Author Topic: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion  (Read 1257 times)

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Offline zachelliottwx

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Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« on: August 31, 2021, 10:14:09 AM »
Hello. I've been having off and on issues with my VP2 for a while now around the wireless. I'm pretty sure it's an issue of the environmental conditions but that's neither here nor there. From doing some digging looking at PCBs online, it looks like the cabled PCB is literally the same as the wireless, just sans a holder for the battery and the wireless transmitter piece. Same with the Wireless Envoy i'm currently using. It looks like it retains the cabled port, even though it has a wireless connection. Unfortunately this station is about 70 miles away from me so I can't just play around with it to figure it out. But does anyone know if I can connect the comms port up to the PCB on the wireless ISS board and then into an envoy and have it work? Or does the firmware of the PCB basically shut off that port when the wireless transmitter is installed? I'm just thinking through some ideas and wondering if it's possible without replacing the entire PCB assembly with a cabled one.

Offline johnd

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #1 on: August 31, 2021, 12:03:14 PM »
Not possible AFAIK. Depending on its age the RJ11 socket on a wireless Envoy would be for attaching an external temp/hum sensor, and not the cable from a cabled ISS SIM. And AFAIK there's no RS422/485 driver chip on a wireless SIM board.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
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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 azchrisf

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #2 on: August 31, 2021, 11:48:21 PM »
zach, ask scaledinstruments.com for advice. He has different solutions IIRC if your in the USA. But be prepared to spend some money...
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Also doing Soil and Leaf 4x
WU: KAZGLEND106 CWOP: FW1398 (F1398) Purpleair: 98793/LAZGLEND8
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https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=41867.0

Offline kobuki

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #3 on: September 01, 2021, 06:27:55 AM »
This thread has a lot of info on this subject.

The cabled consoles appear to run a different firmware, and the root of the problem is that the 8-byte data packets don't appear anywhere easily accessible in electronic form, like a serial data output. One possible solution is attaching a capable enough MCU on the SPI bus of the ATMega chip on the SIM and sniff the traffic for the data packets transmitted to the radio chip and then retransmit them to a remote console via cable. Another is using one of the available (Arduino and compatible) DIY receiver solutions and hook an RS422 converter to it, so essentially a radio packet to RS422 serial converter. Or even a radio to WiFi converter using some cheap ESP8266/ESP32 board, if you don't have issues with WiFi there.

Offline zachelliottwx

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #4 on: September 01, 2021, 09:24:15 AM »
This thread has a lot of info on this subject.

The cabled consoles appear to run a different firmware, and the root of the problem is that the 8-byte data packets don't appear anywhere easily accessible in electronic form, like a serial data output. One possible solution is attaching a capable enough MCU on the SPI bus of the ATMega chip on the SIM and sniff the traffic for the data packets transmitted to the radio chip and then retransmit them to a remote console via cable. Another is using one of the available (Arduino and compatible) DIY receiver solutions and hook an RS422 converter to it, so essentially a radio packet to RS422 serial converter. Or even a radio to WiFi converter using some cheap ESP8266/ESP32 board, if you don't have issues with WiFi there.

Yea it's definitely something i've looked at. I legit have no idea why my console just drops off the face of the earth sometimes. Usually it coincides with storms entering the area, like as soon as a storm hits, it drops. I don't know if it's a power issue or what. My battery seems fine, maybe a super cap issue but again, no idea. I've been fighting reception issues with this thing since I got it in 2013 and I have even swapped the board with another VP2 I have and I still have issues. So I really just wanted to replace the board with cabled, or use the existing board somehow, and use a completely standalone solution with LTE and a Raspberry Pi or similar in a solar powered, huge battery powered case so I don't have to worry about it. Was just hoping I wouldn't have to drop the cash on a new ISS board....

Offline zachelliottwx

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #5 on: September 01, 2021, 09:29:09 AM »
zach, ask scaledinstruments.com for advice. He has different solutions IIRC if your in the USA. But be prepared to spend some money...

Yea they have the cabled ISS for $150 which isn't bad in the grand scheme of things..... I already bought an RS485/422 USB dongle thingy to try with the wireless (since I do have another wireless board here) but i'm guessing it won't work. So if I do end up buying the cabled one, in theory that's all I would need since I already have a pile of other stuff at home including Rpis and arduino devices. Other issue is the Soil/Temp station but it's actually really solid, so I may be able to just include a radio in the whole kit i'm building and intercept that signal.

Offline johnd

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #6 on: September 01, 2021, 10:09:12 AM »
Since this all seems to stem from problems receiving data from a wireless ISS (but not a supplementary transmitter), I'd suggest that the first thing is to monitor the RSSI for the ISS signal seen at the console. I can't make out from your posts whether or not you have a console as well as an Envoy. But if you do have a console then the second wireless diagnostic screen will give you the RSSI figure in the top right corner. If the RSSI is not consistently at 28/29 or higher then you have a marginal signal. Personally I really like to see it at 30 or more.

If the signal is weak then the obvious thing is to look at potential ways of improving it. If you only have an Envoy receiver then sadly the RSSI can't be checked.

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 davidmc36

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Re: Wireless VP2 to Cabled VP2 Conversion
« Reply #7 on: September 01, 2021, 04:02:38 PM »
It may seem crazy at first......but would you have any interest in a swap?

My cabled ISS PCB and console PCB for your wireless parts.

Mine is about 3 years old.