Note:: If you have an issue with this project, please review your hardware docuemntation first. If you are still having an issue or have a software specific issue, please open an issue here.
This is a Raspberry Pi project that retrieves the weather data values (temperature, humidity, wind speed, ..., etc) in JSON format from the Weather Rack 2. The data is manipulated to meet the Weather Underground; and PWSweather.com formats for uploading of PWS data. I purchased a WeatherRack2 as my first weather station in 2020 and wrote this program to adapt the data feed for my use in both uploading to Weather Underground and in sending basic data to a display (in this case an AstoPi Sense Hat. There is code included in the distribution to use a Sense Hat or to forgo the display and have a basic data processor and uploader.
Some of this code is adapted from Switch Doc Labs (https://github.com/switchdoclabs) readWeatherSensors.py script for testing the WeatherRack2 and from John Wargo's SH to WU script (https://github.com/johnwargo/pi_weather_station/blob/master/weather_station.py)
This project is quite easy to make.
- [Raspberry Pi Zero, 3 or 4] (https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/) with appropriate power supply. During the initial build I constructed the project with a Pi Zero W. I later updated the project to a Pi 4 as a test bed and ulitimately moved the project to a Pi 3B+.
- Raspberry PI case.
- [Raspberry Pi Zero with GPIO Head, Raspbery Pi 3 or 4] (https://www.raspberrypi.org/products/) with appropriate power supply. During the initial build I constructed the project with a Pi Zero W. I later updated the project to a Pi 4 as a test bed and ulitimately moved the project to a Pi 3B+.
- Astro Pi Sense Hat.
- Raspberry PI "hat" case. There are several cases available for the Pi 3 and 4, make sure if you are using a Sense Hat you purchase a "hat" case to give enough room for the hardware.
The project folder contains several files and one folder:
sample.config.py- Rename to config.py, This is the project's external service configuration file, it provides the weather station with details about your weather station.LICENSE- The license file for this projectreadme.md- This file.WR2-adv-uploader.py- A basic data collection application for this project. You'll run this application to collect data from the data stream, process it and upload to Weather Underground, PWS and several other services.
Assemble and mount the WeatherRack2 per the manufacturers instructions. Follow testing process published by SwitchDoc Labs.
Raspberry pi assembly is easy - mount the Sense HAT on the Raspberry Pi then insert it in the case and plug it into power. All set! No wiring, soldering or anything else required. Install the SDR antenna kit and any cases or mounts you may be using for your particular setup.
NOTE: The Raspberry Pi foundation recommend you mount the "hat" boards to the Raspberry Pi using standoffs
Weather Underground (WU) is a public weather service now owned by the Weather Channel; it's most well-known for enabling everyday people to setup weather stations and upload local weather data into the WU weatherbase for public consumption. Point your browser of choice to https://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/overview.asp to setup your weather station. Once you complete the setup, WU will generate a station ID and access key you'll need to access the service from the project. Be sure to capture those values, you'll need them later.
Download the Raspberry Pi software from raspberrypi.org then burn it to an SD card using the instructions found at Installing Operating System Images. Raspbian should automatically prompt you to select a Wi-Fi network and perform a software update.
When setup completes, you must enable the I2C protocol for the Sense Hat to work correctly. Open the Raspberry menu, select Preferences, then Raspberry Pi Configuration. When the application opens, select the Interfaces tab, enable the I2C protocol and click the OK button to save your changes.
[Raspberry Pi Configuration]
Next, open a terminal window and execute the following command:
sudo apt install sense-hatThis command installs the support packages for the Sense Hat.
Open a terminal window, execute the following commands:
cd ~
git clone https://github.com/lbehrler/WR2-uploader-WU.gitThis puts the project files in the Raspberry Pi's folder WR2-uploader-WU
If you followed the testing instructions for the WeatherRack2 you should have the drivers for the Software Defined Radio in place and working.
To upload weather data to the Weather Underground service, the application requires access to the station ID and station access key you created earlier in this setup process. Open the project's wuconfig.py in your editor of choice and populate the STATION_ID and STATION_KEY fields with the appropriate values from your Weather Underground Weather Station:
class Config:
# Weather Underground
STATION_ID = ""
STATION_KEY = ""Refer to the Weather Underground Personal Weather Station Network to access these values.
If you’re testing the application and don’t want the weather data uploaded to Weather Underground until you're ready, comment out the "requests.get(" command
To execute the data collection application, open a terminal window, navigate to the folder where you copied the project files and execute the following command:
sudo python ./SH-WR2-uploader-WU.py- 01/06/2020 - initial release
- 05/20/2021 - Added MQTT support