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Messages - svartbjorn

#1
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 24, 2023, 14:58:30
Your experiences make absolutely sense and are what I would expect. Slower response is expected, how much depending upon the insulation effect of the bag. But eventually it will be correct. If sunlight hits the bag, you will for sure get a significantly higher temperature obviously. A plastic bag in sunlight is identical to a greenhouse. Correct reading in sunlight is a challenge no matter how the sensor is encapsulated. Have you seen professional temperature sensor stations? They are big with several large white discs in a stack to create a proper shielding to sunshine. When I suggested a plastic bag, that was for rainy conditions with no sunshine. I agree that a waterproof unit is absolutely to prefer, but as long as LM4 does not support any such devices, WS07/WS08 is what we have for LM4, and using a plastic bag when rain is a workaround that I can live with.

I also have the Garmin Tempe sensor connected to my Fenix 3 watch. It is strange that the Tempe case is black, since black absorbes sunlight while white reflects sunlight. That is why professional temperature sensor stations are white. The Tempe sensor is one example of a completely sealed case with no direct contact between the sensor and ambient air. That is why it is waterproof. So Tempe, just like WS07 in a plastic bag, depends upon the whole unit to cool down/heat up to reach ambient temperature before you get correct reading.
#2
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 23, 2023, 14:50:53
Quote from: Wole on March 23, 2023, 10:17:22If the WS07 is put in a plastic bag, the ambient temperature will probably never be displayed correctly. There must always be direct contact with the environment. With a plastic bag, however, there will always be a higher temperature.

No, that is totally wrong. I am a computer designer and have also designed integrated circuits, so I know very well how these devices work and are designed. And I have designed several smart devices with temperature sensors. A temperature sensor is a tiny chip, which is sealed in a small plastic package. That package is mounted on a Prinetd Circuit Board (PCB). A plastic bag around that will make absolutely no effect on temperature reading as long as no heat is generated inside the plastic bag. The power consumption of the WS07 is extremely low - so low that it is totally negligable. The temperature in that plastic bag will necessarily reach  ambient temperature, and since a plastic bag has very, very low insulation effect, the device inside the plastic bag will very quickly reach ambient temperature.

A humidity sensor necessarily has to sense the ambient air. But water/rain into the sensor opening will also propagate further onto the PCB and other devices on that PCB if it is not designed waterproof (e.g. WS07). That moisture will eventually distroy some of the devices on the PCB. Particularly capacitors, but also resistors and plastic IC packages, are volnurable to moisture and are prone to fail after some time if exposed to moisture. I have experienced failure after 2 years of the humidity sensor I used in two of my own smart device designs, although they were never exposed to rain directly.
#3
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 22, 2023, 20:28:40
The WS07/WS08 can easily be made waterproof by putting them into a plastic bag. Adjusting to change of ambient temperature may take longer time since the whole unit has to adjust. However the sensor chip is mounted on a PCB (Printed Circuit Board) inside the case (I have opened it and reverse engineered the board), so even in open air the PCB has to adjust to ambient temperature before the temperature reading is correct. Also the case will affect the reading until it is adjusted to the ambient conditions. This is also true for a sensor that is rated waterproof. So why not simply use a platic bag. That is my plan. But humidity can't be sensed when sealed, since the humidity sensor chip necessarily has to be in contact with ambient air.

By the way - the Inkbird IBS-TH2 has a liquid rating of IP 4, meaning it is not guaranteed to withstand heavy rain for more than 10 minutes (refer the definition of IPX4).
#4
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 17, 2023, 20:13:56
Menion - you said you couldn't get the CR2477 battery in your country. Hint - it is available from several stores at AliExpress. Attention: it is available as non-rechargable 3.0V (CR2477) and as rechargable 3.6V (LIR2477). The micro-controller inside the WS07/WS08, the PHY6202, can run at max 3.6V according to its specifications, but I wouldn't take the chance to use a 3.6V battery. So - make sure you get the non-rechargable 3.0V battery - CR2477.
#5
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 17, 2023, 16:51:44
Quote from: lor74cas on March 17, 2023, 08:53:28since these external devices almost all have the possibility of downloading the data in txt or csv format where there is a time stamp and the monitored data, perhaps the data could simply be combined at the end of the respective recordings.
Unless it is essential for the user to see everything immediately on Locus as is the case for cyclists who want heart rate and power always visible.
1) Yes, that is what I was thinking of also. LM4 would then be able to create a continuous graph at the end with no missed data. Downloading all data from the sensor is a command in the SensorBlue app, so I guess this is a command available in the API.
2) If you have the screen on all the time and Locus in the foregroud (which is typical I guess when bicycling), updated temperature/humidity are shown correctly as long as you use the workaround of turning the screen off/on at least every 25 minutes (see earlier posts). I have the "Turn Off" command in the bottom menu in LM4, so this operation is quickly done with 1 tap to turn off, followed by double-tap on the screen to turn it on again (also suggested by another user). However, if I put Locus in the background, I can see from the track statistics graph that sensor data stop flowing after anything from some few minutes to 20 minutes (I was not able to see any consistency).

However, both the above tricks I guess may be replaced by a beacon or restart command from LM4 to the sensor with regular intervals to keep the data flow alive (just guessing, since I don't know the API).
#6
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 14, 2023, 23:16:43
This is the promised update on connectivity testing:
Phone is Samsung S22 Ultra with A13. I had 3 sensors connected to LM4: WS07, WS08 and a heart rate chest strap TICKR 7106. The TICKR stayed connected all the time and data was received with no interruption (checked the graph after the trip). I have used the TICKR several times and connectivity is always rock solid.

However WS07 and WS08 have connectivity issues. First I did several tests with screen on for >30 minutes, LM4 in the foreground and locked, and didn't touch the screen. When I checked the phone after >30 minutes, the LM4 sensor menu said the WS07/WS08 were connected, but no data received. I had to either turn the screen off and then on again (as experienced by another user in this thread) or tap Disconnect followed by Connect to reestablish data transfer.

Then I did several tests with screen off. Same issues. Each time I turned the screen on, LM4 showed no temperature data initially. Some times after 3-5 seconds, temperature was shown again, but some times I had to tap Disconnect/Connect to reestablish data transfer.

At home I tested WS07/WS08 with the SensorBlue app with screen on all the time. After exactly 30 minutes the app stopped showing data. By putting the app into background and then back into foreground, data transfer was reestablished. If I did this operation every 25 minutes while data transfer was still ok, another 30 minutes of operation was achieved.

Conclusion: It seems to be a 30 minutes timeout in the sensors themselves. Confirming what another user experienced and posted earlier. With LM4 turning the screen off and on before the 30 minute timeout is a workaround. This gives you another 30 minutes each time. Must be some sort of background communication with the sensor when the screen is turned on again. If LM4 could send some sort of command to the sensor every 25 minutes or more often, connection should be stable. 
#7
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 14, 2023, 10:45:52
It is true that SensorBlue on their home page specifies the CR2477 battery. By checking more on AliExpress this morning, I just found out that Oria has two versions of this WS08, one with the original case size of 50x50mm, sensor opening in the front and CR2477 battery, and one with increased case size 58x58mm, sensor opening in the back and 2xAAA batteries. Both versions are sold on AliExpress AMIR & ORIA Store.
But both obviously uses the WS08 hardware design inside, since the paper user guide that came with the 2xAAA version I received yesterday, has the text "SensorBlue WS08" on it. ALso on the back of the device the label shows "WS08D".

Today I will be on a 4 hour skiing trip and will bring both the WS07 and WS08 with me connected to LM4 to test connectivity. I will post an update on the connectivity when I am back this evening.
#8
Troubles & Questions / Re: Temperature sensor
March 13, 2023, 20:46:07
Good news: I bought both the temperature/humidity sensors SensorBlue WS07 and WS08 from AliExpress. They both connected to LocusMap using the entry "Thermometer WS07" with no issues. I used the Locus Dashboard editor and created a map overlay showing temperature/humidity directly on the map. I tested both sensors with two other sensors I have, and both WS07 and WS08 are accurate and within spec (temp +/-0.5degC, humidity +/-5RH). Both are excellent devices. The WS08 has a display and runs on standard 2xAAA batteries, while WS07 has no display and requires the coin cell battery CR2477. On AliExpress WS07 and WS08 appear under the names Oria and Oria Upgrade respectively. The user manual that comes with the package actually uses the name "SensorBlue" on both devices, confirming they are SensorBlue devices.
#9
Ok. Thank you very much for clarifying this. This should be emphasized in the user guide. I looked through the user guide several times and searched the Locus forum, but I never realized that track history is treated differently from all other data as it is only the only data that is only shown in the Locus app and not via the weblink.
#10
I understand that Locus has to collect data before displaying history. But history is never visible for my group members. Even after more than one hour after enabling live tracking and after moving several km, no history is visible.

I should mention than the other group members do not use the Locus app to display my live tracking, rather using the website link provided by my Locus when I initially defined the group and shared my live tracking group key. That should be according to the user guide, correct?
#11
I know what you wrote, but that is not consistent with the Locus user guide, which even shows a screen shot of a map with track history.

You are saying that the history setting is ignored, but the Locus user guide is incorrect then?
#12
Locus user guide section "Live tracking" says:
"If you are moving, 15 minutes of your movement history is shared too - displayed as a line of your track on map".

And in the app, the live tracking Groups Manager has this entry: "Length of displayed motion history", which the user can set to either Disabled or to 5, 10 or 15 minutes.

I have spesified 15 minutes with location update every 15 seconds. Hence according to the user guide the group members should see 15 minutes of track history. Am I missing something? A bug?
#13
Is this working for everybody else? Only me having having issue? Any hints are appreciated.
#14
I do not have this dimming issue with LM4 on my Samsung S22 Ultra running Android 13.
#15
AAhh - now I got it! Thank you all. I first didn't understand what you ment with "Hamburger Menu" - finally my brain understood. Good expression! I realized I haven't been in "Expert" mode with LM4. Anyway - I changed the text size and most important - the Background color - for the distance rings. The background color made a huge improvement to visibility.

By the way, Menion: LM4 is amazing! You probably don't remember me, but we had very good communication many years ago about features in Locus Map Classic. LM4 is really worth the annual fee. Thank you so much to you and your team!!