SparkFun Arduino IoT Weather Station KIT-22636

Sensors Environmental
1

Hi there Weather Fans!

I have successfully assembled and downloaded the SParkFun sketch for my SparkFun Arduino IoT Weather Station

KIT-22636 with ESP32 processor:

From the Spkfn_Weather_Station.ino file:

/*

Sketch generated by the Arduino IoT Cloud Thing “Spkfn_Weather_Station”

I have an Arduino Cloud Entry account.

I added a clear front enclosure and a weather resistant vent to the enclosure.

I have made a dashboard and included the parameters from the Thing successfully. All appears to be working wirelessly and I have it powered through the USB connector.

Most of the functions appear to work correctly on the dashboard I created.

However there are a few discrepancies:

  1. Rain gauge in the dashboard is wildly off compared to an analog rain collector placed nearby:

Analog rain collected: 4.75"

Dashboard rain display for the same period: 64.8"

Error factor: = 64.8/4.75 = 13.6x

I did some research and verified that the sketch code does allow for switch de-bounce at 100mS, which was sited as a possible error source in a previous post: (0.2794mm or 0.011in per tip as seen elsewhere as well):

// The rainfall detector contains a small cup that collects rain water. When

// the cup fills, the water is dumped and the total rainfall is incremented

// by some value. This value defaults to 0.2794mm of rain per count, as

// specified by the datasheet

calibrationParams.mmPerRainfallCount = 0.2794;

// The rainfall detector switch can sometimes bounce, causing multiple extra

// triggers. This input is debounced by ignoring extra triggers within a

// time window, which defaults to 100ms

calibrationParams.minMillisPerRainfall = 100;

So what gives?

Do I need to increase the de-bounce time from 100ms to something else?

It seems like a lot to attribute to this error…

Do I need to adjust the calibration factor in the sketch?

Seems unlikely that it would be off by 13x…

Is there some other SW or Sketch error to be aware of?

Second Issue:

  1. The humidity sensor never shows more that 64% even in a downpour when it should be close to 100% as verified by an analog gauge

Is there a calibration factor to adjust for this?

the enclosure is vented, but could this be an error factor?

Third issue:

  1. The UV index always reads 0

dashboard uses uvIndex Thing variable

Is there something I need to add to the sketch or setup to make this work correctly?

Thanks very much for any help you can provide on these 3 issues.

2

It seems that when I look more closely at the rain gauge readings, the dashboard displays inches, but I think it’s really in mm!

Still though, there seems to be an error factor. The gauge reads only about 70% of the actual.

I verified this with an analog gauge and another drip and tip style gauge.

I did find a calibration sketch to try, but I haven’t run it yet:

https://github.com/sparkfun/SparkFun_We … Helper.ino

Anyone else out there having similar issues with rain gauge accuracy?

As for the humidity sensor, you are probably right about airflow, however the case is vented with a 1" vent. Maybe I need a calibration factor in the sketch too?

3

Hello,

I recently acquired a SparkFun OpenLog Artemis board (without IMU) and have encountered an issue. While I am able to successfully log data at lower speeds, I am facing difficulties when attempting to log data at higher frequencies. I would greatly appreciate your assistance in finding a solution to this issue.

Thank you in advance.

++ MbedOS Error Info ++

Error Status: 0x80FF0144 Code: 324 Module: 255

Error Message: Assertion failed: handle != NULL

Location: 0x49DBD

File: mbed-os/targets/TARGET_Ambiq_Micro/TARGET_Apollo3/device/serial_api.c+411

Error Value: 0x0

Current Thread: main Id: 0x10007E4C Entry: 0x4AF11 StackSize: 0x1000 StackMem: 0x10006E28 SP: 0x1005FEEC

For more info, visit: https://mbed.com/s/error?error=0x80FF01 … RTEMIS_ATP

– MbedOS Error Info –

4

I hope you don’t mind if I tag onto this thread. You might be able to answer this for me, Brian.

I haven’t used the Arduino Cloud before. Step one is to add the device. There is a pull-down menu of boards. There is more than one ESP32 board. I picked “SparkFun ESP32 IoT RedBoard”. This that correct?

Also, am I supposed to be able to run this kit on the Arduino Cloud free plan? It seems to limit the number of variables to 5. Do I need to pay to get all the variables out of this kit?

Thank you.

5

I have the SEN-15901 Weather Meter Kit and am getting sporadic rain gauge readings throughout the day when there is absolutely no rain. It is usually only one trigger/bounce every few hours. Also, happens with no apparent wind. Is there anyway to debug this our throw out readings in certain situations. I saw some reference to “debounce” but I’m not sure what the means in this situation.

Thanks you.