Hello all! I have a quick question about the Dallas 1-wire. I currently am using a WM-918 station w/weather display and I was interested in adding two more temperature probes for soil and water temperature, and primarily a solar sensor to automatically indicate cloudy, partly cloudy, etc.
Naturally since I don’t use a Lacrosse 2500 or a Davis VantagePro, I found the dallas 1-wire option the best. I am not sure where to find a solar probe for the dallas 1-wire. I can find hum, temp, pressure, and rain but nothing else. Anyone have any suggestions or alternatives?
-Eric
Hi
you could also hook that solar sensor to a labjack, and also use the labjack temperature sensors
but a labjack.com will set you back a bit more…
i have added a new section to the help file all about the solar sensor and use etc…and i guess i better add the link to hobby boards too 
… or you could simply place one of the one wire temp sensors in a jar. I have been using this $4 appraoch for a couple of years now and it works perfectly.
Brian,
Why do you not mention this approach any more?
it is mentioned in detail in the new help manual
http://www.weather-display.com/WDHELP.doc
I just did not mention here as he was talking about an acutal 1 wire solar sensor
Cool. I was afraid that the support for it was going away. Whew!
On a side note. How does one mount the solar sensor that is sold on hobby-boards?
Alright, so I’ve decided on the labjack just for ease of use. Now, where can I buy the actual solar sensor?
(Your idea with the painted black jar with the thermometer in it seems like a reasonable idea also and is also being considered… By the way do you paint it completely black?)
-Eric
Hi
yup, the temperature sensor in a jar, with the bottom (only) painted black (so the sun shines in from low angles) works good too…quite a number of people have one of those going…and by fine tuning in WD, WD can even estimage the WM/2
solar sensor from hobby boards:
but someone else might pitch in about the changes in the wiring needed…(i.e someone who has done it aleady)
On a side note. How does one mount the solar sensor that is sold on hobby-boards?
I have mine mounted under a glass “dome” (really a small glass bowl inverted). I used hot glue to mount the board just using small dobs of glue at each corner. I’ll take a photo this weekend and try posting it :?
Here is a picture that Brian posted for me a few years back.
TO BRIAN AND GRHUGHES: Thanks brian. Im a bit confused about the temperature probe in the glass jar. Could someone just draw up a simple diagram in paint?
TO COLIN: That picture would be much appreciated.
TO ALL: How difficult is the wiring of the hobby board sensor to labjack and then to weather display… im not much of an electronics guru
-Eric
Eric,
All you need to do is simply get a small peanut butter jar. Drill a hole in the middle of the lid. Solder a one-wire temp sensor to a piece of cat5 wiring and push it into the hole. Now silicone the lid shut and silicone the hole around the wire. That’s all there is to it. I didn’t paint mine black and it still works perfectly.
The problem with hobby board is that all those solar sensors and lightning sensors are not available for the time beeing. I asked the website master and the answer was: “Not sure what items you were trying to add but I’m out of stock on many of my items right now. If the item is out of stock I disable the “Add to Cart” button so that it can’t be ordered. I don’t like to have
backorders waiting because sometimes my work gets busy and I can’t
guarantee when I can get an order placed. I will be placing a large stocking order in the next couple of days so please keep checking the site and I will also announce on the weather list when I have more parts in stock.”
It’s a few weeks I’m checking and no update on their website.
Cheers. 
Do I have to buy a separate labjack for each of the 1 wire sensors?!? or can I put multiple sensors on one?
-Eric
Eric,
I’m not sure about the LabJack because I do not use one. You can buy a DS9097U and add as many one-wire sensors as you like though.
http://www.aagelectronica.com/aag/en-us/p_11.html
It costs ~$20 and AAG is an excellent company to order from.
Is there any other way to add a extra thermometer to weather display without getting into 1-wire (which will be my next station after this one dies… the WM-918 just isnt accurate enough)
-Eric
hi, yes, the labjack does support multiple connections
and yes the dallas 1 wire means you can keep adding sensors
I take it i'd have to buy http://www.aagelectronica.com/aag/en-us/p_20.html though too :-\
-Eric
Nope, you do not need this at all. The DS9097U is simply connected to a strand of cat 5 and only needs 2 wires ( I’m not sure where it got the name one wire ) . Then you can simply “tap” into the wire where ever needed. I ran one piece of cat5 to a punch down block and then connected all my sensors at this location.
As i said, im not heavy electronic guru. By tapping the cat5 (isnt that just an ethernet cable?) you mean splitting the wire in half and connecting each wire to the corresponding wire?
