HitecWeatherDeluxe User Manual
Contents
1. cloud conditions and if rain snow frost is detected Although the rain sensor itself does not differentiate between rain and snow the graphical interface will show snow if moisture is detected whilst the current ambient temperature is below 2degC Frost is also indicated if the temperature falls below OdegC Moderate The above is the summary display of the output of the rain sensor Which indicates the current rainfall situation The internal relay is primarily designed to respond to prevailing conditions and activate a connected 12V device However it may be toggled on and off manually if desired via the relay toggle button Itis also required to manually toggle off the relay if it has been activated by an alert Page 11 Monitor Tab aH HitecWeather v1 1 J Summary Momtor Pain Reto j Seting There are two main graphs shown the ambient temperature and the sky temperature These graphs allow you to see these metrics in a little more detail Simulate function You will note the Simulate checkbox on the monitor tab This is a very useful function which allows you to simulate rapidly changing prevailing conditions This is useful for configuring and testing the alert system which is one of the strong points of HitecWeatherDeluxe When the box is checked another window will pop Up Page ad Simulation By checking the appropriate box the real values from that sensor are ignored and fabricated2. etc are definable Click into the text field above the numeric entry field and edit these if you wish You may edit any of the numeric entry fields under thresholds It might be a good idea to note down the current values just in case you need to revert to them Note Although changes to the threshold values are effective immediately you must click Save Settings to ensure they are saved for later sessions The default settings here have been found to work well generally for a UK climate However you may need to come up with your own values for your location If the default values do not provide accurate results for your location you will need to spend some time matching various sky conditions with the measured clarity index CLR on the Summary tab Page 18 It will be useful to observe how the clarity index changes when the sky changes from one state to another By observing this and setting the threshold values accordingly you will be certain of accurate repeatable cloud measurement We accept that this requires work on your part However we feel that this method is the only way to guarantee the accuracy of the results You may also find that as the seasons change you will have to modify these values It is a good idea to note down the values before changing them so you can reuse these values when the outgoing season returns next year There is also the possibility to have a set of data for both daytime and nighttime use Clicki
3. may not be disposed of along with domestic waste To dispose of this item take it to a local facility authorised to dispose of electrical waste covered under Electrical and Electronic Equipment WEEE regulations Page 25 Links Requirements for using our software Dot Net Platform Version 4 http www microsoft com downloads ASCOM Platform http www ascom standards or Page 26
4. status indicator on the top right of the screen turn green Lo This indicates normal communication with the unit Almost immediately data will start to flow from the unit And the front screen will update similar to the following go HitecWeather v1 1 al Monitor Pein Retro j Settings Dry Moderate Heavy Sky Graph Range Relay 1 I 15 20 25 3035 40 45 50 55 60 15 70 25 80 35 90 95100 he eo Connection Overcast Communications Port POMA 23 67C 19 40C Heater Power AMB Page 8 Let s look at this Summary screen in a little more detail This plots the clarity index calculated by HitecWeatherDeluxe over time The time period covered is a user definable setting Drag the slider to choose the timeframe you wish to view in hours The connection area is for choosing the serial port to which the device is connected and tus connecting to the device with the Connect button Note when the device is successfully connected the text will change from Connect to Connected Serial port status When green the device is connected and receiving data normally This will turn red when the device is not powered connected Also if for any reason the unit cannot receive data normally this icon will turn red Page 9 Heater Power This is a very important setting which the user must choose Built into the rain sensor is a low power heating element The purpose of this is to quickly evaporate ra
5. the major features of HitecWeatherDeluxe When sky conditions change you need to know about it as quickly as possible For example if rain starts to fall you want to know about this as quickly as possible so that you may protect your expensive equipment HitecWeatherDeluxe can generate audio visual as well as email alerts when configured sky conditions occur Let s have a look at the various alerts which can be configured a Test E Mail A The top two checkboxes on the left can be checked if you want to be alerted when the sky becomes clear or cloudy Note the and remains that way for X minutes option Setting a value here prevents spurious alerts if the sky conditions oscillates rapidly e g scattered cloudy conditions Therefore setting a value of 5 minutes means the alert will be triggered only when the sky has been clear for the past 5 minutes Page 20 This is an example of the alert shown on screen when a clear sky alert occurs It is accompanied via a loud audio sound A similar visual cue occurs for all types of weather alerts with differing sounds The best way to familarise yourself with these is to use the simulate feature described earlier The Alert for Rain Snow is triggered when the moisture sensor detects rain snow The rain sensor MUST detect at least two successive readings above the dry point to trigger this alert This is to avoid false alerts caused by spikes in the rain senso
6. toggle the graph between tomorrow and today The disk icon allows you save the planner graph to disk in joeg format You will note the icons to the right of the astro planner graph The astro settings calculated here are provided for information only They do not interact with the readings from the sensor or get modified by them in anyway They effectively replace the need for a light sensor on the unit Page 17 The Settings Tab The settings table allows a huge amount of configuration for HitecWeather Deluxe We recommend you study these options carefully to get the best from your device Thresholds Lao a 0 IL ee e This section is key to successfully using HitecWeather Deluxe Please read it carefully These are the Clarity Index CLR bands which are used to determine the cloudiness or otherwise of the sky Remember our discussion earlier in this document Clarity Index CLR represents the difference between the measured sky temperature and the ambient temperature If this value falls between the values defined in the Threshold area then the level of cloud to the left will be indicated E g in the above screen shot a measured Clarity Index CLR of 4 would indicate an Overcast sky or a value of 15 would represent Some Clouds A value of 23 would indicate a clear sky and a delta value of O would indicate Thick Cloud The actual descriptions i e Clear Overcast
7. will interfere with the accuracy of the unit e The unit is housed in an IP66 weatherproof enclosure However take care that an excessive amount of water or dirt cannot get on the unit Normal or even heavy rainfall will not affect the unit Ensure that rainfall can drain away from the unit and that the unit does not end up sitting in a pool of water Page 5 e tis recommended to install the unit so the ambient temperature sensor is not in direct sunlight Direct sunlight warms the sensor and reduces its accuracy Tuck the sensor underneath the unit and fix it with some electrical tape e Ensure that the main cable can easily reach the host PC without being stretched too much Also ensure that it cannot be damaged by animals e g pets or vermin Spiders will readily set up near the slight warmth of the unit They may need to be removed periodically Powering the Unit At the end of the main cable is a 2 5mm DC jack plug Connect a 12 14v center positive power supply minimum 1Amp to this connector Take care to ensure polarity is correct O O positive polarity Connecting the device to a computer HitecWeather is a serial port based device Find a free serial port on your computer and connect the 9pin DB9 connector Many PC s nowadays do not have serial ports as standard In this case you will need to use a USB gt Serial adaptor not supplied We recommend one with a Prolific based chip as we have tested these a
8. AITEGAS TRO HitecWeatherDeluxe User Manual http www hitecastro co uk support hitecastro co uk Congratulations on your purchase of the Hitecastro HitecWeatherDeluxe We hope your device will provide for many years of service HitecWeatherDeluxe is a high quality digital cloud temperature and rain moisture sensor VERY IMPORTANT NOTE TERMS This device may not be used in any safety critical application or where its use malfunction or otherwise might endanger personal safety Hitecastro will not accept any liability for loss damage caused by the failure of any part of the unit or associated software If you do not accept these terms you must return the unit unused to your retailer for a full refund There are no user serviceable parts inside this device and any attempt to open the product case will invalidate the following warranty Warranty Hitecastro warrants that this product will be free from defects for a period of 12 months following purchase This warranty is in addition to any statutory rights which may exist in your jurisdiction This warranty only applies to use as described in this document and also for use as a cloud temperature sensor No other use is recommended or supported by Hitecastro Any user repair attempt other than described in the troubleshooting section of this document or directed by Hitecastro will invalidate your warranty Hitecastro and its affiliates disclaim any responsibility for any consequ
9. My HitecWeatherDeluxe unit shows it is cloudy and it is in fact clear or vice versa A Ensure you have read and understood the section of this manual on Thresholds and implemented these correctly Q I get rain detection alerts even though no rain is falling A Ensure the unit is installed away from strong electrical fields such as those generated by some televisions or other home applicances These can generate strong magnetic fields which can fool the rain sensor to believe that moisture has been detected If the above does not solve your problem first check our support area on our website http www hitecastro co uk We will add knowledge base articles as they arise Failing that please contact us by e mailing support hitecastro co uk or by contacting your retailer Page 24 Declaration of Conformity for CE Marking EU Declaration of Conformity This product carries the CE Mark in accordance with relevant European Union Directives CE Marking is the responsibility of David A Jackson and David M Grennan Hitecastro 30 Waverley Place Worksop Nottinghamshire S802SX United Kingdom This product is designed for recreational use only and must not be used in any application where safety or personal injury may result from its failure This product is not a toy This product may cause unwanted interference in a domestic environment The user may be required to take remedial measures Disposal This product
10. can configure thresholds for rain sensing on this tab if the default values are not to your liking The values here represent bands When the rain value on the moisture graph falls within these bands the appropriate rain state occurs Co J C Coad Coa Page 14 In the above the rain state would be dry as long as the graphed value is less than 3 A value of 8 would be indicated as moderate rain Note the graphed value is zero based The actual value read from the sensor will be higher than this When you calibrated the sensor the average value of the drypoint was measured This is then subtracted from the read value from the sensor so that when fully dry the graphed value is zero For your convenience the uncorrected value directly read from the sensor is displayed on screen too Page 15 The Astro Tab Here we calculate various astronomical timings other variables which you may find useful in planning your astronomical observations Click the Update button to re calculate these values for the current time and location The location used for these calculations is set in the Settings tab gt Geographic Settings More details on inputting these parameters are given later in this document We display the current clock time as well as local sidereal time as well as Greenwich sidereal time Lunar and solar rise set times are displayed as well as the current lunar and solar positions We think these will be self explanator
11. data is displayed by the software For example if you choose the Simulate Sky box with a change interval set at 30 seconds the sky temperate graph will change from just above OdegC to over 20degC every 30 seconds You can of course decide the interval in seconds which must elapse before the sensor in questions flips between extreme values You can use this for indoor testing and configuring the alert system ha Fal k l Bii re po m 1 y Remember to uncheck the simulate checkbox to return the system to reading real values from the sensors SL The Rain Tab Here we get more detailed information of what the rain moisture sensor is reading Before accurate rain sensing can be carried out you must complete a one time calibration of the rain sensor Before doing this ensure that the rain sensor is clean and dry and that the temperature of the sensor is not vastly different to normal use Press the calibrate sensor button ad RainCalib Page 13 Press Next Hitecweather automatically measure the dry point of the sensor This may take 30 seconds or more to complete Go RainCalib When complete the dry point is set and stored on the host PC Click Finish Now accurate moisture sensing can begin You can test the moisture sensor by spraying a few drops of water from a spray bottle or even just touching the sensor with your finger we are mostly water remember af amp You
12. e Hitecastro icon displays the current sky status and temperature in a text area above the icon itself To completely exit the application Right click on the icon in the notification area and click exit Maintaining your HitecWeatherDeluxe unit There is a little maintenance involved in owning a HitecWeatherDeluxe device You must take care of just as you would with any precision digital device The sensors must be kept clear of dirt To clean the sensors we recommend using a moist g tip cotton bud Mix a small amount a few drops of household detergent wash up liquid in a cup of luke warm water Immerse the bud and squeeze away excess water leaving the bud damp Clean the dark area of the IR sensor to remove any contaminant Also clean off the rain sensor of any grime The ambient sensor should not accumulate much dirt If it does clean it ina similar way to the other sensors Never immerse the ambient sensor fully in water Page 23 Troubleshooting Q I cannot install the software application A Ensure that you have dot net framework v4 and the latest ASCOM platform installed Q My HitecWeatherDeluxe unit does not connect to my computer A Check you are connecting to the correct COM port and that no other application is using that same port Ensure that your version of windows has all the latest updates and service packs Please note any error message you are given and contact support support hitecastro co uk Q
13. ential damage or injury which may result from use of this device except as described in this document Should your product fail within the first year of ownership we will repair replace the unit at no cost to you Page 2 Table of Contents eo Page Number Cloud Sensing Overview o A Before You Begin S o 5 Siting the Unit o S 5 Powering the Unit S S 6 Connecting to a computer _ _ _ _ _ _ _ J 6 Summary Tab S S 9 gt Alerts o S 20 o 2 e a E a e a a e Temperature Scale Data Logging Minimising and Closing the Software gt gt gt E mail Setup gt gt Maintaining HitecWeatherDeluxe Troubleshooting Declaration of Conformity for CE Marking Links Page 3 Cloud Sensing VERY IMPORTANT Please read the following before using the device so that by understanding how HitecWeatherDeluxe works you may use it to best effect and get the most accurate detection of cloud possible HitecWeather is designed to be installed at a location outdoors with a clear unobstructed view of the sky area which you wish to evaluate The sensor provides a field of view of 100 For the purposes of cloud measurement HitecWeather incorporates two sensors a high precision Infra Red IR measuring device and a digital temperature sensor By combining the input received from these two sensors it is possible to compute the condition of the sky in front of the IR sensor At all times the ground radiates IR radiat
14. in from the sensor once rainfall ceases It also served another very useful purpose The heat generated inside the unit also keeps the IR sensor slightly above the ambient temperature and thus keeps dew condensation from forming on the IR sensor Your aim will be to choose the lowest possible setting which achieves the stated aims without generating excessive heat You may find that in the summer a setting of 1 is perfectly adequate However in winter a setting of 4 or even 5 may be necessary Choose a setting which keeps the rain sensor slightly warm to the touch We recommend you begin with a setting of 2 and increase reduce as required A setting of 4 or 5 in warm above 10C will result in the sensor being VERY warm or even hot to the touch If this occurs lower the heater setting until the sensor is just slightly warm Also too high a setting may result in raindrops being evaporated from the sensor before they can be detected AME 23 67C SKY 19 40C LR 03 84C The above metrics are as follows AMB The current ambient temperature SKY The current sky temperature as measured by the inbuilt IR sensor CLR The clarity index This is an internally computed metric which indicates the clarity of the sky A higher value represents a clearer sky A fully cloudy sky will have a value of close to zero Page 10 gt Overcast A pictorial representation of the sky is displayed which shows the current Moonphase the
15. ion heat upwards Under a cloudy sky much of this radiation is reflected from the clouds back towards the ground If the sky is clear this radiation mostly escapes out into space By measuring the temperature of the sky we can see how much radiation is being reflected back and by combining this with the ambient temperature we can detect whether the sky is cloudy or not In reality the calculation is a little more complicated than this Moreover given that thicker cloud reflects more radiation than thinner cloud we can even make an estimation as to how cloudy the sky is HitecWeather produces a key figure We call this value Delta know in the software as Clarity Index CLR This is the difference between the measured temperature of the sky and the ambient temperature A high value of Delta indicates a clear sky A lower value indicates a progressively cloudier picture In order to determine the density of cloud we need to establish a set of bands which we can use to categorise the cloud level The software included with the product contains a default set of values Thresholds which we have found to work well with the type of climate typically found around the United Kingdom However your local climate may vary significantly If you find that the default values do not provide accurate readings you will need to determine your own values and input these settings We will describe a process later in this document which allows you t
16. nd shown them to be reliable You may wish to note the virtual serial port which is generated by a USB gt Serial adaptor and have this information to hand when using the application software To view this information in Windows go to Device Manager gt Ports COM amp LPT ni m 47 gt Ports COM amp LPT te Prolific USB to Serial Comm Port COM3 J Processors Page 6 Installing the Application Software Download the latest release of HitecWeather from the support area of our website Double click on the setup file Follow the on screen instructions There are no user definable settings during the install process Note In some circumstances it may be necessary to reboot the computer following the install Running the software Double click on the icon on your desktop or select HitecWeatherDeluxe from the start menu The initial screen may look something like the following a HitecWeather v1 1 5 0 00 00 09 36 00 00 Dry Light Moderate Heavy Sky Graph Range Relay I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I Toggle 057 0175 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 6 0 15 7 0 25 80 35 9 0 9510 0 he Connection Heater Power Communications Port 66g Page 7 With the unit powered and connected to a free serial port you may now connect the software to the device Choose the correct serial port from the dropdown list on the front screen Click the Connect button If all is well you will notice the serial port
17. ng the appropriate radio button shows the settings accordingly Often the same values will do for both day and night and can be made the same However on some occasions night time values may not necessarily work during the day You can therefore set a separate set of thresholds for each The software will decide which one to use based on the calculated position of the Sun Simply when the Sun is above the horizon day thresholds are used and once the Sun dips below the horizon night settings are used Of course in order to calculate the position of the Sun accurately your location must be entered correctly in the Geographic Settings Area Let s look at that area NOW Geographic Settings We think this is fairly self explanatory Enter your geographic latitude and longitude here as well as your timezone Indicate if daylight savings are in operation Note The daylight Savings checkbox is not automatically computed You must check uncheck here when that changes at your location We recommend using an accurate map or Google maps earth to get your latitude longitude Page 19 Alerts It is your own responsibility to ensure that your equipment is protected from adverse conditions Hitecastro will not accept any liability for damage loss sustained by any failure or malfunction of our device software to alert you to any prevailing condition If you do not accept this you may not use the alert functionality This is one of
18. o empirically determine these values if the defaults do not suit Page 4 Before you Begin Before setting up your HitecWeather unit you should take a few moments to familarise yourself with the unit The unit comprises of the sensor enclosure On the top of the enclosure are the rain and IR sensor It is important that these be kept clean and clear for optimum accuracy You will note a short cable and a long cable coming from the side of the unit The short cable is the ambient temperature sensor and the long cable is the main data and power cable At the end of the main cable is a 9pin serial port connector and two wires The two wires are the output from an onboard 12v relay which can be triggered from the unit This can be used as a power source for any 12v device Alerts generated by the software trigger this relay and thus it may be used to connect a device which will alert the user when certain conditions prevail All of the above functions will be described in more detail later in this document Siting the Unit Choosing a location for the unit is very much a user specific issue However there are a couple of things to keep in mind e lt will be necessary to clean the sensors on the unit periodically so site the unit at a location that is easily and safely accessible Therefore a rooftop is a bad location e Site the unit at a location where it can see the sky without obstruction Trees and other obstructions emit radiation which
19. r readings These spikes are caused by static electricity in the air and are unavoidable Alert when temp falls rises Configure this as desired to alert you when the configured temperature threshold has been breached The other options are Alert via e mail This will cause an email to be send with the particular alert to the address configures in the E Mail Setup area Activate Relay on Alert This causes the inbuilt relay to trigger on thus powering whatever 12v device you have connected to it Some suggestions here would be a buzzer or LED light We also plan to enable this to be integrated with another device to cause an observatory shutdown to occur However this feature is still at the planning stage The relay will remain on even if the alert conditions no longer persist until toggle off by the user from the summary tab E Mail Setup Here you enter the parameters to enable HitecWeather deluxe to send you emails when alerts occur You must configure at least the following To address your e mail address SMTP Server Your outgoing mail server and SMTP port generally provided by your internet service provider If your SMTP server requires authentication you Page 21 can enter the username and password here Some SMTP servers use SSL Secure Socket Layer check this box if your SMTP server requires it In the Alerts area there is a Test E Mail button You can use this to check if your e mail
20. settings are working correctly If all is well you will receive an email after pressing this button You can get most of the information here from your existing e mail client Hitecastro cannot help you obtain any of these settings Temperature Scale Cause HitecWeatherDeluxe to display temperature in degrees Celcius C or Fahrenheit F Remember that whichever temperature scale you choose your threshold values must also be represented in the same scale Data Logging The software is capable of logging the measured data to a text file for later analysis To enable this check the Log Data To File checkbox By default the file is saved in the users My Documents folder You can override this and choose a file location yourself by clicking the browse button CJ and choosing another folder You must have permission to write to the folder you choose otherwise an error will be generated Note also the input field Only log every Nth item This is fairly self explanatory A value of 5 here would ensure that only every 5 item is written to the log file This might come in handy to prevent really large text files being generated Page 22 Minimising and Closing the Software We recognise that screen real estate is a valuable commodity Press the as if you were closing the application The application does not in fact close but minimises to the notification area in windows Hovering the mouse over th
21. y to most amateur astronomers so we will not dwell too long on these The Planner area to the bottom of the astro tab does require a little more explanation 12 10 2013 Latitude 53 00 00 N Longitude 06 00 00 W 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 16 19 20 21 22 23 24 The line for Sun and Moon use the altitude of these bodies calculated across the whole 24 hour period For the Sun dark blue indicates no twilight i e the sky is very dark As the Sun approaches the horizon in the morning and twilight begins the colours change At the moment the Sun rises that line becomes yellow Therefore the above graph tells us we have no twilight until close to 05 00hrs and from approx 19 30hrs The Moor line tells us that the Moon is below the horizon until approx 14 20hrs and sets just before midnight The various colours in between define periods when the Moon gets progressively higher in the sky Both the Moon and Sun calculations are then combined to produce the Sky line this is the most important line because it shows when the sky is dark enough for observations Bright green indicates a perfectly dark Moon free sky and gets progressively redder as the sky gets brighter Full red indicates the Sun is above the horizon We note in the example graphic above that Page 16 although twilight ends at approx 19 30hrs the sky is still not fully dark until the Moon sets just before midnight These allow you to
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