Weather Station Hardware > WiFiLogger/Meteo-Pi

DIY Logger

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Garth Bock:
Just an update on the DIY Logger. I have had it running for about 4 months straight on my test system with no problems. The only change I made was to the USB/UART cable that I bought from AliExpress for about $3 each.  I replaced the 4 single 1x1 Dupont connectors with one 1x6 Dupont for easier plug/unplug. So for about $100 I have a logger that seems to work in any Davis Console/Envoy under different firmware. The nice thing about the DIY Logger is that it uses the USB power to support the Console/Envoy without the need of a power brick, separate USB power cable or just running the backup batteries down. Just one cable for both power and data. It's also more flexible than the Davis Logger for special setups. If you want to see more about the set up and testing I did, there is a Doc on it I posted here in this sub.

Garth Bock:
Here's another pic of the DIY Logger.

WiFiLogger:

--- Quote from: Garth Bock on February 15, 2024, 12:15:46 PM ---Just an update on the DIY Logger. I have had it running for about 4 months straight on my test system with no problems. The only change I made was to the USB/UART cable that I bought from AliExpress for about $3 each.  I replaced the 4 single 1x1 Dupont connectors with one 1x6 Dupont for easier plug/unplug. So for about $100 I have a logger that seems to work in any Davis Console/Envoy under different firmware. The nice thing about the DIY Logger is that it uses the USB power to support the Console/Envoy without the need of a power brick, separate USB power cable or just running the backup batteries down. Just one cable for both power and data. It's also more flexible than the Davis Logger for special setups. If you want to see more about the set up and testing I did, there is a Doc on it I posted here in this sub.

--- End quote ---
I do know that it could be more compact, but this small power cable is very needed. Davis consoles sense 5VDC and if there is lack of it then  turns on batteries power.
So this small power cable was very needed.
Communication is UART, like natice consoles communication is.
DIY logger should be very handy for people who wants connect Davis console to custom GSM gatewat, or to RaspberryPi, or to ther DIY systems.

Also it is easy to make USB logger from it, but you have to know that for WeatherLink PC hardware flow control has to be serverd by 2 additional cable in USB-UART converter. Everythong is in manual.

Garth Bock:

--- Quote --- I do know that it could be more compact, but this small power cable is very needed.
--- End quote ---

You misunderstood me. I was referring to not needing the Davis USB power cable that can be used instead of the power brick. In that setup 2 USB ports are needed..one for power and one for data. Your setup reduces that to one cable for both power and data which is much better.

In a past post I documented power requirements and tested all Windows weather software so that everyone could see the compatibility and consider it as a better cost choice than the Davis logger.

WiFiLogger:

--- Quote from: Garth Bock on February 28, 2024, 11:03:44 PM ---
--- Quote --- I do know that it could be more compact, but this small power cable is very needed.
--- End quote ---

You misunderstood me. I was referring to not needing the Davis USB power cable that can be used instead of the power brick. In that setup 2 USB ports are needed..one for power and one for data. Your setup reduces that to one cable for both power and data which is much better.

In a past post I documented power requirements and tested all Windows weather software so that everyone could see the compatibility and consider it as a better cost choice than the Davis logger.

--- End quote ---

I understood you well. Nonetheless, I am aware that this small power cable looks strange. But since you can omit using an additional power supply and not occupy an additional socket in the wall, or not use the second USB port to power the console, then you can start to appreciate this design :)

There is another difficulty in the DIY logger and converting it to USB. There are several USB <-> UART chips to choose from. I happily use CP2102.
I avoid PL2303, but not because it's bad, it's more about the quantity and quality of unknown origin counterfeits.
Sometimes you have to invest another $3 in a second cable. There is no golden mean in choosing which cable. It's a bit of a roulette.

DIY is reliable and additionally has galvanic isolation up to 2.5 kV. For data lines.
If you use console power, unfortunately, the power is drawn from the host.
However, the data lines do not connect. The console's processor, Davis, is not directly connected to the RaspberryPI processor, or any other PC HOST processor.

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