This Weather Station Displays the Temperature and Humidity Using Hanging Gears

Made out of laser-cut MDF, Michael Klements' device is based on an Arduino Pro Micro, a DHT11 sensor, and a pair of stepper motors.

Jeremy Cook
4 years agoWeather

We’re well into summer here in the northern hemisphere, and if you want to know the temperate and humidity beyond “hot and sticky,” then look no further than Michael Kelments’ Hanging Gear Weather Station. His device senses conditions using a DHT11 sensor, passing this info along to an Arduino Pro Micro board. This controls a pair of 28BYJ-48 stepper motors via ULN2003 drivers, which turns the hanging gears clockwise or counterclockwise to show the temperature and humidity levels.

The project is manufactured on a laser cutter out of 3mm MDF, with Celsius digits engraved on the outer gear, and humidity as a percentage on the inner gear. Electronics are placed inside an also-laser-cut housing, and while wiring is loose, Klements managed to nestle everything nicely.

Since there’s no automatic feedback for this mechanism, each gear must be arranged in the proper starting position initially. One can, however, connect to the Pro Micro over serial to get the readings, making sure that the wheel movement corresponds with what’s onscreen. Laser cutting files, plus code, is available in Klements' write-up, and you can see how it’s made in the video below.

If this concept looks a little familiar, we also featured a beautiful build that displays the days and months via wooden dials and a RTC unit!

Jeremy Cook
Engineer, maker of random contraptions, love learning about tech. Write for various publications, including Hackster!
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