Building a Pressure/Temperature Weather Station (Sensor Pack)

1
Building a Pressure/TemperatureWeather Station
(Sensor Pack)

• AEM 1905, Fall 2008

2
Parts list
Perf board
Pressure sensor
Temperature sensor and 1k resistor
4-wire ribbon cable
Wire for jumpers
3
Separate one end of ribbon cablethen strip
individual wires.
4
Place components on the non-copper side of the
perf board, starting with the pressure sensor.
Orient it so that the Vs pin (with notch) is
toward the center of the board.
5
Place temperature sensor on opposite side of the
board with the flat side facing in.Add the 1k
resistor, in line with the center leg of the
sensor. Dont solder them in yet.
6
Run the stripped end of the 4-wire cableoff the
edge of the perf board.
7
Splay the leads so the components dont fall out.
Once you are satisfied with the placement,
solder them all in place.
8
Pull apart you jumper wires so you have a short
piece of each different color of wire.
9
The red wire in the cable will be 5 V. Make 2
red jumpers to carry that voltage near each of
the two sensors. In the case of the temperature
sensor, that will be the far end of the resistor.
Then turn the board over and make the necessary
solder bridges.
10
The black wire in the cable will be 0 V (AKA
ground). Make 2 black jumpers to carry that
voltage near each of the two sensors. In the
case of the temperature sensor, that will be one
of the outside legs. Then make the necessary
solder bridges. Clip off excess leads.
11
Make a green jumper for the pressure sensor
signal line. Make a white jumper for the
temperature sensor signal line (which is the
center leg, not the other outside leg that one
is left unconnected). Make the necessary solder
bridges, clip off excess leads, and double check
for inadvertent solder bridges.
12
Separate and strip the wires at the other end of
the cable. Slip on short pieces of shrink wrap.
Prepare to solder the cable end to two 3-pin male
headers.
13
Hold the wire and the 3-pin header in the two
clips of a Helping Hands tool. Solder to the
short end of the pin. Use the Helping Hands clip
on that same pin as a heat sink. Solder the green
wire to an outside pin.
14
Use solder and heat sparingly so you dont melt
the plastic nor shrink the shrink wrap nor leave
a solder blob too large to slip the shrink wrap
over.
15
Finish up by soldering the green, red, and black
wires, in that order, to one header. Solder the
white wire to an outside pin of another 3-pin
header.
16
Slide the shrink wrap over the solder connection
(no metal should be exposed) then carefully
shrink it with a heat gun.
17
Plug the two 3-pin headers into a female
receptacle, crossing the white wire over so it is
next to the green wire. This will help it hold
its shape while you glue it.
18
Use hot glue to hold the two 3-pin headers
together permanently. Be sure not to glue the
connector to the female receptacle you need to
be able to disconnect the sensor.
19
Here is what a completed cable end looks like
the glue appears light in the photograph. Dont
put on too much glue you may need to plug in
other sensors into a female receptacle bank right
next to this one.
20
Here is a completed weather station (pressure and
temperature) sensor pack, ready to be plugged in
to a flight computer to record its data as time
goes by.