Build-your-own-weather-station

Workshop documentation on building your own nodeMCU based weatherstation

Connect hardware on breadboard

• DHT pin 1 to 3,3V
• DHT pin 2 to D4
• DHT pin 4 to GND
• Resistor to 3,3V and DHT pin 2

Prepare your laptop for ESP development

1. Install the Arduino.cc IDE software and launch the IDE and allow firewall access
2. File > Preferences, check the “Display line numbers option“
3. Add the URL http://arduino.esp8266.com/stable/package_esp8266com_index.json to the “Addition Boards Manager URLs” field and press the “Ok” button

1. Tools > Boards > Boards Manager, install the "esp8266" board package

1. Sketch > Include Library > Manage Libraries, install the "DHT sensor library" and the "Adafruit Unified Sensor" libraries

1. Close and re-open Arduino IDE 1. Select the proper board from Tools->Board->Board ”nodeMCU 1.0 (ESP-12E Module)”

When Connectivity to the board does not work:

• Install the CP210x USB to UART driver and make sure you reboot your machine afterward (I suffered strange behaviors using the driver without rebooting) https://www.silabs.com/products/development-tools/software/usb-to-uart-bridge-vcp-drivers
• After rebooting open the Arduino IDE and select the proper board from Tools->Board->Board ”nodeMCU 1.0 (ESP-12E Module)”

Test your laptop and nodeMCU setup

• Load the example sketch “Blink” into the Arduino IDE from File->Examples->01 Basics->Blink

- Try compiling it by pressing the Verify button:

- When ok, connect the nodeMCU to your laptop: - Connect the nodeMCU with the USB cable - Via Tools -> Port, check if the correct COMxx port is selected - Upload the sketch by pressing the Upload button:

- Wait till the sketch is compiled and uploaded - The blue led on the nodeMCU should now start blinking

Test to see if the nodeMCU can measure temperature and humidity

• Load the example sketch “DHTtester” into the Arduino IDE from File->Examples->DHT sensor library->DHTtester
• Try compiling it by pressing the Verify button
• When ok:
  • Connect the nodeMCU with the USB cable
  • Via Tools -> Port, check if the correct COMxx port is selected
  • Upload the sketch by pressing the Upload button:
  • Wait till the sketch is compiled and uploaded
  • Open the monitor Tools->Serial Monitor
• Message with the temperature and humidty should appear within the monitor

Test to see if the nodeMCU can function as a web server

• Load the example sketch “AdvancedWebServer” into the Arduino IDE from File->Examples->ESP8266WebServer
• Find the line with the *ssid and change it to the ssid given to you in the workshop
• Find the line with the *password and change it to password given to you in the workshop
• Try compiling it by pressing the Verify button
• When ok:
  • Connect the nodeMCU with the USB cable
  • Via Tools -> Port, check if the correct COMxx port is selected
  • Upload the sketch by pressing the Upload button
  • Wait till the sketch is compiled and uploaded
  • Open the monitor
• A message should be displayed with “IP address: www.xxx.yyy.zzz”
• Now connect your laptop or mobile phone to the same network as the nodeMCU is connected to
• Open the page www.xxx.yyy.zzz, you should be able to see ESP8266 message and a graph

Advanced Extra: combine the webserver and DHT sensor sketch to display the temperature and humidity from your laptop or mobile phone

• Open both the sketches “AdvancedWebServer” and “DHTtester” and find a way to combine the necessary code from DHTtester into the AdvancedWebServer examples.
• Do not forget to save it under a new name like “my_weatherstation”

Testing the weather station

• Load the example sketch, provided to your during the workshop, “iot_innovatos_weerstation” into the Arduino IDE
• Find the line with the *ssid and change it to the ssid given to you in the workshop
• Find the line with the *password and change it to password given to you in the workshop
• Try compiling it by pressing the Verify button:
• When ok:
  • Connect the nodeMCU with the USB cable
  • Via Tools -> Port, check if the correct COMxx port is selected
  • Upload the sketch by pressing the Upload button
  • Wait till the sketch is compiled and uploaded
  • Open the monitor
• A message should be displayed with “IP address: www.xxx.yyy.zzz”
• Now connect your laptop or mobile phone to the same network as the nodeMCU is connected to
• Open the page www.xxx.yyy.zzz, you should be able to see the weatherstation temperature and humidty