Weather Station

This weather station gets a reading of both the temperature and humidity and publishes it to a database that has a Kappa Architecture.

Secure Scuttlebutt is a Kappa Architecture implementation used to store sensor readings. Sensor readings are propogated via data mule rather than by a data link.

When applied to IoT SSB can potentially transport data securely when traditional networking infrastructure is scarce. This project is an exploration of that idea.

Project TODOs

• Install latest Raspian
• Setup an Open WiFi AP. Maybe just use this one.
• Install latest node version
• Install latest ssb-server and setup systemd stuff for said ssb-server.
• Setup systemd stuff for custom weather station code.
• Re-write everything in src/ to use ssb-client and the latest (promise-based) node-dht-sensor.

Hardware

• Raspberry Pi 3 B
• DHT22 Humidity and Temperature Sensor
• Tiny RTC DS1307

Please notice that two resistors on the DS1307 board were removed

Wiring Diagram

Software

Clone Repo Somewhere on Pi

git clone https://github.com/FoxDotBuild/WeatherStation.git

Install NodeJS

# Download [Node version 10.15.3 armV6] (https://nodejs.org/en/download/releases)
# Extract the archive
sudo tar -C /opt -Jxf node-v10.15.3-linux-arm6l.tar.xz

# Change directory to /opt/
cd /opt/

# Symbolically link node
sudo ln -s node-v10.15.3.linux-armv6l node

# Setup path to node
export PATH="$PATH:/opt/node-v10.15.3-linux-arm6l/bin"
# Test path
which node

Install ssb-server

# install ssb-server
sudo /opt/node-v10.15.3-linux-armv6l/bin/npm install -g ssb-server

  # Also consider installing by
  sudo -i
  npm install -g ssb-server

Setup Realtime clock

Remove fake-hwclock package to avoid conflicting with RTC

sudo apt purge fake-hwclock

Setup RTC module to automatically load at bootup

sudo cp rtc-ds1307.conf /etc/modules-load.d/

Have the Pi automatically create the RTC device at bootup

You will have to edit /boot/config.txt and append this line:

dtoverlay=i2c-rtc,ds1307

Finally to have the Pi automatically load the date from RTC at bootup:

sudo cp hwclock-set /lib/udev/

Install raspAP

Prerequisites

Start with a clean install of the latest release of Raspbian (currently Stretch). Raspbian Stretch Lite is recommended.

1. Update Raspbian, including the kernel and firmware, followed by a reboot:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
sudo reboot

2. Set the WiFi country in raspi-config's Localisation Options: sudo raspi-config
3. If you have an older Raspberry Pi without an onboard WiFi chipset, the Edimax Wireless 802.11b/g/n nano USB adapter is an excellent option – it's small, cheap and has good driver support.

With the prerequisites done, you can proceed with either the Quick installer or Manual installation steps below.

Quick installer

Install RaspAP from your RaspberryPi's shell prompt:

wget -q https://git.io/voEUQ -O /tmp/raspap && bash /tmp/raspap

The installer will complete the steps in the manual installation (below) for you.

After the reboot at the end of the installation the wireless network will be configured as an access point as follows:

• IP address: 10.3.141.1
  • Username: admin
  • Password: secret
• DHCP range: 10.3.141.50 to 10.3.141.255
• SSID: raspi-webgui
• Password: ChangeMe

Note: As the name suggests, the Quick Installer is a great way to quickly setup a new AP. However, it does not automagically detect the unique configuration of your RPi. Best results are obtained by connecting an RPi to ethernet (eth0) or as a WiFi client, also known as managed mode, with wlan0. For the latter, refer to this FAQ. Please read this before reporting an issue.

Starting

If everything installed correctly then just run

ssb-server start

and keep it open.

In a different terminal:

# Run index.js in /mini/
node index.js

# alternate way
sudo /opt/node-v10.15.3-linux-armv61/bin/node index.js

Syncing Data

• Venture off into the woods, find the weather station.
• Connect to the device's exposed WiFi network using a smart phone.
• Open Manyverse up on your phone.
• Once Manyverse syncs with the weather station, go home.
• Open Manyverse on your home WiFi, syncing with other peers.
• Done! The weather report has now been "gossiped" to other peers on the network.

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See Also

• SBOT API Docs - Provides a Javascript API to SSB.
• Patchwork - A non-trivial SSB app.