Assembling the Anemometer
You wouldn't be building a proper weather station without an anemometer - a weather station instrument used to measure wind speed. Place it outside and when the wind speed picks up, the anemometer's cups rotate making a rod spin internally. The faster the rod spins, the higher the voltage output from the anemometer's signal wire.
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Connect the 4-Pin connector at the base of the anemometer to the 4-Pin weatherproof cable. Note that the notch (circled in red) should be oriented the same way for both the cable and the connector. After connecting the cable, twist it clockwise a few times to secure it to the connector. |
Next, you'll need to externally power the Anemometer. You can not power it with your PyPortal - the PyPortal's output voltage is too low.
Using an external power supply (7-24VDC) and a Female DC Power Adapter, connect the anemometer's red wire to power. Then, connect the black wire to ground.
These cables make wiring easy!
JST PH 4-Pin to Male Header Cable - I2C STEMMA Cable - 200mm
STEMMA JST PH 3-Pin to Male Header Cable - 200mm
Connecting the Anemometer
On the right side of the PyPortal, there is a connector labeled D4. This is a 3-Pin JST connector which can be used for analog sensors (like the anemometer!).
Using a JST PH 3-Pin to Male Header Cable, connect the blue (signal) wire from the anemometer to the signal wire (white) from the PyPortal. If you are not comfortable with soldering - use a small alligator clip to male jumper wire to connect the anemometer's signal wire to the breadboard. Then, connect the ground pin to the GND terminal of the female DC power adapter.
There is a 4-Pin JST I2C connector in the center of the PyPortal which is also STEMMA compatible. We suggest using a JST PH 4-Pin to Male Header Cable to connect the I2C connector to a breadboard.
Make the following connections between the PyPortal's I2C connector and the VEML6075:
- PyPortal SCL to VEML6075 SCL
- PyPortal SDA to VEML6075 SDA
- PyPortal VCC to VEML6075 VCC
- PyPortal GND to VEML6075 GND
The sensors used in this guide connect to the PyPortal using I2C. You'll be connecting multiple I2C devices to the PyPortal using only two wires (for more information about I2C, check out our guide on the topic here).
Make the following connections between the VEML6075 and the SGP30:
- VEML6075 SCL to SGP30 SCL
- VEML6075 SDA to SGP30 SDA
- VEML6075 VCC to PyPortal VCC
- VEML6075 GND to PyPortal GND
Then, make the following connections between the SGP30 and BME280:
- SGP30 SCL to BME280 SCK
- SGP30 SDA to BME280 SDI
- SGP30 VCC to PyPortal VCC
- SGP30 GND to PyPortal GND
