Once again I am plagued by a failure to document problems I encountered and figured out.
Serious problems with humidity
Devoted a good portion of yesterday to getting weewx back into operation after a version upgrade took it down.
Part of that involved me figuring out (again) how to get the weewx extension working that creates the wxnow.txt file that Xastir uses to create and send APRS weather data.
Here’s an example of what Xastir was sending out: APX219,TNGNXI,WIDE2*,qAR,BASHOR:@071408z3913.63N/09454.49W_166/006g012t051r000P000p000h05b10180
The error is “h05” as humidity is not 5%. The problem is that Xastir wants a two digit humidity data value and wxcn is sending a three digit value.
In examining the old copy of wxcn.py I see the comments I placed in the file:
I updated these comments in the new version of this file as it appears in /home/weewx/bin/user/cwxn.py
With the correction, here is what Xastir is now beaconing: APX219,WIDE2-1,qAR,BASHOR:@071426z3913.63N/09454.49W_166/007g011t051r000P000p000h59b10172
Now the humidity is given as “h59” instead of “h05”.
I am pretty sure that this concludes all the tweaks and fixes I had to make to get weewx working with Xastir to work properly. Time will tell.
A break down of the Xastir/APRS weather data string: @071426z3913.63N/09454.49W_166/007g011t051r000P000p000h59b10172
@071426z – “07” is the calendar day, “1426z” is the time 3913.63N/09454.49W – location 166 – wind direction 007 – wind speed g011 – gust, peak winds in last five minutes t051 – temperature r000 – rain within last 60 minutes P000 – rain within last 24 hours since midnight p000 – rain per last 24 hours (sliding 24 hour window) h59 – humidity b10172 – barometric pressure
I started to prepare for the 0700 Kansas 80m weather net (3920 KHz, 1300-1330Z) this morning and discovered that weewx had stopped pulling in weather data after an update the previous evening.
When weewx upgraded to v5.0.1 and the bottom fell out. Checking the weewx users group, many were having the same problem.
The consensus was to go back to v4.10.2 – if that was reinstalled, everything would work as normal. Not the case for me.
Throughout the process I kept thinking that mysql had been corrupted or I otherwise had to reconfigure mysql. That does not appear to be the case. Although I have not yet tried to get a status. I would assume weewx would not be working if mysql was not, but I took poor notes setting up mysql and am not sure of where to start. But I do need to find the notes that I did take.
I also tried to used Minicom to verify I was getting data through the serial port. Unsuccessful in getting Minicom working to show a stream of incoming data. I need to be able to figure that out. (sudo minicom -D /dev/ttyS7)
Here is what did work:
the whole time I am using the following command to monitor what is happening: sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog
Backed up my weewx.conf files. This was super helpful to use as a reference to see what everything looked like when fully operational.
I then created a folder under /home called weewx. I then moved weewx-4.10.0.tar.gz into the weewx folder. And installed it, knowing I had already met the prerequisites.
sudo python3 ./setup.py build
sudo python3 ./setup.py install
to run the weewx cd /home/weewx sudo ./bin/weewxd
to get weewx to start on boot: cd /home/weewx sudo cp util/systemd/weewx.service /etc/systemd/system (I did this and it is working)
watching the syslog I could see there were problems. Assumption is that the weewx.conf file was not correct.
Used old weewx.conf file to make appropriate changes to the new one. In addition to telling weewx what kind of weather station I have, I also had to make sure it was set to ID 2 (somewhat out of the ordinary).
After that I was able to setup Wunderground quickly with the correct information.
Using sudo systemctl restart weewx, I could see from the syslog that data was flowing to Wunderground.
I started the script that has Xastir look at wxnow.txt and then started Xastir. Both the network and radio interfaces came up without issue. I made a test TRANSMIT NOW and saw it was using the old data.
Checking /var/tmp/wxnow.txt I could tell the file had not been updated since the upgrade to v5.0.1.
A blog entry I wrote had a link to the extension I needed to reinstall that would regularly update the wxnow.txt file but also lacked detail.
Following the instructions on github also were not sufficient. [I believe the extension is called CumulusWXNow]
This worked: From /home/weewx wget -O weewx-cwxn.zip https://github.com/matthewwall/weewx-cwxn/archive/master.zip
The next direction given is: wee_extension –install weewx-cwxn.zip
… the problem is that linux does not know where to look for wee_extension
What worked… I found advice that said: try specifying the full path to wee_extension
This install process also made the necessary changes to weewx.conf and after sudo systemctl restart weewx I checked wxnow.txt – it was now getting the latest data. The change includes an entry at the bottom of weewx.conf:
[CumulusWXNow] filename = /var/tmp/wxnow.txt
… there is also an addition made in the section above that I could identify by comparing old and new weewx.conf files.
I started the Xastir script to grab the wxnow.txt data… cd /usr/local/share/xastir/scripts then sudo ./wxnowsrv.pl /var/tmp/wxnow.txt 60 5500
Bringing both the network and radio interfaces UP I did another TRANSMIT NOW from Xastir. Checking on aprs.fi I could see that the most current data was beaconing out.
At some point syslog was showing the weewx did not have permission to use the serial port to get the data from the Davis console. I tried “rebooting” the console; the only way to do that is to remove the power and batteries, which I did. This did not fix the issue. Then I saw this recommendation: “In case anyone else runs into this – my Ubuntu server/Davis VP2 and serial datalogger had ownership set to root:dialout, so I had to add the weewx user to the dialout group for things to work.” The command I used was sudo adduser weewx dialout. I believe this fixed the permissions issue. Requires a full reboot.
I am going to store copies of weewx-4.10.0.tar.gz and weewx-cwxn.tgz locally. Would also make sense to do the same for Xastir.
Just in case, the commands for completely removing weewx: sudo apt purge weewx sudo rm -r /var/www/html/weewx sudo rm -r /var/lib/weewx sudo rm -r /etc/weewx sudo rm /etc/default/weewx sudo userdel weewx sudo gpasswd -d $USER weewx sudo groupdel weewx
This link includes an example of installing an extension. This may be useful and worth a look.
Rebooting and seeing if everything will work:
sudo tail -f /var/log/syslog – this should show weewx sending wx data to Wunderground
cd /usr/local/share/xastir/scripts then sudo ./wxnowsrv.pl /var/tmp/wxnow.txt 60 5500
checked wxnow.txt and it is being updated
xastir &
From Xastir’s menu: View/Incoming Data
Interface/Interface Control
Device 0 Network WX: Start
Device 2 Serial TNC: Start (note: Serial TNC say ttyS6 when weewx is set to ttyS7… investigate!)
With both started, incoming data should be coming across the Display Packet Data window.
From Xastir’s menu: Interface/Transmit Now! : check aprs.fi if a valid and accurate packet has been sent.
Check back with aprs.fi in 15 minutes to see if another packet has been sent.
Check Weather Underground to see if data is up to date.
My interest in amateur radio and introduction to APRS also got me interested in maintaining a home weather station. When I lived back in Virginia, I first deployed a home weather station and took the steps of interfacing it with a 2m radio for use on APRS. I also attended National Weather Service weather spotter training… even had a card at one point with my weather spotter ID number. After the move to Kansas, I continued to keep a home weather station active and had a working webpage linked from the blog where one could see the latest weather data.
Pairing the Davis Vantage Pro2 weather station with a linux system was never straight forward. My previous linkage between weather station, computer, and radio had been Windows-based. UI-View32 was a sound and stable program. My desire to ditch Windows for linux acted as a strong influence to make the leap from UI-View32 to the linux-based Xastir, but the problem was with the Vantage Pro2’s data stream. As mentioned earlier, the good folks at Xastir finally created a work around using weewx to use the Vantage Pro2, Xastir, and my TM D710A to dependably beacon out my weather data.
But here is what I need to do… I need to capture all the steps of how to set everything up as well as mark all the references I used to gain eventual success. Documentation! I have mentioned before that this blog services as my station notebook and I think that is still a great idea – but it requires a bit more work on my end.
An example of a great reference that I found is a blog post entitled: New Weather Station – Davis Vantage Vue – Part 2 of 2: Linux installation. In addition to maintaining a link, I am also going to grab a copy of the post and save it as a pdf file as a backup reference. We know that information on the internet will not be here permanently.
The other reason that I need to capture these reference sites is that I have a habit of leaving tabs open on my browser. Before you know it, I have tab after tab – and I don’t want to close the tab because… well, that was sure interesting and possibly useful. The cure for my tab addiction is to lay it out here in the blog.
I have endeavored to have my hamshack be 100% linux for a number of years. Licensed in 2001, my ham career really got going when I returned to the States in 2005. Upgrading to General and getting on HF, I integrated a computer into my operations. Ham Radio Deluxe was one of the most popular at the time and I used it – great for logging, digital modes, and rig control. When I had fun with APRS, I used UI-View, which was Windows based.
My first experience with linux was in the late 1990s. I had limited success. Not much later, Ubuntu gave me more of an opportunity to use linux for meeting my requirements for computing. I began to dip my toe in, using linux for rig control and logging. I switched to Mint around 2010-11. I found that Mint was easy to use and allowed me to use fldigi for digital modes, rig control, and logging. ARRL’s LOTW could also be used with linux and was integrated into fldigi. It was hard to find any aspect of the amateur radio hobby that required a computer and could not be done with linux.
Except, in my case, for one area of pursuit. APRS and my weather station. I had become a Davis Instruments fan since I got my first weather station in 2005. As mentioned before, UI-View handled the APRS portion and Davis had its own Windows-based software for handling the weather data the console produced. Back in 2011, the standard for linux-based APRS was Xastir. Xastir is a solid application and I had success using it to handle both internet and RF APRS traffic. But Xastir would not play well with the Davis Vantage Pro2. There was internet talk of a work around using a MySQL database. I had no luck. I kept my system on Windows, using UI-View for weather and APRS.
About two years ago, my Vantage Pro2, which I had since I was over in Iraq in 2007, finally died. The sensor package was mounted off my chimney when we first moved in to our current house over a decade ago. A great location for the weather station as it it high and clear of obstructions. Our roof, however, is steeply pitched and not something easy for me to traverse. I had gotten a TV antenna installation guy to install it – he did a great job. I think I had him back a few years later to swap out the battery. At one point, the board on the unit when bad and I replaced it. Then two years ago, one of our dogs shows up with an anemometer cup in her mouth. Perhaps a good sized chunk of hail had it the cup? Outside temperature data stopped working.
The old Vantage Pro2 with missing anemometer cup.
Rather than attempt to fix/repair the existing unit, it was time to replace. Over a decade is a long time to be exposed to the elements. I purchased a new Vantage Pro2 but then had a hard time finding someone to install. The local tv antenna guy took one look at my roof and said nope. A month ago we were getting our chimney inspected and cleaned and the gentleman was showing me pictures of the crown of the chimney. He’d just climbed up there. I asked if, for a reasonable fee, he’d be willing to swap out the weather station (and the VHF/UHF antenna). We struck a deal and now the weather station was operational again.
But could I still achieve my goal of a linux-based APRS/weather station? Enter weewx. This is an application that is like the Swiss army knife of weather station apps. I am not sure of what it does not do. The key aspect is that weewx produces a file (wxnow.txt) every minute using the same format used by APRS for weather data. Even better, the good folks at xastir created a script (wxnowsrv.pl) that copies the wxnow.txt information and pulls it into xastir. This was the solution!
And it works! Both weewx and xastir are happily working together on their own minimalist linux box, pulling in weather data from the Vantage Pro2 console via a serial connection while xastir is using a serial connection to transmit the weather data via my TM-D710A TNC functionality into the APRS system via RF. Weewx also creates a simple weather webpage which you can see here.
I kept a careful list of all the steps I completed in installing both weewx, MySQL, and xastir that I will post here soon – in case I need to reinstall. As of now the system seems to be stable and working nicely.
I have put in some serious time trying to get the ham shack back in usable order. A lot of progress has been made.
(1) The shack computer has been replaced with a new Shuttle DS77U. Not a fancy, powerful computer but what I really enjoy is that it is small (slightly smaller than a cigar box (remember as a kid when you had a cigar box to keep your treasures)) size and that it is fanless (which equals quiet). It took a few iterations to settle on a linux distribution and to get fldigi and wsjtx working properly. During one of my test iterations I had xastir up and working (kinda of). I was able to pair it with the TM-D710A and it worked for transmitting, receiving, and plotting APRS signals. My failure was in getting the maps to work. Ends up it was an installation issue on my part. My end goal is to get xastir working on a separate linux box, possibly working with my Davis Vantage Pro2. I have seen very few clean, direct implementations of pairing xastir with a Davis Vantage Pro2… so, we’ll see. The other problem was tqsl or the software that runs LOTW. During one of my trial iterations, I had fldigi configured to log every completed contact directly to LOTW – it was great! It was challenging trying to install the latest version of tqsl and get it working properly. The version that is available in the repositories is outdated. The version available for ARRL is difficult to work with (using some distributions) due to dependencies. I had a great deal of success using the latest version of Linux Mint (19.3) which already had all the needed dependencies for tqsl. Now when I log a contact into fldigi’s logbook, it gets immediately uploaded to LOTW. It would be nice if wsjtx did the same, but it is no big deal to sign and upload that log later. All that being said, the shack computer is working nicely for what I need to have the basic functions to get on air.
(2) Selling off gear I don’t need. One of the factors that made the shack uninhabitable was all the excess stuff. I started selling gear off using QRZ.com’s forum. The gear is doing me no good, so it makes sense to lighten the load here. Up to this point I have listed and sold a Bencher BY-1 black-based paddle and two QRP kits I had sitting on the shelf. Next up will be the IC-92AD with all the bells and whistles (drop in charger, DV access point dongle, four batteries, the Nifty manual, the GPS speaker mic, plus the original box. What I like about the IC-92AD is its construction. The chassis is diecast aluminum, so the feel is solid… not something you get with the vast majority of HTs. I enjoyed using this HT from the indoors, using the dual band capability to monitor both my EchoIRLP node and D-STARS. I don’t do that anymore, so I think it is time the IC-92AD goes. I also found an old unbuilt NorCal 40a kit that includes a theory book on electronics. And it is also time to get rid of the FT-817ND that is tricked out with about every modification and additional gadget you could think of. There is a Bencher BY-2 that needs a new home. I also have maybe a half dozen unbuilt kits. Some I am unsure exactly what they are, although still in their original packaging. Many are from the now shuttered Small Wonders Lab. I am going to have to take some pictures of the ones I don’t recognize to see if I can figure out exactly what they are.
(3) Now the biggest issue that faces me is antenna improvement. Currently deployed in the trees off to the side of the house is a Radio Works G5RV. How sad I was to learn that Radio Works has also closed its doors. I was introduced to Radio Works when I lived in Hampton Roads, them being based in Portsmouth. Man they made great antennas. I still have one of their Carolina Windoms that I would like to put up. The G5RV needs to be replaced. It has made it through many Kansas winters and is ready to be retired. In cleaning the shack, I have pulled together all the odds and ends for hanging and installing antennas and I have everything I need on hand. Time to make it happen.
In non-shack news, I was going to replace the XYL’s TM-D710A with a D710GA, as well as a new motor to raise/lower the antenna. The antenna motor install was accomplished without issue. I attempted to install the D710GA without first testing it in the shack = mistake. Ends up the a-side control pot for volume/squelch was bad. As I purchased the rig as a Christmas present, I didn’t test it within the 14 day period required by Gigaparts in order to get the rig directly replaced. Instead, I have to send it in for warranty repair. Hopefully that goes smooth.
I am also hoping to have exciting news tomorrow. Keep your fingers crossed.
As Fall is here, it is time to put together a To Do list of everything I have been putting off all Summer and the beginning of the school year.
TM-D710A
I have four of these rigs and they need some TLC. I need to make sure they have the updated firmware on the main unit, TNC, and operating panel.
The latest versions:
TNC: 1.02 – May 2011
Operating Panel: 2.12 – Janurary 2015
Main unit: 2.10 – May 2011
For the benifit of emergency operations, I have been performing the modificiation to the TM-D710As to open the frequency range.
Standard frequency plan. I developed a spreadsheet of the repeaters in the greater Kansas City area, frequecies for FRS/GMRS, the Kansas City Airport (MCI), Sherman Army Airfield, and various national park frequency plans. This is the first step in standardizing the configuration across all four of the TM-D710As. I can additionally take the spreadsheet and use it for programming my HTs. This should allow for a memory channel standardization that will make my life easier.
Weather Station
The current Davis Vantage Pro2 I have installed on the roof needs maintenance. Wouldn’t it be nice to get the top of the line version?
For some time I have been talking about finding a weather station setup that will work with a linux-based computer. That quest continues. I have read about a piece of software called Meteo that is suppose to work with Xastir.
And if I can’t get Xastir to work with the Vantage Pro2… is there another comparable weather station that WILL work with Xastir? Life would be a lot easier without Windows.
HF Antenna for home
I need to string up the Carolina Windom I have had sitting on the shelf for the last few years. The G5RV that is up now is showing its age (not to mention one of the legs is drooping badly). Now that the leaves have fallen, I should be able to get the Windom up there without too many problems (… famous last words).
HF setup in the mobile
Time to get going. I have all the materials I need. What I don’t have is an installation plan… mainly for the Tarheel antenna. I can’t do a hitch mount because I need the hitch for pulling my travel trailer. Two possible options: (a) get a swinging gate for the back bumper where you could mount a spare tire and a water can or (b) find some way to afix a mount coming out behind the left rear tire.
Here is a a re-cap of my amateur radio activities during my past twelve months in Korea:
(1) DX – I enjoyed working a good bit of DX, enjoying most QSOs with stateside contacts as well as Pacific exotics. The greatest limitation I had was my operation location and resulting inability to ideally situate an HF antenna. Living in the barracks (the ultimate in CC&R) restricted any type of permanent antenna installation, further limiting my options. I solely used a Buddipole (which after many additional accessory purchases, became two Buddipoles). Despite the antennas being positioned next to a three story building, I was able to make contacts to North America, South America, Europe, and even Africa. I credit this to improved band conditions over the past months and also the Buddipole… it’s a keeper.
(2) EchoIRLP node – I brought my embedded EchoIRLP node to Korea and interfaced it with a Kenwood VHF/UHF rig. Again, with my poor location and inability, I could not have an antenna installed outdoors. Instead, I kept the Kenwood rig at its minimum wattage setting and used a roll-up J-Pole made from ladder line. With my HT also set on minimum power, I was able to make effective use of the EchoIRLP node. My primary contacts via the node were with the XYL back in Kansas. She has a mobile VHF rig, to include APRS. I could check to see when she was on the road for her morning or afternoon commutes, connect through my EchoIRLP node here in Korea to our EchoIRLP node back in Kansas. With the XYL’s rig set to the frequency of the Kansas node, I could frequently ride along with the XYL and harmonics as they moved about. Additionally, the Echolink capability of the embedded node allowed me to regularly talk to my dad, KD6EUG, while he connected to my node via an app on his cell phone. Another great enjoyment was the ability to monitor the different IRLP reflectors and sometimes participate in ongoing nets. I am sold on the flexability of the embedded EchoIRLP node and will take it with me again when I get deployed for a long duration.
(3) D-STAR – starting with a D-STAR Dongle, I moved to a DV Access Point and got an ICOM D-STAR HT. I enjoyed playing with D-STAR and the ease of having the Access Point as well as the IC-92AD (http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/ht/5092.html) made using D-STAR pretty straight forward. There is no aruging that the audio quality for D-STARS is poor. The complicated nature of setting up a rig at home for the XYL would also make D-STAR a poor choice to replace the EchoIRLP node. However, I enjoyed having the flexibility of having the ability of getting on D-STAR.
(4) Linux – all my radio operations here were supported by using the Ubuntu distrobution of Linux. After toying with CQRlog, I have settled on fldigi as my primary interface to my HF rig.
(5) APRS – although my APRS operations here were limited to the internet (Korea has virtually no APRS traffic), I used xastir (www.xastir.org) to show where my operating location was and also advertised my EchoIRLP node.
(6) WX station – never happen. I could not find a good location to place the collector, so it is still in the box. More importantly, wgoohat I didn’t get the opportunity to learn was how to interface a weather station to the APRS application xastir.
(7) Stars & Stripes article – I was able to discuss my amateur radio experiences with a reporter from Stars & Stripes.
More success with the Ubuntu hamputer. I found a great wiki that does a great job of walking through the install process. Once I had Xastir up an running, it was interesting to see the massive amount of APRS in Japan compared to the absolute minuscule amount of APRS activity here in Korea. I have a hard time understanding why APRS is not embraced here.
It is snowing now – NWS says we’ll get 2 inches. I am hoping for more. I’ll have to do a bit of shoveling to clear the driveway in the morning, then I’ll head out with the 4 year old for some sledding. Should be a good time, although with the low temps (the high today was 10F) we will have to bundle up a bit. It has been so cold since New Year’s Eve that the wind direction sensor on my Davis Vantage Pro2 has frozen, pointing north.
I’ve been doing a little configuration work in the shack. I decided to dedicate one of my computers to running my weather station/APRS combo. Before I had the software (Weather Display and UI-View32) running on the same computer I used for my HF work. Things got busy with the log and Ham Radio Deluxe going plus the APRS and weather applications. Moving the weather and APRS applications onto its own computer should give me a bit more stability. I installed a dual boot configuration of Win XP and Ubuntu 9.10. I am initially sticking with Win XP as I know it works well with both Weather Display and UI-View32. My plan is then to migrate to Ubuntu 9.10 and run Xastir and the Linux version of Weather Display. I need to do some googeling and see who else is doing that and see what issues they ran into. I did find and interesting linux application called wview – will definitely explore that. Looks like it is also a replacement for Weather Display Live.
I have a new computer than I am going to dedicate to just HF operations – one of Dell’s new Zino computers. I like the small form factor and I will also install a dual boot configuration to have some fun with both Win XP and Ubuntu.
The old (circa 2005) desktop computer that used to run both the HF ham applications, Weather Display, and UI-View32 has now been moved to another table in the basement and has become the arcade machine. My cool xmas gift was the X-Arcade Tankstick – an amazing arcade controller that is built like an old school arcade console. Along with MAME software I have been able to play some wonderful, classic arcade games: Pac-Man, Galaga, Berzerk!, Robotron, Battlezone, and my favorite – Scramble. The Tankstick also has a trackball, so I have been able to relive the glory of both Missile Command and Centepede as well. I’ve had the four year old behind the joystick playing Frogger – and she did pretty darn good. It is hard to beat the classic arcade games.
The plan for my HF station, based around my Icom IC-7000 is to mount it in two iPortable boxes. The set up will include the IC-7000, a tuner, power supply, and the Dell Zino. If (…when…) I am deployed again, I will be able to have these two iPortable boxes sent out to me. I’ll take some pics as I put the iPortable station together and post it here.
My interest in amateur radio and introduction to APRS also got me interested in maintaining a home weather station. When I lived back in Virginia, I 
It is snowing now – NWS says we’ll get 2 inches. I am hoping for more. I’ll have to do a bit of shoveling to clear the driveway in the morning, then I’ll head out with the 4 year old for some sledding. Should be a good time, although with 
