Hi.
I am both new to electronics and to this Forum. I am a retired Mechanical engineer, I am 72 years old, so learning Electrics/ Electronics does not always come easy to me.
While in lock-down in the UK due to COVID 19, i have built a Weather Station using an ARDUINO UNO R3 Which displays date an a LCD from Temp, Humidity, Pressure, UV & LUX sensors. I am also creating my own web site which i hope eventually will turn into my weather station on line, but how to do this is the question.
There are so many good ideas out here just by Googling Personal Weather stations, this is where my confusion starts. I am looking for a mentor/ teacher to guide me through this project, being a retired person, living off a pension, i cannot afford to get things wrong by buying the wrong equipment.
I have read about using ESP32 or using NRF24LO1 with Arduino, but i cannot decide which way, of course there may be another, which is why i am asking for help on this forum, i look forward to your communications, and i hope i have used the correct forum for this question
Regards
Ray
I’m tempted to suggest a Raspberry Pi Zero W, though that somewhat depends on your computer background. (If you’ve only [been ab]used [by] Micro$oft Windoze, you’ll find Linux somewhat difficult, but if you have been exposed to any variation of Unix, e.g., CAD systems running on Sparcstations, you should have an easier time of it.) The “upsides” of the Zero W is that it’s $10 (plus some accessories, like a power supply [an old phone charger with microUSB connector will work], and an HDMI cable with a micro-HDMI connector on one end to connect it to your TV, and a uSD card), and despite the low price, it is a “full blown” computer and has WiFi built in (though it’s pretty sluggish doing things like graphics). One thing to be aware of is that the RPi’s are all 3.3V systems and the pins are NOT “5V safe”, and the Uno is a 5V system, so you’ll need a level shifter board to translate between them.
BTW, I first started “learning Electrics/Electronics” about 55 years ago, and computers a few weeks after Neil Armstrong took his “one small step”. I’m a retired Software/Electronics Engineer (age 66).
Hi @gresleyman, I was going to say Raspberry Pi, but @ArizonaClark got in first.
My favourite project config has an Arduino and a Pi. The Ard is better for I.O., 5v, sensor libraries are faster and more reliable. The RPi is better for WiFi, data-storage and running web-sites. Occasionally I use the Pi I.O. if it’s slow and simple or serial.
This isn’t the smallest cheapest way to do it, like using ESP8266 or Ard+Wifi board, but the software is easier to work with, has more facilities, and no disconnecting to reprogram.
The Ard’s usb is plugged in to the RPi and they are exchanging serial messages. The Pi is running Node.js which talks to the Ard and runs a web-site. Once this is connected all the software can be managed remotely from PC. The Pi doesn’t need a screen attached. I run the Ard IDE on the PC and push the file to the Pi. This lets the project use a smaller/slower/older/cheaper Pi where the Ard IDE is annoyingly slow.
If you chose to go this way there are several new exciting things to learn. Downloading Pi O.S. and putting it in SD Card (can buy pre-loaded). Pi and Linux (You don’t need much to get going). Remote terminal access to Pi with Putty+SSH and remote screen using VNC. Serial comms between Ard and Node.js. Node.js to run web-site. For all of these I can point you at references or tutorials.
Which RPi to chose? (Ignore the new RPi 3 and 4 costing £40 to £70) As I see it there are 3 choices and they are all good. RPi Zero W as already said. New Pi 2B+ from e.g. Farnell for £20. Faster computer than the Zero but doesn’t have built-in WiFi, buy a dongle for £6 or put the Pi next to your router and use cat-5 cable. (It probably doesn’t have a SD card, another £8) Ebay has lots of offers, the oldest Pi models have only 1 USB, no WiFi, no net socket, not much use. If you see the ones with 2 or 4 USB and a net socket (no WiFi) cheap they are usually good. I bought 3 a year ago and they have all gone into projects. If you’re lucky you’ll get an SD card included.
This is becoming an oldies’ thread, I’m 67.
Have fun.
I would suggest a remote node type of setup. Essentially, have your weather station (microcontroller and sensors) act as a remote node with a wireless transceiver. Then you can utilize another transceiver on a computer or server to host/log the data.
- This will lower your power consumption at the weather station, but allow you to have more flexibility with your "server" or data collection point.
I have used the ESP32 boards in a point-to-point conflagration and they have worked perfectly fine (line of sight) all the way across the SparkFun building (about the length of a football field). If you need more range, check out the Xbee (or is it Zigbee, now) or LoRa boards.