sensor advice

[skywatcheruk]

hi i am still planning where to place my sensors and think i need to place the wind sensors as high above my shed roof as possible with the temperature sensor in a shady north facing area and the rain sensor close by but out of the wind? with the WH1081 sensors does anyone know roughly how long the lead from the wind sensor down to the temp sensor?

Also i will need to run a USB extension from the console to the PC as my server is in my cellar and wont get signal down there. Any ideas of how long I can extend this?

[ironeagleuk]

with the WH1081 sensors does anyone know roughly how long the lead from the wind sensor down to the temp sensor?

I think it's 3m....I have just added a 5m extension to mine, as have raised the mast to about 7m

Also i will need to run a USB extension from the console to the PC as my server is in my cellar and wont get signal down there. Any ideas of how long I can extend this?

How long does is need to be?...There's a 10m one here with a repeater on Ebay: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-10m-USB-A ... 2569c1f23c

[skywatcheruk]

hi as regards the sensor extension what cable did you use , did you require a coupler also?
thanks for the pointer to the usb repeater i shall look into it

[ironeagleuk]

hi as regards the sensor extension what cable did you use , did you require a coupler also?

My first port of call was Maplins...I bought a 10m modem extension cable, as it has the same connectors.
This didn't work, as I believe that the leads cross-over....and the weather station uses a straight through cable....Maplins don't sell a suitable cable, so suggested I look online, or RJ Williams, my local independant eletronics shop

So I went to a local electronics parts store, and bought a 5m cable with a RJ11 connector on either end from there with a female to female coupler to join them. The guy in the shop wasn't certain that would work, but I took my equipment with me to test it, and it did work.

I have the connectors in a "waterproof" instrument box bought from Maplins with a couple of holes I drilled in the sides to get the connectors through

[AllyCat]

This didn't work, as I believe that the leads cross-over....

Hi,

That's unlikely, but some "RJ11" cables only have two wires, the FO needs four wires (usually visible through the connector). Did neither the wind direction NOR speed work? Note that sometimes the little wire "contacts" in the FO sockets don't connect properly.

An RJ11 "extension" cable can be easier to use (and certainly shouldn't have a crossover) but a male-male cable and coupler can be easier/cheaper to find, and should work fine (but make sure that it's well protected against water ingress).

The "official" maximum length of a "passive" USB extension cable is 5 metres and should always be a male+female (technically type A to type B). Beyond that you need active extension cables (in 5 metre increments) or a cheaper alternative might be a USB hub with passive 5m extension cables each side. Some "active" USB extension cables actually convert to a different type of interface (e.g. a network cable) and then back again, but IMHO that's an expensive "solution" and sometimes still doesn't work well.

Cheers, Alan.

[ironeagleuk]

This didn't work, as I believe that the leads cross-over....

Hi,

That's unlikely, but some "RJ11" cables only have two wires, the FO needs four wires (usually visible through the connector). Did neither the wind direction NOR speed work? Note that sometimes the little wire "contacts" in the FO sockets don't connect properly.

I could see in both the extension cable and the FO cable that they both had 4 wires...with regards to cross-over, I'm just quoting what the Assistant Manager of the Maplins store was saying...we tried 2 different ADSL extension cables, and neither worked

[AllyCat]

Hi,

By definition, an "extension" cable is an extension so should not have any crossover. However, a cable with a separate coupler might indeed have "crossed" leads (but IMHO more likely with the similar RJ45 network cables than RJ11/12). My guess is that your FO "socket" had the same issue as mine, that the contacts didn't mate properly with the extension RJ11 plug.

Cheers, Alan

[jandrew]

By definition, an "extension" cable is an extension so should not have any crossover.

I agree, an "extension" should not crossover wires.

For what it is worth, I got a 20metre phone extension (plug one end, socket on the other) and it worked perfectly first time.

Jandrew

[ironeagleuk]

Hi,

By definition, an "extension" cable is an extension so should not have any crossover. However, a cable with a separate coupler might indeed have "crossed" leads (but IMHO more likely with the similar RJ45 network cables than RJ11/12). My guess is that your FO "socket" had the same issue as mine, that the contacts didn't mate properly with the extension RJ11 plug.

Cheers, Alan

You could be right....I was running out of time on Friday whilst installing it all, otherwise I'd have got my multimeter out and tested things. Was just relieved when I got a signal on the console after the nice man put his fan on for me lol

[lar3ry]

This didn't work, as I believe that the leads cross-over....

Hi,

That's unlikely, but some "RJ11" cables only have two wires, the FO needs four wires (usually visible through the connector). Did neither the wind direction NOR speed work? Note that sometimes the little wire "contacts" in the FO sockets don't connect properly.

Actually, it's quite likely. Not all RJ11's are wired properly, and for a POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) it doesn't matter. But, having spent quite a few years working on Nortel equipment that required properly wired RJ11s, I can tell you that just picking up a male-male extension cable from your local "dollar store" or Source is as likely to result in proper as improper. It's easy to check, though, if the wire colour coding is visible in the connector.

[lar3ry]

Hi,

By definition, an "extension" cable is an extension so should not have any crossover.

Not all male-male RJ11 terminated cables are alike. A properly made one will indeed not cross over, but many do. It's more likely in cables bought at the "dollar store" or from an outlet like "The Source". In a POTS (Plain Ordinary Telephone System) application, it makes no difference, but I can tell you from years of experience with Nortel phone systems that required properly made cables, that a good 40% of cables I picked up were wired as crossovers, and needed one end replaced.

Sorry about the double post. I lost the satellite just after posting, and it looked like the first one didn't make it.