Wireless Weather Station
Wireless Weather Station
Engineering Design & Development
Engineering Design & Development
Wyatt Clark, Nicolas Gonzalez, Daniel Laws, Heidi Picazo-Gonzalez
2020 - 2021
Embedded Files
Overview
Overview
Operating within a budget of under $100 and striving for completion by the end of the school year, this project achieved notable milestones, including the creation of a weather station stand, a custom PCB board integrated with an Arduino development board, and the implementation of a 433 MHz wireless transmitter for data transmission to a Raspberry Pi. Additionally, a dedicated website was developed to display logged data through informative graphs, contributing to the project's mission of making classroom learning more engaging and applicable in real-world contexts. The finished weather station is featured to the right (Figure 1).
Project Timeline: January 2021 - May 2021
Figure 1 - Completed Weather Station
Objectives
Objectives
Keep material cost under $100
Finish by the end of the 2020-2021 school year
Monitor data wirelessly
Create website interface to display data
Use solar panel to power weather station
Parameter Objectives
Parameter Objectives
Monitor the following parameters:
Temperature
Humidity
Wind speed
Air pressure
VOCs & eCO2
Week 1 (1/4 - 1/8)
Week 1 (1/4 - 1/8)
The STEAM Team assembled and began research on project objectives, costs, equipment, and scope. Based on our research of commercially available weather stations, these devices can cost from 300 to 700 USD.
Each individual was assigned a category for the project:
Wyatt Clark - Structure & Weather Proofing
Nicolas Gonzalez - Coding, Web Design, & Project Management
Daniel Laws - Power Systems & 3D Modeling
Heidi Picazo-Gonzalez - Wiring & Hardware
A computer engineer was consulted on available software and hardware for transmitting data wirelessly and displaying it. A Raspberry Pi was chosen to transmit data over Wi-Fi or a serial connection.
Week 2 (1/11 - 1/15)
Week 2 (1/11 - 1/15)
The STEAM Team researched useful components for the weather station that would monitor the required parameters. For pressure, temperature, and humidity, the BME280 chip was selected (top). To monitor VOCs and eCO2, the team chose the SGP30 sensor (bottom left). Both of these breakout sensor boards were ordered from Adafruit Industries.
To decide between which processor would control the system, a decision matrix was created (see below). Ultimately, the team decided to use an Arduino Uno as the main microprocessor for the standalone, wireless weather system.
Lastly, the team finished a weather vane design and made progress to fabricate said design.
Week 3
Week 3
Another decision matrix was created to decide between wireless protocols, the team settled on using a 433 MHz wireless transmitter and receiver. We purchased the items from Amazon.
The wireless transmitter had a publicly available library for the Arduino, was very cheap, and boasted a long range for transmission. The transmission range would need to be tested at a later date.
The final weather vane design was completed, using Inventor and dimensioned. The base fits over an eight bit absolute encoder that will let the microcontroller know the
The project involved four sections: structure, wiring, website integration, and coding for sensors
The project involved four sections: structure, wiring, website integration, and coding for sensors
PCB traces in EasyEDA software.
Soldered PCB board.
I was the lead designer and team manager for this project. I organized using Gantt charts and ensured my team showed me their progress through weekly updates. I also largely contributed to this project through coding, creating the PCB board, and the website that hosted the data from the weather station.
I was the lead designer and team manager for this project. I organized using Gantt charts and ensured my team showed me their progress through weekly updates. I also largely contributed to this project through coding, creating the PCB board, and the website that hosted the data from the weather station.
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