Overview on project
This is part of the Weather Station One project, a complete and modular weather station. The design of the system has been driven by a number of requirements:
- collect all common weather channels including temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, rain, wind speed and direction, illumination / sun hours, ground humidity
- modular design allowing one to implement part of it, or extend the range of sensors
- high depth of production; DIY as much as possible
- long range transmission support - with the point of measurement far from home
- integration into a home automation system
- functional, easy to print, and beautiful 3D design
When considering a project like this, please be aware that even with all designs published, it will be some work to do. This includes not only 3D printing, but carpentry work, soldering / electronics, and software in addition.
The parts published are made up from:
- Part 1: Central Station. This is the part all sensors are connected to. It is battery / solar powered to allow placing it in the best place to measure data. It sends data collected using a HC-12 / 433Mhz band (up to 1 kilometer distance) chip.
- Part 2: Base Station. This is the Central Station's counter part. It receives data using another HC-12 chip and is dispatching it to our home-automation system. In addition, it hosts a web server allowing direct access to weather data.
- Part 3: Temperature (and other) sensor. This sensor is designed to sit in a proper Stevenson Screen / Wetterhütte. The current version measures ambient temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure using a digital sensor. It is connected to the Central Station.
- Part 4: Rain Gauge. This is a rain gauge collecting rain and feeding it into commuting buckets. The number of commutes is measured using a reed contact triggered a bucket-moved magnet. It is connected to the Central Station.
- Part 5: Wind Vane and Anemometer. Probably the most complex printing part measuring 16 wind directions and wind speed. Similar to the rain gauge, it is a mechanical part. Wind directions are measured using either 8 reed contacts, or an magnetic angle measurement sensor. Wind speed is measured by a single reed contact closed every time the anemometer wings do a full rotation. It is connected to the Central Station.
- Part 6: Stevenson Screen / Wetterhütte. This part is not detailed further because we have built it based on a tutorial published by DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst). As the tutorial has been removed from their site some time ago, you can find it as PDF file in Part 1: Central Station.
- Part 7: optional Battery Pack. The solar module and charger chosen come with a mount for a 14500 sized Lithium battery. Depending on the power consumption of the Central Station (and sensors) you may want to use an external Battery Pack.
- Part 8: Software and Electronics. This part is published on Github.
- Part 9: Solar Panel Mount. This is a solar panel mount as used currently. It allows adjusting the elevation to optimize generation for Winter and Summer seasons. Mid term it will be replaced by a solar tracker following the sun azimuth.
For your convenience, I have created a WeatherStationOne collection including all but parts 6 and 8.
End of overview common to all parts.
Part 7 - optional Battery Pack
The charger used (see part 1) comes with a 14500 battery mount. In case you do not trust in its capacity (3.7V, around 1000mAh) and want to add extra capacity, this battery pack box is for you. To use four 18650 cells I had from an e-bike, I have build this optional box. The four cells are connected in parallel and deliver (3.7V, 4x3.200W). This is by far too big for the solar panel (5W) used, but I had the cell left. The box is not designed to house a specific size, I simply glued the packet 4 cells to the box's floor.
The Central Station has a hole in the side to take a 11mm DC socket. On the box side, you need a matching DC plug and cable. Sample.
Printing configuration
- Layer height 0.2mm
- 0.4mm nozzle
- 15% infill
- White and black PETG filament
- place top upside down
- automatic support (from building plate only)
Other parts needed
- 4x M3x10 screws (housing)
- 1x DC socket for Central Station
- 1x matching DC plug to connect cells to DC socket
Closing
This is another free 3D model made available for you. Designing, testing, preparing, uploading and maintaining my models is effort. In case you enjoy them, please send a donation using the coin button in the top right. Thanks a lot!