WeatherGoose Family Features and Connections

The drawing below shows the major parts of a SuperGoose. The device operates stand-alone without a subscription service or an intermediate server. The user needs only a Web Browser to view the data.

All of the Goose family uses the same firmware which is described in the software section. Alerts, graphing, logs, and a variety of other functions are common throughout the product family.

All Goose models come with two remote input channels, except the MiniGoose which only has one channel, and these are described in the "External Sensors" section later in this chapter.

MiniGoose

The smallest, lowest-cost Goose, the MiniGoose contains an internal temperature sensor and a connector for up to 16 remote sensors. The Mini has full Goose firmware and video camera support

WeatherGoose

Contains full set of internal sensors, three I/O ports, and five jacks for remote sensors. Full Goose firmware.

SuperGoose

Same as WeatherGoose with added alarm horn and local, back-lit LCD display. Front panel has horn-silence button.

PowerGoose

Same as WeatherGoose but adds voltage, current, and power factor measurement and ten 15 amp receptacles. Full Goose firmware and video support.

WeatherDuck

ITW's first product. This tiny climate monitor attaches to a server's serial port and contains a full set of internal sensors. Client software (supplied on a CD), creates a web page, graphs and alarms. C123C ports and the serial sensor bus are supplied. Power is supplied from the serial port.

Video Cameras

Every ITW web-based climate monitor has provision for video images on the web site. These are IP Ethernet-blased cameras. The user loads the IP address of the camera into the Weather Goose and an image is extracted and published on the Goose' website.

An important consideration is the use of JPEG images. When a WeatherGoose polls a camera the image extracted is a JPEG, not a proprietary image requiring client software to display. This format reduces chances of fire walls blocking the images and insures fast loading times.

The D-Link 950 supports an e-mail alarm upon motion detection - a very useful feature for server room monitoring.

Only two cameras are supported: the one above and the Axis 205.

External Data - the Serial Bus

There are two ways to access external sensors: the serial bus and the I/O ports.

The serial data bus supports 16 devices and uses Cat3 wire. There are five RJ-11 receptacles in the rack mounted Geese and the MiniGoose has one. Through the use of a telephone-type splitter, the sensors can be expanded to sixteen. Users can use telephone splitters, wire nuts, or punch-down blocks to add sensors. The sensors communicate using the Dallas Semiconductor "1-wire" serial communications protocol.

Typical sensors attached to this port include temperature, humidity, air flow and power devices (PowerEgg).

The serial bus is a low speed channel and generally forgiving of wiring methods, but hub wiring is preferred to star. Each device attached to this channel has a unique 64 bit address laser etched in the unit to eliminate the need to stick paper tags on the remote sensors in order to identify them or set address switches.

Users should note that in wiring the serial bus devices to avoid "crossover" type connects since the remote sensors are polarized.

I/O Ports (C123C)

These three ports accept 0 to 5 VDC inputs. A built-in loop current source permits use of contact sensors such as door position sensors.