Signal dropping on Ambient Weather WS-2080

[wmayfield]

I have seen similar questions in the forum but none of them seem to be quite the same problem, so I'll post this:

I have a WS-2080 that has been working fine since I got it about three months ago. It started dropping the connection between the weather station and the base unit about a week ago. It would drop and then reconnect on its own a few seconds or minutes later. Then yesterday it dropped and would not come back.

I changed the batteries in both the weather station and the base unit inside. The connection will re-establish briefly but then drops again in less than a minute. If I disconnect the base unit from the computer and put it directly in the window overlooking the weather station, it connects fine and stays connected.

The computer is about 15 feet away from the window with a clear shot through the window to the weather station. As I said earlier, it had been working fine until yesterday. Nothing has changed in the area where the base unit is normally kept. It's about 3 feet from the computer and LCD monitor. There have not been any changes to the environment around the base unit as far as I know.

I can't move the computer so the base unit will have to stay more or less where it is within the 5-foot radius of the USB cord.

Any ideas what I can try to get the connection to stay connected?

[wd40]

The first thing I would try is raise your WS transmitter. height is your friend when it comes to range on these things.

My Ws2080 started dropping connection same as yours, but stopped when I raised the temp/hum sensor a couple of feet higher.

Randy

[wmayfield]

I could give that a try, but it's already up about 12 feet in the air and the receiver is actually above the transmitter (my base unit is on the 2nd floor of the house and about 6 feet up the wall). If I can't get anything else figured out this week maybe I can hammer together a little stand to raise it up a couple more feet.

[Ned]

Could be the unit is going rogue, such as a bad solder joint.
However, you could try reorienting the transmitter in case the present radiation pattern is at minimum in the direction of your console. You can also add a short USB extension to the console to allow a better mounting location, as I did.

[wd40]

Ned had a good point there, on the console location.

Since you the console is higher than the transmitter, you might try the console leaning a bit downward kind of pointing at the station. You might not be able to see the console display but Cumulus is there anyway.

I was lucky enough to have a wall behind my PC, that I could put a nail in to mount the console as high as the cable would allow. Just another thought.

Is it possible, that with a high console location, the line of sight might be through the floor?

Randy

[wmayfield]

Because of where the computer is in the house, even with a USB extension cord I don't have the option of moving the receiver closer to the window. I did move it about a foot higher (and farther away from the computer and monitor) in hopes of reducing any RF interference from the computer, but that doesn't seem to have made a difference. Both the original and the new location have a direct line of sight through the window to the transmitter.

The connection flickered to life on its own a couple of times yesterday evening and then dropped for the rest of the night about 8 p.m. I'm back to suspecting the batteries again. Although I replaced the batteries in the transmitter maybe the replacement batteries were duds. I'll go out and get some fresh batteries and try again and post the results later.

[wd40]

You are using Lithium batteries, correct?

How far would you say the station is from the console?

Randy

[nking]

If nothing has changed environmentally and you've only had the unit 3 months and it seems that you are close to the transmitter, I would go back to the retailer and ask for a replacement.

[wmayfield]

After all that it looks like it was just dead batteries. That was my first diagnosis and the first thing I did was to change the batteries in the transmitter, but it looks like my replacement batteries must have been bad too. I went out and got some brand new Duracells this morning and put them in the transmitter and it has been working fine for about 4 hours now.

[wd40]

Glad you got it working.

[nking]

Good news but the batteries should last longer than 3 months.... assuming they were new in the first place