W8681 frustration

[anabatic]

Hi first post on here and I'm hoping someone maybe able to shed some light for me.

My wife bought me a Watson W8681 solar weather station last November for my 50th birthday.

I had it all setup and running for a few weeks and everything was going well. Then we had a couple of bad storms. During the second one the bracket on which the solar/transmitter unit was attached snapped. The weather station continued to work despite blowing around in 50+ mph winds until the transmitter unit came out of the protective housing, the battery cover came off and the batteries were then thrown out of the unit.

After a couple of weeks when the weather improved enough for me to get up the ladder to recover the unit, I bought it into the house and let it dry out for a week before putting new batteries in. As expected the unit didn't work.

I contacted the supplier and they sent me a new transmitter unit. I fitted the batteries and waited for things to start working but nothing much happened. I contacted the supplier and was told to take the batteries out of the transmitter unit and the control panel and then with nothing connected to the transmitter unit re-insert the batteries into the transmitter unit.

I should see the red LED on the transmitter unit light up for approx 5 seconds then it should go out, then after a short period the transmitter LED should briefly flash and then after another short spell I should see 5 flashes of the LED. At this point I should then re-insert the batteries into the control panel and eveything should start working. Assuming that I was receivng the external temperature and humidity I could then recontect the wind and rain sensors.

On inserting the batteries into the transmitter unit I got the the initial start up illumination of the LED followed by the single flash but I didn't get the group of 5 flashes. The supplier concluded that I had been sent a faulty replacement unit so sent me another one.

This latest unit has given the LED sequence as described but having then put the batteries into the control panel it is not receiving any temperature/humidity data from the transmitter unit.

The LED on the transmitter keeps flashing away and the reception signal icon on the control panel keeps appearing but the two don't seem to correspond, i.e. the reception signal icon is never on when the transmitter unit flashes.

I have tried to reset the control panel and even when the reception signal icon is on and the transmitter unit flashes the control panel is still not capturing any data from the transmitter,

The transmitter unit is right next the control panel so there shouldn't be any reception issues due to distance or obstructions.

Does anyone have any ideas one what else I can do to resume communications between the two units? If not I could be boxing the whole lot up and sending it back and asking for a refund.

After a promising start I'm rapidly losing faith in this weather station.

[steve]

Does your station have the clock set by radio signal from MSF/DCF? I think the '5 flashes' occur when the transmitter unit has locked on to the time signal, and I think that until it does, it doesn't transmit data. I think it gives up trying to get the time signal after 5 minutes, so it might be worth starting the procedure again and waiting 5 minutes before powering up the console.

You may already have tried this, of course, and I may be wrong anyway, but I'm sure a proper expert will be along to help before long.

[anabatic]

Hi Steve

the following comes from the manual:

RF Receiving mode

1. After power-on, the weather station enters the RF receiving state for 144s.

2. Base station receive the temperature, humidity, wind speed and rain data each 48s, receive illuminance data each 60s. If there is no new effective signal from the sensor in constant reception failure 8 times, the outdoor temperature and humidity will display "---". The base station will start search the new remote sensor signal for 144s.

RCC (Radio controlled Clock)

1. After the thermo-hygro sensor is powered up, the sensor will transmit weather data for 24s, and then the sensor will start radio controlled time reception. During RCC time reception period (maximum 5 minutes), no weather data will be transmitted.

2. If no RCC signal is detected in the initial setup, the thermo-hygro sensor will try once every hour to get an RCC signal until the signal is received. Once the sensor receives the RCC signal it will transmit the signal to the basse station, the received time and date will overwrite the manually set time and date, on the base station the RCC icon will be displayed. If the base station doesn't receive the RCC signal or loses the signal the RCC icon will not be displayed.

It does say that the best conditions for reception of the RCC signal is between midnight and 06:00.

When I first got the weather station it did start showing the weather info fairly soon after power up. It wasn't until the following day that the time/date locked to the RCC signal.

I think you should get the initial weather data during the first 24s then it won't update for 5 minutes. The thermo-hygro LED is flashing approx every 48s which would indicate that it is trying to send data.

The weather station has now been running for two hours and the only change it is showing is the low battery icon which is proably due to the fact it hasn't received a signal from the transmitter yet to say all is well. The external temp, humidity, wind speed, LUX and rain are all showing "---"

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Have you tried holding in the <down arrow> key on the Console for about 8 seconds? As the Low TX battery icon is on are you sure the batteries are OK?

Note that the "solar" and external temp/hygro/rain/wind sensors use two independent transmitting systems. The LED on the "transmitter" should flash exactly once every 48 seconds, that on the solar pod once every minute and the icon at the top-right of the LCD flash in synchronism with both.

If the LEDs are not flashing at these rates, press the reset button under the solar pod and then the <down arrow> as above. With the RCC versions you do have to be quite patient!

Cheers, Alan.

[anabatic]

Hi Alan

The batteries are brand new fully charged ones. I suspect that because the control panel is not getting any signal from the transmitter it thinks the batteries have gone flat!!

When I was speaking to the supplier when I was having problems with the first replacement transmitter I was told not to plug anyof the other sensors into it, just put the batteries in let it boot up and after the block of 5 LED flashes put the batteries into the control panel and it should start communicating. The problem was that I didn't get the block of 5 flashes.

This second replacement transmitter has given me the block of 5 flashes but after 6 hours it is still not displaying any external temp/humidity info from the transmitter even though the LED is flashing every 48 seconds.

I have tried both the down arrow for a reset and the up arrow for a full reset, neither have made any difference.

The first one worked fine until the storm and it suffered water damage. To then have two replacement unit not work straight out of the box is a bit of a concern making me wonder if I'm going to have more problems further down the line.

I was having a look elsewhere on the web and it seems a number of people on various sites with reviews have reported problems with the transmitter units.

I shall leave it running overnight and see if I have anything in the morning.

Cheers, Dave

[Ned]

Just a thought, but is it certain that the replacement transmitter is on the same frequency as the original?

[anabatic]

Hi Ned

Interesting thought, one I hadn't thought about.

If it is I guess I would have to send the control panel (CP) back to the supplier and get them to find a transmitter on the same frequency as the CP unless there is a way to auto tune the CP to find the transmitter.

[Ned]

I think there are only 3 different frequencies these things operate on, being approx 433, 868 or 915 MHz (maybe dependent on your local legislation) and with any luck will be marked on the units. My console is so marked, not sure about my transmitter.
Frequencies are not adjustable (the units being built to operate on only one), so they must match in order to work.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Yes an incorrect transmitter frequency is a distinct possibility, both 433 and 868 MHz are sold and used (legally) in the UK. Some versions have the frequency printed on the battery covers, but if not then finding the frequency (without other equipment) can be tricky. They use a fixed resonator (or SWIF) so retuning is not possible.

The frequency of the transmitter can be seen inside, for example in the photo "WH3081 Outdoor Top.jpg" ("HR433C") half-way down (page 6) of the Photos of the insides.. thread, but the transmitter case is glued so you'd need the agreement of the seller if you want to check.

The Console receiver may be even more tricky. I've not opened a 3080/1 but it's probably similar to the 1080 shown in this thread. It can be opened (many screws) but the resonator is on the underneath of a small daughter board (with a red wire - the antenna). It might (ought to) be possible to determine whether the frequency is 433 or 868 from the length of the antenna wire but I've never checked if they are "properly" designed as a quarter-wavelength.

Cheers, Alan.

[anabatic]

The only thing that has changed since my last post is that the low battery warning icon has stopped flashing and is now on permanently. A voltage check of the batteries shows that they are still ok.

There is still no display of either the external temperature or humidity on the control panel just '---'.

I have also tried it with all the other sensors, wind speed/direction, rain gauge and solar unit connected and no info from them being display either.

After two nights the clock still hasn't locked to the time signal.

I have also tried a couple more resets but that hasn't done anything either.

There are no indications on either the transmitter or control panel to show what the operating frequency is but the manual says it is 868MHz.

I think my only option now is to pack it all up, send it back, ask for a refund and purchase a different weather station.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

From your OP it seems that the Console should still be "good". The Quality Control of FO modules doesn't appear to be all that it could be (particularly the Solar units) so you might have been sent another "bad" transmitter, or it might be incompatible (i.e. for a different model).

In addition to the different radio frequencies, I believe that the Solar (data) units use a different protcol to the non-solar (and probably the solar charging-only) versions, but the transmitter boxes can be almost indistinguishable (if not labelled).

So, two more quick checks that you could try. (1) Look inside the "rain" socket on the transmitter - are there 6 wire contacts (non-solar units have only 4). (2) Plug in the Solar Pod (to the rain socket), wait and then press the reset button - does the red LED on the transmitter immediately come on for a few seconds (I think it should).

There are possibly a few other tests we could devise if you have a multimeter (and the inclination to use it), if returning/replacing the whole system is particularly inconvenient.

Cheers, Alan.

[anabatic]

Hi Alan

I'm currently in possession of two transmitter units, one of which I think is definitely faulty as it doesn't do the LED flash sequence on power up that the supplier told me it should do, whereas the second one does.

The only external markings I can find on either transmitter is the CE mark and the Wind/Rain socket identification.

Internally in the battery compartment there is just an indication of which way round the batteries go and the only markings on the battery compartment covers are the words 'RF REMOTE SENSOR'.

I have looked at the Rain socket on both transmitter units and both of them only have four contacts whereas the plug coming from the solar unit has 6 wires. That shouldn't stop the control panel receiving the temp/humidity as far as I'm aware but may explain why there is no solar info.

If I connect the solar unit to either of the transmitters and press the reset button the red LED on the tranmitterr unit does illuminate for 3-4 seconds. I seem to recall from the original transmitter that there was also an LED on the solar unit that should illuminate on doing a reset but it doesn't with these transmitter units.

I do have a multimeter and I am quite happy to use it if you have further tests that can be done.

The more information I can pass back to the supplier the better as it will show that I have investigated the problem and I'm not just being a pain.

As I said before, I was very happy with the weather station before the bracket got broken in one of the storms we had and the fact it carried on for several hours before the battery cover came off, ejected the batteries and exposed the transmitter to the elements for a couple of weeks before I could retrieve it, was quite pleasing.

Cheers Dave

[AllyCat]

Hi Dave,

IMHO if there are only 4 contacts in the "rain" socket of the transmitter, that's conclusive proof that you have been sent an incorrect (old model) replacement. You can see from the Solar Pod internal photos half-way down page 6 of this thread that there are 6 wires. The legend on the top of the PCB suggests that one of the end wires is not used (NC) but at the other end is the solar data (RF-D), so there would be no way for the solar data to get through. Sadly the 6 contacts are not obvious in the photos of the transmitter, but 6 soldered pads can be seen on the underside (2 rows of 3 to the left of the "black blob").

However, more fundamentally I believe that FO have completely changed the transmission protocol of ALL the data, so there is no way that any of the data from an "old" transmitter can be received by a "new" receiver Console. When I bought a new Solar Console, I did attempt to synchronise it to an original transmitter (with the same radio frequency) but had no success. Yes, there is a LED on the solar pod which should flash once per minute, but I don't think that it's as bright as that in the transmitter unit.

Do you still have the original transmitter so that you can "prove" to the seller (with photos of the sockets) that the two transmitters are different? I can't think of any simple multimeter tests ATM, but if the seller won't accept that the protocols are incompatible then I will try to take some 'scope photos of the current pulses (48 seconds apart) taken by the two transmitter types (I have measured both but have never actually done a direct side-by-side comparison).

Cheers, Alan.

[anabatic]

Hi Alan

Unfortunately I don't have the original transmitter unit, I had to send that back before they would send me the first replacement unit.

However, armed with the information you have provided I will be speaking with them tomorrow to see what they have to say and to get them to send me a correct replacement unit.

Hopefully I can get the correct unit this time and be back up and running with the weather station soon.

I'll keep you posted.

Dave.

[anabatic]

The final update to this saga.

Having been back in touch with the supplier and again explained that they were sending me the wrong transmitter unit they then sent me a replacement housing to go over the transmitter rather than another replacement transmitter unit.

That was the last straw so I boxed everything back up and returned it to the supplier. Then I have had ongoing discussions with them to then get my money refunded which finally happened just over a fortnight ago.

So now I'm looking for a replacement weather station.

I have about £200 to spend and would like a weather station that can store its data so that I don't lose anything when the PC isn't switched on. What would forum members recommend?