Acurite 5 in 1 Weather Station Using a Raspberry Pi and Weewx (other Weather Stations Are Compatible)

When I had bought the Acurite 5 in 1 weather station I wanted to be able to check the weather at my home while I was away. When I got home and set it up I realized I either had to have the display connected to a computer or buy their smart hub, well having it connected to my laptop or desktop was quite restrictive to me and I didn't want to buy their smart hub so I did some research and came up with this, Note this will work with other weather stations. Here is a list of the hardware supported hardware,

I have wrote this for newbies to Raspberry Pis and Linux based operating systems, for anyone can do this.

Step 1: Materials

a Raspberry PI, I used a Raspberry PI 3b

a keyboard and mouse or keypad

HDMI cable

a micro sd card

a Raspberry PI case (optional)

you can get kits with everything you will need from amazon such as the link I provided

https://www.amazon.com/CanaKit-Raspberry-Complete-...

Step 2: Installing Raspbian

First thing you will have to do is install Raspbian onto the micro sd card. You can download Raspbian from raspberrypi.org download (Raspbian (version name) with desktop) if you are familiar with Raspberry PI you can use the minimal version. You can follow the directions from Raspberrypi.org (do not unzip the file if you use my method). Myself I use a different software for installing it on a micro sd I use rufus when using this software MAKE SURE YOU SELECT THE CORRECT DRIVE! also when selecting the bootable image select dd image then select the raspbian zip file.

After you install Raspbian onto the micro sd card insert the sd card into the micro sd slot on your Raspberry PI hook up your HDMI cable to your TV or monitor and to your Raspberry PI and then your mouse and keyboard after that then hook up your power to your Raspberry PI ensure your monitor/ TV is on.

Step 3: Prepare Your Raspbarry PI

Once it boots up configure your WiFi connection (assuming you are using WiFi)

then go start > preferences > Raspberry Pi configuration select the interfaces tab and select SSH the reason for this is that this will not be connected to your monitor/ TV so you will need to be able to connect to this from another computer

select the localisation tab and configure your local and set your timezone and keyboard

select the system tab and change your password

click ok and then restart your system

connect your USB cable up for your weather station

now click the terminal icon on the task bar to open a terminal

now the first thing is to make sure your system is up to date in the terminal type in

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

now to make sure your firmware is up to date

sudo rpi-update

reboot the system and reopen the terminal you can reboot the system from the terminal sudo reboot

once the terminal is open now we ware going to install weewx you can use the documentation at weewx it is the same as what I will show you but before you start get the longitude and latitude you can use the NASA website and also know about how far up your weather station is sitting

This step is optional weewx does supply its own website that is ran off your raspberry pi if you would like to use this feature install apache2

sudo apt-get install apache2

now you are going to tell apt where the repository is

wget -qO - http://weewx.com/keys.html | sudo apt-key add -
wget -qO - http://weewx.com/apt/weewx.list | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/weewx.list

then update and install

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install weewx

after this installs it will run a initial config program here you will name your station put your long and lat in elevation of your weather station once you are done with that you can shut down and move your weather station monitor and Raspberry Pi to where you would like to put it this is where the SSH comes in you will need to download a program called Putty and install it on your computer you will need to know your ip address you can find it from the terminal just type ifconfig and look for wlan0 inet there will be your ip address if you are using wifi

Step 4: Finish Configuring Weewx

Now if you moved your weather monitor and raspberry pi and installed putty open putty up if you didn't just open a terminal if you are new to putty when you open it fill in your ip address default port of 22 is fine and make sure SSH is selected click open, then user name is pi and use the password you created earlier now in your terminal

sudo nano /etc/weewx/weewx.conf

now use your arrow keys find

first review the [station] section to ensure the info is correct then look for "This section is for uploading data to Internet sites" find your online service I used weather underground scroll to the weather underground website to where it says get started click the connect now link and register your weather station. fill in your info

[[Wunderground]]
# This section is for configuring posts to the Weather Underground.

# If you wish to do this, set the option 'enable' to true,

# and specify a station (e.g., 'KORHOODR3') and password.

enable = true station = Put your station id here

# To guard against parsing errors, put your password in quotes:

password = station key goes here

# Set the following to True to have weewx use the WU "Rapidfire"

# protocol. Not all hardware can support it. See the User's Guide.

rapidfire = False

now you are going to control x to exit it will ask you if you want to save the file enter y to save and enter again to save to the file name

now you are going to want to restart weewx

sudo /etc/init.d/weewx stop

sudo /etc/init.d/weewx start

exit your terminal or putty window

Step 5: Finial Notes

If you installed apache you can from your web browser enter your ip address in and bring up weewx website that you are hosting on your Raspberry PI. You can change the skin of the website by downloading skins and installing them you can find out how to do this at the weewx website doc section there is a lot of good information on their website I do suggest browsing it,

Here is just a side thought if you do have a Acurite weather monitor it would not be to hard to make a wooden frame big enough to enclose the weather monitor and Raspberry PI all in one and hang it on the wall just remember to keep your weather monitor within range of the weather station.

I hope this was useful to you

Comments

[eplourde]

I have a 06058M display. Supposed to be able to choose usb 1,2,3 or 4 mode, but can't find this setting on the unit.

Any ideas ?

[NigelB48]

This is part of the setup process of the 06058M so you will need to go through the setup on the unit to change the mode.

[NigelB48]

Great post. This is now 2021, so can you please recommend the minimum requirements for a Raspberry Pi based on current software and hardware available.

[simplegreen]

riving this old girl. I did this project, had very little trouble. I used a pi zero W. My only hang up is that AcuRite has an app that runs on PC. That app calls for the 12 digit device ID (basically a mac address) thats on the back of the indoor unit.

When you setup a profile on the "MyAcurite.com" site, you enter the same device ID as your device. This all in turns maps your device, to your location and log files (similar to what you're doing in this very project).

What is lost in all this is now because you're not running the PC app, you cant run the actual android app on your phone. This app is looking for that DeviceID, no where in the instructions of this instructable do you enter that ID, thus, you device shows as "offline" in that app environment and limits you from getting direct real time feedback via the app (which IMO is better than the apache site because you can get real time log review of the past say 24 hour period for example).

So my bigger question is... has anyone done this project, got it working AND got the mobile myacurite app to work on their phone? Or am i destine to open port access in my router to map to the local apache IP address to get real data?

[Ohman11]

First of all I would like to apologize. I do not see very well at all I am legally blind. I was wondering if anybody on here could explain to me how to get my five in one system online.

[chipvanmeter60]

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; }
Well I am making
progress! Wunderground has a green light says I am online. I can not
see my station . I went back thru the config files and changed a
couple things after reading for a couple hours and got it green. Do
I need an API Key from google? I do have my station password in the
box for WU and it is type correctly. Under putty what password do I
put in there my web log in one or the short password station number
and do I use “ “ and C X stop start exit?

Thank You,

chip

[chipvanmeter60]

Hi. Hope you are still in the hobby. I have this loaded and i have an ip address etc. after doing this I can not see my station on wunderground. I have a RPI 3B+ and i can SSH into it. I have a netgearR6400v2 router and I set 20-25 for ports in and out. Is there a sample SSH file around so I can see that I have the correct information loaded for wunderground. I am assigned KWIDEFOR31 and got a key V123AA11 < sample ) and a password also. I am thinking it is something in the ssh file i am not privy to and did not put in like a server i went thru this with a fine tooth comb and I am baffled. Thank you

[jackp77]

Hi yes I am still in the hobby but for the last year I have been working a lot of hours. But now to your issues, I will ask some questions, some will seem trivial but I don't know how yours is setup and your level of experience.

1) Did you check the syslog? tail -f /var/log/syslog i suggest stop and start weewx for you can see the error within the first few lines instead of hunting through the whole log
sudo /etc/init.d/weewx stop
sudo /etc/init.d/weewx start

2) Inside the config file /etc/weewx/weewx.conf did you set your altitude to feet instead of foot ? I've done that one before when I was in a hurry and forgot it was foot not feet when it is set to feet the program will not start. the command to edit the config file is
sudo nano /etc/weewx/weewx.config

3) under the config file also check under the [[Wunderground]] section to make sure enable = true and the password is set within quotes ie "password"

these are a few things I can think of right off the bat, I hope this is helpful

[chipvanmeter60]

1)
Did you check the syslog? tail -f /var/log/syslog

pi@raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31:~
$ tail -f /var/log/syslog

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: Joining mDNS
multicast group on interface wlan0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.18.

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: New relevant
interface wlan0.IPv4 for mDNS.

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: Registering new
address record for 192.168.1.18 on wlan0.IPv4.

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: adding route to
192.168.1.0/24

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: adding default
route via 192.168.1.1

Jul
26 21:49:51 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd[1]:
systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.

Jul
26 21:49:53 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: no IPv6 Routers
available

Jul
26 22:15:47 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd-timesyncd[284]:
Synchronized to time server for the first time 198.58.105.63:123
(0.debian.pool.ntp.org).

Jul
26 22:16:30 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd[1]: Started Session c3 of
user pi.

Jul
26 22:17:02 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 CRON[897]: (root) CMD ( cd / &&
run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)

2)
Inside the config file /etc/weewx/weewx.conf did you set your
altitude to feet instead of foot ?

I
had it set to foot not feet , I did read that lol.

sudo
nano /etc/weewx/weewx.config



3) under the config file also
check under the [[Wunderground]] section to make sure enable = true
and the password is set within quotes ie "password"

was
set to true for enable password i’ll put in quotes to prevent
parsing

started
on commodore 64 128 then computers forever as a hobby years later my
cell has more power than my computer :) Thank you for your help. I
will change things in the morning and let you know ifI have any other
questions. Much appreciated! Great work and I am getting excited to
get this on line, Chip

Same status. Would i be possible to have a SSH file in word so I and look at it and compare to my files? Short of having someone connect and take over my system I am at a loss, I am not sure of my router and my internet provider settings as well.I did as you said and where change was needed i did so. I have the Pi connected to my 2,4 wifi not the 5g still not seeing it. I will see if I can get my son to do this next week lol Thank you chip

[chipvanmeter60]

Hi Jack,
1)
Did you check the syslog? tail -f /var/log/syslog

pi@raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31:~
$ tail -f /var/log/syslog

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: Joining mDNS
multicast group on interface wlan0.IPv4 with address 192.168.1.18.

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: New relevant
interface wlan0.IPv4 for mDNS. <<<USING WIFI 2.4 RPi3B+ PI

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 avahi-daemon[352]: Registering new
address record for 192.168.1.18 on wlan0.IPv4.

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: adding route to
192.168.1.0/24

Jul
26 21:49:45 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: adding default
route via 192.168.1.1

Jul
26 21:49:51 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd[1]:
systemd-hostnamed.service: Succeeded.

Jul
26 21:49:53 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 dhcpcd[403]: wlan0: no IPv6 Routers
available

Jul
26 22:15:47 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd-timesyncd[284]:
Synchronized to time server for the first time 198.58.105.63:123
(0.debian.pool.ntp.org).

Jul
26 22:16:30 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 systemd[1]: Started Session c3 of
user pi.

Jul
26 22:17:02 raspberrypiKWIDEFOR31 CRON[897]: (root) CMD ( cd / &&
run-parts --report /etc/cron.hourly)

2)
Inside the config file /etc/weewx/weewx.conf did you set your
altitude to feet instead of foot ?

I
had it set to foot not feet , I did read that lol.

sudo
nano /etc/weewx/weewx.config



3) under the config file also
check under the [[Wunderground]] section to make sure enable = true
and the password is set within quotes ie "password"

was
set to true for enable password i’ll put in quotes to prevent
parsing

started on commodore 64 128 then
computers forever as a hobby years later my cell has more power than
my computer :) Thank you for your help. I will change things in the
morning and let you know if I have any other questions. Does this RPi then acquire the contact server automaticlly or do i need to enter somehting in the lines? Much
appreciated! Great work and I am getting excited to get this on line,
Chip

[deki]

On my Acurite Weather Station there are 4 USB modes, which one to I use?

[Mikewastaken]

Mode 3 or 4 works. The weewx documentation states mode 4 is more stable.

[DanT127]

My Acurite 01036 base station uses USB Mode 3.
Just migrated it from a laptop (which died) to my Raspberry PI. Hopefully it will be more reliable now that it won't get reset by MS Patch Tuesday! Great Article! Thanks jackp77!

[jackp77]

i.m not sure could you supply the model number and a photo

[ehainsworth]

Does it matter which RPi model is used? A Zero is about half the cost of a B+, especially for something that will be dedicated to wx

[jackp77]

From one of the other comments someone did use a zero I don't think it would make a difference

[ehainsworth]

Thanks, I am up and running on a Zero W! Now to figure out how to customize the web page. Fun learning!

[EHFrancisco]

I had a couple of Raspberry PIs collecting dust and just picked up a AcuRite 01536 Weather Station. I wanted to be able to access information from the weather station but I didn't want to have the weather station next to my computer or put a computer next to where I wanted to locate the AcuRite display so I went to Google and found this.

Setup was pretty simple. I ran into no real issues. Model 01536 is not listed as a supported model so I used model 01036 instead. It worked fine. I have the weather station reporting to Weather Underground.

This is a cheap and simple solution for those that want to monitor their Personal Weather Station remotely.

[jeremy9336]

How did you get your Acurite 01536 working? I followed this article to the letter and it fails.

[EHFrancisco]

I pretty much followed the instructions found here.

What happens when it fails?