Topic: DIY "GREEN DOT" Data Logger

[sv2bzq]

Ok all working fine . 
Finally allowing it to snap works with a Usb Hub 2.0 and the reason is that the station is in the cottage and do not be easy (if a problem occurs) to come again here .
Thanks for help . 

George.

[Bushman]

Sounds great! One thing you might consider is having the Meteobridge on a UPS power supply OR having the latest version on a USB stick.  That way if it reboots you don't have to worry about it hanging on loading the  system.

[warrenb]

Is Belfryboy still selling his loggers? Just bought a new VP2 thinking the data logger in my Vue would work with it, alas the old "Incompatible logger" error has raised its head.
As I bought the Vue years ago and my VP2 from a different supplier,the original supplier not interested in replacing logger

Thanks

[SLOweather]

Is your Vue logger a Davis one? If so, they should swap it out for you.

[warrenb]

As I say above, as the new station is from a different supplier to the Vue, neither is interested in swapping the logger. Here in the UK, you have to go through the suppliers to get a swap.

[belfryboy]

I do still make them, I'm away from home at the moment, but I'll be knocking up another batch in the next week or so.

[warrenb]

Purchase made, thanks very much.

[wylde007]

I have been reading intently the numerous threads on serial "porting" the Vantage Vue/VP2 and the dreaded "green dot" dilemma.  At first I had all of the pieces in my shopping cart for which to noodle about with af4ex's and DeKay's XBee wireless serial connection which I found both fascinating and mind-spiraling.

I have a smidgen of experience with electronics and circuitry, and only a rank amateur's understanding of programming and coding, but I am also blessed as a tinkerer and not afraid to, as some have said, "let the magic smoke out".

But on my review of the component parts I would need to build two XBee breakouts and various sundry other items, I would be spending over $100 at www.sparkfun.com just to get a third-party solution.  So I bit the bullet and picked up the Vue and WeatherLink ($116) from Ambient.

Here's what I am wondering - in future applications I know I can probably generate an XBee transmitter set using the Davis logger, but I have a Raspberry Pi running WEEWX which presently acts as the go-between for my console (Ambient Weather WS-2095) and the web.  Would there be any way - any benefit to the Forum - to read FROM a newer "green dot" Davis logger and break down the line-level or raw data stream for someone to look at?  I can't find where anyone has taken a direct data translation from a new logger and tried to create a facsimile, workaround, or bypass to the native security.

Maybe I missed it somewhere, but if there is interest and someone can give me a little "how to" for sniffing the Logger via the USB port, I could give it a go.

[torkelmj]

Respectfully: no.

The Davis serial protocol specification is available for download from http://www.davisnet.com.

The SPI authentication process is well covered in this excellent forum and in a humble PDF document: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Unlock+Davis+serial+line 

Also, sniffing the logger via USB won't reveal much. That's simply not where the magic happens.

Unless my limited knowledge of the English language makes me miss the finer details of your post, there isn't much to be added.

73

[wylde007]

Respectfully: no.

Well, alrighty then.

The Davis serial protocol specification is available for download from http://www.davisnet.com.

The SPI authentication process is well covered in this excellent forum and in a humble PDF document: http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Unlock+Davis+serial+line 

LOL.  Humble to a fault, yeah? 

I read your "dissertation" and it was both thoughtful and humorous.  Unfortunately it is also above my pay grade at present, so I couldn't quite wrap my head around everything you had done, especially without having any of the components right here in front of me.

Also, sniffing the logger via USB won't reveal much. That's simply not where the magic happens.

I figured, but it didn't seem like a lot of other people had delved into it, at least with the "new" logger.

Since I also don't have unlimited resources OR free time, I try to be as efficient as possible in my creative endeavors.  Maximize my ROI, if you will.

[torkelmj]

The logger doesn't really do much - it's merely a level converter between the TTL levels utilized by the console and a traditional serial line (or a USB  interface) plus a bit of storage space. It's more of a pass-thru interface, really. The processing of commands and data all takes place in the console, which in turn talks to the logger's memory chip via the SPI interface.

You can have plenty of fun with an Arduino and the logger, though. Not very expensive, and it will get you started in no time.

[SystemsGuy]

You can have plenty of fun with an Arduino and the logger, though. Not very expensive, and it will get you started in no time.

The above is very true - I wasn't able to get torkelmj's attiny to work - most likely due to my ignorance of BASCOM, but I was able to use the information he provided, and what's in the forum to code my own using the Arduino IDE.

The only caveat would be to make sure you have a 3v Arduino.

Speaking of which - big "thanks" to all the brave souls who wandered down this road before, and who shared the knowledge to allow others to follow.

[miguel.nuno.oliveira]

Hi.

The the arduino code is working fine with a 3.3V mini pro. The board fits nicely behind the battery cover of the vantage VU.

Regards,

MNO

[djibb]

Hi all

In my school, I've just bought a VP2 and I have a raspberry. And we're hacking

As I see, I can't use RPI's GPIO directly in order to logs measures cause my VP2 is "protected" by firmware.

I understood I need a modchip (arduino/atmel etc.) to discuss with VP2's SPI bus and make free discussion with GPIOs.

But i really have a noob question... really noob question.

Raspberry have a SPI interface. Why not connect it and program it in order to have GPIO <-> VP2 discussion working ?
On other words : why not wiring SPI+GPIO bus from Raps ? Why another SPI interface is needed ?

Txs a lot for all work present here.

JB

[torkelmj]

Simply because you can't.

Google SPI MASTER MODE and SPI SLAVE MODE. Then figure out what the RPi supports and whether the VP2 console is a SLAVE or a MASTER.

(Bonus: you learned something from asking that question).

[djibb]

Thanks a lot Indeed, I've learned something great !

A little piece of code could (with guru abalities) allow us to have a slave mode on raspberry pip : https://github.com/hendric-git/bsc-slave

And something I don't undertstand : I've read SPI Bus can be emulate by GPIO : http://terminal28.blogspot.fr/2015/12/bitbanging-spi-on-raspberry-pi-via-spi.html
http://www.sciencegizmo.com.au/?p=105
Is this a dead end possibility ? Or should we dig more ?

[torkelmj]

By all means, feel free to try - and then document and share your findings.

A cold shower, though:
The RPi doesn't come with a real-time OS (AFAIK). The SPI communication rate is fast and proper timing is crucial. Wire length is also to be kept at a minimum.

[Bushman]

Does not come with it, but certainly available:  http://www.stevebate.net/chibios-rpi/GettingStarted.html  Amongst other options.

[Mattk]

Maybe the heroes producing and selling green dot loggers should also go into their own business and produce their own complete stations as well, like lets face we have to put up with this green dot logger inconvenience because some just had to pirate the hardware which is not a problem for their own use but obviously some don't care about the rest when they then try to profit from it.     

[torkelmj]

Careful now.

"Pirating" is a harsh accusation.

I can't imagine that anyone makes a living or a serious income from selling "pirated" loggers.

[Bushman]

Pirated?  How exactly?

[johnd]

I wouldn't use that word personally, but it seems plausible that the (re)appearance of clone loggers led directly to the green dot changes. Debatable whether that was the right response from Davis - it might have been better to reset the relative prices of station and logger more in proportion to their respective BoM's and remove the implied discount on the stations, but I guess that was more a marketing decision.

[Mattk]

Well some can call it what they like really, some may even think there is no relationship to the appearance of "cloned" loggers but until somebody can provide a plausible answer then I will continue to call a spade a spade and get quite p$ssed off because half my loggers won't work in the other half of my consoles. Talking double digit units here not just some one off setup. Maybe the minority should think twice next time before creating a headache for the majority, definitely not appreciated.     

[Bushman]

The only way Davis will prevent such "piracy" (ha!) of the logger is to modernize the console with built-in connectivity. Imagine - it is 2017 and we have no built-in connection.  Hell, my toaster is connected to the Internet!

[Mattk]

The only way Davis will prevent such "piracy" (ha!) of the logger is to modernize the console with built-in connectivity. Imagine - it is 2017 and we have no built-in connection.  Hell, my toaster is connected to the Internet!

And if you have ever spoken to Greg Ashton he would call a toaster connected to the internet as technology gone mad, waste of time, IoT is completely misunderstood by many.