Aucrite sensor stopped working - does it need re-registration?

[ken.r...@gmail.com]

I setup Weewx 3.9.1 about 6yrs ago when Acurite dropped support for their SmartHub, and haven't upgraded since.

Recently I moved home and lost a sensor in one of the packing boxes and then found it again after the battery had been flat for almost 6 months. It displays temperature and humidity and the repeater flickers when it transmits, but weewx is not recording any data for that sensor ID#.

Acurite gave instructions on how to register a sensor, but as the turned off the server that support SmartHubs I can't do that

https://support.acurite.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021588913-Add-a-Sensor-to-the-My-AcuRite-Dashboard-

I found these instructions for weewx but I'm getting errors when I try to sniff

https://github.com/matthewwall/weewx-interceptor

[root]# PYTHONPATH=bin python /usr/share/weewx/user/interceptor.py --conf=/etc/weewx/weewx.conf --device=acurite-bridge --mode=sniff --iface=ens3 --filter="src XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX and dst port 80"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/weewx/user/interceptor.py", line 212, in <module>
    import weewx.drivers
ImportError: No module named weewx.drivers

Could the sensor have lost it's ID? The reset button on the sensor doesn't help. What else can I try?

[tarob...@gmail.com]

What driver are you using?

[matthew wall]

On Monday, January 22, 2024 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-5 ken.r...@gmail.com wrote:

I setup Weewx 3.9.1 about 6yrs ago when Acurite dropped support for their SmartHub, and haven't upgraded since.

Recently I moved home and lost a sensor in one of the packing boxes and then found it again after the battery had been flat for almost 6 months. It displays temperature and humidity and the repeater flickers when it transmits, but weewx is not recording any data for that sensor ID#.

Acurite gave instructions on how to register a sensor, but as the turned off the server that support SmartHubs I can't do that

https://support.acurite.com/hc/en-us/articles/360021588913-Add-a-Sensor-to-the-My-AcuRite-Dashboard-

those instructions are for adding a sensor to your dashboard hosted at acurite.

it has been awhile, but i am pretty sure that you do not have to do anything on the acurite bridge/smarthub - it just picks up nearby sensors.

you can check the bridge/smarthub by going to its website directly - use your router or a network tool to find it on your local network, then view it in a web browser.

 

I found these instructions for weewx but I'm getting errors when I try to sniff

https://github.com/matthewwall/weewx-interceptor

[root]# PYTHONPATH=bin python /usr/share/weewx/user/interceptor.py --conf=/etc/weewx/weewx.conf --device=acurite-bridge --mode=sniff --iface=ens3 --filter="src XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX and dst port 80"
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/usr/share/weewx/user/interceptor.py", line 212, in <module>
    import weewx.drivers
ImportError: No module named weewx.drivers

assuming that you are using a debian install, you should use this for the PYTHONPATH:

PYTHONPATH=/usr/share/weewx

for the acurite bridge/smarthub, you do not want sniff mode.  that only works when the acurite servers are functioning, and those went offline years ago.  now you have to make intercepter become the acurite server, by putting it in listen mode.  you will also have to configure the dns on your lan so that the bridge/smarthub thinks that the computer running weewx/interceptor is the acurite server.

this has details:

https://github.com/weewx/weewx/wiki/acuritebridge

[matthew wall]

On Monday, January 22, 2024 at 2:46:51 AM UTC-5 ken.r...@gmail.com wrote:

Recently I moved home and lost a sensor in one of the packing boxes and then found it again after the battery had been flat for almost 6 months. It displays temperature and humidity and the repeater flickers when it transmits, but weewx is not recording any data for that sensor ID#.

what kind of sensor is it?  beware that the 606TX changes its identifier when it is power cycled (when you replace batteries).  that might not affect your configuration since you're going through the bridge/smarthub.

https://github.com/weewx/weewx/wiki/sdr-rpi-recipe

[ken.r...@gmail.com]

Hi Matthew,

Thanks for the hint. I just got the router to sniff the network traffic between the hub and the weewx server (it's Fedora not Debian BTW) and as it's HTTP and not HTTPS I can set every update unencrypted

e.g.

HTTP 124 GET /weatherstation/updateweatherstation?dateutc=now&action=updateraw&realtime=1&id=24C86E090EC1&mt=tower&sensor=00004036&humidity=32&tempf=76.0&baromin=30.24&battery=low&rssi=3 HTTP/1.1 

All my sensors are model 06044 indoor temperature/pressure/humidity sensors. I can see updates for the 5 other sensors coming from the hub, but there's no updates from any other sensor ID, yet this sensor is on flickering transmit every minute with a good battery, and its on the desk 2m from the hub. So it's a complete mystery to me why the hub is not seeing it.

That's why I wondered if the hub needs to have it registered, but you say that the hub should pick up everything within range regardless,

Anything else I could try?

[matthew wall]

On Tuesday, January 23, 2024 at 3:24:13 PM UTC-5 ken.r...@gmail.com wrote:

That's why I wondered if the hub needs to have it registered, but you say that the hub should pick up everything within range regardless,

Anything else I could try?

the smarthub/bridge is pretty dumb - just a relay. that made it very nice to work with and reverse engineer!

you might try power cycling the hub.  or try removing the batteries from your sensor, change the channel switch, then insert batteries. weewx uses only the identifier, not the channel, to figure out which sensor is which. but perhaps the hub gets confused...

i only ever tried multiple T/H sensors, never multiple weather stations or T/H/P sensors.  if you have more than one sensor sending a pressure, then maybe the smarthub/bridge is confusing/aggregating them?

also, beware the dark arts of radio frequencies.  i've had sensors disappear when they were a meter from a receiver, only to appear when moved a little bit further away.  some receiver antennas have lobes that result in blind spots.

m

[ken.r...@gmail.com]

Hi Matt,

Tried power cycling the hub, the sensor, changing channel on the sensor and even pressing the reset button on the sensor - nothing

Are you sure your sensors are just T/H - see the attached pictures of mine - although they display just T/H on the LCD display, then transmit T/H/P via the hub. The other 5 sensors are identical and they work fine.

Also moved this sensor around - still nothing.

The only other thing I can think of trying would be to buy another sensor, but that seems crazy as this one is still displaying T/H and the repeater flickers when it transmits.

Regards,

Ken.

[matthew wall]

ken,

what do you see when you point a web browser at the hub?  are all of your sensors listed?

check everything.  watch the http requests from the hub to the machine running weewx (use tcpdump, or wireshark, or turn up the verbosity in the interceptor).  see which sensors are in the requests, see which ones are not.  find out if the missing sensor is being reported by the hub but not received by weewx.  or not even being reported by the hub.

m

 

[ken.r...@gmail.com]

Hi Matt,

When I point the web browser at the hub, I only see 4 sensors, but I've always only seen 4 sensors even when all 6 were working.

Wireshark shows traffic from 5 of the 6 sensors, there's nothing from this 6th sensor and nothing from an unknown sensor ID.

I don't have a 433MHz transceiver so I can't tell what the sensor is sending to the hub. The 433MHz repeater flickers when it transmits (and the other 5 sensors are switched off) so I know it's transmitting something to the hub, but the hub isn't sending anything on to Weeex from it.

Regards,

Ken.

[matthew wall]

On Sunday, January 28, 2024 at 12:02:51 PM UTC-5 ken.r...@gmail.com wrote:

Hi Matt,

When I point the web browser at the hub, I only see 4 sensors, but I've always only seen 4 sensors even when all 6 were working.

Wireshark shows traffic from 5 of the 6 sensors, there's nothing from this 6th sensor and nothing from an unknown sensor ID.

I don't have a 433MHz transceiver so I can't tell what the sensor is sending to the hub. The 433MHz repeater flickers when it transmits (and the other 5 sensors are switched off) so I know it's transmitting something to the hub, but the hub isn't sending anything on to Weeex from it.

ken,

i'm out of ideas.  maybe try only one at a time of the two identical sensors, 5 and 6?  do that also with the first 4 identical sensors.  enumerate the sensor ids to make sure you not missing something?

it sounds like the sensor 6 is transmitting, but we do not know whether the hub is receiving. 

as i recall, the hub never mixes data from multiple sensors; each http request it makes is for a separate sensor.  so you should be able to have two sensors reporting pressure, and you just have to distinguish those in weewx based on the sensor identifier.

m

[ken.r...@gmail.com]

Hi Matt,

I noticed that in addition to the reset button on the sensor there's an activate button on the hub - what does that do? I'm worried that pressing it might screw up the other sensors? Is it worth trying it?

Regards,

Ken.