Author Topic: What Weather Station DID I buy???  (Read 3316 times)

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Offline Aussie Susan

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What Weather Station DID I buy???
« on: August 01, 2016, 12:40:03 AM »
I hope this question fits here as it is a slight twist on the forum topic.

I purchased a Digitech XC0422 from Jaycar (in Australia) which to all intents and purposes seems to be the same as the Ambient WS1001-WiFi and the Fine Offset HP1000. The "About" screen show in the manual that came with the unit shows the 'Model' as HP1000 but my device shows "XC0422". I can connect to Weather Underground and I'm updating there very well.

HOWEVER

Looking at all of the on-line manuals for those weather stations and in particular at the connectors etc at the right-hand side of the main display, the XC0422 has a USB slot there the other WiFi display units do not.

The XC0422 manual is at http://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/sys_master/images/h1c/h3f/8869928009758/XC0422-manualMain.pdf and Page 3 has the relevant image. The caption says that the USB slot is for software updates only and not for data communication. The WS1000-WiFi manual shows an identical image except there is no USB slot and the caption for the SD card says it is for upgrades and data backup.

I can perform data backups with the XC0422 using an SD card.

I suspect that I have bought a re-badged device of some sort but I really want to know exactly what it is?

The reason I'm after this is that I would like to get the weather data sent to a local computer (for passing on to Weather Underground and other sites) and for local display, but this is not working for me. Further, it says it is running Firmware V 2.2.2 and from what I can see elsewhere, the Ambient devices now have V 2.2.9 and there are various discussion forum entries about how to edit the various '.ini' files to get over issues similar to the ones I'm having. So I would like to know if it is safe to use some of those firmware files to update my workstations.

Further I can find no instructions about how to update the firmware for the XC0422 and how the USB port on the device fits in with this.

Any pointers of suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks

Susan

Offline Bushman

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Offline Aussie Susan

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Re: What Weather Station DID I buy???
« Reply #2 on: August 01, 2016, 01:38:27 AM »
Yes - that is the one I purchased.

But what I want to know is what is it equivalent to so I can correctly source firmware updates and know how to manage it properly as the documentation that came with it is totally inadequate in that regard.

Susan

Offline weather34

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Re: What Weather Station DID I buy???
« Reply #3 on: August 01, 2016, 05:55:33 AM »
I hope this question fits here as it is a slight twist on the forum topic.

I purchased a Digitech XC0422 from Jaycar (in Australia) which to all intents and purposes seems to be the same as the Ambient WS1001-WiFi and the Fine Offset HP1000. The "About" screen show in the manual that came with the unit shows the 'Model' as HP1000 but my device shows "XC0422". I can connect to Weather Underground and I'm updating there very well.

HOWEVER

Looking at all of the on-line manuals for those weather stations and in particular at the connectors etc at the right-hand side of the main display, the XC0422 has a USB slot there the other WiFi display units do not.

The XC0422 manual is at http://www.jaycar.com.au/medias/sys_master/images/h1c/h3f/8869928009758/XC0422-manualMain.pdf and Page 3 has the relevant image. The caption says that the USB slot is for software updates only and not for data communication. The WS1000-WiFi manual shows an identical image except there is no USB slot and the caption for the SD card says it is for upgrades and data backup.

I can perform data backups with the XC0422 using an SD card.

I suspect that I have bought a re-badged device of some sort but I really want to know exactly what it is?

The reason I'm after this is that I would like to get the weather data sent to a local computer (for passing on to Weather Underground and other sites) and for local display, but this is not working for me. Further, it says it is running Firmware V 2.2.2 and from what I can see elsewhere, the Ambient devices now have V 2.2.9 and there are various discussion forum entries about how to edit the various '.ini' files to get over issues similar to the ones I'm having. So I would like to know if it is safe to use some of those firmware files to update my workstations.

Further I can find no instructions about how to update the firmware for the XC0422 and how the USB port on the device fits in with this.

Any pointers of suggestions would be welcomed.

Thanks

Susan

HI THE USB port

if you have a windows based computer you can connect the console unit to the pc it does not function on a mac based os.

it allows to access the files on the console so you can drag either to the console or from the console to the pc.

firmware upgrades be-careful very careful the common one often found is from AMBIENT however the wireless frequency is often different from what is used on countries or regions due to localised laws etc. ambient uses Frequency=915M here in europe we use Frequency=433M so need to check that otherwise you will lose the sensors communicating to the console.

i used to distribute a few modification for versions on 2.2.5 but since 2.2.9 release i have seen a few instances of wifi failure ,bricked units etc so i dont do that anymore .

if you are using a windows pc you can simply edit the server.ini file without having to do SDCARD firmware upgrade just by dragging the file to your pc then edit it and drag it back over reboot console to reflect changes.

you can modify it easily for sending data to your personal website

as running here using same machine as you
http://weather34.com

there is a guy on here now called IRONHORSEMAN who i have passed all aspects of WS1001 clones to send data and templates for web he hosts the
stuff at GITHUB https://github.com/lrosenman/WS1001-Template he is very switched on very knowledgeable in this area .

there is also possibility to use dedicated software now with the WS1001 clones using weather-display software http://www.weather-display.com/index.php
this opens up lots of options for storing and creating software based historical data etc.. the author is from New Zealand..

sometime in the far future i will published an article on how to improve temperature/humidity sensor area behind the radiation sheild, unfortunately this model has issues in dense fog conditions where dew and condensation can build around the thermistor/sensor circuitry unfortunately its very poorly designed area as the small circuit contacts and soldered areas are exposed thus when dense fog and dew is present it can create erratic readings due to the condensation or small amounts water residue building up on the circuit creating a conductive point between exposed solder areas and contacts. (old school ham radio tricks come in use for making antenna connections and masthead pre-amps waterproof fed with Heliax LDF 250/450 etc fed with N connectors)

since i remedied that problem i no longer have or seen erratic temperature readings during dense fog conditions etc . i applied the hardware modification a year ago just never got round to doing an article . but for those confident in soldering and apply some thin silicon with steady hands should be no problem.

note this may not be the case with later production models but anyone who want to unscrew the radiation shield will see the green exposed circuit board or not  if it has changed!

have fun but be careful

brian
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 06:29:01 AM by weatherist34 »

Offline Aussie Susan

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Re: What Weather Station DID I buy???
« Reply #4 on: August 01, 2016, 10:51:58 PM »
Brian,

Thank you for the response - pretty much just what I was looking for.

So it would seem that I do have a WS1001-WiFi clone which is good to know.

I do have a Mac but I also run Windows in a Parallels VM so I'll see if I can access the files on the console that way.

And thanks for the top about editing the 'server.ini' file - looks like a 'less risky' way to see if I can get the data sent elsewhere (as well as generally poking around to see how the device is configured).

[I note the reference to 'ham radio' - my callsign is VK3ANZ. Also note the reference to the New Zealand authored software - NZ is where I was born so you've hit all the right buttons there.]

73

Susan

Offline Aussie Susan

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Re: What Weather Station DID I buy???
« Reply #5 on: August 07, 2016, 08:27:52 PM »
In case anyone else finds this useful, I fired up a Parallels Windows 10 VM and connected my weather station via a USB cable.
I needed to direct the 'device' (which showed up in the Parallels 'Devices > USB Devices" list simply as 'Microsoft') the Windows system loaded up the Windows Mobile package and I could see the device in the File Explorer.
After that, I simply looked at the 'NAND' directory and the files were all there with read/write access.
I've not tried to update anything as yet as I want to understand the update process better, but at least the path to get there is now clear.
Thanks all
Susan

 

anything