After doing more research and trying a few things I managed to:
- Figure out how to configure and test the UART / serial port and it was still working.
- Figure out how to connect to the Ultrasonic Sensor and it to is working!
Here is a photo of the Ultrasonic Sensor testing. It may be difficult to see but at the bottom of the terminal window (the black window) it says R1487 which means that the sensor is reading 1487mm to the nearest object (about 4.9 feet). This is Awesome!
Next step is to test the python script that reads the sensor. Then I have to install and test the new service on the weather system that reads the data, stores it in a database and creates the statistics and images for the website. The last steps will be to build the sensor mount, wire up the sensor outdoors, and calibrate the distance to the ground.
Happy New Year!