Weather station

Guides
1

hi Gordon,
I have my weather station working correctly so thank you. But i want to use it independently of a computer. What sort of battery should i use? Which pins to attach it and also code?
jacinta

2

Some more information please @Jacinta97662.

What micro controller board are you using? I.e what power connections are on it, DC barrel jack, USB socket, and can a standard HAT be attached.

Where will the weather station be located? I.e. close to mains supply, or out in a paddock somewhere.

How often will someone be in attendance to maintain the installation, or is unattended operation the end goal?

3

Hi Robin,

I am using the uno board from core electronics as per the weather station tutorial. I have just tried the DC jack with 9V, but the SD card is not recording information. The SD card however records information when plugged in via USB

Thanks

4

The USB and barrel jack feed into the same power distribution circuitry, so as long as the you have sufficient current from the barrel jack, it should run fine. I don’t think a 9V battery, for example, would supply enough current.

Try using a mobile phone charger with USB output as a power supply.

5

Hey @Jacinta97662,

I have to agree with Robin on this. It would be best to use a battery pack or a stand-alone battery.

Let us know how you get on.

6

Hi Robin,

Thanks for your response. I ran a Procell 9V battery, taking readings every half hour as a test. The battery lasted about 9 hours,
although the last couple of hours of readings it started showing the RTC as numbers.

I could power down the Arduino? But I suppose before I can introduce it to a class to use as a project, I need to demonstrate that
it can be run independently of a main power source. I have been looking at solar options, but looking at people who have built these confuses me!

Is there any thought to redesign this project ton incorporate these options?

Regards

Jacinta Fleming

Head of ISC

7

The little 9V batteries would suffice as a proof of concept/demonstration that the weather station can be a standalone system.

When you say you took readings every half hour, what readings did you take? Power/voltage/current readings or weather readings?

To “size” a battery solution, you need to know how much power the weather station uses over a required period, and then you can determine how big a battery is needed.

You can use something like this power meter to find actual usage.

Once you know real power usage, you can start using Ohm’s law, with a few fudge factors to allow for loses in the DC/DC converter which would be required, to determine what size battery you need.

Adding solar should give you and your students a good project to submit to Core as an addendum to the weather station.

P.s. I’m not associated with Core. I just try to help occasionally.

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