My national gepgraphic 265ne loses signal

[pol]

Hello guys,
My and my friend have recently installed 1 national 265 ne
we mount it on top pf the roof which is 16 meters(3 floors below) away form the console
the station keep losing the signal and we have very bad reception of data..we have limmited option of changing the mounting position!

any suggestions??

Pol

[Repairman77]

Hello guys,
My and my friend have recently installed 1 national 265 ne
we mount it on top pf the roof which is 16 meters(3 floors below) away form the console
the station keep losing the signal and we have very bad reception of data..we have limmited option of changing the mounting position!

any suggestions??

Pol

Hi Pol; it's not an easy problem to resolve as the signal is obviously on the edge of it's range.
However you could try a little fix which may or may not work.
Get a reel of thin multi-strand plastic covered cable; doesn't have to be thick to do the job.
Wind a few turns around the transmitter unit on the remote cluster, tack it to the outside wall and wind the other end around the console.
This should transfer the signal a lot stronger. In theory you should use low loss coax cable, stripped back about 12" each end with the inner cable wound round the units each end. But a single strand wire will probably work. Certainly worth a try.

Hope that helps,

Mike.

[pol]

Mike tnx for the tip,i will surely give it a try!

[Repairman77]

Mike tnx for the tip,i will surely give it a try!

Let us know how you get on; it's a cheap option.

[pol]

Good morning everybody!
Mike it's working!i just did what you advised and there is no problem anymore!
I tested it all over the place even in the closet and there is signal!

Thank you very very very much!

[Repairman77]

Good morning everybody!
Mike it's working!i just did what you advised and there is no problem anymore!
I tested it all over the place even in the closet and there is signal!

Thank you very very very much!

Great news Pol; may help out a few others who have a poor signal at the console.

Mike.

[akasonny]

Mike,

Just curious...have you opened your console and located the receiving antenna on these units? I find myself wondering if they aren't woefully inadequate.

I know it's not a cool idea to increase the transmitter's range by increasing its wavelength size but what about the receiver. Odds are its a simple wirewound core or something but I can't help but wonder if one couldn't add a "hack" by slightly modifying the case, making a simple solder connection and adding a 1/4 or 1/2 wave whip or something to the console. It wouldn't take that much at 800+ Mhz.

Could be this problem is more common than I know...or perhaps not.

[Repairman77]

Hi Sony,

It wouldn't be a coil of any sort in the receiver, more likely just to be a few inches of wire (1/4 wave) at that frequency.
You could make it 1/2 wave I suppose but how much improvement you made would be debatable.

I wonder if the chap who was getting interference with his neighbours WX station ever tried the 'long connecting wire' fix, as above?

Mike.

[akasonny]

Hi Sony,

It wouldn't be a coil of any sort in the receiver, more likely just to be a few inches of wire (1/4 wave) at that frequency.
You could make it 1/2 wave I suppose but how much improvement you made would be debatable.

I wonder if the chap who was getting interference with his neighbours WX station ever tried the 'long connecting wire' fix, as above?

Mike.

I'd like to see a schematic of the fine offset one of these days. I'm inclined to add the "hack" of extending the receive antenna to see what, if any, difference it makes. 1/4 wave at 800+Mhz is pretty small.

The long-connecting wire (inductive) fix is a good one if its practical. My weather station is 50' to the rear of my property and running a wire wouldn't be practical...but it sure paid-off on that one and ya get two "atta boys" for that call!

[beteljuice]

Inside the box used to be a simple loose wire aerial, doubling it's length usually helps most people 'on the edge', but of course does make your receiver more susceptible to interference.

[Repairman77]

Inside the box used to be a simple loose wire aerial, doubling it's length usually helps most people 'on the edge', but of course does make your receiver more susceptible to interference.

Beteljuice, I would think that doubling it would make it a quarter wave around 433Mhz, where most of the remote thermometers hang out. There's loads of those around. Could make things worse.
mike.

[akasonny]

quote="Repairman77"][Beteljuice, I would think that doubling it would make it a quarter wave around 433Mhz, where most of the remote thermometers hang out. There's loads of those around. Could make things worse.
mike.[/quote]

Perhaps true, but that would depend on individual circumstances, surroundings, environment and etc. For that matter, the current 1/4 wave antenna for 866Mhz is a 1/2 wave for 1.7Ghz. Albeit there may not be that much in that frequency spectrum but all antennas are potential antennas for other bands and the harmonics of other bands. Perhaps the addition of a filter designed for the 866Mhz band would be a helpful addition too. Or even a directional antenna (small yagi?) at 866Mhz could be a good remedy for some. Thats certainly what is used in commercial, wireless weather station operations.

In any event, I remain convinced that lengthening a receiver antenna in a "fringe area" is certainly worth a try. Its much simpler than relocating a weather station and, therefore, remains a viable option.