instructables

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0

by Open Green Energy

This Instructable is a continuation of my earlier weath 2. Monitoring Weather parameters like Temperature,
er station project. It was quite popular on the web, Pressure, Humidity, altitude and UV level, etc.
people around the globe made their own by following
it and given valuable feedback for improvement. By 3. Extra ports to add more sensors
taking consideration of the comments and Q&A
section of my earlier project, I decided to make this 4. Remote Battery Status Monitoring
new version Weather Station. I also made a custom
PCB for this project, so any one with little knowledge 5. Uses a powerful Li-Ion Battery ( 3400 mAh ) and
on electronics circuit can be made this project. My V- Solar Panel (1W)
2.0 PCB can also be used for any application in the
Arduino platform. Following are the salient features of 6. Independence from the external power source
the new weather station.
7.Can be installed in remote sites or geographically
This project is also an entry in Hackaday Prize 2019. challenging environments
Please like, follow and share. It will be helpful to me.
8. Being Solar powered, it is an environment-friendly
Features: device.

1. Connect to Wi-Fi, and upload the data to the web (

Blynk App and Thingspeak)

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 1

https://youtu.be/RlrXk40D-pc

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 2

Step 1: Components and Tools Required

Components Used : 12. Straight Headers Pin ( Banggood / Amazon )

1. Wemos D1 Mini Pro (Banggood / Amazon ) 13. 22 AWG wire ( Banggood / Amazon )

2. TP 4056 Charging Board (Banggood / Amazon ) 14. Weather Station V2.0 PCB ( PCBWay )

3. BME 280 sensor ( Amazon / Bangood ) 15. Super Glue ( Amazon )

4. BMP280 ( Banggood / Amazon ) 16. 3D printing filament -PLA ( GearBest )

5. DS18B20 Sensor ( Banggood / Amazon ) Tools Used :

6. Switch ( Banggood / Amazon) 1. 3D Printer ( Creality CR-10 )

7. Screw Terminals ( Banggood) 2. Soldering Iron ( Amazon )

8. PCB standoffs ( Banggood / Amazon ) 3. Glue Gun ( Amazon )

9. 18650 Battery ( Amazon) 4. Wire Stripper ( Amazon )

10.18650 Battery Holder ( Banggood / Amazon) 5. Wire Cutter ( Amazon )

11. Solar Panel ( Banggood )

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 3

Step 2: Power Supply

My plan is to deploy the Weather station at a remote comes with battery protection chip or without the
place ( my farm house).To run the Weather Station protection chip.I will recommend to buy a module
continuously, there must be a continuous power which have battery protection chip included.
supply otherwise the system will not work .The best
way to provide continuous power to the circuit is by About the TP4056 Battery Charger
using a battery.But after some days the battery juice
will run out, and it is really difficult job to go there and The TP4056 module is perfect for charging single cell
charge it. So a solar charging circuit was proposed to 3.7V 1 Ah or higher LiPo cells. Based around the
user free energy from the sun to charge the batteries TP4056 charger IC and DW01 battery protection IC
and to power the Wemos board.I have used a 18650 this module will offer 1000 mA charge current then
Li Ion battery. cut off when charging is finished. Furthermore when
the battery voltage drops below 2.4V the protection IC
The battery is charged from a Solar panel through a will cut off the load to protect the cell from under
TP4056 charging module. The TP4056 module voltage.It also protects against over voltage and

reverse polarity connection.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 4

Step 3: Monitoring Temperature and Humidity by BMP/E280

In the earlier days weather parameters like ambient it can use either I2C or SPI for communication with
temperature, humidity and barometric pressure were microcontroller. For simple easy wiring, I will suggest
measured with separate analog instruments: to by I2C version board.
thermometer, hygrometer and barometer.But today
the market is flooded with cheap and efficient digital BME280 :
sensors that can be used to measure a variety of
environmental parameters.The best examples are The new BME280 sensor, an environmental sensor
sensors like DHT11, DHT 22, BMP180, BMP/E280 with temperature, barometric pressure and
etc. humidity.The BME280 is the next-generation of
sensors from Bosch, and is the upgrade to the
In this project we will use BMP280 / BME280 sensor. BMP280.This precision sensor from Bosch is the best
low-cost sensing solution for measuring humidity with
BMP 280 : ±3% accuracy, barometric pressure with ±1 hPa
absolute accuracy, and temperature with ±1.0°C
BMP280 is a sophisticated sensor that very accuracy.It can be used in both I2C and SPI.
accurately measures barometric pressure and
temperature with reasonable accuracy. The BME280 Note : BME280 can measure humidity but BMP280
is the next-generation of sensors from Bosch, and is can't. In market BMP280 is also available by the
the upgrade to the BMP085/BMP180/BMP183 - with name of BME280. So be sure whether it is a BMP280
a low altitude noise of 0.25m and the same fast or BME280.
conversion time. The advantage of this sensor is that

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 5

Step 4: Additional Ports for More Sensors

The Weather Station V2.0 board have 5 additional measurement accuracy at very low power.It can also
ports to hook up more weather sensors.The following communicate via I2C communication.
additional sensors can easily hooked up :
You can read this article to know more about this
1. GY-1145 Sensor: for measuring UV Index sensor.

The SI1145 is a sensor with a calibrated UV sensing You can buy this sensor from Banggood.
element that can calculate UV Index.It can
communicate via I2C communication (address 3. DS18B20: for measuring temperature
0x60).You can hook up this sensor with I2C port in
the board which is located just side to the power It can measure temperature with a minimal amount of
switch. hardware and wiring. These sensors use a digital
protocol to send accurate temperature readings
You can read this article to know more about this directly to your development board without the need
sensor. of an analog to digital converter or other extra
hardware.It uses one-wire protocol to communicate
You can buy this sensor from Banggood. with microcontroller. It can be hook up in port-P2 in
the board which is located on the right side of the
2. HDC1080: for measuring temperature and humidity Wemos board.

The HDC1080 is a digital humidity sensor with You can read this article to know more about this
integrated temperature sensor that provides excellent sensor.

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Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 7
Step 5: Using an External Antenna ( 3dBi )

The Wemos D1 mini Pro board have an inbuilt You can see the above picture, how I have done this.
ceramic antenna along with provision for connecting
an external antenna to improve the range. Before You can also watch this video made by Alex Eamesto
using the external antenna, you have to reroute the to rotate the zero ohm resistor. Then snap the
antenna signal from the built-in ceramic antenna, to antenna SMA connector into the Wemos Pro mini
the external socket. This can be done by rotating the antenna slot.
small surface mount (0603) Zero Ohm resistor
(sometimes called a link).

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 8

Step 6: Monitoring Battery Voltage

The weather station is run by a 18650 Li-Ion battery, read the battery voltage. By using a 100k resistance
so it is very important to monitor its status. The max we can measure the max voltage of the battery, but
voltage input to the Wemos board is around 3.2~3.3V taking some margin, a 220k resistor is selected. It is
but a fully charged 18650 battery voltage is 4.2V. So named R1 on the PCB board and located just above
to measure this voltage we have to step down the the battery holder.
voltage by using a voltage divider network.
To select the voltage divider resistance values, you
The Wemos D1 mini already has an internal voltage can use this online calculator.
divider that connects the A0 pin to the ADC of the
ESP8266 chip. The voltage divider is made up off You can also read this article on battery voltage
220k (R1) and 100k (R2). So, we have to add an monitoring.
external resistance with the inbuilt 220k resistor to

Step 7: Implimenting Deep Sleep Mode

The heart of the Wemos Board used in our Weather 4. Voltage monitor 0.006 mA ----- 6 uA
Station is an ESP8266 SOC which is a power hungry
chip. Our objective is to run the device by using a -----------------------------------
18650 battery but the demand for power usually
makes battery operation impractical. Total185 mA ---- 66 uA

Another problem is that as the device will run If the sleep-wake cycle is 10 minutes, with a 30
continuously, it is quite obvious that the device will second wake time, the energy consumption budget
experience warming, and therefore the measured looks like this:
temperature will be higher than the ambient
temperature. Wake time 185 mA for 0.5 minutes = 92.5 mA-
minutes
From the above, it is clear that we have to lower the
power consumption of the ESP8266 WiFi chip. To do Sleep time 0.066 mA for 9.5 minutes = 0.627 mA-
that, we’ll use the Deep Sleep mode which is the minutes
most power efficient option for ESP chip. It allows to
put the ESP8266 into hibernation and saves the Total in 10 minutes = 93.13 mA-minutes
battery. You can wake up it at regular intervals to
make measurements and publish them. Thus the average current consumption is 9.3 mA.

Component Operation mode ----- Sleep mode Image credit : http://brainpoweryoutube.blogspot.com/

2015/12/the-...
1. ESP8266 170 mA -------- 10 uA

2. CH340 12 mA --------- 50 uA

3. Built in LED 3 mA ----------- 0 uA

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 9

Step 8: Selecting the Solar Panel

From the previous step, it is concluded that the To charge a 3.7V Li-Ion battery, a solar panel of
average current consumption is 9.3 mA voltage 5 to 6V is adequate.

Required Current for running the device for the whole Required Solar Panel rating = 223.2 mA at a voltage
day = 9.3mA x 24 Hours = 223.2 mAh of around 5 to 6 volts.

There is no current gain in the linear regulator used in Solar panel rating = 223.2mA x 5V = 1.1W
the WeMos, so any current used at 3.3V results in the
same current at 3.7V or whatever voltage the battery Solar Panel Selected : 1W / 5V to 6V
is at.
In this project, I have used a 5V,200mA Solar Panel (
The amount of solar insolation varies according to 99 x 69 mm)
which part of the globe you are located at. To find out
the amount of solar insolation in your area, you can So a 1W panel should be enough the run the project
use the Global Solar Atlas. By taking consideration even in winter in places with a high latitude.
into minimum 1 hour of full sunlight, we are going to
select the solar panel. Note:If your location receiving ample amount of
sunlight, then a 0.66W solar panel which I have used
So, our target is to generate 223.2 mAh in 1 hour. in my earlier version also work.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 10

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 11
Step 9: PCB Design

I have drawn the schematic by using EasyEDA online different tracks and making the tracks shorter.
software after that switched to PCB layout.
You can use the Silk layer to add text to the board.
All of the components you added in the schematic Also, we are able to insert an image file, so I add an
should be there, stacked on top of each other, ready image on of my website logo to be printed on the
to be placed and routed. Drag the components by board. At the end using the copper area tool, we need
grabbing on its pads. Then place it inside the to create the ground area of the PCB.
rectangular border line.
Now the PCB is ready for manufacturing.
Arrange all the components in such a way that the
board occupies minimum space. Smaller the board You can order it from PCBWaySign up PCBWay now
size, cheaper will be the PCB manufacturing cost. It to get a US $5 coupon.That means your first order is
will be useful if this board has some mounting holes free of cost only you have to pay the shipping
on it so that it can be mounted in an enclosure. charges.

Now you have to route. Routing is the most fun part When you place an order, I will get 10% donation
of this entire process. It’s like solving a puzzle! Using from PCBWay for contribution to my work. Your little
the tracking tool we need to connect all the help may encourage me to do more awesome work in
components. You can use both the top and the the future. Thank you for your cooperation.
bottom layer for avoiding overlap between two

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 12

 Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FQC/WNQU/JRGOIMY3/FQCWNQUJRGOIMY3.pdf
…

Step 10: PCB Fabrication

Once we are completed the PCB design we just need to click the “Gerber output” button, save the project and we
will be able to download the Gerber files which are used to manufacturing the PCB.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 13

Step 11: Assembling the PCB

After receiving the board from PCB fab house, you 4. Port P1 - 1 x 4pins
have to solder the components.
For Soldering, you will need a decent Soldering Iron, 5. Port P2- 1 x 3pins
Solder, Nipper.
6. Port P3- 1 x 4pins
First I cut the straight male and female headers pin
for Wemos Board, TP4056, BMP/E 280 and for all the 7. Port P4- 1 x 3 pins
ports.
It is good practice to solder the components
Following are the details about the headers : according to their height. Solder the lesser height
components first.
1. Wemos Board - 2 x 8pins Female
I have started by soldering the resistors, switch and
2. BMP280 - 1 x 6pins Female then moved towards the bigger components like
headers pin, screw terminal and battery holder.
3. I2C Port - 1 x 4pins

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 14

Step 12: Adding the Modules and Battery

After assembling the header pins, switch and screw terminal, it is time to insert the boards into their respective
headers. The headers are clearly labeled on the PCB, so there is no chance of confusion.

First I place the TP4056 board and solder all the pads.

Then I added the Wemos Board and BME280 Sensor.

Finally, I inserted the 18650 battery into the battery holder.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 15

Step 13: Mounting the Standoffs

After adding all the parts, mount the standoffs at 4 corners. I used M3 Brass Hex Standoffs.

Use of standoffs will provide sufficient clearance to the soldering joints and wires from the ground.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 16

Step 14: 3D Printed Enclosure

To give a nice commercial product look, I designed hours to print the main body and around 3 hours to
an enclosure for this project. I used Autodesk Fusion print the top lid.
360 to design the enclosure.
My settings are:
The enclosure has two parts:
Print Speed : 60 mm/s
1. Main Body
Layer Height: 0.2mm ( 0.3 also works good )
2. Cover Lid
Fill Density: 25%
The Main Body is basically designed to fit the
Weather station V2.0 PCB (85mm* 83mm). Extruder Temperature: 200 deg C

The Cover lid is to cover up the main body opening. Bed Temp: 60 deg C

I used my Creality CR-10 printer and 1.75 mm green Download the STL files from Thingiverse
PLA filament to print the parts. It took me about 11

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 17

Step 15: Put the PCB Inside the Enclosure

First insert the M-F hex standoffs into the four mounting slots in the enclosure.

Then fix the PCB board over the standoffs by aligning its four screw holes at the corner.

After inserting the four standoffs,I have faced difficulty to fix the PCB due to small misalignment.So I am thinking to
modify the mounting stand to fix the 3M screw directly instead of hex standoffs.

Step 16: Installing the Components

After mounting the PCB, you have to install BME280 with the SMA connector.
module and Wemos board.
At last put the 18650 battery inside the battery
Then insert the jumper JP2. holder.Make sure you have insert with right polarity.
The polarity is marked in battery holder, PCB as well
Insert the SMA connector in to the holes provided in as on the battery.
the enclosure. Then tighten the nut along with the
washers. Now install the antenna by properly aligning

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 18

Step 17: Installing the Solar Panel

Solder a 22 AWG red wire to the positive terminal and black wire to the negative terminal of the Solar panel.

Insert the two wires into the holes in the roof of the main enclosure body.

Use super glue to fix the Solar Panel and press it some time for proper bonding.

Seal the holes from the inside by using hot glue.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 19

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 20
Step 18: Interfacing With Blynk App

Step-1: Download the Blynk app Touch the QR-code icon and point the camera to the
code below 3. Enjoy my app!
1. For Android
3. After the project was created, we will send you
2. For iPhone Auth Token over email.

Step-2: Get the Auth Token 4. Check your email inbox and find the Auth Token.

In order to connect Blynk App and your hardware, Step-3: Preparing Arduino IDE for Wemos Board
you need an Auth Token.
To upload the Arduino code to Wemos board, you
1. Create a new account in Blynk App. have to follow this Instructables

2. Press the QR icon on the top menu bar. Create a Step-4: Arduino Sketch
clone of this Project by scanning the QR code shown
above. Once it detected successfully, the whole After installing the above libraries, paste the Arduino
project will be on your phone immediately. code given below.

I've made Sol Weather Station app. You are welcome Enter the auth code from step-1,ssid, and password
to try it out! of your router.

To start using it: 1. Download Blynk App: Then upload the code.
http://j.mp/blynk_Android or http://j.mp/blynk_iOS 2.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 21

Step 19: Uploading Sensor Data to ThingSpeak

First create an account on ThingSpeak. Click on “API Keys” tab and copy the “Write API Key”

Then create a new Channel on your ThingSpeak Open the Solar_Weather_Station_ThingSpeak code .
account.
Replace the “WRITE API ”with the copied “Write API
Find How to Create a New Channel Fill Field 1 as Key”.
Pressure ,Field 2 as Temperature, Field 3
asHumidity,Field 4 as altitude and Field 5 as Bat You can see my live feed.
Voltage.
Currently, I am getting an inconsistent reading for
In your ThingSpeak account select “Channel” and battery voltage, so the field is disabled.
then “My Channel”.

Click on your channel name.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 22

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 23
Step 20: Software and Libraries

To use Wemos D1 with the Arduino library, you'll have to use the Arduino IDE with ESP8266 board support. If you
haven't already done that yet, you can easily install ESP8266 Board support to your Arduino IDE by following this t
utorial by Sparkfun.

Following settings are preferable :

PU Frequency: 80MHz 160MHz

Flash Size: 4M (3M SPIFFS) – 3M File system size 4M (1M SPIFFS) – 1M File system size

Upload Speed: 921600 bps

Library

Before uploading the code install the following libraries :

1. ESP8266

2. BMP280

3. Blynk

You can read this tutorial by Sparkfun to install the Arduino libraries.

In my earlier version, there are two separate codes for Blynk and Thinspeak but in this version, we have written a
single peace of code. The user have to only comment out a single line of code for Blynk or Thingspeak.For
example, if you are using it for Blynk App, the code should be as below:

const String App = "BLYNK"; // alternative is line below

// const String App = "Thingspeak"; // alternative is line above

Cedit: I want to give lot of credit to Keith Hungerford, who have guided me to make this project more powerful. The
software library for BMP280 is also written by him.You can read his Instructable on BMP280 power saving mode.

Note: Before using the deep sleep feature, Wemos D0 pin must be connected to the RST pin. This can be done by
shorting the jumper JP2.

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 24

 Download
https://www.instructables.com/ORIG/FBZ/MECT/JS0ONWPS/FBZMECTJS0ONWPS.rar
…

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 25

Step 21: Conclusion

Today I have received the Solar Panel and installed means your first order is free of cost only you have to
it. I really love the final outcome of the project. pay the shipping charges.When you place an order, I
will get 10% donation from PCBWay for contribution
In future my plan is to add wind and rain fall to my hard work. Your little help may encourage me
measuring sensors like this project . to do more awesome work in the future. Thank you
for cooperation.
I am thinking to make a DIY kit for this project, but not
finding a suitable vendor who can do this for me.Be in Thanks for reading my Instructable.
touch for more updates.
If you like my project, don't forget to share it.
Update on 15.02.2019 :
Comments and feedback are always welcome.
Now you can order the PCB from PCBWay
Sign up PCBWay now to get a US $5 coupon.That

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 26

Hello!

I love the project! I only have 1 problem...

In the Blynk app my battery voltage is displaying -114v. How can i solve this?
I had the same issue, I have now fixed it! And cut the decimal places to 2 so it now puts the % and
other Identifiers at the end of each number.

What did you do to display the reading to 2 decimal places? Is it a Blynk setting or part of the
Arduino code.
It's in the arduino code, firstly, there needs to be a delay when it wakes to send data....it's going
back to sleep before the data packet has made it to Blynk. The data needs to be sent in a buffer for
it to be limited to 2 decimal places. I have sent the code to the Author. I can also send it to you if
you like, or screenshot of the section that was changed.
Thanks can you send me the code as I am having problems with the battery voltage not displaying
so would be good the check that part of the code as well. Can u send it to dlochlinatgmaildotcom. I
would like to see how its done. I found a way in Blynk using /pin.##/ in the Label field but the
humidity always displays 7 decimal places.
Hi CodfishCatfish, If you are using the BMP280 library that is used with the published software for
this project, you should not have such trouble with using a BMP280 instead of a BME280. This
library is capable of working with both devices, merely not giving humidity readings if you are using
a BMP280. This is different from other libraries for this device. If you want to learn more about the
library and its capabilities, I suggest you have a look at https://www.instructables.com/id/Library-
for-BMP28...
Keith
Hi Keith, my weather station is working super fine, however I had been looking into some other
people with missing readings if you read the other posts in this thread. However I’m not %100

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 27

convinced with the BMP280 not being able to detect humidity. In the V1 of this project, I had a few
BMP280’s laying around idle and they worked fine with V1 showing temperature, humidity and
pressure because one of my early tests was out of sheer curiosity and that was to breath on the
sensor until it reached %100 humidity which it did. Unless they were marked up bad , denoted by a
dot on the P/E at the end of BME/P. I did however discover the 6 pin version of the BMP280 were
definitely without humidity. All other 4 pin BMP280’s that I’ve owned have always had humidity so
I’m very curious to see if this was a packaging error? Anyway thanks for all your efforts and can’t
wait for the UV index code to be added. I had played around with it a bit, but busy with work related
stuff and also studying for an exam so very little time indeed for Arduino projects right now. Kind
regards Spence.
Hi Spence / CodfishCatfish, Thanks for the reply. At the end of Step 1 in the Instructable for the
BMP280 library (https://www.instructables.com/id/Library-for-BMP28... there is a link to a little
diagnostic program that can tell you whether your device is BMP280 (without humidity) or BME280
(with humidity) and also the information to tell the difference by visual inspection of the device itself
(microscope recommended). I do not think the markings on the circuit board are likely to be
reliable, and often there is no marking anyway.
The devices (BMP280 and BME280) are physically identical and use the same I2C addresses.
However they have different device codes in their registers, which is what the diagnostic program
reads and then prints to the serial monitor the result.
Keith
Made it, got it all sorted with correct outputs. Printed the case last night and it's now assembled
and working.
Code needed to be modified to get correct output to Blynk. Not sure how to add a file on here if
anyone wants a copy????
Loved the project and will make some more with a better case so it will be more water proof.

For the code, email me ([email protected]) and I can send it to you :-)

I am having difficulty locating 3-pin female headers for the sensors. Does anyone know of a source
for these in Europe? An alternative is to clip one of the end pins off of a four-pin female header. It
looks like that will fit on the PCB without issue. The four-pin female headers are readily available.
Try AliExpress, you can buy header blocks in a strip and you just cut them to the length you require
:-)
I did not realize it was quite that simple. I have plenty of extra headers from my Arduino supplies. I
went ahead and cut what I needed from them. I thank you for telling me what should have been
obvious to me. Well, now I know. :)
Thanks for your reply. I.ve tried all the things you suggested and in fact I have just built a second
unit and set it up and can't get any data displayed in Blynk. Blynk tells me the device has
connected/disconnected(I have the sleep jumper installed. I see in the arduino serial monitor that it
connects to my wifi and then to the Blynk cloud pings it and then prints all the temp,pressure,
humidity and voltage readings.

I verified the virtual pins in the Blynk app(infact one was wrong) after cloning the project from the
QR icon in the instructable and still no joy. Now I have two units operating, one displaying sensible
data on Thingspeak and the other displaying nothing in Blynk. Aah frustration!

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 28

Please email me your code and delete your Blynk API key, WiFi and Password settings from the
code and I will run your code on my rig and see what happens. [email protected]
Hopefully it may be something really simple.
I am having the same issue, I can get Blynk to display Temp and pressure....that's all. Virtual Pin
assignments have been checked and it all should work. Thinkspeak, all data is displayed....but I
want to use the Blynk App on my phone as it's way cooler to see and use!
I just uploaded the code as supplied, put my own credentials in and set for Blynk, Help would be
appreciated.
I have surplus PCB's for sale if anyone is interested A$5.00 plus postage to where-ever you may
live.
I am in Australia. If interested please Email me. [email protected]
I have 4 spare PCB's available for €5.00+ postage. I live in the Netherlands. If interested you can
mail me at [email protected]
Thanks for this great design, I got mine up and running. There seems to be an offset of 0.38Volt in
the battery logging though, but I can fix that I guess.

Tried to get the Blynk app up and running, but it said I need to pay, which I might be willing to do,
but Blynk does not give a clue ahead how much "energy" I need to get it running and how much I
need each month/year to keep it running. Anybody knows how much, allowing me to think about it
instead of just starting to pay until Blynk says it is enough???
Hi palbeda,
I think you can get all this info from the Blynk web site, but the basics are that when you first
register with Blynk as a developer they provide you with a fixed allowance of "energy" for use on
their server. If you install your own local server, you get a much larger allowance for use there.
Then when you design your dashboard (or dashboards), you do it in design mode by pressing the
"+" button near the top of the screen, which then shows you a list of possible "widgets" each of
which has its price associated with it. As you add widgets to your dashboard, the energy cost of
each is subtracted from your allowance. If you delete a widget, you get a refund of exactly the
same amount as you "paid" when you first used it, which means you can experiment with adding
and deleting widgets without running up a cost.
If you run out of your free allowance, then you can buy more.
I have not done this for a while so the situation may have changed, but that is the way it used to
be, anyway.
I have found Blynk a very flexible and powerful interface, at least for my simple needs.
Keith

Hi...looks like an awesome project...are you going to or do you sell the whole lot as a diy build kit?
Thanks
Making it solar forces me to put the station exposed to the sun, and there is no way to measure
temperatures properly... how do you solve that?
sometimes people do goofy things, look at this:
https://www.robotics-3d.com/sensowhat is that measuring?ri-di-umidita/773...

the temp sensor (DHT11) will be measuring the wifi module (ESP8266) temperature, not the actual
room temperature...

PS: let alone most 3D printings will not be waterproof, a storm is likely to water off the enclosure.
Better use something like this:
https://www.gewiss.com/ww/en/products/experience-c...

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 29

I am using an ammo box, actually, with the sensors on the outside

You really need an external temperature probe, such as a DS18B20 mounted in a proper
enclosure to protect it from the sun. You can use one of the additional ports on the PCB to make
the connection.
Exactly my point, this is thing is not working properly!

Hi
ЦветанС2, The measurement interval is defined in line 14 of the main program. It is a number in
milliseconds, so to get 10 minutes, which is 600 seconds, you need to set it to 600000.
In the goToSleep function (found in PTHsleep.h) the awake time for that report is subtracted from
the measurement interval and then multiplied by 1000 to bring it to microseconds which is what the
ESP.deepSleep() function requires.
Hello.

I made this project and is amezing !!

But I have a problem. The data cannot be transfered to the server (thingspeak) when the esp8266
is connected to my mobile hotspot. But, when the project is connected to my home wifi, it work
successully.

1) What is the best solution for my problem if I want my iot project being connected to my mobile
hotspot?
The hotspot is from mobile phone

2) What kind of wifi device that is suitable to transfer data from esp8266 to the thingspeak server?

Thanks.
It would be amazing if you could add a windmeter like la Crosse TX23U sensor.

Thank You for your input.

I will consider it in my future revision.
How long will all these parts survive, exposed to the elements like that?

If it is not exposed to water, then it can run for years.

Thanks, I was wondering if I should spray on some kind of protective coating, after all, it gets quite
humid during the winter.
They do make a conformal coating spray for PCBs.

https://www.techspray.com/conformal-coating

However if you spray the BME280 I think it will no longer be able to measure humidity or pressure
(it has a small vent that the spray will clog)
Yes, there are quite a few of those sprays available. And quite right, one would have to cover the
sensor while spraying...
Can you please tell me if the latest code for Blynk includes code for the UV Index? Mine is running
very well at the moment but don’t see UVI in the code?
Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 30
Also less figures. Perhaps 3 decimal places?

a wonderful, clean Instructable & unit design. Would you be able to upload/send me the Gerber
files or the finished PCB design? I'm not good at PCB's at all and I'd love to build this... if there is a
fee... please let me know... thanks again!
I am planning to make Kit for this project but still not able to finalize a suitable vendor who can
make this for me. Be in touch, I am trying my best.
ok, I guess that will work as well.... just a lot more expensive since there's a third party involved
who will want a share
Now you can order the PCB from PCBway
https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/W155288ASM1_Gerber_Solar_Powered_WiFi_Weather_Station_V2_0.h
most excellent...Thanks!!

That awesome! I don't have a 3D printer though...

Like WhyMeLord I'd be happy to purchase all parts in a kit form :)

My initial plan was to make a kit and sell all the parts together.
But I am not able to manage it, so I thought to sell the PCB only.
Still, I am searching a vendor who can do it for me.
Keep in touch for future update.
No problem :)
By the way, is there a Windows application for the weather station?
It would be good if I could monitor things from my PC.
It looks like a very professional little piece of hardware. Well done on your design and
implementation :)
Thank you for your valuable words.
You can monitor the weather parameters from mobile app or on web browser.
You can see my live feeds on web browser.
https://thingspeak.com/channels/698358
I checked out the web browser live feeds - very cool!
You sure you're not interested in making one or a few and selling them? :-)

I built this the 1st time but really would like to rebuild with PCB. Are you going to post the PCB
Gerber files or related file? Thanks
Now you can order the PCB from PCBway
https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/W155288ASM1_Gerber_Solar_Powered_WiFi_Weather_Station_V2_0.h
Now you can order the PCB from PCBway
https://www.pcbway.com/project/shareproject/W155288ASM1_Gerber_Solar_Powered_WiFi_Weather_Station_V2_0.h

Solar Powered WiFi Weather Station V2.0: Page 31