As I gather information and experience with various sensors and cables, and further information comes in below in this thread, I'll continue to update this first post, thereby forming a single place to look for this very relevant information. Do make sure to read through the entire thread below, as you will gather more information regarding cable 'types' and properties, which may also influence your cable choices when building your weather station. I know when starting out on this project, it can all be very confusing and a lot to take in, so hopefully we can address the cable length questions here in one spot.
I2C Sensors - You need to be careful with the length of the SDA, SCL lines, and cable capacitance. The I2C cable between the sensor and the TX board must be very short, with a very good cable 1 meter max. I've read of people having good experience with Cat5 and Cat6 'stranded' cable.
Rain Sensor - I've been testing with a medium duty 14x0.20 figure eight cable with a length of approx 16m and no issues.
Wind Sensor - I'm using a Davis 6410 anemometer, and the factor fitted cable is approx 10m. I spliced on a short 20cm piece of 'flat-4' phone cable at the TX end and crimped on a RJ12 connector, and have had no issues. Note that you need to change the factor fitted RJ12 connector for operation with WeatherDuino PRO2.
Temp/Humidity Sensor - SHT1x / DHT22 - I'm currently running a SHT11 for the external temp/hum sensor. I've used a stranded Cat5e cable (patch lead cable) and currently operation at about 2m length with no issue. I am going to extend this cable to appox 6m, and this should be fine as it does not us the SDA, SCL lines.
Temp/Humidity Sensor - SHT2x - As the SHT2x series of sensors use the SDA, SCL lines, you will be limited to approx 1m cable length.
Solar / UV Sensor - The Solar / UV connector on the TX board does have SDA/SCL lines however they are not used. The Solar / UV interface use only analogue signals. Being an analog signal, we will have to watch cable length and attenuation. A shielded cable, grounded at one end only can also help with analog signals, and is advised. For now I'll start with a short cable or around 2m, and will use a shielded 6-core serial cable with 14x0.20 wires. Will report back with my experience and info.
Regards,
Mark R
I2C Sensors - You need to be careful with the length of the SDA, SCL lines, and cable capacitance. The I2C cable between the sensor and the TX board must be very short, with a very good cable 1 meter max. I've read of people having good experience with Cat5 and Cat6 'stranded' cable.
Rain Sensor - I've been testing with a medium duty 14x0.20 figure eight cable with a length of approx 16m and no issues.
Wind Sensor - I'm using a Davis 6410 anemometer, and the factor fitted cable is approx 10m. I spliced on a short 20cm piece of 'flat-4' phone cable at the TX end and crimped on a RJ12 connector, and have had no issues. Note that you need to change the factor fitted RJ12 connector for operation with WeatherDuino PRO2.
Temp/Humidity Sensor - SHT1x / DHT22 - I'm currently running a SHT11 for the external temp/hum sensor. I've used a stranded Cat5e cable (patch lead cable) and currently operation at about 2m length with no issue. I am going to extend this cable to appox 6m, and this should be fine as it does not us the SDA, SCL lines.
Temp/Humidity Sensor - SHT2x - As the SHT2x series of sensors use the SDA, SCL lines, you will be limited to approx 1m cable length.
Solar / UV Sensor - The Solar / UV connector on the TX board does have SDA/SCL lines however they are not used. The Solar / UV interface use only analogue signals. Being an analog signal, we will have to watch cable length and attenuation. A shielded cable, grounded at one end only can also help with analog signals, and is advised. For now I'll start with a short cable or around 2m, and will use a shielded 6-core serial cable with 14x0.20 wires. Will report back with my experience and info.
Regards,
Mark R