Cumulus Support

I purchased one of these recently as my anemometer site was not ideal and I've been experimenting today with distance from the base unit.

With Transmitter at 5.5m height, I was surprised to achieve 335m and one brick wall. My chosen site is 195m and two stone, two brick walls and a few conifers in the line between aerials, and seems to be OK. I don't have any method of measuring signal strength so possibly in certain directions, distance could be even better. Before I permanently place the sensor, I'll leave it for a few days to see if I get any signal losses.

This is just for info, as if like me you read the Davis figure of '300m' and are a bit sceptical.

You can check the signal strength of the anemometer transmitter & any other transmitters at the console by pressing the Temp & Humidity buttons at the same time which will show the "Statistical Diagnostics Screen". While in this mode press 2nd & then Chill gets the "Reception Diagnostic Screen". On the RH side top line below the date will show the Signal Strength & this should be between 20 & 60. You can go from one station to the next by pressing the right arrow button ">" on the RH bottom of the console to check each one.
I have a separate anemometer transmitter set up as station 1 & the ISS as station 2 so you need to know which station is which to check your anemometer signal & other information.
All this is shown in the VP2 console manual from page 35. There is a lot of information displayed on these screens so it's best to have the manual to help you workout what is what.

Thankyou very much for that - proves that one should read the whole manual.
I've managed to find the manual and currently getting 25 signal strength but only 85% good packets. Currently moving the anemometer around slightly to see if I can improve things.

jdc wrote:Thankyou very much for that - proves that one should read the whole manual.
I've managed to find the manual and currently getting 25 signal strength but only 85% good packets. Currently moving the anemometer around slightly to see if I can improve things.

To me 25 signal strength & 85% good packets is very much on the low side. When you are checking the signal strength you will probably notice it does fluctuate if you watch it for a few minutes, so it may drop below 20 occasionally which would be too low.

As with most home installation it usually gets down to the best all round compromise. If the anemometer position you are checking out now it the best site for it then you may have to look at buying the Davis 7627 re transmitter & installing it so as to avoid the obstacles that are there, or you will have to choose another site for the anemometer to get a much better signal strength, which means the anemometer will not perform as well.

If it was me I would go for the best anemometer site & add the re transmitter, but this certainly adds extra cost. Hopefully this helps you decide which is the best way to go.

Touchtone wrote: To me 25 signal strength & 85% good packets is very much on the low side. When you are checking the signal strength you will probably notice it does fluctuate if you watch it for a few minutes, so it may drop below 20 occasionally which would be too low.

I agree, so have moved location a few times today, and currently have one which is fully exposed and giving 95% good packets & sig strength over 30.

After spending £180 on the transmitter, I don't think I'd be allowed to spend more!

Thanks again.