Hardware Overview

From Meteohub

A Meteohub system consists of Meteohub software, which can be downloaded from the website, and suitable hardware. "meteohub.de" just provides software and documentation. Hardware must be purchased separately. Installation of software on hardware is supported by a step-by-step documentation in the Meteohub manual, that can be downloaded from this site. When you are looking for a turn-key system and don't want to go the "install-it-yourself" approach, please contact one of the listed Meteohub distributors, that are specialized on bundled Meteohub solutions.

Meteohub distribution from "download" section can be easily installed with a few steps on the following platforms. Please understand that for capacity reasons "meteohub.de" does only provide support for installation on these "official" platforms only.

iConnect

iConnect from Iomega is a NAS adapter, originally designed to integrate a couple of USB drives into the LAN. A recent development from smartbedded makes it now possible to patch this device into a Meteohub by use of a specially prepared USB stick, which can be downloaded from smartbedded. The iConnect device is widely available all over the world, so it will be easy for you to pick one of these and start using it as a Meteohub. The heart of the iConnect is the same Marvell chipset that also drives the SheevaPlug and DreamPlug. Power demand is about 5 watts (without weather station but with WLAN enabled). Main features of the iConnect are:

• ARM processor (Kirkwood chipset), 1.0 GHz, 1000 BogoMIPS, 256 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data provided on special USB stick (with SLC cells)
• System starts automatically when power is present.
• Integrated WLAN.
• 4 USB ports (one occupied by USB stick).
• separate power plug (international version 110-220V) feeding12V to the iConnect with enough reserves to feed a couple of USB devices
• no keyboard, no monitor.
• Price $100 (without USB stick).

iConnects are sold by electronic/computer discounters. Turn-key ready Meteohubs based on iConnect are available from Meteohub resellers AmbientWeather.com, RainmanWeather, and meteoshop.cz right now.

DreamPlug

DreamPlug from GlobalScale Technologies is a successor of the SheevaPlug sharing most of the parts and technology of the Sheevaplug. DreamPlug offers an interesting form factor as it can be configured as a power plug, which gets directly connected to mains or can be used in a setup where power supply and computing unit can be separeted physically. Apart from this flexiblity in terms of a form factor DreamPlug also brings two (instead of one) USB ports to Meteohub. As DreamPlug also has e-SATA and other options, the power supply can feed up to 15 watts, but in Meteohub operation power demand is just 5 watts and below. Main features of DreamPlug:

• ARM Processor (Kirkwood chipset), 1.2 GHz, 1200 BogoMIPS, 512 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data are provided by SD card.
• System starts automatically when power is present.
• Warning: WLAN is not working stable under load. WLAN of newer DreamPlugs with integrated sd8787 WLAN adapter is not working at all.
• 2 USB ports, which can be multiplied with external passive USB hub.
• integrated/detachable power supply that ranges from 110-240 volts.
• no keyboard, no monitor.
• Price $149 (without SD card).

DreamPlug is sold by the manufacturer GlobalScale Technologies in the US and by NewIT in the UK, who also sell turn-key ready Meteohubs on DreamPlug.

SheevaPlug

SheevaPlug from GlobalScale Technologies is a well performing ARM computer in form factor of a power supply. Weather stations are connected via USB, software and data are provided on a SD card. SheevaPlug needs just 5 watts, comes in a tiny package at a cheap price and performs much better than NSLU2 and can be considered as THE sucessor of NSLU2. Main features of SheevaPlug:

• ARM Processor (Kirkwood chipset), 1.2 GHz, 1200 BogoMIPS, 512 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data are provided by SD card.
• System starts automatically when power is present.
• no WLAN, no PCI-Bus.
• one USB port, which can be multiplied with external passive USB hub.
• integrated power supply that ranges from 110-240 volts.
• no keyboard, no monitor.
• Price $99 (without SD card).

SheevaPlug is sold by the manufacturer GlobalScale Technologies and by AmbientWeather.com and RainmanWeather.com in the US and by NewIT in the UK or by Meteoshop.cz from Czech Republic or by Topmeteo.it from Italy. NewIT sells Meteohub as a turn-key system with Meteohub installed on 4GB SD card (as demo mode, license has to be purchased separately). AmbientWeather.com, Rainmanweather.com, Meteoshop.cz and Topmeteo.it also sell Meteohub ready to go on SheevaPlug including a 4GB SD card and including a full Meteohub license.

ALIX.1D

ALIX.1D board from PC Engines is based on AMD Geode LX800 processor (500 MHz clocked) like fit-PC Slim. Adding the appropriate black metal case and a DC adapter the ALIX.1D acts as a cheap Meteohub platform that can even be equipped with an optional WLAN adapter (internal mini-PCI slot) and has similar power like a fit-PC Slim, but comes at a significant larger form factor and without status LEDs and without a power switch. CF card, that has to be mounted internally and cannot be accessed from the outside, is used as storage media. Like ebox 4300 and fit-PC Slim the ALIX.1D is well suited to process larger amounts of weather data. Main features of ALIX.1D are:

• x86 system based on AMD Geode LX800 (486 compatible), 500 MHz, 1000 BogoMIPS, 256 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and daten are stored on (internal) CF-Karte.
• System starts automatically when power is present.
• optional WLAN by mini-PCI slot.
• integrated RS232 interface.
• Price about $180 (without WLAN, without CF card, incl. case and power supply, incl. VAT).

ALIX.1D can be purchased from Varia-Store as a turn-key solution (Germany).

ALIX.3D2 (ALIX.3D3)

ALIX.3D2 board from PC Engines is based on AMD Geode LX800 processor (500 MHz clocked) like ALIX.1D, but is lacking a keyboard and monitor connector. This makes the board a bit cheaper and also smaller. These are a number of interesting outdoor cases available for ALIX.3D2. Adding an appropriate small silver metal case and a DC adapter the ALIX.3D2 acts as a cheap Meteohub platform that can even be equipped with an optional WLAN adapter (internal mini-PCI slot). Computational power is identical with ALIX.1D. CF card, that has to be mounted internally and cannot be accessed from the outside, is used as storage media. Main features of ALIX.3D2 are:

• x86 system based on AMD Geode LX800 (486 compatible), 500 MHz, 1000 BogoMIPS, 256 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and daten are stored on (internal) CF-Karte.
• System starts automatically when power is present.
• optional WLAN by mini-PCI slot.
• integrated RS232 interface.
• no VGA connector, no keyboard connector (ALIX.3D3 has VGA connector, USB keyboard can be connected).
• Price about $150 (without WLAN, without CF card, incl. case and power supply, incl. VAT).

ALIX.3D2 can be purchased from Varia-Store as a turn-key solution (Germany).

DMP ebox 3300

ebox 3300 from DMP is the more powerful successor of ebox 2300. Size and connectivity options are the same, just the power-on push button on the front panel is missing. Faster processor and bigger RAM gives ebox 3300 about two times the punch of ebox 2300 and therefore this is a very good platform to handle large amounts of sensor data. Most important features of ebox 3300 are:

• x86 system based on Vortex86DX processor (486 compatible), 1000 MHZ, 2000 BogoMIPS, 256 MB RAM
• Meteohub software and data are stored on CF card (IDE interface).
• BIOS allows for restart after power fail.
• Optional WLAN (WPA, b/g) and RS232 interface.
• Price about $150 (without WLAN, without RS232, without CF card) at distributor from far east or US.

You can buy ebox 3300 from these distributors as listed on DMP homepage or from Norhtec (called Micro Client JrDX).

DMP ebox 4300

ebox 4300 from DMP is a more powerfull version of ebox 2300. Size and connectivity options are the same. Faster processor and bigger RAM gives ebox 4300 about three times the punch of ebox 2300 and therefore this is a very good platform to handle large amounts of sensor data. Most important features of ebox 4300 are:

• x86 system based on Via Eden ULV precessor (486 compatible), 500 MHZ, 1000 BogoMIPS, 512 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data are stored on CF card (IDE interface).
• BIOS allows for restart after power fail.
• Optional WLAN (WPA, b/g) and RS232 interface.
• Price about $200 (without WLAN, without RS232, without CF card) at distributor from far east or US.

You can buy ebox 4300 from these distributors as listed on DMP homepage or from Norhtec (called Micro Client Sr.).

Linksys NSLU2 (out of production)

Meteohub versions 1.x and 2.x supported NSLU2, only. Starting with version 3.0 x86 based platforms are supported as well. NSLU is extremely cheap but come with a few disadvantages compared to other platforms:

• In order to use NSLU2 with Meteohub the firmware has to be flashed. This results in a loss of manufacturer warranty for NSLU2.
• ARM Processor clocked at 133 or 266 MHz, accordingly 133 or 266 BogoMIPS, 32 MB RAM
• Meteohub software und data are stored on USB stick. This type of storage can result in data integrity problems on some systems. To fix this changing of USB stick and/or NSLU2 might be necessary.
• Computation of time-compacted data for large sensor arrays and long recording time frames can get quite slow.
• NSLU2 doesn't reboot automatically after power fail.
• NSLU2 has been discontinued by Linksys in Spring 2008. Some Online-Shops might have units available.
• Street price about $100.

DMP ebox 2300 (out of production)

ebox 2300 from DMP is a x86 compatible mini-server based on Vortex86 CPU. It's computational power is about the same like NSLU2, but provides more RAM (128 MB), a CF card slot that allows to connect industrial type CF cards as IDE devices (some even in UDMA mode). This type of storage interface is a significant improvement compared to USB sticks. Most important features of ebox 2300 are:

• x86 system based on Vortex86 (486-compatible), 200 MHZ, 400 BogoMIPS, 128 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data are stored on CF card (IDE interface).
• BIOS allows for restart after power fail.
• Optional WLAN (WPA, b/g) and RS232 interface.
• Production of ebox 2300 ended in spring 2008. Many distributors do still have units in stock. Successor (ebox 3300) with improved performance is availability.
• Price about $120 (without WLAN, without RS232, without CF card) at distributor from far east or US.

Compulab fit-PC Slim (out of production)

fit-PC Slim from fit-PC/Compulab is a miníaturized server in the performance range of ebox 4300. Recommended storage media is a 4 GB 2,5" SSD. Like ebox 4300 fit-PC Slim is well suited to process larger amounts of weather data. fit-PC Slim is even a bit smaller in size than eboxes, but offers apart from a not usabale RS232 interface (no handshake signals supported) the same connectivity options as ebox. Main features of fit-PC Slim are:

• x86 system with AMD Geode LX800 processor (486 compatible), 500 MHZ, 1000 BogoMIPS, 512 MB RAM.
• Meteohub software and data are stored on 4 GB, 2.5" solid state disk (i.e. Transcend TS4GIFD25).
• BIOS supports reboot after power fail.
• WLAN integrated (WPA, b/g), RS232 on special connector (just tx/rx/gnd, no handshake signals).
• Price about $245 (diskless version, without SSD) at Compulab