Topic: Stand-alone Meteobridge

[Willum]

First things first.
I am by no-one's standard a computer buff but I can read and follow instructions.  I say this so any answers/advice don't go straight over my head.
Here's the problem.
I have a Davis Vantage Vue, one of Belfryboys data loggers, and a 'flashed' TP Link MR 3020.  As far as I can tell, the 'flashing' worked just fine.  I read all of docbee's instructions.
However:
I am physically not able to get access to my home network/router/wifi at the moment.  I am relying on an 'iffy' local wifi for internet access.
If possible I would like to use the newly flashed Meteobridge as a stand alone wifi transmitter to broadcast from the Vue/datalogger to my laptop.  Attaching the logger with a cable is possible - but a bit of a pain.
I had thought I might be able to get access to the Meteobridge by plugging it in to my laptop to find the data such as the IP address, etc, which I could then log onto and get it working.
It would seem, though, that without the Meteobridge physically plugged into a router, (which will assign an IP, etc) that isn't possible.
Is this assumption correct, ie, no router, no assigned IP address, no go?  .................. or does some kind soul know a way round that problem - or have i just missed something basic?
The laptop is dual-boot Windows 8.1/Ubuntu
Willum

[Bushman]

Somewhere along the way you have to tell the MB box what its IP address is.  If you do not have physical access to it you can emulate that by using the cloud:  http://meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Getting_Started#Cloud_Simulator_for_Network_Configuration  You'll need your network info of course.  This is all easier if you set it up once with physical access but AFAIK this offline configurator should do what you want. 

As for directly connecting the MB to your laptop via wifi, I'm not sure what that would solve.  Once set up you can access the MB from anywhere in the world using the "secret URL"

[Willum]

Thanks for the response, Bushman.  I'll revisit the instructions and try again.  Getting the password for my home network will be a touch challenging.  I can probably reset it when I'm back home with full access, so if it's not on my laptop, I can invent something for the time being.
The idea of linking the MB wirelessly is to avoid cables trailing everywhere.  Access to the internet is average at best, often none at all.
Will

[Bushman]

For remote access you can't beat Teamviewer. 

[Willum]

Correct me if I got this wrong but:
It would seem that I can't complete the flashing/installation/activation of the Meteobridge without connecting to a router - which I can't actually do because I'm on a 'paid for' (and poor ) wifi service.
Just have to wait 'til I get back home........................
Willum

[bchwdlks]

Correct me if I got this wrong but:
It would seem that I can't complete the flashing/installation/activation of the Meteobridge without connecting to a router - which I can't actually do because I'm on a 'paid for' (and poor ) wifi service.
Just have to wait 'til I get back home........................
Willum

I did mine (TP-Link) without a router. I used an IP cable from Windows 7 (WiFi not enabled & wired connection using DHCP) to the TP-Link. Windows saw it as a router and immediately connected.

[Willum]

Like you, I can connect direct with a cable, no problems.  The problem is that it offers this message:
'You got here, because Meteobridge application stack you wanted to access could not be loaded from the Internet. Most common reason for that is a bad network configuration of the Meteobridge device, that keeps the unit in endless fast blinking LED mode. From here you can do one of the following:
Wait: May be Meteobridge is still in the process of loading application stack from the Internet and it just needs a bit more time. You can give it a second try by this link'
plus several options.
I can't get any further - other than options that I think are way beyond my skill set.
Since the Meteobridge cannot connect to the internet with the service I have available, it looks to me as if I'm stuck for now
Willum

[bchwdlks]

Like you, I can connect direct with a cable, no problems.  The problem is that it offers this message:
...
Since the Meteobridge cannot connect to the internet with the service I have available, it looks to me as if I'm stuck for now
Willum

Correct, once he device is flashed you must connect to the internet to validate the license and completely load the image.  At that point,  if you have an attached usb stick, you can store a bootable image there so you can later run the MB application without internet service. If your internet service is like mine and very often looses connections, the usb stick is necessary. 

[Willum]

Correct, once he device is flashed you must connect to the internet to validate the license and completely load the image.  At that point,  if you have an attached usb stick, you can store a bootable image there so you can later run the MB application without internet service. If your internet service is like mine and very often looses connections, the usb stick is necessary.

Many thanks for that.  It now makes sense in that the software is incomplete until the connection is achieved?  I guess that's the way of controlling the licence and trial period, etc.  Without registration, nothing works.  Of all the 'wikis' I read, none of them dropped that hint, or actually state that bit.  I guess, too, the instances of someone trying to do what I'm trying are not common, either.
Tanks again.
Willum

[docbee]

#1 reason for loading the software needed for operation from the Internet is that the MR3020 just provides 4MB of flash storage. The applications needed will not fit in. Therefore, they are loaded from the Meteobridge server on boot into the RAM disk of the MR3020 (it has 32 MB RAM, much more than flash). A nice side effect is that you get the most recent version on each reboot, so no need to install updates by your own.

Most easy setup of network parameters when you cannot easily connect the flashed MR3020 to your LAN is imho using the cloud simulator. There you can click the network config you need, store it onto a USB stick and start the flashed MR3020 with the stick attached. Meteobridge will take the network config from the stick during boot and it should connect fine with your WLAN. From then on you can continue configuration with your browser directly pointing to the IP of the Meteobridge in your WLAN.

I hope this clarifies situation a bit... Might sound a bit complicated, but headless network devices like MR3020 are always a bit tricky to get setup first time. It is in the complexity of the matter and the hardware limits you are dealing with. I am still impressed that such a tiny, low power device can at all deliver all those features.

[Willum]

#1 reason for loading the software needed for operation from the Internet is that the MR3020 just provides 4MB of flash storage. The applications needed will not fit in. Therefore, they are loaded from the Meteobridge server on boot into the RAM disk of the MR3020 (it has 32 MB RAM, much more than flash). A nice side effect is that you get the most recent version on each reboot, so no need to install updates by your own.

Most easy setup of network parameters when you cannot easily connect the flashed MR3020 to your LAN is imho using the cloud simulator. There you can click the network config you need, store it onto a USB stick and start the flashed MR3020 with the stick attached. Meteobridge will take the network config from the stick during boot and it should connect fine with your WLAN. From then on you can continue configuration with your browser directly pointing to the IP of the Meteobridge in your WLAN.

I hope this clarifies situation a bit... Might sound a bit complicated, but headless network devices like MR3020 are always a bit tricky to get setup first time. It is in the complexity of the matter and the hardware limits you are dealing with. I am still impressed that such a tiny, low power device can at all deliver all those features.

Thanks for the response.  You've confirmed and expanded on what I had gleaned.  I now understand a lot more.
Might I suggest that for the less knowledgeable (like me) there is a message, somewhere at a relatively early stage of the descriptive/set up information, that the Meteobridge cannot be fully set up to a functional state without an internet connection.
I got one in order to wirelessly link my weather station to the internet and my computer - which I know it will do - but also with the belief that it could be used in a mobile environment (my motorhome), with the weather station operating from the roof (which it is), giving me the option of connecting my laptop to the weather station wirelessly and connecting to the internet on an availability basis.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe I can do that - once the Meteobridge is fully functional.
Regards
Willum