Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Recurrent H/W and software problems
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Richo
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Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by Richo »

I have "worn out" now 3 "Davis Vantage Stations", and instead of AGAIN buying very expensive spare parts, I will now built my own.
I have ordered an Ultrasonic Anemometer, as I do not want more moving parts than necessary. Cheaper than built - and faster :roll:
Precipitation will be after the weight system with a solenoid valve for emptying, and a heating system for periods of snow.
Temp. and hum. are in a sun shield, and now looking for a fan to ensure air flow. Moving part yes :oops:

My measuring stations will be spread throughout the house and outside.
Wind measurement, Precipitation, temperatures and humidity inside and outside.
My idea is that all measurements should be "visible" from any other station.
For example, there could be a station in the living room that, in addition to measuring temp. and humidity, can display data from e.g. anemometer, and give an alarm if there is a fault in the freezer or refrigerator, etc.

When it is finished there will be more than 10 stations. ( A station is measuring, displaying, or both ) - May be a repeater??

It is the communication between all devices that causes headaches.
The entire house is covered by WiFi, so every station can in principle see each other that way.

If I want to use Now-Cast, should each station also act as a repeater in terms of coverage? - Then I am not dependent on WiFi. - How should it be controlled? (Meny have to be reprogrammed every time a new station is added)

If each station acts as a server that makes data available on request, the system can easily be expanded as needed, but how do I do it relatively easily.

Finally a Windows-PC is used for data collection and displaying of weather data.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

/Richo
lyizb
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by lyizb »

Interesting and worthy project. I think Electroguard designed a system with self-registering nodes--but I think it was wifi.
[Local Link Removed for Guests] wrote: [Local Link Removed for Guests]Sat Mar 08, 2025 2:43 pm If I want to use Now-Cast
By Now-Cast, do you mean "broadcast with ESP-Now" (using Annex)?

If not, can you provide a link to "Now-Cast"?

You can certainly broadcast using ESP-Now, with each message having an ID so that a receiver will know that the message either is or is not intended for it.
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by BeanieBots »

I had the exact same thoughts and question as lyizb!
ESPnow broadcast would solve your problem as it does not need to know the recipient MAC and the Rx knows who sent it.
However, I'm not a great fan of using broadcast be it ESPnow or UDP for anything other than debug. It just seems wrong for a long term use.
Something I do in a similar setup is simply have each sensor send to a hub (actually a Sonoff with ESP8266) and resend to a display.
The SonOff knows all the sensor MACs. When I add another sensor it is the only thing that needs to be updated. (with the new device MAC).
Using WiFi would be similar.
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by Richo »

Sorry, I meant ESP-NOW

/Richo
lyizb
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by lyizb »

Provided all ESP nodes have the range to reach the receiving ESP host, you could have each node when it powers up send its MAC and maybe a code indicating what its function is. The host would register the MAC and the function. Transmissions could be "call and response", but more likely the nodes would be sending asynchronously to report some sensor change. ESP-Now is able to tell the sender whether or not the transmission was received--for instance, in the case of a collision with another node's transmission.
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by BeanieBots »

Nice idea lyizb! Obvious when somebody else says it ;)
That could implement 'broadcast' initially and then note the MAC of the sender for use there on.
I may well add that idea to my own setup. Thanks.
lyizb
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by lyizb »

[Local Link Removed for Guests] wrote: [Local Link Removed for Guests]Mon Mar 10, 2025 11:52 amThat could implement 'broadcast' initially and then note the MAC of the sender for use there on
This is ElectroGuard's idea (if I understood correctly).

The host could also from time to time broadcast a "who's there" message, and the nodes could send replies with differing delays based on their ID to minimize collisions.

My problem with ESP-Now so far has been getting all the nodes to be able to connect to one router (not multiple extensions, which I have to get range wherever I want it). Maybe PeterN's antenna will solve the problem for me.
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Re: Strategy for measuring, displaying and recording weather data

Post by Michel Alexander »

Hello I've been doing something like this for years with ESP via MQTT to an Iobroker, have a Raspberry in use and an Iobroker also runs on a NAS. I retrieve the data via the rest API. Some older ESPs send the data via UDP, which can also be evaluated and displayed by the display
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