Improving the data flow...

[Gordon-Loomberah]

My LaCrosse suffers from frequent breaks in the data from the outside sensor- which shows up as a constant wind speed or temperature, usually for less than 10 minutes but sometimes for an hour or more. At best it is only set to transmit outside data every 128 seconds when used wirelessly, which just isnt enough to keep track of the wind here, which is often very gusty and variable. If you connect them with a phone cable the data gets sent every 8 seconds, which is what I would like, but dont really feel like the effort or expense of digging a 60m trench.
I've been on the lookout for some way to do it wirelessly to fool the outside unit into thinking its connected by cable and have discovered these:
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/wireles ... -jack-kit/

Has anyone tried anything like this? They dont mention that they are suitable for transmitting weather station data, but from the list of things it can be used for, I can see no good reason that it would not work...unless it needs a dial tone to connect or something.
My solar/wind power shed isn't too far from the outside sensor out in the paddock, so I have 240V power available to run the transmitter unit. The 10-40C operating temperature range might be an issue, it gets to freezing or below in the shed in winter, and over 40 in summer, so maybe I'll have to build an insulated box for it, and I will probably mount it outside as the metal shed may shield the signal.

Any thoughts are welcome

thanks, Gordon

[beteljuice]

It won't work !

The LaCrosse cable is not configured in any kind of standard way !

[Gordon-Loomberah]

Hmmm, thats no good! Is that a definite "no way its going to work" because you have tried it? What do you mean by non standard configuration? The phone cables here only use 2 wires, the multimeter shows + ~52V across them.
Do you know what the output from the LaCrosse stations is? There are 4 wires in the standard cables here, but only 2 are needed for data I think, but I have no idea what might be required to get the LaCrosse data through that wireless extender.

thanks, Gordon

[beteljuice]

Several different issues there !

Ignoring the wx cable:

The wireless telephony kit is going to expect (but probably isolate) the exchange 'line' voltage, and then use any A/C component. This will include the higher ringing voltage.

In a similar fashion, at its receiver end, it is going to reinstate the 'line' voltage. (to work any telephony kit it expects).

So at the very least you would have to do some kind modifications to isolate power at base staion end, and perhaps provide 3 => 4.5v at the sensor end. (wx cable base to sensor, outer pair are power, inner pair are data)

In terms of 'fooling' the unit to think it's cabled (frequency wise), there is a modification you can do, but that isn't going to help your drop-outs and will decrease your battery life.

Sorry to muddy the water.

[stevenhale]

In terms of 'fooling' the unit to think it's cabled (frequency wise), there is a modification you can do, but that isn't going to help your drop-outs and will decrease your battery life.

Could you give me a link to the details of the modification? I remember seeing it a few months ago, but I can't find it now!

Do you know how long the battery tends to last after the modification? I don't mind changing the batteries more often, if it's say every six months or something. But if it's once a week then that's no good! Do you know if I can use an external power supply to power the sensors? I can get power to the unit easily, just not a cable to the base unit.

Thanks!

[Gordon-Loomberah]

I'm interested in that too, and maybe I can add directional 433MHz antennae to stop the drop outs.

thanks, Gordon

[beteljuice]

Here's the modification to make LaCrosse 23xx sample @ 8s when wireless:

http://www.wikihow.com/Modify-a-Lacross ... ss-Updates

Something else you can do :-

If you open up your base station you will a single copper wire around the case only connected at one end. This is the receiving aerial (The length will depend on how old your unit is). A good working length is 34cm, but you can add another 17cm or even double it, this will drastically improve your reception (but possibly also interference). In a similar fashion you could attach a copper wire to the sensor copper PCB aerial.

Power: the beteljuice did type

... perhaps provide 3 => 4.5v at the sensor end. (wx cable base to sensor, outer pair are power, inner pair are data) ..

or of course wire your adapter directly to the sensor PCB / batt. connectors

[stevenhale]

Thanks!