meteohub.de

I just bought a new Pi Model B+ to use for Meteohub, as it has certain benefits like 4 USB ports with better current so things like webcams and USB hard drives can be powered without having to use a seperate powered hub.

I wanted to clone my existing Model B Meteohub SD card to a micro SD card that is used in the B+ .

First problem I hit was that although the SD cards were both 16GB cards, the old one had a slightly larger capacity and the image would not fit on the new card.

I then used GParted on a Live CD booted on my Mac to make the root partition slightly smaller and again made an image of the card and tried another copy. It booted the old Model B OK, but still would not work on the Model B+, it would not connect to the network! despite having checked that I had the latest update/upgrade installed to support the new USB 4 port and Ethernet in the new Pi.

So I thought I would have to try the hard way and start from a fresh Meteohub image, but that would not work in the B+ either! probably too old a kernel for the USB and Ethernet changes?

I began to wonder if I had a faulty Pi, so I reformatted the card again and installed NOOBS and then Raspbian and I was able to connect to my network via USB WLAN adaptor with no problems. So this proves the new Pi is OK.

What I did not try, but I must do next, is to try a Meteohub image but this time put it in the old B and do apt-get update and upgrade there first to see if that gets the drivers updated for the B+.

So a day of playing around and I am still not able to get the new Model B+ to run Meteohub.

If I get the B+ going with Meteohub I would like to use a USB HDD with it to avoid problems with the SD Card wearing out if that is possible.

I wish that Meteohub could just be installed from a package onto a working Linux system running on the Pi, rather than the way it is just now, because when the image installation does not work on a headless system such that it cannot connect to the network you are kind of stuck.

Anyone else tried a new Model B+ yet?

I don't recommend the RPI B+ as the changing the SD card into a micro SD card is a catastrophic design fault. I don't know any reliable micro SD cards, not even to speak about SLC. I really can't believe how stupid this is... without words...

I was not pleased with the change from SD to micro SD myself, mainly because I have so many SD cards available, but had none of the micro sized ones. I was not aware of the differences in reliability between them. That is bad news, as otherwise the B+ is a nice improvement with the greater number of USB ports and higher current for powering peripherals.

Is there a possibility of moving the Meteohub code and data storage partition to a HDD connectd to a RPi? That would get away from unreliable micro SD cards. I have a nice USB HDD left over from my previous EEEPC Meteohub x86 system.

I am not planning to diversify into various storage alternatives. Go with the B and forget about the B+.
I can't see meaningful advantages for use with Meteohub. Hopefully the B model will go down on price as
the crowds will run for the "better" B+. But may be as someone from mainland Europe I simply don't have
the necessary understanding of British humor to value the design decisions of RPI foundation...

Hi to the Forum!

I myself were looking at the B+ yesterday as I am having problems with my B model, e.g. it takes ages to connect via the browser and then sometimes does not display (via wireless). It is the same with the public folder via the network!
I honestly think that my Pi just has not enough juice to deal with the graphs etc that I am doing on Meteohub!
Would just like to say for the record that Meteohub it's self is awesome, so no problems there!
Maybe time to look at a Germany produced Pi "type" board to promote instead of the Pi!
I know that it is a lot of work to program something like Meteohub so this is not a suggestion I throw in the pot likely!
I did come across a board from here the other week but I am buggered if I can find it now. It was called something like Trunk or Truck Board!

As for English humour, just think on Monty Python and all will be explained!

Best Regards,

Andrew. (Expat from UK)
Lossatal, Deutschland. (and proud to be living here!!)

Hi Again!

Seriously looking at the ALIX 3D2 System Board (LX800 / 1 LAN / 2 miniPCI / 2 USB).
Is this one of the more popular used for Meteohub?

I have another use for my Pi so I make the jump!

Regards,

Andrew.

Just for the records... I doesn't meant bashing the UK, questionable engineering can be found in every geography, but the RPI foundation really excels on it (just my $0.02).

The ALIX runs much better than the RPI and has a serious SLC capable internal CF card concept... not a SD card somehow sticking out

I have a "next gen ALIX" from PC engines here, but didn't found time to work with it. These new devices can be equipped internal SSD like modules and this is something a storage intense solution like Meteohub should really benefit from. But as said, it will take time until this is ready for prime time.

admin wrote:Just for the records... I doesn't meant bashing the UK, questionable engineering can be found in every geography, but the RPI foundation really excels on it (just my $0.02).

The ALIX runs much better than the RPI and has a serious SLC capable internal CF card concept... not a SD card somehow sticking out

I have a "next gen ALIX" from PC engines here, but didn't found time to work with it. These new devices can be equipped internal SSD like modules and this is something a storage intense solution like Meteohub should really benefit from. But as said, it will take time until this is ready for prime time.

Good news, internal SSD is my favorite

admin wrote:I don't recommend the RPI B+ as the changing the SD card into a micro SD card is a catastrophic design fault. I don't know any reliable micro SD cards, not even to speak about SLC. I really can't believe how stupid this is... without words...

So the only real objection to the B+ is its use of micro SD cards? The Broadcom CPU seems to be rated at 60-70% of the BogoMIPS of SheevaPlug or PC Engines units - OK, slower, but not hugely so. RAM is at 512MB so at least as good as SP or Alix. So the issue really seems to be 'just' the SD card?

But if I read eg http://goo.gl/uu4qsS , the suggestion seems to be that provided you choose a good quality micro SD (eg Sandisk Extreme) then life expectancy should be good AFAICS. The micro SD card also locates more positively than on the B and protrudes much less - both good surely?

NB Not trying to view the Pi with rose-tinted glasses here, but it does seem to be the cheapest option for running MH by quite some distance and so there perhaps needs to be a strong reason for not favouring the B+.

NB2: Does anyone know whether the USB ports on the B+ are v1.1 compatible? Or is a separate hub still recommended?

No hubs needed with B or B+.

My experience from the past showed micro sd cards being slow and weak on wear leveling,
but when you find a model that you assume being suitable, give it a try.

I have a Sheevaplug and a RPI B+ doing compilation of Meteohub software in parallel and the Sheeva is nearly double the speed of the RPI. How much of that is because of the micro SD card disadvantage of the RPI or because of the weak CPU, I can't say.

I just wanted to manage expectation of potential RPI buyers what to expect from a RPI. Value for money might still be great on the RPI and if you are not on a hurry it is probably good enough for the purpose.

admin wrote:My experience from the past showed micro sd cards being slow and weak on wear leveling,
but when you find a model that you assume being suitable, give it a try.

Well, I'm absolutely no expert on flash memory, so very happy to take note of opinions from others. But assuming that you're not going to use spinning rust then isn't all persistent memory that you're going to use on a MeteoHub system going to be flash of one sort or another? Ok some may be SLC and some MLC, but other than that then presumably any differences are going to be in controller code and eg the sophistication of leveling algorithms used? So AFAICS - but very happy to be corrected and to hear any contrary opinions - a good-quality microSD with decent wear leveling algorithms ought to be as good as any other form of flash, whether CF or eMMC or SSD? Shouldn't it?

I have a Sheevaplug and a RPI B+ doing compilation of Meteohub software in parallel and the Sheeva is nearly double the speed of the RPI.

I suppose that's roughly in line with the BogoMIPS (ie 700 vs 1200) if that's a crude but acceptable benchmark? It seems like you can overclock the Pi to eg 800MHz (and hence roughly 800 BogoMIPS) without stressing it too much and so that could narrow the gap somewhat. But I'm happy to accept the point that if you want a maximum-performance MH installation then eg SheevaPlug would be the way to go. But perhaps for less intensive MH operations then the Pi might be OK? Obviously the proof of the pudding etc and I'll see how it goes with further testing, but I'm reasonably encouraged that the Pi B+ with a decent micro SD card might perform acceptably.