SwitchDoc Labs WeatherSense Assembly And Test Manual

Solar powered air quality sensor
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WeatherSense
Solar Powered Air Quality Sensor
Assembly and Test Manual
February 2021
Version 1.2
Version 1.2 February 2021

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Summary of Contents for SwitchDoc Labs WeatherSense

  • Page 1 WeatherSense Solar Powered Air Quality Sensor Assembly and Test Manual February 2021 Version 1.2 Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    1) Keep all water away from the electronics and power supply at all times! 2) This is not a toy! Keep it out of reach of young children and pets. 3) SwitchDoc Labs assumes no liabilities in the use of this kit, beyond the refund of the purchase price. Errata...
  • Page 3: What Is The Weathersense Solar Powered Air Quality Sensor

    The heart of the new WeatherSense Sensors is the our new 433MHz MiniProPlus CPU board in working in conjunction with the HM3301 Laser Air Quality Sensor. The WeatherSense Air Quality kit is so simple that even middle school children can build it with just a little adult help for configuration and installation.
  • Page 4: Before You Build Your Weathersense Aq

    Before You Build Your WeatherSense AQ You should build and test your WeatherSense AQ system as below BEFORE you put it in the option 3D Printed case. Get it working first, then put it in the case. Believe us, it is always easier to debug the system before you close it up in the case! The manual for the case and weatherproofing is called the “WeatherSense AQ...
  • Page 5: Step By Step Assembly And Parts List

    We are assembling the WeatherSense AQ System. In this manual, we are going to assemble the WeatherSense AQ system and test all the functions. If you plan to put WeatherSense AQ outside, and after you complete this manual, proceed to the “WeatherSense AQ Weatherproofing, Assembly and Test Manual”...
  • Page 6 Part C Part D 433MHz Transmitter with Antenna HM3301 Laser Quality Sensor Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 7 Part F Part E SunAirPlus2 Solar Power Data Collector 330mA 6V Solar Panel and Controller Part H Part G Two (2) 20cm Grove Cables 3.7V LiPo Battery (Not included) Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 8: Parts You Need To Buy Separately From The Kit

    • Compatible SDR Software Defined Radio (For example: https://hpjhlytllzrwf4qn- 24552113.shopifypreview.com/products/software-defined-radio-sdr-and-antenna • 16GB SD Card (unless you bought the SD Card from SwitchDoc Labs) • Power Supply for the Raspberry Pi How to select a LiPo Battery The WeatherSense AQ requires 3.7V LiPo battery.
  • Page 9: Step By Step Assembly

    Step by Step Assembly Remember you are putting together the WeatherSense AQ to do testing and debugging. You will need to disassemble the unit and follow the assembly instructions in the WeatherSense AQ WeatherProofing and System Testing Manual. Step 1: Lay out all parts on a flat non-conductive (J) surface.
  • Page 10 Step 3: Take a grove cable (Part H) and plug it into the grove connection on the Mini Pro Plus (Part A) marked J5-I2C and the other end into the grove connector on the Air Quality Sensor (Part D). Step 4: Push the WatchDog Time Enable Switch to the Left (enable) on the Mini Pro Plus board (Part A). Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 11 Step 5: Take the other grove cable (Part H) and plug it in into the Mini Pro Plus (Part A) grove connector marked J7-I2C and the other end into the grove connector on the SunAirPlus2 board (Part F). Step 6: take the USB micro to Type A cable (Part B) and plug it into the USB micro connector on the MiniProPlus board (Part A) and the other end into the TypeA connector on the SunAirPlus2 Board (Part F).
  • Page 12 Step 7: Make sure the switch on the SunAirPlus2 board (Part F) is pushed toward the Battery Connector (away from the Grove Connector). This turns off the power supply to the MiniProPlus (Part A) Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 13 Step 8: Plug the Solar Panel (Part E) JST-2 connector into the SunAirPlus2 (Part F) board JST-2 plug marked SOLAR (next to the USB Micro connector on SunAirPlus2 (Part F)). You can take the protective plastic off of the solar panel (Part E) at this time. Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 14 Step 12: The AQI board will send a message every 18 minutes (thereabouts) giving the latest AQI readings and all the solar power data. You can see the graphs on the dash_app once you have started the WeatherSense Software (see below).
  • Page 15: Testing Weathersense Aq

    You have now completed initial assembly. Now on to testing. Testing WeatherSense AQ If you have the SwitchDoc Labs SD Card, you can proceed to Step 4. Step 1: Install the SDL modified version of rtl_433. In a terminal window on your Pi at /home/pi type: Page Version 1.2 February 2021...
  • Page 16 -I You will get something like this: pi@SwitchDocLabs:~/SDL_Pi_WeatherSense AQ $ hostname -I 192.168.1.44 Step 5: Update WeatherSense to the latest version. Type the following commands into a terminal window. cd SDL_Pi_WeatherSense git pull You will see something like this:...
  • Page 17: What Does The Json From The Weathersenseaq Sensor Mean

    Or, if your software is up to date: pi@SwitchDocLabs:~/SDL_Pi_WeatherSense$ git pull Already up to date. Step 6: First we will test the reception of the wireless weather sensors. Test your SDR and WeatherSense installation as follows. Note you must have completed the WeatherSenseAQ assembly. cd /home/pi/SDL_Pi_WeatherSense sudo python3 WeatherSenseMonitor.py...
  • Page 18 AQI Data This is the raw data: {"time" : "2021-02-27 12:49:58", "model" : "SwitchDoc Labs AQI", "len" : 46, "messageid" : 0, "deviceid" : 1, "protocolversion" : 1, "softwareversion" : 1, "weathersenseprotocol"...
  • Page 19: Optional: Reducing The Power Needed For Your Weathersenseaq

    18 minute cycle. Much less power! Step 1: Turn off your WeatherSense AQ and remove the Laser Air Quality Sensor (Part D). Step 2: Solder a single Pin Header in the hole market “SET” on the Laser Air Quality Sensor.
  • Page 20 Step 3: Take a Grove to Pin Header Adaptor Cable ( https://shop.switchdoc.com/products/grove-4-pin-female- jumper-to-grove-4-pin-conversion-cable-5-pcs-per-pack ) and cut off the black, red and white wires, making sure they do not short together (stagger them or cover them with electrical tape). If you choose to make your own jumper make sure you use the left most pin in the Grove connector.
  • Page 21: Disclaimer

    This completes the low power modification. Disclaimer SwitchDoc Labs, LLC takes no responsibility for any physical injuries and possession loss caused by those reasons which are not related to product quality, such as operating without following the operating manual and cautions, natural disasters or force majeure.

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