Arduino as a source for Extra Temp sensors etc

Brian,

Thanks for sorting the WD start problem via the webfile fix. Looks to be settled down ok.

Focusing back on the Arduino/WD interface I am finding that generally the arduino extratemps are being read in by WD without any hitches. For long periods everything goes ok, but every now and then WD loses the Arduino stream and nothing comes in (shown by flat lines on graphs and nothing showing in the debug info.

Checking outside of WD shows the arduino is working just fine. Reclicking on the connect box gives message Arduino connected but check of debug shows nothing is in fact coming in. The only way to get back on track is to close WD down and restart then reconnect Arduino. This then restores the data stream.

How long until the next drop out of data is unpredictable. Could be within a few hours, sometimes days. It seems this data connection is not as reliable, at this point, as the Dallas 1 wire reader which, in my case, the arduino is replacing.

Do you have any thoughts as to how we might improve things to approach the reliability of the Dallas 1-Wire Reader? When we do that I think we are nearly ready to go mainstream with this great enhancement of WD.

Rob

Brian,

The apparent instability problem between WD and the Arduino seems to be increasing. I have had two drop outs of WD from the Arduino so far today. After I got WD to start up after the webfile problem it ran from 17:29 local time to 18:45 then dropped out. I didn’t notice until 20:18 when I restarted - it dropped out again at 21:10 and again I didn’t notice until 22:35 when I restarted. So in these two instances the time to first dropout was around 1hr 18mins, the second time to dropout was about 51 mins.

I am running the Arduino at a baud rate of 9600 and have that rate ticked in the WD set up for this Arduino connection. Is that ok??

Are there any problems with those folks who are using full Arduino powered weather stations? Are there any experiences in that development which might shed some light on this problem?

What do you think might be contributing to this short running time before dropout occurs?

As a test, I am running another Arduino (same model as the one connected to WD) which is reading another two temperature sensors running the same program as the Arduino connected to the WD. This is not connected to WD in any way of course. I will run both of the Arduinos in parallel. This will at least establish if there is any instability in my Arduino program. Will let you know how that goes after running overnight.

i have added some debug code to show the time of data arrival
to
http://www.weather-display.com/downloadfiles/weatherdisplaytest.zip

do you happen to have a current cost in use with WD?

Brian,

As previous post indicated restarted WD at 10.33pm (local time) and data flow dropped out at 21mins after midnight. The other arduino on another port continued to function ok until I checked it at 6am this morning.

Ok will download testzip and run and let you know. Not with you on what you mean by: “do happen to have a current cost in use with WD?”

that will mean you do not have a current cost in use if you do not know what that is :wink:

I have installed the new testzip and it is running ok. Showing data like attachment.


newtestzip.JPG

WD/Arduino combination after the earlier zip load, ran all day without a problem, but dropped out again at around 5:30 pm local time. I have restarted WD and the data flow is coming in again.

Continues to run for long periods without problem. At the moment no drop outs for 13 hours straight. But I can’t be certain how long that will continue for.

when it stopped, did the raw data show anything…i.e did the time stamp of new data stop updating too, or?

When it stops, a check of debug info shows that it is just stopped - nothing updating at all.

what I could do then is add a check to see if the connection is lost
and re connect
i.e if you go to setup, advanced/misc, extra temp, arduino, and click on connect, does the data start flowing again?

I am pretty sure that when it stops I have gone into set up and hit connect it shows Arduino connected, but check of data flow shows nothing is happening. Have then to shut down WD and restart and reconnect Arduino.

I will reconfirm this the next time it happens - at the moment still running ok.

I could add a disconnect …i.e so you disconnect, and then reconnect…to see if that gets it working again

That sounds like it would be worth a try.

OK, added that now, new .zip update

Ok have installed the new zip and see the Arduino as Extra Sensors now shows two “Connect” boxes. How is this to work in the event of a stoppage?

the bottom one should say disconnect #-o

I thought that might have been the case.

Brian,

As well as the latest software tweaks from your end, I investigated the possibility that the Arduino may have been sensitive to ‘reflections’ or ‘echoes’ on the bus line on which I have my sensors (at this stage just DS18B20 temperature sensors - others types to come later). To this end I bridged the bus, at its furthermost point from the Arduino, between the positive line feed (5V) and the data line with an appropriate value resistor. [The 1-wire sensors are being run in powered mode - not parasitic mode.]

I am pleased to report that I have had no drop outs since. Running problem free, at this point, for nearly 60 hours straight.

I followed this thread with great interest as I also use several 1Wire sensors on my station. Would you mind sharing your Arduino code that you had success with? I have some experience with both the Arduino and 1wire temp sensors and have code already running but would be helpful and much more expedient to see what your code looks like.

Of course I understand if you do not want to share it…I will follow your excellent notes and try earn it as you did. Great notes!