Author Topic: Access and meteobridge  (Read 1089 times)

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Offline gardengrub

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Access and meteobridge
« on: January 23, 2019, 12:03:50 PM »
With the end-of-service-life for the smartHUB only weeks away I'm curious if anyone has heard of or is aware of any movement toward making sensor data locally available via the Access. Many here have expressed that interest.

My smartHUB and Meteobridge have been working great together for years and that is about to end.  Ideally, an Access firmware update allowing Meteobridge to acquire the sensor data would be great. Realistically, it's time to get serious about options and other solutions.  I'm aware of some of the options/alternatives out there but am reluctant to abandon my investment in Meteobridge at this time because it does just what I want it to.

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2019, 12:41:48 PM »
I don't believe meteobridge will work with Access. Doc has said he isn't planning to support it. Some modifications may need to be made to the meteobridge before it can continue to run the smarthub, and I am not even sure that will happen.

Offline galfert

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2019, 12:49:42 PM »
I think your best bet for currently supported solutions is to use Acuparse instead of the Meteobridge if you plan on keeping the Acurite 5-in-1.

* Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with Acuparse. But their website claims to support the Access.
https://www.acuparse.com/

Or consider retiring the old 5-in-1 for a Davis or Ambient station to keep using your Meteobridge. I love my Meteobridge and it works great with my Ambient station.

Even if the Access got a firmware update that allowed for a means to get weather data locally on the network does not mean that the Meteobridge would be updated to get that data. Like DoctorKnow just said, Boris (Docbee on this forum - originator of the Meteobridge) has stated that he is not interested in modifying the Meteobridge to support the Access. Of course if the Access changes then perhaps Boris will change his mind. But either of these circumstances seem improbable at this point.

To use the Meteobridge you pretty much need to use one of the listed supported stations in its configuration page.
(Ignore the red X marks as that just means those stations are not connected).

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Offline Jcsf420

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2019, 02:21:10 PM »
Did your 5-in-1 come with a display panel that supports USB mode 3? Before a recent upgrade to the Ambient 2902 I had my 5-in-1 connected to the meteobridge via the display panel using USB mode 3. The wiring is a little clunky but it was the cheapest way to connect the 2 if your bought the 5-in-1 kit and it worked very well.

Offline gardengrub

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2019, 04:36:22 PM »
I don't believe meteobridge will work with Access. Doc has said he isn't planning to support it. Some modifications may need to be made to the meteobridge before it can continue to run the smarthub, and I am not even sure that will happen.
Correct, Access in its current state does not work with Meteobridge.  The only hope for that would be a firmware update to Access that would make the sensor data available to the local network AND if the Meteobridge developer is then willing to implement.  Possible but outside of my control.
Doc was very clear soon after the smartHUB end-of-service announcement that the Meteobidge would not provide any support to keep the smartHUB "alive" without the myAcurite cloud service doing so.  That is a closed door.

Offline gardengrub

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #5 on: January 23, 2019, 05:08:28 PM »
I think your best bet for currently supported solutions is to use Acuparse instead of the Meteobridge if you plan on keeping the Acurite 5-in-1.

* Disclaimer: I have no personal experience with Acuparse. But their website claims to support the Access.
https://www.acuparse.com/

Or consider retiring the old 5-in-1 for a Davis or Ambient station to keep using your Meteobridge. I love my Meteobridge and it works great with my Ambient station.

Even if the Access got a firmware update that allowed for a means to get weather data locally on the network does not mean that the Meteobridge would be updated to get that data. Like DoctorKnow just said, Boris (Docbee on this forum - originator of the Meteobridge) has stated that he is not interested in modifying the Meteobridge to support the Access. Of course if the Access changes then perhaps Boris will change his mind. But either of these circumstances seem improbable at this point.

To use the Meteobridge you pretty much need to use one of the listed supported stations in its configuration page.
(Ignore the red X marks as that just means those stations are not connected).


Thanks for the suggestions.  I was aware of Acuparse and it looks like a viable solution to replace the Meteobridge but would require new hardware, installing software & DNS redirection - a litter higher barrier to entry then I'm willing to take on.  Looks quite a bit more involved than building the Meteobridge.
I've put off upgrading to the Atlas for this very reason of being able to continue use of my Meteobridge - knowing that Access couldn't be supported.  So yes, for now, it is the list of compatible sensors.

Offline gardengrub

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #6 on: January 23, 2019, 05:20:04 PM »
Did your 5-in-1 come with a display panel that supports USB mode 3? Before a recent upgrade to the Ambient 2902 I had my 5-in-1 connected to the meteobridge via the display panel using USB mode 3. The wiring is a little clunky but it was the cheapest way to connect the 2 if your bought the 5-in-1 kit and it worked very well.
No, I've never had a display for the 5N1, just the smartHUB. In my current setup I use the 5N1 for wind speed and direction, a solar shielded tower sensor for temperature and humidity and a separate 899 rain sensor that is easy to get to so I can evict the spiders when I need to.  I really like the flexibility of the Meteobridge to select which sensors to report.
Your right, a 5N1 dispaly via USB could be a fix, I'd just have to give up my mix-and-match sensor setup.

Offline Jcsf420

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Re: Access and meteobridge
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2019, 08:00:08 AM »
Yes it sounds like USB mode 3 option is not good for your current setup. Help me understand how your setup works since I never had the SmartHub in my Accurite rig. Where do you make the selection for which sensor reports to WU or other services via Meteobridge? It must be in the SmartHub since I don't see that option in the Meteobridge software. Am I understanding this correctly? Or do you get any additional selections, like you do with Davis, when you select the Accurite Internet Bridge on the weather station page of the Meteobridge?

It sounds like you probably already know this info but I'll tell you what I did when moving to the Ambient 2902 array just in case you do not. I never used the Accurite display to view my weather data and didn't want one from Ambient either so I was thrilled to see them selling the WS-1550-IP for $91.00, which is the 2902 array with the observerIP. The only additional item needed was a WH32B for the barometer, also adds indoor temp and humidity, for $15.

If you can't get your Accurite setup to work the way you want, I think this option is a pretty good compromise at an affordably price. Since the temperature accuracy of the 2902 array is reported to be more accurate across the board when compared to the 5in1 you may be able to do without your separate sensor, the only item left to deal with is the rain sensor. Its only a guess at this point, maybe others can chime in that have had the 2902 longer, but the design of the 2902 looks like it will be better in the spider department than the 5in1 is.

Its a shame that I've already given away my Accurite setup to a friend whose station died or I would give it to you to play with. It would be interesting to test if the temp, humidity and rain gauge could be disabled on the 5in1 to see if the display panel would pickup the readings from your shielded tower, 899 rain gauge and wind speed and direction from the 5in1. If it worked then you can use USB mode 3 to get the info into your Meteobridge. Wouldn't that be nice!

Good luck