Author Topic: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability  (Read 96560 times)

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Offline dalecoy

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #25 on: February 12, 2012, 05:09:21 PM »
No joy here for me :-(   .....
... So I went back to my Davis logger till I figure this out.  ANY suggestions ......?????

Just curious why you are replacing your Davis logger.

Offline moehoward4

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #26 on: February 12, 2012, 07:03:44 PM »
Dalecoy   a couple of reasons...to try something new that was developed by someone here(those that are a whole lot smarter than me) and to have as a back up to my Davis logger. There are a few here that have little to no faith in the Davis USB logger. Mine has never given me any problems in and of itself, any trouble I have had were brought on by myself. Just look at my previous entries on this thread. BUT, I've got it figured out now.....     Jack
« Last Edit: February 12, 2012, 09:11:38 PM by moehoward4 »
3 Davis set-ups...which one ya wanna talk about? And I got ALL my manuals....

Offline dalecoy

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #27 on: February 12, 2012, 08:56:23 PM »
Dalecoy   a couple of reasons...to try something new that was developed by someone here(those that are a whole lot smarter than me) and to have as a back up to my Davis logger. There are a few here that little to no faith in the Davis USB logger. Mine has never given me any problems in and of itself, any trouble I have had were brought on by myself. Just look at my previous entries on this thread. BUT, I've got it figured out now.....     Jack

Thanks.  And yes, I think it's great that these alternatives have been developed.

Offline Weather Display

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #28 on: February 13, 2012, 12:46:43 PM »
Quote
There are a few here that have little to no faith in the Davis USB logger
no longer the case with the latest slicon labs driver
Brian
info@weather-display.com
http://www.weather-display.com

Offline Duck Fan

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #29 on: February 26, 2012, 12:21:22 PM »
Received my DSI-01 on Friday and Saturday morning after a cup of coffee had everything hooked up, downloaded Cumulus and am uploading to PWS and WU. Thanks Chris...You ROCK!! 8-)
Nick

Davis Vantage Pro2  LaCrosse WS2812 Modified   
WU: KORSCIO3  PWS: SCIOWX21

Offline KD0MBL

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Hi all,

Total newbie here. 

With this DSI-01 interface connected to my Vantage Vue console and my laptop via serial - USB interface, what other software and hardware is needed to start viewing my data on my computer?   

Offline JACK10562

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With this DSI-01 interface connected to my Vantage Vue console and my laptop via serial - USB interface, what other software and hardware is needed to start viewing my data on my computer?   

No other hardware is needed other than an USB cable. You can use practically any weather software that you like that is capable of communicating with the COM port assigned to the DSI-01 hardware interface.
 
 The Weatherlink software that comes with your station is a good place to start even if you eventually decide to use something else.
CWOP:DW5051
MADIS ID:D5051
WU:KMAEASTH4
CoCoRaHS:MA-BA-23
DavisVantagePro2Plus#6163
Cumulus 1.9.4(1097)←☼

Offline johnd

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You can use practically any weather software that you like that is capable of communicating with the COM port assigned to the DSI-01 hardware interface.

Let's be clear please to avoid misunderstanding: With the original (non-Belfryboy) adapter you can only use software features that consume the real-time (LOOP) data that the console generates. Any features that rely on archive data in any way eg to fill in holes in the data feed won't (can't) work, because there is no logger memory to store the archive data. Granted, this limitation won't often be important in many applications but it is worth being aware of to avoid future disappointment.
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 KD0MBL

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With this DSI-01 interface connected to my Vantage Vue console and my laptop via serial - USB interface, what other software and hardware is needed to start viewing my data on my computer?   

No other hardware is needed other than an USB cable. You can use practically any weather software that you like that is capable of communicating with the COM port assigned to the DSI-01 hardware interface.
 
 The Weatherlink software that comes with your station is a good place to start even if you eventually decide to use something else.

Thanks Jack!

I was under the impression that WeatherLink was an option.  I don't remember receiving it with my station a couple years ago nor is it on the list of what was included in the box. 

What free or inexpensive software options are there other than Cumulus?  I'd like to get it on the internet and eventually APRS.

Thanks again! 

Offline KD0MBL

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Let's be clear please to avoid misunderstanding: With the original (non-Belfryboy) adapter you can only use software features that consume the real-time (LOOP) data that the console generates. Any features that rely on archive data in any way eg to fill in holes in the data feed won't (can't) work, because there is no logger memory to store the archive data. Granted, this limitation won't often be important in many applications but it is worth being aware of to avoid future disappointment.

johnd,

I'm sorry to say I don't know the difference. 

Offline johnd

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Well, the Vantage console/logger system generates two quite distinct types of data:

First there's real-time data (termed LOOP data by Davis) generated approximately every 2 seconds and containing a snapshot of current weather conditions. This is not stored at all, but is simply passed to any receiving PC that requests it. If a LOOP packet is missed it's not too crucial because there'll be another packet along in about 2 secs time.

Then there's archive data. This is data that's summarised over a preset period, often something like every 5 or 10 minutes. If you have a true data logger fitted this archive data can be stored by the logger for up to 2 weeks (in the case of the 10 minute period, but pro rata with the period selected). So in this case it doesn't matter whether a connected PC is switched on (or even connected at all). You can connect up a PC say every 2 weeks, download the stored archive data to the PC and then disconnect the PC again. And you will still have a detailed record of all the weather readings, summarised over short periods of time such as every 5 or 10 minutes.

Obviously if you don't use a true data logger then this archive data can't be captured at all (because there's no logger memory in which to store it). Now with a lot of non-Davis software, this doesn't matter because the PC software is creating all its records based on the real-time data. But it does mean that the connected PC does need to remain connected and switched on 24/7 if data is not to be lost.

So if you're expecting to run a PC 24/7 and don't mind an occasional loss of data if the PC happens to lose power or misbehave from time to time, then an adapter like the one described in this thread can be an excellent  solution. But please remember that it's not a complete substitute for the full logger with memory.
« Last Edit: March 28, 2012, 04:09:19 PM by johnd »
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 dalecoy

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 The Weatherlink software that comes with your station is a good place to start even if you eventually decide to use something else.

WeatherLink software does not come with the station.  If you purchase a Davis logger, you also get the WeatherLink software (and license to use it).

Offline JACK10562

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Thanks, John & Dale, for the expansion and clarification.

My apologies, Weatherlink software does NOT come with the Davis console.

In addition to Cumulus (which I run 24/7) there are a couple of other easy to use free software's such as WUHU and VP Live, that you can upload your station data to CWOP/APRS and WeatherUnderground.  Links to download and use these are in the forum Weather Software section
« Last Edit: March 29, 2012, 05:11:12 AM by JACK10562 »
CWOP:DW5051
MADIS ID:D5051
WU:KMAEASTH4
CoCoRaHS:MA-BA-23
DavisVantagePro2Plus#6163
Cumulus 1.9.4(1097)←☼

Offline KD0MBL

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Jack, John & Dale,

Many thanks!

-neal

Offline rhallman

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Is this interface still avialble for the VP1?   I need to update two consoles and looking for a cable that will work for the firmware updates.

Thanks...

Offline belfryboy

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This cable will not work for updating firmware on VP1 boards, they were never enabled for direct PC updating

Offline rhallman

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Ok...Thanks for the update.  I thought this was already tested with a VP1 board to do firmware updates.  I guess Im back to looking for the Davis updater board then.   Thanks...

Offline dalecoy

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Ok...Thanks for the update.  I thought this was already tested with a VP1 board to do firmware updates.  I guess Im back to looking for the Davis updater board then.   Thanks...

Contact wxwatcher http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=14732.0

The problem is that there is no direct-from-computer firmware update for the VP1.
« Last Edit: April 13, 2012, 11:05:20 PM by dalecoy »

Offline viker

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hello
I have just hooked up the interface to my Meteohub, it functions perfectly!  \:D/

best regards

Christer
Viker
Sweden

Offline SLOweather

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Bump.

I have several of these made and ready to ship. (Pre-boxed and everything...) And, I can always make more. :) To get the PC board cost down, I ordered 500, and have at least 400 left.

PM me for the order page. Using the USPS Priority mail service I can also ship internationally.

Chris

Offline mopac01

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I purchased one of these early in the year and I can confirm that it definitely is a viable option, particularly for those on a budget.  Having just purchased my VP2, I couldn't afford the Davis options.  I used this to connect via a Keyspan serial to USB adapter with my Mac Mini running 10.6 Snow Leopard (the Mac operating system) with the latest Apple OS patches and Keyspan drivers.  The Keyspan adapter was brand new as well.  (I'm running Weathercat Mac software on the Mini to handle my data logging, graphing and uploading to WeatherUnderground.)  

The only issue I had, which I'll post here for the benefit of others who might try this, was an occasional loss of the data feed by my Weathercat software.  All the software was up to date, so I added ferrite cores EVERYWHERE to try to eliminate any interference. This did not resolve the problem.  I also noted that when the Mac lost the data feed the VP2 console also locked up.  It wouldn't respond to key presses for around a minute or so.  Then everything went back to normal - although the Mac still had lost the data feed.  I used a watchdog feature of the Weathercat software to force a recycling of the Weathercat software.  This would reestablish the communication and all was well again.  This resulted in a few minutes of dropped data 2 or 3 times a day on average.  But everything was fully automated, so for the cost I found it a very acceptable solution.  

Since then, I've "recovered" from the cost of VP2 and just purchased the Davis WeatherLink IP logger.  My WeatherCat software is able to poll from this logger without problem even with the logger firmware also uploading to the Davis WeatherLink site as well.  (I know I could move the uploading to WeatherUnderground from my Weathercat software to the Weatherlink site, but Weathercat is working just fine.)

Even though I'm not presently using my DSO-01, I applaud the effort at creating it.  I have no problems recommending it for those looking for a much less expensive solution for capturing their data than what Davis offers.

I would also add that having moved to the IP solution, I can't imagine going back to USB or serial.  The IP seems rock solid, plus my console doesn't need to be next to my computer any longer.  If Davis could just imbed a wi-fi chip in their IP logger then it would be an even slicker solution.  However, it wouldn't completely free the console from cords as the IP logger MUST have the wall wart attached.  The batteries will only power a console with the IP logger for a very short time -  I think measured in hours, if not minutes.
« Last Edit: July 02, 2012, 11:48:51 AM by mopac01 »

Offline HandyGeek

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #46 on: August 13, 2012, 01:10:27 PM »
This cable will not work for updating firmware on VP1 boards, they were never enabled for direct PC updating

The Paypal link brings up a non-USD price.

What is the cost USD including shipping to GA, USA, please?

Thanks!

Offline HandyGeek

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #47 on: August 13, 2012, 01:13:42 PM »
Bump.

I have several of these made and ready to ship. (Pre-boxed and everything...) And, I can always make more. :) To get the PC board cost down, I ordered 500, and have at least 400 left.

PM me for the order page. Using the USPS Priority mail service I can also ship internationally.

Chris

OK, I was confused by the following post.

I looked here and saw nothing: http://wx.sloweather.com/

Then I reread and saw I needed to PM ... doing so now ...

Offline HandyGeek

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #48 on: August 16, 2012, 01:19:29 PM »
DSI-01 arrived today and was a very simple install, thanks!

QUESTIONS:

1.  What device identification does the DSI-01 or Davis Vantage Vue present to the computer?

(I need to know if I am looking at the correct device.)

2.  Are you aware of anyone using the DSI-01 and Davis Vantage Vue with weewx or wxview in Linux?

Thanks again,

David

Offline SLOweather

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Re: DSI-01 Serial Interface for Davis VP, VP2, Vue and Envoy availability
« Reply #49 on: August 16, 2012, 01:59:13 PM »
On a Windows machine, you should know what serial COM port you are using. If you are using a USB-Serial adapter, you could check the device manager to see what COM port is assigned.

I don't know how that works in Linux...

If you want to know if you are looking at the correct device, open a terminal program (in Windows, Hyperterminal), connect to that port at 19,200 8N1, CAPS lock on and send TEST, enter. You should get TEST back from the console. Send VER enter, and you'll get a firmware version, NVER returns a different version of the version. :)

DSI-01 arrived today and was a very simple install, thanks!

QUESTIONS:

1.  What device identification does the DSI-01 or Davis Vantage Vue present to the computer?

(I need to know if I am looking at the correct device.)

2.  Are you aware of anyone using the DSI-01 and Davis Vantage Vue with weewx or wxview in Linux?

Thanks again,

David