My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Fri Jan 05, 2018 5:29 pm

PROJECT TITAN - DASH BOX : WEATHER FLOW INTEGRATION 2018
The new year has just started and true to form Ben at Brultech has continued on more robust integration of weather metrics for the all mighty Dash Box (DB). January 05, 2018 saw a second break fix release of Alpha firmware 4.2.3D2 for the Weather Flow system.

As an aside, the team has revamped the settings pages with new categories from Weather, Home Automation, Add-Ons, and Alerts. This was done to plan ahead for the next generation of features and enhancements coming in 2018. :mrgreen:

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This can be found by logging in to Settings -> Weather -> Weather Flow. For now some of the main feature are having the ability to Enable / Disable, Celsius / Fahrenheit, Custom Identifier, and Icon. Once the first UDP packet has been received by the Dash Box the serial number for that device will show up. The system also tracks when the last packet has arrived which really helps for trouble shooting and the system will also show the service is active with the green check mark.

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Should there be a drop in UDP packets the DB's status tab will indicate this by a orange exclamation mark. Selecting the status page will bring up which hardware is off line and not sending UDP packets.

The possible solutions offered are not directly relevant to what could cause such an issue. In my testing some of the most common issues is the Weather Flow Hub is off line. To WiFi connectivity issue, firewall problems, to network congestion.

The Weather Flow development team will be incorporating the ability to remote reboot the Hub in later firmware updates. This should help tremendously in not having to hard reboot the hardware which I have been doing via remote control.

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This image capture show cases this new found ability in the DB. :P Right above the Weather Flow icons is the Weather Map (Airport Weather) which too will see having the ability to add a unique image / icon of the users choice. :D

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In the first release of the Weather Flow module I was seeing spikes and dips in the charts. I'm not sure if this latest firmware release solves this issue or not. But thus far I haven't seen any spikes or dips in the data presented by the DB.

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Another issue I was seeing was duplicate entries and dropped UDP packets in the DB logs. As seen here there are two entries for 9:25 PM. Ben has incorporated a de-dupe process in this firmware release to help avoid these errant values showing up.

As you go down the log you will also notice skipped UDP data entries.

These are two of the failings of using UDP the whole *Fire & Forget* protocol with no confirmation of data integrity etc. :| :roll: Regardless of those limitations the weather metrics received thus far have been incredible in its detail and frequency.

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As seen below even if the system misses a few minutes here and there the granularity of the charting is simply outstanding. This image capture is for December 31, 2017 which show cases the new icon I selected along with max, min, average.

The charting is smooth and zooming in to any time slot is quick and easy.

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Noted in a previous log entry here having the ability to directly compare multiple channels has simply been fantastic. This has really helped me in the development process for the Weather Flow hardware where new firmware changes to algorithms can be seen readily.

Comparing to different weather stations like the airport vs local vs other gives me insight about the environmental's impacting my home and the energy costs directly related to those. One feature request I hope can be introduced quickly is having the ability to add notes to the (?) button.

As this will allow me to have reference notes just by a click.

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The long term plan is to integrate every aspect of the Weather Flow system from temperature, humidity, pressure, lightning, rain, wind data, brightness, and UV metrics. In the near term the Brultech development team will continue to push to integrate the Weather Underground API.

Going this route will allow the majority of those who have different weather PWS hardware to see the very same in the DB. The obvious limitation is a constant and reliable Internet connection to obtain the same. :|

I am truly looking forward to seeing both WF & WU development unfold. Having this capability will offer true insight as to what drives energy costs in the home during any season. Along with those who are keen on irrigation as this new information can help them manage their water use and ultimately reduce their costs in the same.

Much thanks goes out to Ben & Paul for pushing the limits of the Dash Box. To a casual observer some may ask why the push for micro climate data?

Because it makes little sense or difference to obtain weather data miles away from your home! Weather drives heating and cooling needs which directly relates to out of pocket costs. Having the ability to know exactly it was -40'C and comparing it to the furnace run time is data that will allow that person to better understand and resolve those demands.
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Fri Jan 12, 2018 7:18 pm

Really Add Blah . .

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
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Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Jan 14, 2018 11:49 am

WINTER 2018 - FROZEN LOCK SETS: PUSHING STUPID TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL
In early 2017 one of the companies I Alpha / Beta test for asked if I could review their new ANSI grade 1 lock sets intended for commercial use. The primary goal was to evaluate set up, install, features, and long term use in cold arctic environments.

Fast forward to early January 14, 2018 winter and what I consider normal operational weather the bottom lock set is routinely frozen. :evil: :? Such a condition isn't remotely acceptable to me or anyone who lives in colder climates.

Lock sets should just operate with out fail as so many other lock sets I have been using for more than 40 years!!! :| Being locked out in the dead of winter from your home when the mercury is -35'C isn't a laughing matter for any of us who reside in the North.

As a interim fix I decided to deploy a ghetto fix which I will detail below which I aptly call *Pushing Stupid*. Below are candles, matches, and lighters I placed in a sealed bag in a container. When ever the lock set was frozen the task was to use a open flame to thaw out the cylinder until it would allow the key to turn the tumbler.

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In our climate you will quickly find out no matter what type of lighter you have on hand they will simply not operate in sub -30'C weather. There will be no spark or ignition on any level so as seen above the old school match sticks are on hand.

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Since this is really a *Proof of Concept* I didn't want to spend too much money if the idea was a complete and utter fail. So true to form the local Dollar Store had some of the supplies I needed to prove the general concept was sound and reliable.

Below is a round Styrofoam ball intended for arts and crafts . . . :lol:

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The next step was to locate one of several hole saw kits on hand. Since this was soft Styrofoam any hole saw would do no need for a bi-metal saw. :mrgreen:

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About five seconds with the drill a nice round hole was made. After a quick dry fit I found the largest hole saw was slightly too large in diameter so it wasn't a snug fit. :cry:

Live and learn I say . . .

Undaunted I simply picked away at the center of the ball ensuring the inner material was smaller in diameter so when I stuck the ball to the door knob it would be a nice tight fit. :P

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Since the ball is round and so deep I had no choice but to use my fingers to mold the depth and shape of the inner hole. All I can say is with 30% relative humidity in the air the static and material on my hands was endlessly stuck to everything. :oops:

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After a few misfires and false steps I was getting a better idea as to how deep and round I needed to be to have the ball affixed properly to the lower door knob.

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Five minutes later the proper diameter and inner depth was found and the ball was snug as a bug in a rug. The ball will obviously be placed on the outside of the lock set to help insulate and negate air flow into the lock cylinder.

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If this proof of concept ends up working as I hope the next phase is to purchase some XPS insulating foam and cut it to the proper length which allows both the dead bolt and lower door knob to be covered in one fell swoop.

This would allow a more visually pleasing and stealth install vs this round ball. :mrgreen: :?

I'll have to glue three sheets together to get the correct depth to mimic the depth of this round ball but those are little details. In 40 years I've never had to come up with such a stupid idea to offset being locked out of my own home.

Pushing Stupid seems to be the theme in the last few years on various projects I have been working on but I digress. :roll:
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
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Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Mon Jan 15, 2018 6:58 pm

WEATHER FORECAST - OLD SCHOOL METHOD:
:mrgreen: :lol:

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Teken . . .

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Teken
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Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sat Jan 27, 2018 12:17 pm

BREAKING THE RECORD - THIS IS COLD: I SALUTE YOU ALL
A friend wrote to me last week indicating how much he enjoyed reading my on going projects thread. What caught his attention was my endless pursuit of tracking and monitoring the environmental's in and around my home.

He especially loved the thread entry where I documented the seven days where the mercury was below -35'C with a nail biting windchill of -50'C! :mrgreen: Along with reading how several tools broke and shattered in the extreme cold. Because of this he thought it was a great idea to make me feel better knowing where he lives its colder!!

Below is a news clipping show casing what my dear friend has to endure.

January 14, 2018 the mercury dropped to -67'C before the wind!!! :shock: :? That's -88.6'F for my American brothers and sisters. :o

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This a perfect example of what can happen in a short period of time in these extreme conditions. Sadly two men died this day due to the extreme cold as they tried to find help when their vehicle broke down. :cry:

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We haven't gotten that cold before in this Province but not to be out done. This is a good example of how cold it is and takes mere seconds to happen. :lol:

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Even in the dead of winter this place is beautiful and the view is incredible.

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 11, 2018 12:07 pm

PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW SYSTEM: WEATHER 34 DISPLAY UPDATES
February 11, 2018 my good friend Brian has updated the weather display with many new features and refinements. :D

Main Page

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Temps Today

I just can't say enough how beautiful the charts and graphs are in this PHP web page is. Just something about the color scheme, simplicity, and ease of viewing.

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Temps February

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Temps 2018

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Wind Today

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Wind February

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Wind 2018

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Pressure Today

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Pressure February

Like other charts and graphs the system allows the user to drag the mouse over any portion of the line graph to see the date, time, and metrics.

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Pressure 2018

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Rain Today

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Rain February

The Weather Flow team and I have been working toward integrating a *Clean & Move* mode for the Sky. As seen in this chart it shows 0.3 mm of rain fell in the month of February. When in fact there was no rain and that errant reading came simply from me wiping the top of the dome of the Sky.

The haptic sensor is so sensitive it can detect a slight caress of the finger. As of this writing the Sky is set to the most sensitive level to help determine such faults. Other concerns are from birds landing on the top of the dome. Another false positive is from high winds and the internal battery case where if the cells rattle enough that vibration can be detected as a errant rain reading.

All of these signatures have been captured and the WF development team has incorporated filters to negate such false positives.

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Rain 2018

In the future the team will also incorporate a method to delete / modify those errant readings in system charts in hopes of empowering the end user to keep accurate metrics. All of this simply affirms what a great design team is backing this project!

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Solar Today

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Air Quality Index

I always knew where I lived the air quality was first rate. Being able to see empirically how clean and pure the air is in my area simply affirms its great to live in Canada! I honestly can't say living in Toronto / Los Angels with all the smog and pollution is something I miss! :roll: :?

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UV & Brightness

This summer one of my project goals is to track how extreme the UV is in my area. As I have several outdoor projects which knowing the highest levels of UV seen. Will allow me to purchase and deploy the correct hardware for these projects which will last for years to come.

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Earth Quake Distance

I love being able to see earth quakes and their relative distance from my location. I am currently working with Brian to offer more tools and filters to narrow down the earth quake events only to my region opposed to the world.

Hoping to see a working copy by mid year along with other new features I suggested.

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Forecast Hourly

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Forecast Daily

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sun Feb 11, 2018 5:50 pm

PROJECT TITAN - AQUANTA HOT WATER SYSTEM: CHARTING UPDATES
It's been a really long time since I provided any updates on the Aquanta smart hot water system. It seemed for the longest time development had ceased on any UI improvements to the cloud hosted service.

A few weeks ago there were some changes which I wanted to high light here. The team has added to the right a *Current Status* to the main page. The top portion affirms what mode the HWT is in and in my case its always set to *Most Efficient* :mrgreen: Below that is any schedules you may have pending for your system.

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The biggest improvement to the web portal is having the ability to view / recall historic energy and water consumption from the system.

This is for the daily HWT energy consumption view.

What is really great to see is more information provided to the end user for comparative purposes. The system will now inform the user on the right hand side the average, lowest, highest, and increase / decrease difference from past days / months.

This sort of information is what I call human ergonomics . . . Information provided in a common sense way that's easy to understand and grasps. :ugeek:

Daily Energy:

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Monthly Energy:

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Yearly Energy:

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HWT Water Daily:

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HWT Water Monthly:

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HWT Water Yearly:

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Thu Feb 15, 2018 5:26 pm

PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: METEOBRIDGE INTEGRATION
The journey to integrate weather metrics into my home automation system has taken on its own life. :? This time ten years ago the thought of having and deploying a personal weather station at home was simply a pipe dream.

To have the very same fully integrated into my home automation system(s) was just pure fantasy. :cry:

Fast forward to 2018 I have been blessed with having met several people of like minds willing and able to help me accomplish this huge feat! :P As noted up above regarding the Weather34 PHP template my dear friend Brian has shared a new project that will help me achieve many of the milestones I have on my list.

One of which is having the ability to manage locally the weather metrics with no reliance of the cloud!! :| :evil: :mrgreen:

The key ability is to send to multiple cloud hosted services in hopes of making my Weather Flow PWS available for selection from the ISY Series Controller. Assuming this can be done I will then have the ability to react to the micro climate at my home. :D
PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: METEOBRIDGE INTEGRATION - WHAT YOU NEED
The Meteobridge is essentially custom software created by a fantastic gentleman named Boris. This fantastic software is than installed into one of several pieces of hardware that can be flashed with his custom firmware.

More information can be found here in this resource link: http://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Home

After doing much research and conversing with my friends it was stated the TP-Link MR3020 v.1 hardware was the preferred choice. Should you decide to go down this road be aware there are two hardware models of the TP-Link MR3020.

One is the version 1 vs version 3.

Only the version 1 hardware is supported by the Meteobridge firmware!

How does one know which version they are considering buying?!? :roll: :shock: Good question the version one only supports 150 Mbps vs the newer one supports 300 Mbps. The version 1 has the following retail box.

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The version 3 has the following retail box:

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The TP-Link MR2030 is essentially a mini wireless AP, WISP, Router, that is being flashed to support a third party weather client / server. Below are some stock image captures of the hardware which by the way is freaking small!

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Having lucked out and found this fantastic router on sale for $30.00 with free shipping in Canada!

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sat Feb 24, 2018 10:40 am

PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: METEOBRIDGE INTEGRATION
February 22, 2018 my TP-Link TL-MR3020 router arrived within Canada! :mrgreen:

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Cracking open the little box and into the Teken air. :lol:

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I held my breath for a moment because this specific unit had to be a 1.X model. Otherwise everything would be for not. :| :cry: Turning over the box affirmed this model was the required 1.9 hardware / firmware version of this TL-MR3020 that I needed to have on hand. :D

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If it hasn't been stated before this thing is freaking small!! Even when you read the dimensions on the spec sheet it really doesn't sink in as to how small this piece of hardware is. For those who use it as intended for remote travel for WiFi use. You simply can not go wrong with having one of these devices while away from home.

Its just small, light, and feature rich . . . :ugeek:

TP-LINK TL-MR3020 - TECHNICAL MARVEL: TP LINK ROCKS
I intended to screen capture all of the different pages, tabs, and sub tabs while the router was in the OEM state prior to being flashed. I never got around to it because I was too excited to load the Meteobridge firmware and get this weather integration started! :mrgreen:

I do have to take a few moments and say the engineers who designed, developed, and support this piece of hardware are simply technical router Gods! This tiny little device which costs me $30.XX with free shipping had so many OEM stock features and settings I thought my eyes were going to blow out of my freaking head!

I kid you not . . . :| :geek:

I honestly haven't seen this many options, selections, and various Enterprise level features other than on a Enterprise piece of hardware!! This is a freaking sub $30.XX piece of hardware and I had little expectations of anything other than the most basic options. Yet the fantastic people at TP-Link went about their business and put 100000000000000% into offering anything and everything just because they could!

Wow - Just Wow!!! :shock:

I believe in the future I just might purchase another one or its big brother for a portable test rig. Bottom line if you're looking for a modest router that doesn't need to be the fastest but just to offer decent speeds this box offers tons of features any IT Nerd can appreciate!
THE FIRST STEPS OF GETTING STARTED:
I'm going to say this only once - just once! :| :lol: RTFM (Read The F^cking Manual) don't be a guy (That's Me) who goes balls out and tries to get everything done simply by memory. It will ultimately slow you down, get you frustrated, and basically waste valuable time, and take away that enjoyment of that new shiny toy!

So RTFM . . . :lol:
HOW I FAILED AND WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:
When you work, have, and own so many network devices its easy to become complacent and think you know everything or worst case follow everything! :oops: The first part where I failed besides not reading the manual was thinking I could connect to the internal web page of this device via WiFi.

When in fact you can not connect to the device unless tethered as per the manual! Next, was assuming the IP address was X vs Y. I was literally off by one octet and thus spent about 20 minutes all upset and stressed out because I couldn't play with my new shiny toy! :roll: :?
PROJECT TITAN - TP-LINK TL-MR3020: METEOBRIDGE FIRMWARE LOAD
Once you're able to connect locally via a *Tethered Ethernet* connection to the following IP address: 192.168.0.254. You will enter the *User Name & Password* which is admin in all lower case.

Go to System Tools -> Backup & Restore: Having learned the hard way in many Alpha / Beta trials its always best to back up the OEM firmware configuration in case the third party upgrade goes bad. Having the original OEM firmware on hand and the back up BIN file is just good insurance. Save the BIN file to somewhere safe in case you ever decide to revert back for what ever reason.

Once that is done you can go to the Firmware Upgrade tab as seen here in the screen capture. If you haven't downloaded the latest Meteobridge firmware you can obtain it here: http://wiki.meteobridge.com/wiki/index. ... g_Hardware

Now, you need only browse to the destination where ever you download the file and upload that same firmware to the router.

SYSTEM TOOLS:

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The process to upgrade the firmware takes about 60 ~ 120 seconds. The TP-Link will provide you with a status indicator and completion.

FIRMWARE LOAD:

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Once the firmware has been loaded the system will restart and the system will display its reboot status as seen here. It goes with out saying do not let anything interrupt the loading and reboot sequence as this can result in a corrupted EEPROM.

SYSTEM RESTART:

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After the router has been flashed it will take about 30 seconds for the Meteobridge to come on line. It will be set to DHCP mode so you will need to check your network router to determine the IP address or use any cellular smart application to scan for new hardware IP's on the network. Once you know the IP address you can use it to access the main Meteobridge login page.

By default the user name and password is meteobridge all in lower case. The password can be changed as seen below in the following tab captures.

MAIN METEOBRIDGE LOGIN:

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PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: METEOBRIDGE WEB INTERFACE
NETWORK:

The network tab offers all of the settings from DHCP, Static, WiFi, to advanced Proxy settings.

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WEATHER STATIONS 1:

As seen in the image capture the weather station tab lists out all of the supported PWS that Meteobridge supports. The hardware list is quite extensive and the units range from $50 ~ 2500.00. So almost anyone can purchase a PWS and hook it up to the Meteobridge to integrate with dozens of cloud hosted services.

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WEATHER STATIONS 2:

The second half of this tab has options to enable a weather camera which can be tied to the local metrics. Below that are options to fine tune and offers compensation factors in case the hardware is not very tight in terms of tolerances.

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WEATHER NETWORKS:

The weather network tab is where the user name, password, station ID, upload interval, and retry attempts are entered for each cloud hosted service(s). The Meteobridge supports 15~20 different weather services / cloud hosted tracking services.

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SERVICES:

The service tab offers the dozens of options for push notification to sending data to local, offsite weather services. I haven't had much time to read the manual and play with the options but the system has many conditional logic selections. The SMTP mail server has many conditional logic features I plan to implement soon and will report back as to how and why.

The system supports MYSQL, SMS, FTP, and SFTP.

Having one option is great, but having all four is incredible and extends the flexibility and use case for the average joe to the super user! :ugeek:

The fact it supports Twitter for those interest in such services means it even caters to the millennial fad crowds. :| :roll: :?

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SYSTEM:

The system tab offers a plethora of information which relates to the hardware, firmware, operational systems, uptime. The maintenance section offers the user the ability to back up and restore the system from a saved file. The version control allows the person to lock the system to a specific firmware version or to allow the system to download and update the system with the latest software from the vendor.

The security section allows the user to change the meteobridge login password. Below that is the option to enable remote access which uses a SSH tunnel to access remotely.

The localization area allows the user to define the language, time, time zone, latitude, longitude, and when annual rain is seen in your area.

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The other half of the page offers more details of the network. Of special interest to me was the fact it displays the WAN address which is extremely helpful for those of us who don't have a static IP address from the ISP. This will be yet another tool I can use to confirm and identify what the WAN address is if and when it gets changed.

Another important metric is knowing how much data has been pushed and received from the systems. Knowing these attributes will enable me and others to know if the station is up and RX / TX is operational.

Below that is the *Messages* or verbose logging for the system. This area has proven invaluable to me to identify and know the different states of the hardware, weather station, and other connectivity related issues. Having a raw log to see the live status of the system is truly valuable and helps trouble shoot and identify root cause.

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LIVE DATA:

The weather network status provides insight as to each connection and packet sent to the various cloud hosted services the meteobridge is sending to. Of course the system offers a time stamp of each operational state and the software also displays a check mark, x mark, when ever there is a trouble condition.

Hovering over any of the stations will *Pop Out* a message which shows the amount and time stamp of the packets, conditions, or state(s).

Below that is the live data for the PWS to confirm data is present, captured, and seen. Both Metric and Imperial measurements are displayed which is simply fantastic for those of us that use both for specific weather metrics. :geek:

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Below that is the historical data field which displays now, today, yesterday, month, year, and all. All of the fields can be edited out and the counters reset to zero should it be required. One special feature I like is if you hover over the main columns you can enable / disable / pause those values from being sent to the cloud hosted services.

As of this writing I am leaving the system in its default state as I determine what is the best route to take in terms of using which PWS station(s).

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DISPLAY WIDGETS - GRAPHS - CHARTS

One of the great services the Meteobridge supports offers a computer / tablet dash board to render the weather metrics. This is a great alternate view for those simply looking for a different view. I personally like the Weather34 PHP template offered by Brian.

That is what I will be using moving forward and will be the primary UI to render the weather metrics in and around my home.

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Having said this the same plugin offers a simple smartphone view. Having choices is great but I think for long term use the Weather Flow smart application is just fine.

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March 11, 2018 Boris at Meteobridge continues to update the software to include the battery levels for the Weather Flow hardware.

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Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
Teken
Posts: 2700
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:09 pm
Location: The Bad Lands

Re: My GEM, ISY, Dash Box, Insteon Home Automation Install

Post by Teken » Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:21 pm

PROJECT TITAN - WEATHER FLOW: ISY 994 SERIES CONTROLLER NODE SERVER
March 10, 2018 will go down as the biggest advancement in weather integration into the ISY Series Controller. As of this writing I have taken the first giant step in deploying my second Node Server which supports my Weather Flow monitoring system.

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Full credits goes out to the following UDI member who has developed this fantastic piece of software for all of us to use: bpwwer

The resource link to this discussion and files are located here: Add URL
ISY SERIES CONTROLLER - THE WEATHER PROBLEM: WHY ITS A BIG DEAL
My ISY Series Controller has what is called the Weather Module. This weather module allows my controller to connect and obtain weather metrics from stations like the Airport. The problem is the weather can be significantly different there vs here.

One possible solution was to select a PWS (Personal Weather Station) in hopes of finding one close enough to my area. The problem is the one's that were listed were either just as far as the airport or the weather metrics were less than accurate.

The other problem is many of the stations didn't report metrics which I wanted and needed such as Wind, UV, Solar, Brightness. This was the main driver for me in purchasing the Weather Flow system which would allow me to have hyper local weather metrics which are dead center and relevant to my home.

The next problem was how to get the Weather Flow station to be seen as a PWS that the ISY Series Controller could see and use. This is where the Meteobridge came into play as you read the above posts which details how this fantastic piece of software and hardware allowed me to select my Weather Flow system as a PWS inside of the ISY Series Controllers *Weather Module*. :mrgreen:

Now, somewhere down the road of last year the UDI company changed the polling interval from 5 minutes to 30 freaking minutes!!! :evil: :| So after investing all this time, effort, resources into propping up a PWS so the ISY Series Controller could finally see.

I was totally cock blocked from using the *Real Time Weather Metrics* :roll: :?

There is absolutely nothing I can do with 30 minutes of weather metrics. Rain, hail, wind, lightning, what ever could come and go within that 30 minute window! :| This is where the Node Server support comes into play as this new frame work allows the ISY Series Controller to host third party devices, software, services, inside of the controller. Lets just call these things *Device Nodes* for now.

These device nodes are integrated in such a way that depending upon the developer can allow data to be represented in real time and in turn allows the ISY Series Controller to see and take advantage of these metrics / states.

Thus, the Weather Flow Node Server provided by bpwwer! :geek:

THE FIRST STEPS: WHAT HARDWARE & OPERATING SYSTEM YOU NEED

The application that bpwwer wrote can be hosted on a standard Windows or Linux system. If you have a always on Windows PC this can be used. If you're looking to reduce your energy consumption foot print you can deploy the same application on a RPi which runs Mono.

So you will need to decide what hardware and operating system meets your needs. As of this writing I am hosting the Node Server application on a Windows 7 Ultimate Micro PC which consumes a scant 5~7 watts. In the future I will migrate all of the Node Servers to a dedicated RPi micro computer system.

ISY SERIES CONTROLLER - CONFIGURATIONS:

To use the Node Server capability your ISY Series Controller must be running a flavor of the Alpha 5.X.X firmware branch. You can not be using any version of the official 4.X.X. firmware branch as it does not support Node Servers. Once your controller has been updated to use Alpha 5.X.X firmware you can follow the next steps outlined below. :D

The next step simply requires you to select Node Server at the top bar high lighted in red as seen below.

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Select Node Server Configuration and populate the fields as noted in the screen capture.

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Next, you will upload the *Nodesetup* zip file from where ever you saved it. As seen here I saved the file to my desktop for easy retrieval.

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High lighted in yellow select *Upload Profile* tab this will upload the Weather Flow profile into the ISY Series Controller. Once loaded you need to reboot the ISY Series Controller.

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Once the ISY Series Controller has been rebooted and is back on line. You will select the second file called WFNodeServer.exe. Pressing this exe file will cause a popup window to appear to ask if its OK to run which you will do so.

A black terminal window will appear very briefly and go away. :| :?

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I am going to spend a few extra minutes in this section if for no other reason than to vent. :evil: Anyone who has read this extremely long project thread already knows I try very hard to explain in a lay persons way as to why, how, and because.

The primary goal of this on going *Projects Thread* to to track my efforts so I can reflect back as to what I've done over the years. Next, its to share with the community at large how I was able to accomplish different things that were of interest to me.

It goes with out saying there are 9999999999999 ways to do something and this is simply one way I decided to go. Its not right or wrong simply a different way to accomplish the same goal(s). Sometimes it takes me longer vs sometimes it takes me shorter. Regardless, I always try to impart the knowledge in a way that makes sense to the *Average Joe*.

Meaning I try very hard not to talk at a high level which a lay person couldn't or wouldn't understand!!! :| Nothing frustrates me more to no F^cking end when I ask a simple question and all I get is: The nuclear bonding of the mass high limit is initiated by ultra quantum man bear pig super mc2 of the ratio of blah

My first reaction and thoughts are F^ck off already . . . :| :twisted:

I kid you not if I ask a simple question I expect a simple answer. Worse, if I qualify that I have no understanding of how something is done would you please for the *Love of God* dumb it down for me like I am 3. :mrgreen: :lol:

Now that I got that out of my system moving forward you will notice I try very hard to explain how to do X vs Y. This is for the soul benefit of myself so I can recall how the hell I did this 9 years later! :lol: and to offer the very same to someone else who isn't technically inclined. :oops:
COMMAND LINE ARGUMENT: HOW TO & WHY

In the previous step you clicked on the WFNodeServer.exe file. Your next step in a Windows machine is to select: Start -> CMD <- in the search field. The terminal window will appear and you will type in the following command arguments into the terminal window.

As seen below I placed the WFNodeServer file on my Desktop so the path points there.

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At this point you will enter the information in red such as user name, password, ISY IP address, and profile. The profile number is the slot you used in the Node Server within the Admin Console in the ISY Series Controller.

Mine just so happens to be slot two as the Weather Flow Node Server was the second one I introduced into the system. Once all of the relevant data is present hit enter on the keyboard. Doing so will start the Weather Flow Node Server service in the computer that hosts this application.

If the data is correct you will see in purple that the WF Node Server has started. In a few moments any sensor that you have will be detected and added once the UDP packet is seen in green.

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March 12, 2018:

Not even 72 hours after I started this *How To* thread Bob (bpwwer) took on many of my early suggestions and bug fix's. As of this writing the application supports multiple sensor as seen below. In the early release the system was simply monitoring for UDP packets but this caused a data collision where multiple air sensors would update the single node. :cry:

This was solved by tracking the serial number of each UDP packet which pertain to X vs Y sensor just like Ben at Brultech. :ugeek:

Below are some of the added features I had asked for and were included in this release. In blue is supposed to be *Last Update*, in red is the battery voltage, in green is the up time in seconds, and lastly in orange is the RSSI signal level.

All of these hard metrics will provide insight and the ability to create programs which can monitor these parameters. In the long run this will help in trouble shooting and development. One feature request I had asked for which is in the works is being able to see or select the wind direction using WNW vs 146.

I believe seeing both in the window would be more helpful in understanding the numeric value.

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Below is one of the Weather Flow Air sensors and like the Sky. Bob was able to include several of my ideas and suggestions along with other members. In green I asked to see the values down to two decimal places. In orange Bob is still working toward supporting more measurements. In red I provided some feedback where some of the phrases needed some slight changes.

One of them was regarding how pressure was displayed as *Raising vs Rising*. I have asked that multiple phrases be made available for metrics like wind, rain, lightning.

They would encompass conditions like these: calm, slight wind, high winds, Gail force, Tornado? :lol: Rain would be drizzle, light, moderate, heavy, monsoon? :mrgreen:

Lightning would be something like: Get your ass inside!

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The second Air sensor and reporting in its weather metrics. :D :mrgreen: In the next few weeks I truly look forward to creating some conditional programs which will help me monitor, track, and react to my hyper local weather environment. The long term goal is to integrate this new found capability into my all hazards alert weather system.

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Station Programs:

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Weather Metrics:

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All Hazard Alerts:

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Guardian Activation Status:

The screen capture below shows an email program that I just started. This specific email will track and report in when the Guardian System detects a fault or critical situation. In this case when lightning is present and within 5 KMS. The system will automatically turn on / turn off individual breakers in the main panel to protect the homes electrical appliances.

The ISY Series Controller will track and relay the breakers operating position of On vs Off. All of this is integrated with the Weather Flow Sky for an early warning system. In the future there will be three Skies mounted on the property which are intended as: Fail Over, Staged, and Comparative.

The staged deployment will monitor three different distances using all three units. The comparative is intended to use all three to confirm and validate that Lightning is present as defined by my needs. In this case the 5 KMS is just some random distance I picked to test how this all works out.

Essentially all three Sky detectors must confirm Lightning is present and within my defined range before tripping any electrical breaker. As some of you who have read the past thread about the Guardian System I have taken a cautious approach of how the systems will react given a specific condition.

When spring comes and the rains and lightning appear I will have more real world stats to play with to confirm if this *Concept* is sound and practical to use. Watch this space for updates of my success, failures, and epic accomplishments in this area. :mrgreen:

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Long term blah

things to consider blah

the future blah

why is there so much blah??? :lol:
Teken . . .

My ongoing projects thread: http://www.brultech.com/community/viewt ... ?f=2&t=929
Buy me a cup of coffee: https://www.paypal.me/Teken https://gfinotify.com/ Discount Code: PC10
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