for WMR100, WMR200 and RMS300 Weather Stations
Version 2 WxShields available now available. The WxShield information has been moved to a new web site, here.
Patch 4.2.8.7 includes the following changes:
A new patch is out for WSDL, 4.2.8.3. This is only for WMR200 users who may be experiencing problems with rainfall data. It completes some temporary fixes for glitches in rainfall data and forces the logging of data from the WMR200 during startup and history retrieval.
An update to the WxShield sketch (1.9.2) is available which has wider tolerances when decoding OS version 1.0 sensors. If you were having trouble receiving some 1.0 sensor data this may fix the problem. Look in the Source Code/WxShield release folder in the Files section of the SourceForge project. This is also available on the downloads page of the osengr.org web site.
We have added support for receiving the AcuRite 00782W3 wireless temperature sensor to WSDL (4.2.8.2) and the WxShield sketch (1.9). These remote sensors are currently available from at least one on-line retailer for less than $10US. As with other OS sensors, it will be possible to have more than one of these sensors operating at the same time and we should be able tell them apart.
There are some additional changes in WSDL 4.2.8.2. A potential bug fix for upload of WMR200 history data has been added along with extra debugging output in the message log for this problem. Set View...Enable...Decoded Messages to see the extra output. Also, a potential temporary fix is added for mysterious rainfall glitches reported by one WMR200 user. If you were getting bad rainfall logging with a WMR200 and with rainfall reset processing enabled (in options window), this patch may allow you to re-enable the reset processing.
A new WxShield sketch (version 1.8) that can receive the new OS SL-109H and AcuRite 00955 wireless temperature-only sensors has been released. There is also a WSDL patch (4.2.7.2) that is required for this feature. This has been tested with version 2 WxShields; it may or may not work with version 1 shields. The WSDL patch is under the Windows Install download directory, and the WxShield source code is under the WxShield directory.
Footnote: patch 4.2.7.1 appeared briefly, but there was a bug causing the indoor temperature label not to display. That's been fixed and replaced with 4.2.7.2.
Now you can remove atmospheric tides from barometer data!
This new feature analyzes several weeks worth of barometer data to produce an estimate of diurnal atmospheric tides at your location. The tides can then be mathematically removed from the baromter graph. This makes it much easier to see high and low pressure systems coming through your area. The two graphs below show this feature in action.
In order for this feature to work correctly, you must have at least ten days worth of barometric pressure data in the log file when WSDL starts up. It is preferable to have more data (e.g. 30 days) but the function will still work with as little as ten days of barometric pressure data.
To get this update, install the 4.2.3.5 BETA relase of WSDL, then download the 4.2.5.2 Patch and follow installation instructions (also in the download folder). The 4.2.3.5 BETA and the patch are both in the Windows Install folder, here. This patch can also be installed directly on top of any patch later than 4.2.3.5; there is no need to re-install 4.2.3.5 before installing the patch.
This feature may be of more interest to those who have enhanced barometers (e.g. the WeatherJack or WxShield barometers), as the stock OS barometers just barely have enough resolution to sense atmospheric tides.However, the feature should still have an affect on stock OS barometer graphs, and would be worth trying.
Raw Barometer Braph
Barometer Graph with Atmospheric Tides Removed
WSDL is no longer under active development. That may change at some point (or it may not). If it does, another news item will be posted to indicate the change in status.
Several new versions of the Arduino build environment have been released and the old build instructions probably won't work. This is because the location of libraries has changed due to UAC problems in Win Vista/7. I was able to get it to build by unpacking the arduino-022 release into a non-system directory and copying the WSDL libraries into the libraries directory. Do not unpack the arduino release into a system directory (e.g. Program Files (x86)).
Source for a new sketch that decodes all known versions of OS RF protocols (1.0, 2.1, 3.0) has been released. There is also a new user manual for the WxShield that explains how to update the sketch on your Arduino board. This sketch has been tested and works with both hand-built (version 1) WxShields in addition to the current surface-mount WxShield. The source code for the sketch can be found in the Current Stable Release folder in the download area. Click this link to download the zip file.
If you are building the sketch for a hand-built WxShield (not the current surface-mount version), be sure to edit the WxReceiverConfig.h file (in the libraries\WxReceivers sub-directory) and change the shield version there from 2 to 1.
The new beta release (4.2.3.5) has some big changes for FTP configuration. See the release notes available for download for the details. A new WxShield sketch which can decode OS version 1.0 sensors is due out soon...
A proof of concept for decoding OS version 1.0 sensors has been successful. These sensors are much slower than the newer 2.1/3.0 units and it took some doing to figure out how to properly decode these slow transmissions. Within one to two weeks an update should be available for WxShield firmware for decoding these sensors. An updated RF protocol description document is also available on the project web site which includes a description of transmissions from version 1.0 sensors.
Beta version 4.2.3.1 is now available for download. Changes include:
The first six WxShields are now shipped out (two to Australia, one to Portugal and three in the US). There are three more folks who expressed interest in obtaining shields but we don't have funds from them yet. One of the first ten is still up for grabs. If you're not sure about the whole thing, we should have some initial reactions from the first buyers by the middle of next week. Watch the SourceForge forum for posts.
The new beta release (4.2.2.5) has one new feature and one bug fix:
4.2.2.3 has one new feature and some bug fixes:
The Weather Shield web page has been re-written and now links to separate pages for the two versions of shields. We are very close to announcing the first few shields available for purchase. See the new page on the version 2 shield for more information.
Beta 4.2.2.1 is has the following enhancements:
To make use of the new almanac features, you must download the "Almanac.bin" file from the beta release directory and store it in the directory where WSDL is installed. Eventually there will be an installer for this file but for now you must manually install it.
All of these enhancements are described in the new user manual so be sure to read those sections carefully.
Beta 4.2.1.7 is available with the following bug fixes and feature enhancements:
This release has several fixes for problems with WMR200 historical data. It still probably contains bugs in this area so please don't install the patch unless you're willing to risk losing some data. Any help you can provide by testing the beta and reporting problems will be greatly appreciated.
There is a patch available to fix rain bucket tip counting problems when log file units for rain are NOT inches. This patch only has the rain bucket tip counting fix -- do not install this patch unless you want the rain fix.
You must install the 4.2.1.5 beta before installing this patch. The patch is a 7-zip archive which should be unpacked into the WSDL install folder. It will overwrite several existing files there. To un-install the patch, simply re-install a previous version of WSDL and choose the "Repair" option if possible. You can find the patch by clicking here, then click on the Windows Install folder and then the 4.2.1.6 PATCH folder.
A new beta release is available (4.2.1.5). All of the files are in the Windows Install folder. Here are the changes in this release:
A new beta release is available (4.2.1.4). All of the files are in the Windows Install folder. Here are the changes in this release:
New features are discussed in the updated user manual.
CAD files and the Aduino sketch for the new WxShield (version 1.2) have been released. They are available in the "Current Stable Release" folder. The sketch update also includes a version for the 1.0 WxShield which does not lock up occasionally. See the Arduino page for details.
A new FAQ page has been added and will be updated periodically.
4.2.1.2 has a few bug fixes for recently reported problems in 4.2.1.1. The main feature in the string of beta releases after 4.2.0.0 is support for WMR200 history data.
There is no user manual in this release. Please install 4.2.1.1 first if you want the latest user manual.
The custom client demo software project has been updated -- see release notes.
All users -- be sure to open the hardware tab in the options window and select your hardware (WMR88/100/200/etc) right away. This version will no longer automatically switch to the WMR200 protocol if you have selected the WMR100 or other hardware.
This is an early beta release so please backup your weather log files and don't be surprised if some WMR200 history data gets lost. Please read the user manual section about WMR200 history support before running the release. Thanks in advance to those brave enough to help test this new capability!
The second (and hopefully final) version of PC boards for the Arduino weather shield have been ordered and should be arriving before the end of the month. They should be assembled and ready for testing early in January. If all goes well, the CAD files for these boards can be released later in January or early February. Watch for more updates.
Well, it has taken forever, but version 4.2 is now officially released. This is NOT a beta release!
There are only two changes since the last beta release.
The "Release Notes" section in the user manual has a detailed list of the changes in WSDL since the last official release (3.4.2.0).
This release has undergone four months of testing and appears to be very stable at this point. As always, please post any bugs discovered on one of the SourceForge forums.
The structure of the release folders on SourceForge is being changed. Instead of having separate folders for Windows installers, source code, documentation, etc, there will now be a single folder for each release which will contain only the files which are new for that release. There will be new "Current Files" folder which will contain the current version of all released files. This should make it a lot easier to find things like HTML examples and Arduino source code.
For Subversion users, the "client_server" branch has been merged back into the trunk, so please switch over to the trunk to get current versions.
A special thanks to all the WSDL users who have helped in testing beta releases and putting up with all the bugs.
