Has anybody here successfully linked their WeatherFlow station to their Rachio sprinkler timer so that the Rachio uses your weather reports to decide when to water? Apparently, Rachio uses PWSweather.com for their data sources (Weather Underground is not an option), but I’m not sure how to port my WeatherFlow station’s data to PWSweather.com
They seem to be rather secretive about some details.
1 Like
This is the code that I was using
but now I’m using a MeteoBridge to send data to PWS and other places.
2 Likes
If you want to spring for a Raspberry Pi or other supported platform, weewx can post to PWSweather
3 Likes
Maybe WeatherFlow will replace that other service with PW Sweather. (Poor choice of name.)
1 Like
Gary, the “they” being Rachio, WeatherFlow, or PWSweather? And yes, isn’t PWSweather the most
awkward moniker?
Thanks for posting that. Despite being a web designer and knowing HTML/CSS inside and out, I have no idea what to do with your code. 
I’ve been hearing about Raspberry Pis for years now, just never clued into them. Is this what I’d need? https://www.frys.com/product/8862032?store=14&source=google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7_nnpoH93QIVhPhkCh3DpgddEAQYASABEgJu5fD_BwE
If so, is it something I’d interface with my Mac via, say, an ethernet cable or something? Yes, I’m totally clueless about this stuff.
1 Like
There is a newer 3B+ model, but that’s the main board. (You can also get a Pi ZeroW for about $10, which is more than adequate for weewx.) You will need to have/borrow a USB keyboard/mouse for config, and hook it up to your newer TV via HDMI cable. You also need a microSD card for storage, a 2.5 amp USB power supply, and some sort of case. There are a gazillion options.
What you wind up with is a mini Linux-based computer, useful for teaching kids about electronics and of course capturing weather station data. Once you have one in your house, they multiply like rabbits.
As I said, these things were built by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as children’s educational tools, and are priced cheap enough where it is no loss if a kid blows one up…
4 Likes
I have a dozen in use and a few more still in the box. These things are geeat.
5 Likes
This was more meant for @GaryFunk in case he was interested in seeing details on how to send data to PWSweather.
I’ve been hearing about Raspberry Pis for years now, just never clued into them. Is this what I’d need? https://www.frys.com/product/8862032?store=14&source=google&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7_nnpoH93QIVhPhkCh3DpgddEAQYASABEgJu5fD_BwE
If so, is it something I’d interface with my Mac via, say, an ethernet cable or something? Yes, I’m totally clueless about this stuff.
[/quote]
You can do all kinds of cool stuff with a RPi, there are a number of great projects using them with WeatherFlow here on the forum. Depending on the RPi model, it would connect to your router/switch either with an ethernet cable or via WiFi.
There are many guides on how to setup a RPi for the first time and plenty of people here using them that can answer questions.
The MeteoBridge is a similar sized device but dedicated to handling weather data. It might be a bit easier to set up but does cost more than an RPi. I actually have both WeeWX on a RPi and a MeteoBridge. I’m currently using the MeteoBridge to forward weather data to PWS, CWOP, etc. Previously, I was using software I wrote running on a RPI (the link above) to do that.
There are a number of packages that can push the weather data to services like PWS. @GaryFunk has one that pushes data to CWOP and I bet if we make it challenge, it won’t be long until it can also push to PWS 
2 Likes
@rjfox . . . you are talking to the right folks in this conversation thread. This group is very knowledgeable about the RPi and programming it for weather-related purposes. They are way more knowledgeable than me . . . but I’ll try to give you a basic explanation of the RPi world.
The Raspberry Pi 3B+ (and the other previous RPi models) are complete, stand-alone computers that generally run a version of Linux that is based on the Debian distribution.
The RPi is out-of-the-box ready for use. You’ll need to have micro-SD RAM card (8GB should be plenty to start with). A USB keyboard and mouse and a monitor that can take an HDMI input. After you get setup initially, you can work on the RPi from your Mac using either the SSH remote connection facility (if you are a Linux command-line person) or the VNC application (if you like the GUI interface better).
You can easily make the micro-SD card into a bootable O/S card for the RPi from your Mac. The boot images are available as what is called NOOBS (New Out Of the Box Software) at NOOBS Download or some RPi resellers offer the pre-loaded micro-SD card as an accessory product. All-in-all, with power supply and plastic case, you should be able to get started with Raspberry Pi for about $60 USD or so.
The RPi with NOOBS also gives you WiFi connectivity if that is best for you (that is how mine are connected to the network).
And . . . the RPi comes with a connector on the board for General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) which can be used for all sorts of interesting projects.
A heap of software is out there for the RPi . . . including SQL databases. And the RPi NOOBS distribution comes with an Office Suite, Web browser, mail program, programming tools, etc, etc. And I haven’t even mentioned all of the great tools created by people like @bpaauwe, @vreihen, @GaryFunk and many, many others.
So . . . if you can . . . get yourself a Raspberry Pi and play a little bit. You’ll be glad you did.
Dan.
5 Likes
The way WFArchive is designed makes easy to add new feathures. I’ll look in the requirements and see what it needs.
5 Likes
Wow guys, thanks for all the info you guys have shared in this thread. At first look, it seems like a big ol’ sandwich to try and digest, but many of my best life experiences have started out that way.
So let me see if I have this straight: A Raspberry Pi is a basic mini computer system. I could use my big-screen TV as a monitor by hooking it up via an HDMI cable, then load software onto it that would somehow receive the data from my WeatherFlow station and transmit it to PWSweather, as well as other geeky enthusiast endeavors. Did I get that right? If so, sounds pretty sweet. 
Would it be advisable to pick up a kit like the one linked below?
1 Like
Recommend you don’t buy these from eBay, you never know if they’re fake or if there’s any warranty…
I recently bought these from Amazon:
The canakit is nice because it comes with a USB in-line power switch that is great. The Flirc case both looks great next to my Intel NUC and it lowers the temperature 7 degC. The pi b+ is faster than the 3 and also supports 5GHz wifi too.
You can get away cheaper with a pi-zeroW but just spend the extra few bucks and do it right. It’s nice to be able to load the pi up with stuff and not worry that you’ll run out of gas.
5 Likes
Amazon is good. Just buy from a known company. I buy all my toys from SparkFun.com. They build a lot of their own boards and they sell other lines. And they are a few miles just north of me.
Don’t buy a kit. Just the main unit, power supply and SDCard. After you get up and running you can buy other accessories to continue.
Today I set up a 3b to start working with i2c. I’m going to build an irrigation controller using a Relay-8 board from Sequent Microsystems and interface it with WFArchive and my home automation system.
Fun stuff and 100% non Cloud services.
7 Likes
FWIW, I have another Pi ZeroW and MMDVM piggyback board coming in today to build a DMR digital ham radio hotspot. I have had zero luck (pun intended) keeping a Pi Zero(W) running for more than a few weeks before they fail, so hopefully this one will break my Zero jinx.
On another thread, I listed most of my other Pi projects. I neglected to mention the DIY license plate reader mounted on my mailbox, logging all traffic in/out of the dead end road that I live on for neighborhood watch purposes…
3 Likes
In searching for an excuse to build a couple of these.
6 Likes
You guys had me up waaaay past my bedtime last night, looking up things I could do with a Raspberry Pi. Wow, this looks so freakin’ cool! One of the projects that hooked me was those over-the-top Christmas light setups where the lights are synchronized to music. I’ve always wanted to do that. Maybe once I get my feet wet with these things…
So, are Raspberry Pis able to multi task? I mean, can I have it sending weather data to PWSweather and also have it trigger a Christmas light show? Or because they’re so cheap, you dedicate a single unit to a single task?
So Gary, what is it that thing you want to build with all the boards on top?
1 Like
looks like a pi zero-based cluster to me…
1 Like
The Pi is a full-fledged Linux computer, and can both multi-task and run as a multi-user system. It has enough horsepower to serve as an HD media streaming box, and a lot of the hardware packages are targeted towards people who want to build Kodi media center boxes to stream video from sites of questionable legality.
Because of the cost, I recommend having a separate Pi for each task. Should one fail, you will only lose that one service. I had one fail that was running my ADS-B airplane tracker, home alarm system gateway, print server, and remote ssh access, and will never put all of my eggs in one $35 basket ever again.
I have to re-include my disclaimer that Raspberry Pi computers multiply like rabbits once the first one arrives at your home…
4 Likes
oh, I dunno - if you automate rebuilding the SD card (I did) then it’s a 15 minute outage max if the SD card craps out. But sure I’d agree with having more than one, just in case you have an actual hardware failure.
Currently messin’ with kubernetes on a pib+ and pi3 and trying to get all my stuff into containers that way. Surprisingly complicated when (as you say) it’s trivial to just throw some hardware at it. Not sure if the time/value proposition for containerizing is worth it on the pi, but I need to dig into it for $job…
3 Likes