Hobby Boards Lightning Detector - Problem -> OK now

[Nikki]

Hi All

I have recently bought a hobby-boards lightning detector 

I tested the board with a short cable connected directly to my 1-wire bus (only device on the network) and it worked perfectly. I then mounted the board in its final position and connected it up. Once connected the lightning detector became the second device in the a daisy chain of three devices and it collapsed my 1-wire bus.

OK, no problem i thought - i disconnected all other devices, making the lightning detector the only device on the network and it worked perfectly. I reconnected the other devices and again the 1-wire bus collapsed.

Anybody got any idea whats going wrong?


Many Thanks
Nikki

[EricVic]

How do you have it wired up? Make sure that the DQ and GND lines are not getting crossed, that is the most common problem with wiring.

Eric

[Budgie]

I know you have a solar sensor but what's the other sensor in the chain Nikki?

[Nikki]

Hi Martin & Eric

Budgie, i also have a temperature sensor which happens to be the first device on the network.

Eric, I'm using the RJ11 connectors which are on the board. Either RJ11 connector works by it's self it only collapses when i have two RJ11's plugged in. Is it worth me ignoring the RJ11 plugs and connecting directly into the DQ & DGND?

BTW. I know you are out of stock but i managed to find a UK supplier  of the version 3.6 board but paid well over the odds 

Thanks for your help Guys 

[EricVic]

Have you check all your cables and made sure that none of them have DQ and GND crossed over? Maybe you have a new cable that you are using since you added the Lightning Detector.

There should be no problem using both RJ45 jacks so connecting to the screw terminals shouldn't change anything.

How did you have your 1-Wire network setup before you added the Lightning Detector?

Eric

[Nikki]

Hi Eric

Thanks for replying

If I disconnect the lightning detector and replace it with a RJ45 coupler the bus starts to work perfectly. That is both my temperature sensor and solar sensor.

RE: Changes: Nothing has changed as I built in capacity for the lightning detector from day one, before having the detector I simply "uplinked" the two RJ11 plugs using a RJ45 coupler.

I know the detector is ok because it works when it’s the only device on the network.

Since posting I have discovered the following which might help you.

If the detector is connected to the bus together with the other devices and I go into the "OneWire Viewer" the system complains that it cannot find the interface. If I then disconnect my cable from the USB adaptor and then restart the "OneWire Viewer" the system finds the interface. If I leave the viewer software running and plug in the 1-wire cable it actually appears to work - that is all three devices can be seen in the viewer but NOT the interface itself. If I then restart the viewer again it complains that it cannot find the interface.

All these problems go away if i replace the lightning detector with the RJ45 coupler.

I'll do some more testing tonight; see if I can narrow this problem down a bit more.

Truly Bizarre 

Once again, thanks for you help
Nikki

[Budgie]

I work look carfully at the way that the wires have been put into the connectors as this sounds very much like you have wiring problem on one of the connectors being reversed.

Have a look on Eric's site and make sure that you have the connectors wire as he describes on there. 

[Nikki]

Hello again

I have done some more testing tonight and think I'm a little closer to a answer.

Firstly i checked all the wiring (as suggested by martin) and found no problems.

I then connected up the lightning detector right next to my computer and then connected the other slave devices off of the lightning detector and it worked perfectly. This leads me to believe its a cable length problem, my cable length is about 100 metres.

Is 100 metres too much for the lightning detector? All the other devices work over this distance and even the detector when connected by its self!

Appreciate your help
Nikki


 

[Budgie]

You do have a grounded earth cable running from the lightning detector & a new battery in there?

[Nikki]

You do have a grounded earth cable running from the lightning detector & a new battery in there?

Hi Martin

Yes, brand new battery and a 1.5 metre copper pipe driven in by about 1.3 metre (over three feet)

Should that be ok?

[JaxWeather]

I seem to recall that some folks hit a certain point and need to add a power injector to their one wire network...

FWIW,
Bob

[broadstairs]

This leads me to believe its a cable length problem, my cable length is about 100 metres.

Do you really mean 100 metres? that's nearly 330 feet, you have a mighty big garden!

Stuart

[Nikki]

Hi Stuart

Its just under 1/2 of an acre, but its not so much the size but how i have to run the cable.

My office is at the front of the house and my station is in the middle of my garden back garden, so the cable runs out of the sash window in my office and goes out through lots of undergrowth; this uses up lots of cable as this part of my "garden" is severely overgrown and impassable without a titanium protective suit  then on to the rear of my house and then goes up at high level before coming down into a hidden trench and then on to the weather station.

So as you can see its quite a long way - but maybe 100 metre is a slight exaggeration; perhaps 80 metre would be closer to the mark.

I seem to recall that some folks hit a certain point and need to add a power injector to their one wire network...

FWIW,
Bob

This makes perfect sense - I would imagine that there is sufficient power to drive the detector by itself but when other devices are connected it fails. Adding weight to this train of thought is the fact that it and the other devices are working perfectly right now but the detector is connected to the bus inside my office at less than 2 metre away from the interface.

Do you think that a power injector will fix this problem?

One more question, is it safe to temporary ground to the household earth?

Many thanks
Nikki




 

[EricVic]

A Power Injector won't do anything for the Lightning Detector because it only runs on parasitic power.

What kind of 1-Wire adaptor are you using, serial or USB? Are you using a laptop?

Eric

[Nikki]

Hi Eric

I'm using a USB adapter and yes, its a laptop.

OK, i now understand why a power injector wont fix this problem but what about a 1-wire hub? I could run a dedicated cable to my station for the detector.

Would that work?

Thanks again

Nikki