Station WS 1081 With Solar panel on top of transmitter

[pacificblue03]

Purchased about a week ago and it works great, when not connected to PC running cumulus, When running easyweather, its fine i can easily continue watching my data on screen, however when i have it plugged into cumulus its not very long before i get "lost sensor contact" and --- displays on rain and wind and on temps are from outside....

I will attach the settings i am using and hopefully we can set this right haha.

Also will attach average chart with a daily dip when this happens ..

Antonio.

[water01]

Set "Synchronise Fine Offset Reads" at the bottom of Settings to improve communication between Cumulus and the Fine Offset station.

Not clear from your post but just to be clear you cannot run easyweather at the same time as Cumulus and you must NOT let your PC sleep or hibernate when it is connected to Cumulus.

It also might be worth checking that your USB hubs are not using power options to switch off when "not in use".

[pacificblue03]

Set "Synchronise Fine Offset Reads" at the bottom of Settings to improve communication between Cumulus and the Fine Offset station.

Not clear from your post but just to be clear you cannot run easyweather at the same time as Cumulus and you must NOT let your PC sleep or hibernate when it is connected to Cumulus.

It also might be worth checking that your USB hubs are not using power options to switch off when "not in use".

Thanks i have ticked that option, will see how it goes hopefully no more dashes.. also i never run the two at once haha and also yes those options are set how they should be

~Antonio.

[steve]

I believe a number of people experience loss of communication between the transmitter and the console when they plug the console into a PC, without running any software at all. This is presumably caused by RF interference. The fact that you are apparently seeing it running Cumulus and not EW may be due to the different communication pattern of one compared to the other. Perhaps a different USB cable, or one with chokes fitted, will improve matters, if that is indeed the cause.

[pacificblue03]

Righto, well i shall monitor it and see how we go, so far so good but sometimes i wont see it till i have run cumulus for over an hour at least.

Antonio.

[steve]

Alan (AllyCat) is the real expert on this kind of thing, so he may well have some good advice to offer when he sees this.

[pacificblue03]

Hopefully, still going fine, might even be the longest that this has lasted haha

This never happened with my Davis

Antonio.

[AllyCat]

Hi Antonio,

Yes, Steve's advice is absolutely correct. There is a "known issue" of interference being radiated by the (supplied) USB cable when connected to a computer. In my case communication from the external transmitter to the console was blocked "immediately" that the (Netbook) computer was plugged in. This causes the data to stop updating but it's approximately six minutes before the Console displays dashes and Cumulus reports the "lost contact".

The simplest solution is probably to buy a "better" USB cable, which will probably be screened and longer. However, the cable is rather "non-standard" because it has a "Male type A Plug" at each end (strictly there should a "type B" plug/socket at the Console end). I can't recommend any specific supplier, but there should be no need to spend more than a few Dollars/Pounds/Euros from Amazon or an ebay "shop". If you're not sure, post a link to a seller's listing and we should at least be able to say if it's the correct type (but can't guarantee the quality or if it wil definitely "fix" your issue).

Cheers, Alan.

[uncle_bob]

Using the remote on my garage door used to knock out my comms, sometimes for hours.
My fine offset console is now gathering dust, next stop the rubbish bin.

[Favweather]

I have the same had to move the console away from the PC then works fine

[pacificblue03]

No change

[pacificblue03]

Hi Antonio,

Yes, Steve's advice is absolutely correct. There is a "known issue" of interference being radiated by the (supplied) USB cable when connected to a computer. In my case communication from the external transmitter to the console was blocked "immediately" that the (Netbook) computer was plugged in. This causes the data to stop updating but it's approximately six minutes before the Console displays dashes and Cumulus reports the "lost contact".

The simplest solution is probably to buy a "better" USB cable, which will probably be screened and longer. However, the cable is rather "non-standard" because it has a "Male type A Plug" at each end (strictly there should a "type B" plug/socket at the Console end). I can't recommend any specific supplier, but there should be no need to spend more than a few Dollars/Pounds/Euros from Amazon or an ebay "shop". If you're not sure, post a link to a seller's listing and we should at least be able to say if it's the correct type (but can't guarantee the quality or if it wil definitely "fix" your issue).

Cheers, Alan.

Thanks for that explanation, i have found this am i close? haha

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-5m-USB-2-0 ... 4ab6c343f2

Also today i had the dashes for over 3 hours .. maybe a dud sensor?

[AllyCat]

Hi Antonio,

Yes, that looks to be a suitable replacement cable. It doesn't have a ferrite filter ring and no specific statement that it's screened (but likely it is), however it's probably a better quality than supplied by FO.

You haven't said what distance (or obstructions) you have between your transmitter and the receiver, nor if there is still a difference between running Cumulus and Easyweather (which would be surprising). Also, there can be other causes of interference (too numerous to mention), but I think a replacement cable is well worth a trial. Tell us if it helps.

Cheers, Alan.

[pacificblue03]

Hi Antonio,

Yes, that looks to be a suitable replacement cable. It doesn't have a ferrite filter ring and no specific statement that it's screened (but likely it is), however it's probably a better quality than supplied by FO.

You haven't said what distance (or obstructions) you have between your transmitter and the receiver, nor if there is still a difference between running Cumulus and Easyweather (which would be surprising). Also, there can be other causes of interference (too numerous to mention), but I think a replacement cable is well worth a trial. Tell us if it helps.

Cheers, Alan.

My transmitter in a straight line would be possibly 5 or so meters away, Ran easyweather today because i wanted some data on my screen haha and its been fine as of the whole test. Just quickly went into cumulus and the dashes appeared within a few minutes.

I will have another quick look but at least i know what im looking for cable wise so hopefully this can sort it.

I have the WS1081 Solar panel transmitter model does that actually charge the battery or not?

Antonio.

[pacificblue03]

Here is one more i have found its stated "high Quality"

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-5m-High-Qu ... 3a7c92e85f

Is that one better than the last one i found?

Antonio.