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optimistic
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2014 02:38pm
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I want to be able to install a sensor that will be able to connect to the internet and allow me to check the temp where it is located - without being around....
anyone heard of such a thing?
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MtnDon
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2014 06:57pm
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It can be done. I looked into it a few years back and decided it was more than I wanted to spend. Instead I go for a remote weather station that is only about 5 miles away from our cabin location. V\Close enough for me and free.
Go to Mesowest and click on the state you need. Look through the different menus to find a station close by. You could be lucky.
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jaransont3
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2014 08:16pm
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Thanks for the link Don. Didn't know about that one. Pretty interesting. I can get a pretty good idea of current conditions at our cabin by checking the 3 stations that surround it within about 30 miles or so.
Of course my mom still lives about 1/2 miles from the cabin and she posts the conditions (at least when they are extreme) on Facebook all the time. 
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Rossman
Member
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# Posted: 15 Jan 2014 10:08pm
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You could do this with an arduino or a .net gadgeteer micro with a wifi module and a temperature module, would be pretty easy as long as you can power them and have wifi available for it to use.
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 07:28am
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Thank you Don.
I found a solution but it is more that I care to spend on it as well: http://amperic.com/
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Rossman
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 08:46am
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Arduino would be cheaper than that but probably not by a huge margin...
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razmichael
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 09:13am
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Optimist
It looks like you are after internal cabin temp not general weather?
What do you have at the cabin now? Internet? Land line phone? Computer laptop? Is there cellular access in the area? Are you off grid? Getting or building a temp sensor (or getting a cheap wireless or wired weather station) is easy but if you do not have internet access with power then this will be the costly part (getting to the data) and likely not worth it unless you want the access for other purposes as well. Other possible solutions might include phone modem connection is you have a land line at the cabin but this would take some hacking. If you are fully equipped with Internet, power etc it is easy.
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sarndt
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 10:03pm
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MY Iphone 5 tells me the temp and precipitation!!!!
If I leave it in the truck on a hot day- it shuts down!
If I have it in my pocket on a cold day while hunting or skiing- it shuts down!
If I have melted snow in my trucks weathertech floor mats, my phone is guaranteed to fall off the dash- it shuts down!
If it rains all the time like it did in 2013 well I guarantee you I didn't have my life-proof case as it probably was in the glove box- it shuts down!
For those that have an Iphone, you probably know where I am coming from. Great phone but just a bit too sensitive for my liking/ use. (My mini rant)
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optimistic
Member
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# Posted: 16 Jan 2014 10:20pm
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In my search I came across something fascinating (albeit - different) that I wanted to share... Using an old android phone as a wireless camera....
This is pretty incredible.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWms-VcRd74
So if you have wireleess in your cabin: you can literally have a live webcam, that you can access form your computer or from your phone, for next to nothing...
Only issue... battery. But I found these things which I believe could help with that... solar phone chargers... they are very cheap on ebay but I wonder how well they work.
The only draw back to this system is that if you don't have wifi but only data connection - it will be hard to get a clear image.
I would have been happier if it had that software that can sense movement, and then only record once it senses it. Then it will save it on the phone so you can download it... that will be incredible.
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adakseabee
Member
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# Posted: 18 Jan 2014 07:33pm
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Based on the title of your topic, "Checking temp on phone/computer using a wifi enabled sensor", I assume you already have wifi at the location at which you want to have phone or computer access to interior temperature. If this is the case, Nest Labs, Inc. makes a "learning thermostat" that is state of the art. It can connect through WiFi to a smart phone or a laptop. It is a little pricey at over $200. Check out the website at https://nest.com/thermostat/life-with-nest-thermostat/
My son gave me one for Christmas, but I have not hooked it up yet. I have concerns about "Big Brother" monitoring my energy use for heating and cooling my home. I may go ahead and install it but not connect it to my WiFi. Still, it would be a nice thing to check on the house temps when we are at the cabin.
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Rossman
Member
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# Posted: 19 Jan 2014 10:41am
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Quoting: adakseabee I have concerns about "Big Brother" monitoring my energy use for heating and cooling my home.
You should be concerned, especially now that Google bought up that company (Nest)!
Also, check this out for a more DIY version of the Nest, if you are interested
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hueyjazz
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# Posted: 20 Jan 2014 12:00pm
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I have one of the NEST thermostats and I can tell you they work great. I realize significant savings over my programmable thermostat in the first year.
If Google wants to know (or even cares) what temp I keep my house at and how long my furnace runs I really don't care.
My solution for knowing the weather and temp at my cabin is I sign into the ski center website that is six miles away. That tells me what the snowfall was as well as the current conditions.
I would love to have an internet connection at my cabin but being remote doesn't work for DSL or cabin modems. Sattilite internet isn't that good and way expensive. I get some 3G service and that is by using a cell repeater
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