Dedicated Display Console

I agree. That’s what I had just mentioned to the company. I’d like something a bit more high def.

I would also pay for a separate display. My wife likes to be able to just look at it at a glance.



This is Pi console running on a 7 in touch display Raspberry Pi.

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Wished someone would go into production with this

Or publish the build details…

Here is the link to the Pi Console topic
It is fairly easy to assembly install the software and configure

If you have any questions or need help, just post a question and lots of great people will help

That really nice display. Is that the only screen display

Hello

Yes one display, but the display has 6 main panels and 6 secondary panels, and 9 different items like rainfall, temperature, lighting, solar, moon. wind, barometer etc. You can configure which item is displayed in each panel.
It really displays everything you need. Many forum users had lots of input to its development which has made a great display.

I have been a Tempest Field Tester since January 2020.

I’ve monitored this (WF PiConsole) info for that past year or so. I have a good working knowledge of computer operations . . .but. . .I must admit the “Pi” stuff is complete foreign to me. I have no experience working with it. . .I have No programming skills — but I’d really like to have a console that shows More that just the regular Tempest data via the App or web page.

Some Questions:

  1. How / where would I obtain a PiConsole. I’d like one that is already fully assembled (case, screen, internal PCB and software etc) because I know nothing of how to take the individual pieces and build them to make the console do what it is supposed to do.
  2. As far as programmming in “Pi”. . .that’s not me! I’m sure there are scripts available and ready to go? I monitor my station’s UDP info. . .but only using an app. I see the “alpha-numeric” stream of data fly by. . .but I don’t have anything to be able to put that to a visualization (like a little console.) I also use the “Tempest API Explorer” page to look at my station’s day. Again . . that’s just “alpha-numeric” information. I think the PiConsole would take that API and convert it to a visualization on the console?
  3. I have a 1st Gen WF SWS (SmartWeatherStation) and 3 Tempest devices. How would a PiConsole know which Station’s Hub the data stream would come from? Would that be user’s choice or up to the UDB — first station in my list of station OR can I select which station to use?
  4. Getting started: I guess the first stop would be some place like Amazon to find a console?:
  5. Is a PiConsole “plug & play?” i.e. would it be ready to go OR is there extensive programming needed just to get it started?

Tips. . .Recommendations. . .and Beginners Instructions are ALL Welcome.

JL

Hello

You need to purchase a 7in touch screen, a Raspberry Pi and a case. I also use a wireless keyboard and mouse to setup everything. After it is running it is stand alone.

When you setup the Pi console it asks for the Station id and Device id of the station you want to monitor. You create a personal access token so the Pi console pulls your data from WF severs. This way you can access your data from anywhere you have internet.

Are you looking to monitor 4 stations with one display? I would think with help from some more experienced people, you might be able to run multiple copies of the Pi console and monitor different stations one at a time.

I don’t know of any instructions that will walk you through right from the beginning. The Pi console instructions are excellent but start expecting you have a working Raspberry Pi. The Raspberry Pi kit has everything you need, even the software preloaded on the SD card.

Here are links to the items I purchased.

Mike11…thanks for the tips and the starting point info. I have 4 WF Data Use Authorizations —
Personal Use Tokens already set up. . .have had them for a year now. . .but have not put them to use…other than checking my Station`s data via the Tempest AP Explorer page. I’ll most likely run only One Tempest device thru the PiConsole. . .once I get it going whenever that will be.

Will get busy checking the reference you listed. and go from there. I’ve also checked the WeatherFlow PiConsole Forum page. . .all that is still a little above me. . .but I am Slowly learning.

I really like Your Console. . .and the “timbits” snack. Haven’t been to a Tim Hortons since I visited Winnipeg in 2017.

Your welcome, I really like the display it shows a lot more information. If you do decide to go ahead, I can help guide you through the process.

I left the timbits in the photo for the Canadian Stations

I am using an ONN Tablet 8" from WalMart. Will consider upgrading to a 10" ONN soon. I’ve only had to back out and restart the app twice in a week as it froze for whatever reason. I even hang it on my wall by the desk by using velcro on the back of the tablet and on the wall. Great thing is, use the velcro to hang photos, if you wanna move it you don’t even mess up your wall!

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disclaimer - I don’t have a piconsole but I’ve run the software enough to have looked into how it works etc., so I think I can answer your questions…

This particular piece of software does what it does and isn’t really extensible/configurable. There are many third-party integrations that are very configurable, albeit also requiring more skills. In the absence of you saying exactly ‘what’ more you want to add, I always suggest weewx as an alternate way to get there with a slightly higher skillset needed depending on what you want to add to what it displays.

You need the display, the case, and the pi and need to put the display+pi into the case. You need to plug the thing into the wall using a good power supply. That’s all. It ain’t rocket science.

You also ‘do’ need to install the os onto a SD card for the pi (easy, many great howtos for the steps to follow) and you need to install the piconsole software (again, the docs for this are very good). Takes maybe 15 minutes end to do this once you get your pi onto your network.

No programming required.

Yes that’s what it does. After you tell the software your api token type information and answer a couple questions, it can grab your data and display it for you

Your choice. You are prompted for that when you install the piconsole information

Somebody else posted a parts list and I ‘think’ there are instructions on the piconsole pages as well. One thing I might note is that you ‘can’ run the piconsole software on a pi (if you have one) and get your feet wet before spending the extra $100 for the display and case.

No programming, just answer a few questions during installation. Hardest thing for a new pi user is just getting the os onto the SD card, getting the pi onto the network at home, and learning how to log in and run a few simple commands. There are sooooooo many good howtos for this it’s amazing. It takes a little time investment, that’s all. You can’t break anything regardless.

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@vinceskahan is spot on. I have tried to make the installation process for the PiConsole as simple as possible for those people who are not fully comfortable working and “programming” on a Pi. Unfortunately I cannot make the process of getting the Pi up and running in the first place any easier, but there are excellent resources out there to help you through this stage (Help Guides and Resources - How to Use Raspberry Pi). After all, the Pi was originally designed to get people into coding from a position of zero experience!

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The Raspberry Pi (and foundation that develops it) was intended for use by school-age children in the United Kingdom, to teach electronics, programming, etc. The price point makes them essentially disposable, and there’s tons of introductory articles on the web written for teachers, parents, and students alike…

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Somewhere someone had asked about the display being shown on their TV. I can assure you that if you have the Amazon Fire Stick as I do, and you have the Amazon “Silk” web browser downloaded, as I do, then you CAN use your TV as a display for your Tempest weather station from the internet.

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Personally, I think the WF app sucks. If they produced a more professional quality screen, I’d be ok with this idea.

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it is likely that IF(!) weatherflow is ever going to create it’s own professional(?) quality screen, it will still show you the same app functionality.

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The one thing I’ve learned in too many decades of doing this is that ‘everybody’ thinks they are a GUI expert and nobody thinks anybody else’s app looks good enough.

Heck, I don’t even like my own.

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