impactoz
Full Member
Posts: 142
Raspberry Pi: Yes
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Post by impactoz on Jul 3, 2019 14:54:44 GMT -8
And that's certainly not your fault - the world is constantly changing.... and the internet is always out of date....
Just posted it here for the next person facing the same issues, that may not be as tech savey...
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Post by dllasa on Jul 6, 2019 8:51:04 GMT -8
i am now also starting the setup of my kit and i am struggling with the lack of documentation.
i reviewed the info on the github readme, but it doesnt have a step to clone that repo, i still dont see anything for how to setup and configure the DB or anything like that. i followed the steps that are there, but i have no clue what i need to do at this point.
A configured SD card image would be nice, would only be a few hundred mb if using the lite raspbian as base and then properly zipped. if the hosting/bandwidth costs are an issue then post it as a torrent or something like that.
But back to my point.. does more complete documentation exist?
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Post by Powderjockey on Jul 6, 2019 18:52:47 GMT -8
This page has a download and manuals sections. Most of these manuals should get you to where you need to get to. |
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Post by SDL on Jul 7, 2019 6:08:01 GMT -8
i am now also starting the setup of my kit and i am struggling with the lack of documentation. i reviewed the info on the github readme, but it doesnt have a step to clone that repo, i still dont see anything for how to setup and configure the DB or anything like that. i followed the steps that are there, but i have no clue what i need to do at this point. A configured SD card image would be nice, would only be a few hundred mb if using the lite raspbian as base and then properly zipped. if the hosting/bandwidth costs are an issue then post it as a torrent or something like that. But back to my point.. does more complete documentation exist? Are you a kickstarter SkyWeather customer? All of the Kickstarters were shipped with a preconfigured SD Card. shop.switchdoc.com/products/skyweather-raspberry-pi-based-weather-station-kit-for-the-cloudHas all documentation on the above page. If you are putting it together out of parts, then here is a link to the preconfigured SD Card. shop.switchdoc.com/collections/sd-cards/products/16gb-sd-card-with-stretch-smart-garden-system-groveweatherpiBP |
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Post by dllasa on Jul 7, 2019 10:38:53 GMT -8
i am a long time kickstarter backer of 8 projects i believe. I backed the OurWeather project, an then got the skyweather upgrade kit so i do not have an SD card. Even if an SD card image isn't published it would be nice to at least have an install script or something that could be run or actually followed if i ever had to re-image.
i have spent 2 or 3 days now sorting through the various steps, flipping from one document to another and github. I still have not seen anything even mentioning the need to install a MySQL db or the right way to do it, but the github readme has steps to update/add data to it.
I spent a hour trying to figure out why the first test script didnt work only to realize (totally my fault) that i had to enable I2C in raspi-config. I have gotten most of the test scripts to work except it still wont detect my lightning sensor, and something is causing the TSL2591/light sensor to fail. one of the previous failures was from a missing software package, im still trying to figure out this one.
Anyways, my point is while i agree the documentation is there on the product page, (and i know this will only come across as negative, though not the intent) the docs are a mess. There are typos, steps that jump around, some steps are above the applicable image and some are below. Some are on the next/previous page where a 1/4 or 1/2 blank page break separates them. I'm PDF was never reviewed after being generated but as a kit that is intended for newcomers to learn.. its woefully inadequate. It's obvious a lot of work has gone into the docs, but they could be consolidated. With one document covering the physical assembly and one covering the software (with more setup scripts).
a lot of the details could be put into supplemental docs for those that want to dive in and learn the details more.
I would be happy to help with making it better, but right now after having spent so much money on the various parts, then printing the stuff i needed, and buying more stuff that i didnt realize i needed (like USB Type-A to Type A cable, 50cm grove cables, etc) right now i just want the darn thing to start working so i can get to more fun stuff like tinkering with it and breaking it, which im scared to do now cause the setup is so manual and difficult.
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Post by SDL on Jul 7, 2019 10:49:15 GMT -8
Did you back the GroveWeatherPi to SkyWeather Kickstarter?
The reason we didn't ship an SD Card with the GroveWeatherPi to SkyWeather Upgrade pack is that anyone with the GWP would already have the auxiliary software installed.
I would suggest that you get the SD Card to save yourself a lot of issues. If you don't have GWP running, then there is a lot of work to be done.
Sounds like we should do a rewrite and a go over with the docs. Appreciate the feedback.
BP
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Post by dllasa on Jul 7, 2019 11:06:38 GMT -8
i have a number of boards, i think what i was originally thinking was that it was an upgrade from the OurWeather kit, but regardless i have all the physical parts now. i just cant get through the setup.
for the SD card, Even if i did buy it, which at this point im not going to do, it's software i should have access to, and i have like 40 SD cards. I have a fundamental problem paying for an SD card to get an image for which i should not have to buy unless you are claiming any part of it as proprietary (which i dont think is the case). im stubborn enough to let this whole thing just sit here, but again that is my problem :-)
Bandwidth is cheap, and storage is cheap. Even still, providing a torrent, or as i mentioned, an install script, or just a txt doc with the commands to complete the setup would alleviate the bandwidth issue.
Maybe you could just PM me with a dropbox link or something so i can actually get this working until you get it sorted out?
As for the documentation, please feel free to contact me directly if you would like any help proofing the docs or help putting them together better. i have supported a lot of your projects, and i like them, so i would like others to be able to learn from them too, im just figuring im having issues... how many others are too but not posting something.
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Post by SDL on Jul 7, 2019 11:37:16 GMT -8
I'll PM you.
BP
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wolf
New Member
Posts: 43
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Post by wolf on Jul 7, 2019 22:20:32 GMT -8
I collected my skyweather package from the post office early friday evening and had the base stuff upp and running in no time. The next day I added the solar stuff, which also worked without any issues. However I should say I do not use the sql database option or any other add on stuff, I'm using the default configuration for now.
Just want to point out that the information is not that bad. I followed the information in the readme file and the assembly and test guides. The only think I really think was missing was information about the boot file and/or rasberry config. My system was not configured for I2C or the camera. I succeeded to google my way through the I2C problem and then figured the camera out myself. I think it would be helpful to add information regarding the necessary pi configuration to the readme.
Telling us to just get the SD card is not a good solution. With shipping and custom fees the price is just way to steep. Why not make it available for download?
I'm wondring though when the additional information will become available? Especially the weatherproofing manual for the solar parts will be nice.
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Post by SDL on Jul 10, 2019 13:21:09 GMT -8
Wolf,
Thanks for the well thought out letter. We will be discussing the image at our quarterly product meeting.
Yes, both the I2C and Camera configuration is handled though the use of
sudo raspi-config
BP
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