can we run rtl_sdr on rasberry pi and weewx on debian server

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Luc Theoret

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Nov 9, 2019, 10:47:07 AM11/9/19
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Hi,

I have raspberry pi running rtl_sdr  and it works great. The weewx reporting part not so much.
I have a debian server that I installed weewx on and seams to work but there is no input as the input is from the raspberry pi
could I aquire on the raspberry pi and send the data to weewx on the server or could I acquire directly on the debian server?

I am using an acurite 5-in-1 and 2 external sensors. the rtl_sdr seams to work great. the weewx report does not.
The data is in the mysql database.
I would like to use the pi as a sdr sensor and not run weewx on the pi.

Thanks,
LTheoret

gjr80

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Nov 9, 2019, 8:20:44 PM11/9/19
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Hi,

I know you said you want rtl_sdr on the RPi and run WeeWX on the debian server but have you considered looking into why the RPi is not working with the WeeWX reports? A RPi is more than capable of doing both unless you have a particularly complex setup. Whilst there are certainly ways to push your rtl_sdr data to WeeWX on another machine I think you will find it much easier and less complex to do it all on the one WeeWX machine and if necessary push the generated reports to another machine.

Gary

Luc Theoret

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Nov 9, 2019, 8:36:17 PM11/9/19
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Hi Gary,

You are probably right. The only issue I have with the pi is, without thinking I bought a RTC that covers the cooling hole in the back, I will by a smaller one as it melted the heatsink off the CPU.

Regards,
LTheoret

Andrew Milner

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Nov 9, 2019, 10:05:23 PM11/9/19
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what model pi are you using??  My rpi3 has not needed a heatsink to be added - even though it is in a case and ambient room temperatures here are 30C+ throughout the summer months.  I do believe however that the model 4 does possibly require cooling.

Andrew B

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Nov 10, 2019, 12:03:50 AM11/10/19
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I've had a Pi3 baking in the sun in an outdoor enclosure all summer long (over 100F a few days) with zero issues. It has an RTC addon and no case.

So if you're running a Pi4, I'd see if you could get away with a Pi3 as they seem to be pretty darn tolerate to heat.

Rogene T.

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Nov 10, 2019, 1:53:19 PM11/10/19
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It sounds like you don't have anything configured to pass the data from rtl_sdr to WeeWx?  Are you running rtl_433 and weewx-sdr?  Similar to you, I have an Acurite 5n1, and two Oregon Scientific sensors.  Granted, I have everything on a single RPi3B+, but it did take some configuration.  I mostly followed the "recipe" here:

Craig Thom

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Nov 10, 2019, 2:38:12 PM11/10/19
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I've had a headless Pi 3 running WeeWX with rtl_sdr for two and a half years without a problem.  I had to add a pressure sensor to the Pi, but that was fun.

I just ran updates and rebooted it.  The last time I did that was in February, and it had run continuously since then.

Luc Theoret

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Nov 10, 2019, 6:12:21 PM11/10/19
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Hi all,

Thanks for all the input. they pi did not have any issue getting the data to the database which is on windows PC running mysql. The issue is the web server part. I had to disable the mosquitto mqtt, as it wos not working and took forever to generate the reports. and then it would not generate the page. mow I have striped the PI to weewx default with the RLT_SDR and running perfectly. I have installed weewx on an other server with more power that will generate the presentation, If i can figure out how to get it to trigger and generate the reports as it has no sensor inputs. 

Rogene T.:
how did you get 2 brands on the same rft_sdr system my La Cross will not upload as the unit are different than the Acurite.
Help with this would be appreciated.

Regards,
LTheoret

Rogene T.

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Nov 11, 2019, 12:01:01 AM11/11/19
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Hi Luc,

In addition to rtl_sdr, I'm running rtl_433 to decode the various sensor data.  rtl_433 supports numerous brands and devices.  Then I use the weewx-sdr driver to map each sensor data point to a weewx archive field.  Your devices need to be supported by both drivers if you use this method.  I have another Oregon Scientific UV sensor that rtl_433 can read, but weewx-sdr doesn't have a parsing routine for it....yet.

-R

Luc Theoret

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Nov 11, 2019, 12:39:06 AM11/11/19
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Hi Rogene T.

Yes I was looking through data captured from the rtl_433 modules and the humidity from the La Crosse sensor is decoded but I noticed that the temperature is incorrect and sometimes it says "none".
Thanks I have removed the La Cross from the equation and will buy more Acurite indoor/outdoor sensors.
Thank you for the input.

Regards,
LTheoret

Luc Theoret

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Nov 11, 2019, 9:58:29 PM11/11/19
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Hi,

I made a VBox on my laptop to test weewx.
Installed weewx with the same configuration as the raspberry pi except without the sdr configuration.
Then I setup CRON to execute the wee_reports every 5 minutes. works like a charm.
All the sensor data is on a server in a mysql database accessible from inside my network.
The reports will be on a debian server.

LTheoret
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