is an Argent setup, but there’s no outdoor temperature sensor housing included in that kit.  I know the Davis was recommended at one time, but their APRS specific interface seems to have been discontinued.  I found an Ambient Weather unit that looks OK, but I haven’t checked into interfacing to APRS systems.
>
> Really not thrilled with excessively complex solutions requiring RTL-SDR and a pi.
>
> I have an old FC-301 and a few old HTs that are radio candidates (we’ve got a good APRS network, I won’t need much power to get out from this particular hilltop).
>
> Any general recommendations or lessons learned from those who have operated “mountaintop” setups would be appreciated.  This one is a hilltop site only half a mile off the road in Alabama, but I’d like to do it right.
>
> thanks,
> Jason
> kg4wsv
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> aprssig mailing list
> aprssig at lists.tapr.org<mailto:aprssig at lists.tapr.org>
> http://lists.tapr.org/mailman/listinfo/aprssig_lists.tapr.org


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