Author Topic: Using more than 8 sensors with more than one gateway (GW1000 / GW1100) - method?  (Read 499 times)

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Offline jbroome

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Hi, I've seen a few comments about using more than the maximum number of supported sensors spread across multiple consoles, but I don't think I've seen anyone say exactly how they went about configuring them.  I would be very interested in reading about the methods that people use.

In my situation, I have several GW1000 and GW1100 devices, and I have a fleet of temperature sensors (WH31 variants), a bunch of soil moisture sensors (WH51), 6 WH55 Leak Detectors, one WH68+WH40 Anemometer and Rain Gauge setup, and one Ambient Y-shaped Anemometer et al (WH65?), all on 915 MHz.

To be clear, I understand that one GW1000 can only handle 8 WH31 temperature sensors, 8 WH51 soil sensors, and 4 WH55 leak detectors.  So I would like to have a second GW1000 to handle WH31 units 9 through 16, WH51 units 9 through 16, and WH55 units 5 through 8, give or take.

Also note that I am not worried about software compatibility, as I have written my own code to manage the GW1000/GW1100 and feed the data through to where it needs to go.

I've tried a couple of approaches including performing a factory reset of one GW1x00 at a time, to see if they find the devices similarly or differently.  So far, no obvious success.  I have have tried having the two anemometers far apart and the GW near only one, yet all of the GWs find the WS68.  (The WH68 is already mounted up high, so I haven't tried removing its battery.) 

I also haven't come up with a working solution for the other sensors yet, even though it feels like it should be relatively obvious ...  So clearly, any help would be appreciated.

As a backup solution, I realize that I could use an RTL-SDR radio and some custom code (relying on the hardware ID and Channel number to differentiate between devices), but honestly it seems that it should be possible with the Ecowitt GW devices and some clever configuration.

I appeal to the collective wisdom of the group!

Thanks...
« Last Edit: October 16, 2021, 09:36:43 PM by jbroome »
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)

Offline Rover1822

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    • Mini Wind and Solar Data project
Depends on the sensor but is actually quite easy... there are multiple ways to do it.
I have 8 soil sensors on one GW1000 and 4 on another.
I have a WS2000 array (wh65) reporting to one GW1000, and then 2 other WH40s reporting to 2 other GW1000s. And I mix nd match sensors across 3 GW1000s and 1 GW1100 at the house.

The soil sensors are are easy, you can enter them directly in WSView  using the codes on them.

OR... in this case for all of the ones I use (including the soil sensors) , just bring up the GW1000 and power on a sensor. Goes for the WH40s etc. in my case. And just play with it until I know I have the right one. I mean re-register etc.. via WSView. Once you have registered the correct one, it will stick.

I know, not much help. But it is rather easy. You don't need an SDR (although I recommend getting one for diagnostics).




Ambient:
  WS-2000
  PM 2.5(2)
  WH31B(2)
  WH40E
  WH31P
EcoWitt:
  GW1100
  GW1000(4)
  WH31(2)
  WH57
  WH51(12),
  WH40
  WH5360B
  WN34S
  WittBoy WS90 + GW2000
  WS90 (other one) + GW1100
Personal Sites: Weather Cam

Offline jbroome

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Oh duh!  Like I said, it ought to be obvious, but I was stuck in the weeds.  So in the WS View ap, under Sensors ID, choose the slot (e.g. CH4 in the WH31 area), and type in hardware ID that you want, then tap "Save".  Yes?

I'll need to mess around and see exactly what API call and data the WS View app is using.  Shouldn't be too hard.  Sure beats pulling out the Faraday cage!

Thanks!

p.s. already have the rtl-sdr -- that has been very handy for figuring out some errors in the Ecowitt documentation.
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)

Offline Rover1822

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    • Mini Wind and Solar Data project
The RTL-SDR is handy , as you can run RTL_433 , which has a fairly decent library of deciphers for Ecowitt/Ambient/Fine offset. But be aware it is a community generated decipher library on the sensors so certain things may not show up as expected in RTL_433. Also , you can narrow down the filters in RTL_433 to more closely match your sensors as when they are identified , may come up with the wrong one , and there may be a closer match for your sensor.

All I can say on that, is someone, somewhere , has been nice enough to add the deciphers to the community, and much Kudos to them that do.

Besides, an SDR is just plain fun to have for other things, I use one of mine mostly to listen to nearby marine traffic hooked up to a 38' monopole, and scan the frequencies




« Last Edit: October 16, 2021, 10:09:23 PM by Rover1822 »
Ambient:
  WS-2000
  PM 2.5(2)
  WH31B(2)
  WH40E
  WH31P
EcoWitt:
  GW1100
  GW1000(4)
  WH31(2)
  WH57
  WH51(12),
  WH40
  WH5360B
  WN34S
  WittBoy WS90 + GW2000
  WS90 (other one) + GW1100
Personal Sites: Weather Cam

Offline jbroome

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Yes, the decoding in rtl_433 is pretty awesome.  I've been doing some cleanup on the code recently, mostly so it displays things more consistently across the various sensors (like "Id"!)  I've also found a couple of minor bugs that I've fixed, again mostly regarding output.  I keep meaning to look at the "too many bits" messages to see what's causing those -- another day though.

I also use tcpdump on the TCP/IP and UDP/IP side of things.  ( It's easier than dragging out wireshark!  :evil: )

It turns out that the Ecowitt documentation is wrong about a couple of things, and the combination of rtl_433 and tcpdump has been immensely helpful there.
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)

Offline Rover1822

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  • Posts: 1989
    • Mini Wind and Solar Data project
I run a RTL-SDR V3 hooked to a discone at about 25', that is my 2nd set, and it can run RTL_433 as it is RTL chip based. My main is an Airspy R2, which is awesome but has problems with RTL_433, that is hooked to the 38' . I have both plugged into my system at the same time and use SDRsharp instances for each one so I can scan Marine and airband traffic at the same time.

Don't you dare call me a geek :)

- Rover

hmmm I might have gotten off topic, it is a geek thing
« Last Edit: October 16, 2021, 10:31:06 PM by Rover1822 »
Ambient:
  WS-2000
  PM 2.5(2)
  WH31B(2)
  WH40E
  WH31P
EcoWitt:
  GW1100
  GW1000(4)
  WH31(2)
  WH57
  WH51(12),
  WH40
  WH5360B
  WN34S
  WittBoy WS90 + GW2000
  WS90 (other one) + GW1100
Personal Sites: Weather Cam

Offline jbroome

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I live in Long Beach, California, US, backing onto the water.

Yes, *that* Long Beach with the huge backlog of ships waiting to be unloaded.

Maybe I should see what I can find on the radio here?  It hadn't occurred to me until you mentioned it!   :shock:
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)

Offline Rover1822

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  • Posts: 1989
    • Mini Wind and Solar Data project
You will have much fun, there is a plugin for sdr# that is awesome at scanning. Contact me in PM for more info

I live i Norfolk, 2 blocks from the Chesapeake bay, also a major shipping port (east coast, you know, the other side), and home of  the largest naval base in the world.

It gets interesting

 - Rover

Ambient:
  WS-2000
  PM 2.5(2)
  WH31B(2)
  WH40E
  WH31P
EcoWitt:
  GW1100
  GW1000(4)
  WH31(2)
  WH57
  WH51(12),
  WH40
  WH5360B
  WN34S
  WittBoy WS90 + GW2000
  WS90 (other one) + GW1100
Personal Sites: Weather Cam

Offline davidefa

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It turns out that the Ecowitt documentation is wrong about a couple of things, and the combination of rtl_433 and tcpdump has been immensely helpful there.

Do you remember what was wrong?

Offline jbroome

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Do you remember what was wrong?

Yes, a number of things were wrong or missing.  I have been taking copious notes as I've been going along.  Several of the issues involve the command or response size field, or data element size fields.  For example, the command packet for CMD_WRITE_SSID should have a two-byte field, not the one-byte field that the document states.  The response to CMD_BROADCAST has a two-byte length field, not one byte. Also, the response to CMD_READ_USR_PATH has a one-byte string length before each of the two path buffers (Ecowitt Path and WU Path).

I will follow up further in a few days -- I am on the road currently.

Also - do folks think that API-related notes would be worthy of a new post topic?  I don't know how many people are actually working on using the GW1000/GW1100 direct network interface...
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)

Offline jbroome

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Following up:

Based on your tips, I verified that the WS View app is using the CMD_WRITE_SENSOR_ID command to update the sensor ID, sending only the one sensor at a time.  Specifically, if you click on "Re-register" for a particular sensor (e.g. first WH31), it sends WRITE_SENSOR_ID with the device tag (eg "eWH31_SENSORCH1") and the ID value 0xffffff.  If you click "Disable", the ID value is 0xfffffffe.  If you type in a specific device ID, it converts that to numeric and sends that value.

So I've added this capability to my software.  Now I can now forcibly set any of the sensors on my GW1000/GW1100 devices with my own application.  I took advantage of this to use my new AW Osprey WH65 array with one of the GW1000s, while keeping the WH68/WH40/WH32 trio configured on another GW1000.

By the way, the Osprey setup is currently on sale at Amazon as part of the WS-1900A bundle - it's $106.24, which seems to be a pretty good price.
Collector of Ecowitt and related gizmos:
GW1000 x4 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW1100 x2 (both 915 MHz and 433 MHz)
GW2000 (915 MHz)
WH31
WH31P
WH32E
WH32B
WH34BS
WH34BL
WN35
WH40
WH41
WH45
WH46
WH51
WH55
WH57
WH65B
WH68
WS90BN
(and probably more that I've forgotten)