Author Topic: Multi Rmote Stations  (Read 2679 times)

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Offline Lavarock7

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Multi Rmote Stations
« on: May 03, 2017, 12:49:52 PM »
A bit of background. We are located in Hawaii on the Big Island. In the area we wish to monitor, the temperature will not get below 50 degrees F nor go much above 85 degrees F. We won’t have snow in the area we are monitoring either. (I know, but such is life near the tropics). What we DO have are micro-climates where the weather can be quite different a few miles away.

We have a road going from a lower elevation of 2,000 feet up the mountain about 2 miles, ending about 3,500 feet altitude. We want to place a weather station at the low end of the road and then 3 more spaced out going up the mountain; each unit progressively further away. The units need to measure typical data like barometric pressure, humidity, wind speed, direction, rainfall, sunlight, solar flux, UV and so on. Since this is a farm, things like soil moisture and so on would be nice.

If there is a problem we can visit a remote unit to grab data, but really want to collect all data at the lower unit where we have a building with electric and internet. The other 3 units will be spread out up the road. They will not have electric nor internet and will probably have to communicate via cellphone because of the distance. We prefer not to run internet or power up the road. The only reliable cellphone provider in that area is Verizon and there is a cell tower near the building.

We will need to extract data to be sent to various people to review. We will probably also submit to Wundergound.

In this case, the cost is not the deciding item, unless it is exorbitant.

Does anyone have a suggestion?



They said someone had to move to Hawaii and I raised my hand first!

Offline johnd

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #1 on: May 03, 2017, 12:52:55 PM »
Davis Vantage Connect units receiving data from VP2 Plus ISS units would seem to be the obvious solution.
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Offline Bushman

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #2 on: May 03, 2017, 01:19:27 PM »
Or this:  http://www.weatherelement.com/  Used in a lot of farming applications.  Based on Davis equipment, too.
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Offline Lavarock7

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #3 on: May 03, 2017, 01:41:09 PM »
Davis Vantage Connect units receiving data from VP2 Plus ISS units would seem to be the obvious solution.

Thanks for the info. A quick review of their products looks like this may work. I will be visiting the physical site today and will ensure that Verizon works at the places we think the stations will be placed. Now they are saying perhaps 6 stations, 1 every 500 feet in elevation.

I love it when the specs change every few hours. Luckily they are not as worried about price as they are quality of the data.
They said someone had to move to Hawaii and I raised my hand first!

Offline Bushman

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2017, 02:25:07 PM »
You might want to start thinking about the data.  How are you going to use it?  Want to see an aggregate/map-based display?  Or each station on its own?  The Vantage Connect system sends individual station to weatherlink.com; you'd have to pull the data from there if you want to do anything with it (geographic isothermics, etc.)
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Offline SLOweather

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #5 on: May 03, 2017, 04:42:24 PM »
Could we see the potential sites plotted on, say, a Google map, or, if not, get the lats and lons?

Offline johnd

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #6 on: May 03, 2017, 05:18:07 PM »
The Vantage Connect system sends individual station to weatherlink.com; you'd have to pull the data from there if you want to do anything with it (geographic isothermics, etc.)

Or use something like the Prowlar software that's in development to pull data from wl.com. It may or may not do what you need, but would be a step towards viewing data from multiple wl.com stations in a single account.
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Offline Bushman

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #7 on: May 03, 2017, 07:09:03 PM »
Interesting....  http://www.weatherstations.co.uk/prowlar-software-weatherlink-com.htm  But I am starting to dislike all these cloud-based solutions.
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Offline zeppline

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #8 on: May 04, 2017, 05:44:29 PM »
Have you looked at Rainwise, they have Telemet ll Cellular that can dial cell phone in remote areas and can be solar powered.
http://www.rainwise.com/products/detail.php?ID=6919&Category=Telemetry&pageNum_cart=/products/index.php

Offline Lavarock7

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2017, 05:05:13 AM »
Visited the site and no cellphone voice or data near where we need the stations. The only tower nearby is ATT and we will be asking them if they can tweak their antenna. Our site is above their antenna in altitude so they may not. We would be the only ones up there using their signal.

If not, then we may only be able to use satellite and cut back on the number of stations.

Some farms are using a system that transmits data to the NRCS (not sure which). I will have to see what they are using. It appears to be a radio link.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2017, 05:09:31 AM by Lavarock7 »
They said someone had to move to Hawaii and I raised my hand first!

Offline johnd

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2017, 05:58:05 AM »
I don't know how relevant this is and of course it depends on available budget, but don't forget that it is possible to use wireless repeaters, including the long-range versions, with a Davis Connect system. This can extend the range between sensors and Connect unit up to a mile (or potentially more), provided there's clear line of sight for each leg of the transmission.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2017, 06:09:20 AM by johnd »
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
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Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Lavarock7

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2017, 01:20:01 PM »
Johnd, there is a long road with tall trees on either side, then periodic flat clear areas. There is no power or telephone lines and no easy way to run miles or wires. As for clear shots, not really.

I'll investigate wireless repeaters, but the most important site is the one furthest up the hill (actually it is a volcano to be accurate) and about a 3 mile drive.

I'll see what we can do with NRCS, and what kind of receiver and frequencies they are using. I'm afraid it may be government bands.

Someone may just have to go up there and do a data dump if we can't find a better solution.
They said someone had to move to Hawaii and I raised my hand first!

Offline Bushman

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #12 on: May 29, 2017, 02:27:06 PM »
Satellite internet  - HughesNet Hawaii for instance.  Not cheap though.
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Offline Lavarock7

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2017, 02:46:58 PM »
I'm looking at all solutions. With satellite I still need power (solar panels) and batteries. Actually I have some panels on order for a self install at home. Maybe I'll rent them to the project :-)

A few thousand dollars for a years worth of data is not *that* expensive for this.

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Offline johnd

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #14 on: May 29, 2017, 04:10:34 PM »
Well, just to be clear:

1. The Davis Sensors, wireless repeater and Connect units all have built-in solar panels and so are self-powered (other than changing a back-up battery in the ISS and repeaters eg every 2 years or so);

2. You would only need to repeat the sensor signal down to a position where a cell signal might be available. In other words, the Connect unit would be the last item in the chain;

3. It is possible to daisy-chain repeaters to achieve decent distance. But, as per the last post, each individual leg needs to be line-of-sight, though remember that repeaters or antennas could be mounted high on a pole in order to achieve l-o-s if that helps at all.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Mattk

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #15 on: May 29, 2017, 05:52:07 PM »
A mixed design of Long Range & standard repeaters should cover that distance but hilly terrain might reduce distance & signal? A stand-alone 2.4 or 5ghz WiFi backbone would work better but has additional cost and power requirements. Data links would then be Ethernet/serial. 

Offline dupreezd

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Re: Multi Rmote Stations
« Reply #16 on: May 29, 2017, 07:53:50 PM »
Look at the Ubiquity line of products.  We use the Nano Beam AC for point to point where we can not run fiber or copper. One implementation is to provide a backhaul to our data center if we loose our main connection, which is over two miles away.

They are not expensive and work extremely well.

https://www.ubnt.com/products/
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