Trixology

WeatherCat => Development Blog => Topic started by: WCDev on November 08, 2014, 04:25:19 PM

Title: Instromet support
Post by: WCDev on November 08, 2014, 04:25:19 PM
We've been talking to the nice people at Instromet (http://www.instromet.co.uk) about adding support for their stations. They've been kind enough to send some kit to us and we'll be adding support in an upcoming version.

I'm not sure what version it'll be going out in yet, but the protocol is documented (which is always a bonus!) - so it may be 2.0.2.

The hardware itself is impressive - the rain detector for example is infa-red with a resolution of 0.01mm (~0.0004 inches), the sun detector (aluminium? and glass) gives an on/off output (it's sunny or it isn't), there's a wet and dry bulb option (you have to top it up with water periodically obviously). A 'humitter' can also be fitted to read humidity - again this is the fastest responding humidity sensor I've personally seen (it uses a Vaisala sensor) - if none is fitted I'll add the option to calculate it from the wet-bulb reading. The electronics box/logger (it's called Metplus) itself can store 32768 records - should be enough for most situations.

As an aside, and for my own interest, I've just fitted the rain gauge next to the Vantage's bucket - I'm interested in how much the readings vary.

Anyway, I'll update as the development progresses.
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: mcrossley on November 08, 2014, 05:06:55 PM
I developed a 'soft' version of the Instromet Climatica, it uses Cumulus as the data source (but could be easily adapted to other programs), this demo (http://weather.wilmslowastro.com/test/instromet/climatica/climatica.php) is actually using data from my Davis VP2 rather than an Instromet but gives you an idea of what it looks like.

It was developed for the UK distributor, so any queries on its use should be addressed to John at Prodata Systems.
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: Blicj11 on November 08, 2014, 05:48:13 PM
Very cool Mark. Thanks for posting.

I just had a look at their website. Looks like they have a very interesting product line. The consoles are a wee bit large for my taste but I love the look.
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: WCDev on November 08, 2014, 06:26:55 PM
I developed a 'soft' version of the Instromet Climatica, it uses Cumulus as the data source (but could be easily adapted to other programs), this demo (http://weather.wilmslowastro.com/test/instromet/climatica/climatica.php) is actually using data from my Davis VP2 rather than an Instromet but gives you an idea of what it looks like.

It was developed for the UK distributor, so any queries on its use should be addressed to John at Prodata Systems.

Very nice  [tup]
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: WCDev on November 08, 2014, 06:34:55 PM
Very cool Mark. Thanks for posting.

I just had a look at their website. Looks like they have a very interesting product line. The consoles are a wee bit large for my taste but I love the look.

I don't have a display unit, it isn't necessary to connect to a computer - it's just the MetPlus box and associated sensors that are needed. Not that I wouldn't like one though :)
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: mcrossley on November 09, 2014, 12:24:38 AM
Thanks for the comments, it's night time here now so the wind normally drops right off - and makes the display a bit boring! Try it during daylight hours in the UK. And did you find the 'clickable' items? The cursor should change to give you a clue.
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: LesCimes on January 01, 2015, 04:42:01 PM
First I have heard of Instromet. Am curious to see how it stacks up against Davis Instruments. To my knowledge, Davis' hardware updates are somewhat limited. Please do post your findings.
Title: Re: Instromet support
Post by: WCDev on January 06, 2015, 08:20:57 PM
I've been running it for about 2 months now and haven't seen any problems (first run date was 6th November 2014).

One thing I did want to do was compare the rain gauge against others (as the Instromet is an infra-red mechanism with a resolution of 0.01mm).

Attached are two graphs taken today - one is the daily rain from a Vantage, the other is from the Instromet. Sampling rate on both WeatherCat's was 5 minutes (fixed).

As you can see, the resolution of the Instromet (at 0.01mm) is evident and measured amounts were similar. The good news was that rain rates were identical (this is good news for me as I have to calculate the rain rate in the Instromet station driver whereas the Vantage provides it).

One other thing to note from the graphs - you can see the Vantage started measuring rain earlier in the day - I don't know why. They are mounted about 7ft apart so maybe a local obstruction affecting one and not the other at the time.