Cumulus Support

Hi Antonio,

"High Quality" is a very common Chinese/ebay term, but yes I think a USB3 cable always will be screened. But I believe that USB3 has additional contacts and cores in the plug/cable, so I don't have any experience if that might help (or hinder) the operation of FO's already "non-standard" interface. Particularly as we have no real explanation why using different software on the PC appears to make a difference.

pacificblue03 wrote:I have the WS1081 Solar panel transmitter model does that actually charge the battery or not?

I wasn't aware of any "1081"s having a Solar Pod; normally the Solar Data model numbers begin with a "3" and maybe the Solar Charging (with no Data) models with a "2" (but there appear to be exceptions). However the "normal" data transmissions are (usually) compatible; the extra Solar data is sent in a separate transmission (when the red LED on the Pod flashes, not that on the transmittter). You should notice that the dashes for UV/Lux on the console disappear (i.e. are replaced by data digits) at different times to the other data.

A possible way to identify "Solar" transmitters is to look closely into the "Rain" socket. If it has 6 little "gold wires" then it's (probably) a solar version, if only 4 wires then it's probably a "108x". AFAIK any station supplied with a Solar Pod (and transmitter) should attempt to charge the batteries. But IMHO the "issue" is that the (supplied/recommended) "Rechargeable Alkaline" cells are fundamentally a "rubbish" technology. All Alkaline cells can be "recharged" to a limited extent and it may be better to use good quality (branded) non-rechargeable (which are less likely to leak chemicals) than the cheap "rechargeables" supplied by FO. There are also various "genuine" rechargeable technologies (such as NiMH, NiZn, LiFePO4) which can be used, but all have their own particular Pros and Cons.

Cheers, Alan.

PS: Reading through the thread again, does your station actually send Lux/UV data? It's the "308x" models which appear(ed) to have the (serious) problem with USB cable radiation (but it might occur with any).

If there is no solar data, then personally I would just throw away the Pod (sealing the top of the sun-screen of course) fit good quality standard Alkaline batteries, or Lithium non-rechargeables for long life or ultra-low temperatures (not relevant to Australia), and plug the Rain cable directly into the Rain socket [EDIT: i.e. on the sensor-Transmitter not the Pod]. But that's not likely to affect any radio transmission issues.

I can get a USB 2 cable if thats the safer option, also attached is an image of my transmitter solar thing, i dont think it does anything as i dont see solar data anyware?


Antonio.

I have some new developments, after researching that the stupid solar panel does not charge your battery but just powers so that DATA can be sent means my batteries that came with the station were flat, I saw today outside a TX battery icon flashing i assumed it meant flat battery outside.

Changed them and instant NO DASHES

Will test in Cumulus now and report back

Antonio.

Okay so good news indeed.

Been running cumulus all day since changing the battery and so far on cumulus only one time it said lost sensor contact but was all just like FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF and only happened one time. Then on the console itself not at all have i seen any dashes.

So for anyone who has had some issues with their weather station this might be a small silly fix that you might also need to do


Antonio.

Hi Antonio,

pacificblue03 wrote:.... my batteries that came with the station were flat, ...

Are those the Chinese "Rechargeable Alkaline" cells or something else? Can you quote the brand name?

Looking back to your first setup screenshot, I (now) see that the "non-Solar" mode is selected (which is very probably correct for what you have). It appears that you have one of the "intermediate" stations which has a "solar charging" Pod but NO solar data transmission (it is intended just to charge the battery). IMHO that was/is a pointless "marketing" feature: In practice the transmitters should/will run using any normal, reasonable-quality Alkaline cells for 2+ years (without any charging). By this time ,the supplied "rechargeables" are likely to have already failed due to either over-charging (Australia), under-charging (UK, etc.) or just their general "rubbish" quality (your situation?).

But back to your "lost contacts": Generally, you should never get any, because it indicates that about 7 consecutive messages have been missed. So the communications are really struggling and may totally fail at any time, for example when the battery voltage falls (which it does over their life).

The station "should" work over a range of much more than 5 metres, but the more likely cause is a "faulty" Console (receiver). So, I'm afraid it needs more questions: Is your Console a classic "Touchscreen" model (with curved sides) or with pushbuttons (either 7 below or 6 beside the screen) or something else? And do you have any "warranty" with the seller?

The 7-button console is the only one which I "know" can be improved by a better quality USB cable. For your case, I suggest you try moving the Console a metre (or more if possible) closer to the transmitter and then further away from its current position and see if you can get any consistent results (which might be better or worse reception). Also, how far can it be moved away from the transmitter when not connected to the computer (noting that it takes at least 6 minutes before the dashes appear)?

Cheers, Alan.

They are green they only say

Rechargeable alkaline Battery AA 1.5V

yes u get one year warranty and also so far so good with cumulus and those new batteries in the receiver

not sure if you have sorted this out but I use usb3 cables and they work fine. there is also a diode mod that can be done which I did on a usb2 cable and that dose improve things as well.

And it just happens again, and again ... these stations they suck, truley when i had a Davis nothing was ever wrong haha ..