For the connection to the PC i use the 1-Wire USB connector from http://www.hobby-boards.com and a selfmade power injektor for the sensors. The line to the sensor goes into a normal patch panel.

For more informations see the wiring diagram on the bobby boards site. They have great tutorials and documentations on the informationpage. The short description about the connection:

RJ45 Connector:

 _________________
| 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 |
|                 |
 ------_____------

1: Not connected
2: Not connected
3: +5V DC
4: 1-Wire DATA
5: 1-Wire RETURN
6: Power Return
7: Not connected
8: Not connected

The images show the input line from the sensor in the patch panel, the power injektor and the 1-Wire USB connector. I bridged the ports to the next ports to connect other sensors.

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I created a 1-Wire Hub with the patch panel but you can connect other sensors on a sensor, too. See the network documentation on the Hobby Boards site for more informations.

Example:

                       -> Sensor 1
USB Adapter -> USB HUB -> Sensor 2 -> Sensor 3 -> ...
                       -> Sensor 6 -> Sensor 7 -> Sensor 8 -> ...
                       ...

In the next part i describe how to read the 1-Wire sensors and graph the informations with cacti.

Update:

You can now download the schematic circuit diagram of the Power Injector here: Power Injector (54.99 kB)

You need EAGLE to read the files you can download it from here: EAGLE download (Freeware)

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This small case is placed on the south-east side of my house an 1,5 m over the ground. The roof of the house prevent it from direct rain.

The sensor kit is connected over a default RJ-45 networkcable.

See the other side of the wire in part two …