Gill Instruments - Windsonic options and format. **solved**

[Mattk]

Any further details available on which Gill Windsonic model option/s are supported and format (RS232, 422, 485, SDI-12) MB by default uses?

[admin]

AFAIK a SDI-12 to USB converter like this from Aliexpress is used. RS482 / 232 should also work, when you have a corresponding USB serial converter attached. Meteobridge does not support multiple stations on the SDI-12 bus, just one.

[Mattk]

These are the WindSonic model part numbers and SDI-12 would appear to make Option 4 the only viable option ?

1405-PK-021 Black WindSonic Option 1 – RS 232 output only
1405-PK-068 White WindSonic Option 1 – RS 232 output only
1405-PK-038 Black WindSonic Option 2 – RS 232, 422 & 485 (point to point) output
1405-PK-072 White WindSonic Option 2 – RS 232, 422 & 485 (point to point) output
1405-PK-040 Black WindSonic Option 3 – RS 232, 422, 485 p to p & analogue output
1405-PK-073 White WindSonic Option 3 – RS 232, 422, 485 p to p & analogue output
1405-PK-100 Black WindSonic Option 4 – SDI-12 output only
1405-PK-110 White WindSonic Option 4 – SDI-12 output only
1405-PK-400 Black WindSonic 75 Option 1- RS232 output only
1405-PK-420 Black WindSonic 75 Option 2 RS 232, 422 & 485 (point to point) output
1405-PK-430 Black WindSonic 75 Option 3 RS 232, 422 & 485 p to p & analogue op.

[admin]

I would go with RS232 and use an FTDI chip based USB-serial converter. This is the cheapest option.

[archerpilot75]

Are there specific settings required on the Gill unit for it to properly interface with the Meteobridge Pro2? I have a Windsonic in default configuration that is having trouble communicating. I've verified the GIll via serial to USB converter with a terminal emulator on a PC and I get the expected data packet. The serial to USB converter is recognized by the Meteobridge Pro2, but sensor data doesn't seem to be flowing. I do see an 'invalid argument' error in the logs. I've tried a different serial to USB and also used a powered USB hub with the same results. See screenshots below. Thanks in advance.

Gill_TE_Capture.PNG (8.3 KiB) Viewed 3743 times

Gill Station.png (50.07 KiB) Viewed 3743 times

System Info.png (77.09 KiB) Viewed 3743 times

error log.png (84.9 KiB) Viewed 3743 times

[Mattk]

is your USB/Serial adapter FTDI based?

Is your RS232-to-USB cable from Gill instruments?

[archerpilot75]

is your USB/Serial adapter FTDI based? Yes- see the system information screenshot above for verification.

Is your RS232-to-USB cable from Gill instruments? No. Per Gill documentation the RS232 communications is not proprietary and conforms to standard serial data protocols. The above terminal emulator screen grab from Windsonic connected to a PC terminal emulator via USB, verifies that the data packets being sent match Gill specifications after traversing the serial to USB converter being used. The terminal emulator session was configured using the Gill default parameters 9600/8/N/1 with no flow control.

[admin]

When you give me remote login I can have a look. please mail credentials to "info(at)meteobridge.com".

It can be something with the USB serial converter or that Meteobridge expects not just to get wind data (which is too incomplete to feed any weather networks, which is the main purpose of Meteobridge) and therefore starts the data logging process over an over again. Do you intend just to log wind data or are you planning to connect another station that provides the rest (wind, outdoor temp, rain, etc).

[archerpilot75]

After additional troubleshooting, I’ve been able to identify two configuration mis-matches between my Gill WindSonic ‘out-of-the-box’ settings and the current MeteoBridge WindSonic station configuration. My specific WindSonic unit is the WS60 Option 1- part number: 1405-PK-021.
1. Baud rate on the WindSonic defaults to 9600 whereas /dev/ttyMH defaults to 4800 on the MeteoBridge. I think 4800 is a better (more reliable over long cable length) setting, so I changed the configuration on the WindSonic to 4800 (B2) via the procedure described in the manual on the Gill website.
2. Message format on the WindSonic defaults to ‘Gill-Polar’ (M2), whereas the MeteoBridge appears to be expecting a NMEA format. Changing the message format to ‘NMEA, IIMWV’ (M5) seems to resolve the problem and results in accurate wind direction and wind speed reporting from the sensor.
With the above changes, the WindSonic sensor is now working as expected. The full working configuration on the WindSonic is: M5,U1,O1,L1,P1,B2,H1,NQ,F1,E3,T1,S4,C2,G0,K50.

One final question, can you confirm the correct NMEA format to be selected? As mentioned, using NMEA, IIMWV appears to work but there are several other NMEA formats available on the WindSonic and I want to confirm that the M5 option (per the manual) is the right format for what the MeteoBridge is expecting.

[admin]

I am not so much into the Gill formats. Could you please point me to a documentation of these formats, so that I can compare with what I used for Meteobridge?

[archerpilot75]

The best reference that I have found is the manual at the link below. Section 6, starting on page 20, describes the various message formats.
https://gillinstruments.com/1405-ps-019 ... -issue-30/

[admin]

Thanks. From the code I see that Meteobridge expects data in this format (NMEA Format):

Code: Select all

IIMWV,136,R,000.52,M,A*13
IIMWV,141,R,000.61,M,A*13
IIMWV,141,R,000.54,M,A*15
IIMWV,136,R,000.61,M,A*13
IIMWV,137,R,000.60,M,A*13
IIMWV,135,R,000.56,M,A*14
IIMWV,143,R,000.57,M,A*14

Data needs to flow in automatically, no polling. Windsonic just reports windspeed and wind direction, nothing else.

[archerpilot75]

Thanks for confirming. This appears to be NMEA with NMEA status codes, which corresponds to the M5 data format option on the WindSonic.

For other's benefit, to interface with the MeteoBridge, the WindSonic should be configured as follows: M5,U1,O1,L1,P1,B2,H1,NQ,F1,E3,T1,S4,C2,G0,K50.

[admin]

Thanks for sharing. Does it work now ok for you?

[archerpilot75]

Yes, it is working well with this configuration. Many thanks for your help.