Topic: CBME80 Eliasson Ceilometer

[METARMan]

I recently purchased a not-new (but my best guess "never used") Eliasson CBME80 ceilometer on Ebay. 

I'm assuming it works, but I currently don't have a way to power it up because it was designed for use on 230 V electric power.

I'm in the USA, and thus use 115 V. 

The orange cable is the electrical wire that came with the system.

I'm communicating with MesoTech International (the US supplier of these units), but new OEM cables may be very expensive.

Are there cheaper solutions?  I'd like to be assured this ceilometer works within my warranty period (expires in late November).

Regards,

METARMan

http://www.eliasson.com/products/cbme80.shtml

[mcrossley]

Could you use a 110 to 230 V tool transformer?

We normally use them the other way (230 to 110) in the UK.

[METARMan]

I'm not sure, but I'll look into it. 

I'm not educated in electrical and computer engineering, so any specific examples would help a lot. 

Thank you.

[miraculon]

The data on the web site states:

Power supply    115V alt. 230V, 45 — 65 Hz
(Electronics 30VA, header 200VA)

It looks like you should be OK. The "alt" might require a switch or jumper change, possibly. It appears that it can handle either US or Europe line frequencies.

Greg H.

[METARMan]

Does this help?   It came in the original delivery documents. 

[Vasco]

The data on the web site states:

Power supply    115V alt. 230V, 45 — 65 Hz
(Electronics 30VA, header 200VA)

It looks like you should be OK. The "alt" might require a switch or jumper change, possibly. It appears that it can handle either US or Europe line frequencies.

Not sure about that: you might have to specify voltage when you buy it? It appears that you can get a 12V DC version.

@METARMan: is there a visible switch labelled 115-230V, or does it just say 230V?

If the latter, look at Amazon for tool transformer. This example from Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Krieger-Voltage-Transformer-Converter-Outlets/dp/B0B5VSJDHT/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1ETED1OTN0UIS&keywords=tool%2Btransformer&qid=1698709297&sprefix=tool%2Btransformer%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

Although the data sheet suggests you need 230 VA (watts). . .

[miraculon]

Does this help?   It came in the original delivery documents.

It looks like it is preset to 230V, but check for a switch or jumper. Sometimes this is near a fuse and/or power.

Greg H.

[METARMan]

Thank you for all the replies.  Attached are a couple more pictures.

Assuming the voltage can't be changed, it looks like my best course of action for now (my goal is to ensure power up and functionality) is to splice the conductors of the included power cord to a European style plug, and then use the recommended voltage converter.  Good plan?

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[G.Brown]

where was this advertised - USA ? as I have a saved search for ceilometer in UK but nothing has come up in the last 6 months or longer.  ...seems dodgy to me...English Ceilometer as new selling in America, did the seller seem legit.? other items ? feedback?

[Vasco]

Assuming the voltage can't be changed, it looks like my best course of action for now (my goal is to ensure power up and functionality) is to splice the conductors of the included power cord to a European style plug, and then use the recommended voltage converter.  Good plan?

Sounds like a plan. . . just make sure the transformer can handle at least 230 Watts. There's plenty of choice on Amazon.

BTW, wire colours are Brown (line/live), Blue (neutral), Green/Yellow (ground).

[TheBushPilot]

G. Brown there were a few listings on eBay. A lot of Vaisala ones and a couple the same as METARMan's. The one I recall recently of this same make/model came from the UAE (if I recall correctly) hence the 230V power requirement. Not sure if the one I am thinking of is coincidentally this one or not however.

I think All Weather Inc. is a reseller of this device too. Not that they are of any help at this point.


Cheers

[METARMan]

I was able to power up the unit by attaching it to the 230 V circuit in the circuit breaker panel in my residence.  The unit seems to function.

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I found this on EBay.  The original listing was misspelled.   It may have come from a Norwegian oil rig helipiad, but I'm not sure it was ever used.  I've been trying to unsuccessfully track down the original owner...the OEM has not been particularly helpful. 

Regardless...a couple questions.  Should I plan on using a step up coverter (115 to 230 V) or permanently wire it to connect to the 230 V circuit?  I'm in the USA and it would be nice to use it with 115 V circuits since they are much more common in this hemisphere.  Is there a complication or problem constantly running it on a step up converter?

Also, the data wire I believe can have a RS-232 or RS-485 connector attached.  I'll then use a converter to USB so I can attach it to my computer and use a program like TerraTerm to view the data.  Is either RS-232 or RS-485 preferred?

[TheBushPilot]

Also, the data wire I believe can have a RS-232 or RS-485 connector attached.  I'll then use a converter to USB so I can attach it to my computer and use a program like TerraTerm to view the data.  Is either RS-232 or RS-485 preferred?

RS-232 is easier to work with from personal experience. RS-485 is good for long cable distances (up to 1500 meters I believe). Really up to you which protocol you choose. Both have their ups and downs.

[Vasco]

I'm in the USA and it would be nice to use it with 115 V circuits since they are much more common in this hemisphere.  Is there a complication or problem constantly running it on a step up converter?

I wouldn't think so, as long as you get one rated for continuous use and with a decent safety margin on the expected 230 VA power so it doesn't get too warm. . .

But I'm not an electrical engineer 

[METARMan]

Finally got my unit wired and powered up using a step down converter from 230 V to 115 V.

Wiring the RS-232 is another matter.  Any ideas?  Unfortunately I have yet to find the documentation. 

This ceilometer sends a message every 30 seconds that can be viewed using a Terminal Emulator like TerraTerm.   So, it's fairly simple...just not sure which wire goes where (or even if all of them need to be connected).

[TheBushPilot]

Pin 2 and 3 are TX/RX depending on configuration, 5 is common ground. It's an asynchronous device so you may need to configure for null modem.

Is there a service manual for this? Typically that goes into communication details for the data and service lines and physical hardware connections.

Without that manual you may be SOL assuming there are commands and configs you can set up or change.


Cheers

[METARMan]

I do have the manual.  I'm a bit confused.

[TheBushPilot]

The first thing you should probably do is connect to the service port to figure out what is what in the ceilometer.

If you refer to 5.3.1 "Figure 5-2 Wiring of service cable" you can see how you need to wire it to your terminal to DB9 connector. You should easily be able to use the provided cable you have there for this. This may be referring to the DB25 plug on the board itself however. In that case you can use that port or the physical wire with ferrules. If you use the wires as shown in your images you put TX to RX and RX to TX and GND to GND from ceilometer to DB9 terminal to plug.

The default settings for this port are:

Baud: 2400
Data bits: 8
Stop bits: 1
Parity: None

With this information you can set up PuTTY or similar terminal program to communicate with the device.

Then from here the manual describes the menu hierarchy with which you can configure everything and determine how it is set up.

If you need further assistance feel free to reach out.


Cheers

[METARMan]

I've got everything up and running using a Windows laptop and TerraTerm terminal emulator.

I wonder if it is possible to use a terminal emulator on a Chromebook with the ceilometer connected?

Thank you for all the support.  The project took a couple months due to my schedule, but things are going well.