YOU CAN BUILD THE 4,010 CANADIAN DOLLARS RESEARCH WEATHER STATION FOR 1,623 CANADIAN DOLLARS
A research-grade weather logger built for 1,623 Canadian dollars instead of the 4,010 Canadian dollars commercial analog, and still under 2,900 Canadian dollars with infrared and visible cameras added.
by Koami Soulemane Hayibo and Joshua M. Pearce
ScienceOpen-hardware
Built withArduinoRaspberry Pi3D printing
- difficulty
- ●●●●○
- time
- a weekend-plus
- license
- MIT (hardware), GPL-3.0 (software), CC-BY-NC-SA (documentation)
- repo
- repo FINISHED0 stars
●●●●○ · a weekend-plus · MIT (hardware), GPL-3.0 (software), CC-BY-NC-SA (documentation) · 0 stars · repo FINISHED
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
Jump to section
COMPAREE VERDICT
Jericho is a serious instrument for people who need research-grade environmental and PV logging and cannot justify four thousand dollars on a commercial logger. The comparison to the Onset HOBO RX3004 is honest: that kit costs 4,010 Canadian dollars without any imaging, Jericho costs 1,623 Canadian dollars without cameras or 2,821 Canadian dollars with both infrared and visible imaging. The heart is a custom Resistive Data Logger board with an Arduino Nano and an I2C shield, with a Raspberry Pi for processing, in a weatherproof ABS box on a PVC mast. The sensor set is built for PV research: thermistors on up to 30 m cables, an SHT41 temperature and humidity board, an Apogee SP-421 silicon-cell pyranometer, a cup anemometer and a current sensor. The cameras — a Reolink PoE IP camera for visible light and a Seek Thermal infrared core — are what the commercial kit does not include at all. The thing most likely to go wrong is procurement: the pyranometer alone is about 580 Canadian dollars, and the custom boards and cameras come from Jericho Lab. Validation against a Lufft WS 501 station was good, with wind speed showing the largest deviation. If you are setting up long-term field monitoring and you need the data to hold up under scrutiny, this is a legitimate path. If you just want to log temperature in the back garden, this is three weight classes too heavy.
IN THE REPO
GOOD TO KNOW
- —Published in HardwareX with 36 figures and validated against a Lufft WS 501 reference station and between two units.
- —Hardware files, software, BOM and assembly instructions are on the Open Science Framework at osf.io/g7k6p.
- —Hardware is MIT licensed. Software is GNU GPL 3.0. Documentation is CC-BY-NC-SA, which restricts commercial use of the documentation itself.
- —This is a research instrument from Western University, not a weekend kit — the paper assumes you know your way around an Arduino and a Pi.
- —The BOM lists exact part numbers with supplier links; the pyranometer and its mounting stand come from scientific suppliers, while the cup anemometer is an inexpensive Adafruit part.
- —Custom boards: the Resistive Data Logger, an I2C shield, a current-sensor board and an SHT41 humidity board, all with schematics in the paper.
Parts to buy
12 itemsFrom our check of the build. Exact quantities and part numbers are in the creator’s BOM.
- Resistive Data Logger board and I2C shield (Jericho Lab)Find
- Arduino NanoFind
- Raspberry PiFind
- Weatherproof ABS enclosureFind
- SHT41 humidity boardFind
- Apogee SP-421 pyranometerFind
- Cup anemometer with boost converterFind
- Current sensorFind
- ThermistorsFind
- Reolink RLC-520A PoE cameraFind
- Seek Thermal infrared cameraFind
- PVC pipeFind
Can I build this?
Build at your own risk. Projects involve tools, electronics and sometimes mains voltage — follow the creator’s safety notes.
More builds like this
All projectsGallery
Start here
Navigation into the creator’s own docs — we don’t rewrite the guide, we route you to the source.
- 1.Read the HardwareX paper (36 figures, full BOM, assembly instructions and validation data. This is the manual.)
- 2.Download the hardware files, software, and BOM from OSF(osf.io/g7k6p — STLs for the 3D printed parts, Arduino and Python code, wiring schematics, and the full parts list with supplier links)
- 3.Order the pyranometer and the custom boards first(Order the Apogee SP-421 pyranometer and the Jericho Lab boards first; most other parts come from ordinary retailers.)
- 4.Print the radiation shields and sensor mounts while you wait(The Raspberry Pi housing is not structural but the radiation shields are — print them in white to reflect sun.)
KNOWN ISSUES
- The pyranometer is a scientific instrument: an Apogee SP-421 at about 580 Canadian dollars, and lead times can be weeks. Order it, and the Jericho Lab boards, before you do anything else.
- The core boards are custom PCBs — the Resistive Data Logger and the I2C shield — which you buy from Jericho Lab or have made; the paper notes the purchased sub-systems include all their components.
- The project's documentation files on OSF (such as the schematics PDF and validation data) are CC-BY-NC-SA, so you cannot reuse those files commercially without permission. The hardware is MIT and the software GPL-3.0, so you can build and sell the device, and the paper itself is open access under CC BY 4.0.
- The Raspberry Pi 4 runs unattended: logging, cloud sync, imaging and self-monitoring are handled by the supplied Python services, with remote access via RustDesk. The paper gives you the scripts but assumes you know how to set up a Pi for unattended operation; if 'SSH into a Pi' is new vocabulary, budget time to learn it.
- Outdoor mounting is not documented in detail. The paper shows the station on a PVC mast but does not walk through foundation, guy wires, or weatherproofing the cable entry. If you are putting this on a roof or in a field, you are solving that part yourself.
- The thermal camera (a Seek Thermal C214SPX core in a germanium-window enclosure) is about 1,000 Canadian dollars on its own. If you do not need infrared, leave it out — the visible Reolink IP camera is a simple PoE connection.
Is this actually cheaper than the Onset HOBO?
Yes, if you value your time at zero. The HOBO kit is 4,010 Canadian dollars and you unbox it and mount it. Jericho is about 1,623 Canadian dollars without cameras, or about 2,821 Canadian dollars with the infrared and visible cameras, and you spend a weekend building it, then another day mounting it. The HOBO does not include cameras at all. If you need the imaging and you have the time, the saving is real.
Can I skip the cameras?
Yes. The BOM lists them separately and the software does not depend on them. Without cameras the cost drops to 1,623 Canadian dollars and you lose one wiring step.
What does CC-BY-NC-SA on the documentation mean?
The project's documentation files are CC-BY-NC-SA: you can use and adapt them for your own build or teaching, but not commercially. The hardware design is MIT and the software GPL-3.0, so you can build and sell the device. The published paper itself is open access under CC BY 4.0.
How accurate is it?
The paper validates it against a Lufft WS 501 reference station and between two Jericho units. Irradiance, humidity and temperature were well within acceptable differences; wind speed showed the largest deviation. The SHT41 sensor itself is rated ±0.3 °C and ±2 % humidity.
Do I need a weather station license?
No. It is a data logger that stores readings locally and syncs over an ordinary network connection (the BOM includes a Wi-Fi extender); it does not transmit on any licensed band.
Can I use a different pyranometer?
Possibly. The specified Apogee SP-421 is a digital SDI-12 sensor chosen because its spectral response matches silicon PV modules, and the logger also accepts analog, I2C and USB sensors, so another pyranometer can work if you adapt the firmware. A cheap photoresistor will not give you research-grade data.
Community builds
No community builds yet — be the first, we feature the best ones.
Discussion1
FROM THE COMPAREE TEAM
The paper validated this against a Lufft WS 501 reference station: temperature came in with an RMSE around 0.5 °C, while wind speed showed the largest deviation. For field research that is adequate; for calibration-grade meteorology it may not be. What accuracy does your project actually need?
Koami Soulemane Hayibo and Joshua M. Pearce
Hayibo and Pearce are at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Western University in Ontario; Pearce also holds an appointment at the Ivey Business School. They built Jericho for long-term outdoor solar PV experiments - including floating PV and agrivoltaics - where weather data, PV measurements and camera imaging need to come from one system.
Keep building — related projects
Same category or platform, picked by how close they are to this build.
FULL CADDIYNAFLUOR: a 40-dollar open-source DNA fluorometer you 3D print and assemble without soldering
ScienceFor intermediate builders
FULL CADYou can turn a cheap resin printer into a bioprinter for €500
ScienceFor expert builders
FULL CADYou can 3D print a lab centrifuge that runs on a 12V motor and a switch
ScienceFor intermediate builders
FULL CADYou can build the machine that spins thread from scratch
ScienceFor expert builders
FULL CADLabs pay 18,000 dollars for a 96-channel pipette. He built one for 250 dollars
ScienceFor advanced builders
FULL CADYou can build the €1,330 vacuum gauge for €70
ScienceFor advanced builders
DISCLAIMER
- Comparee is not the author of the projects featured here. All rights to each project belong to its creator — every page links to the original source, and we never host creators’ files.
- Information is provided without warranty and may become outdated as projects evolve. Prices are indicative bands only — always check the creator’s parts list for current costs.
- Building and operating any project is at your own responsibility. Protective equipment, safe workshop practice and compliance with local regulations are the builder’s responsibility.
CompareeTEAM15d agoedited
Practical notes from our verification: the files are on the Open Science Framework at osf.io/g7k6p, not GitHub, so there is no star count or issue tracker and the paper is your main support. The documentation is unusually complete (36 figures, full BOM, validation data), and sensor sourcing is the real gate: the Apogee SP-421 pyranometer alone is about 580 Canadian dollars from a scientific supplier, while the cup anemometer is an inexpensive Adafruit part. The electronics are not protoboard: the design uses custom PCBs (the data logger board, an I2C shield and an SHT41 sensor board) that Jericho Lab sells. Imaging uses a Reolink PoE IP camera and a Seek Thermal USB core. The commercial comparison is honest: the paper puts the build at about 2,820 Canadian dollars with cameras, or about 1,620 without, against about 4,010 for an Onset HOBO kit that has no cameras. Correction (4 October 2026): we re-checked this page line by line against the project's own repository, documentation and videos, and fixed errors in earlier versions.