Cumulus Support

Hi

Yesterday I got some very strange readings from my FO WH-3081 station.

I got a low temp of -16.4deg, a humidity of 10%, and a rainfall of 52.4mm, all of which are way off the real values (of a nice warm sunny calm day).

Strange thing is the values only show in the high/low/extreme entries in Cumulus, and don't show on the graphs (and the rainfall only showed on the console, and not in Cumulus).

Can anyone help me with suggestions as to why this happened, and/or how to fix it? My unit is quite new (purchased at the end of July). Could this be a faulty unit?

I regularly get 'Lost sensor contact' error messages (every 2nd or 3rd day or so), but this is the first time I've had the problem with the incorrect high/low values.

Thanks in advance
Jeremy

The graphs are just snapshots of the data at the time of the plot (in other words, not every data value is plotted), so extreme values may well not appear on the graphs.

I strongly suspect that your loss of sensor contact and these odd readings are related, as the console is struggling to receive the signal from the transmitter. I think the first thing to check would be the batteries, particularly if you are using batteries which were supplied with the station.

Thanks for the information Steve. There's new batteries in the console, but I used the supplied rechargeables for the sensor/transmitter. Maybe I should replace them with better quality rechargeables....?

Cheers
Jeremy

jturner wrote: I used the supplied rechargeables for the sensor/transmitter. Maybe I should replace them with better quality rechargeables....?

Ah, yes, I'd forgotten that they are rechargeables in that model. I'd be tempted to try better ones, yes. Is your transmitter far from the console?

There were similar problems in WH1081 with solar panel to be presented: as false rains and also in the sunrise (dawn). Failure would be the source when the solar panel start charging rechargeable batteries. You would have to examine this.

Best Regards,

Hi Steve

It's about 20m from the console to the transmitter, and the path is through a tiled roof and a couple of interior walls.

Jeremy

steve wrote:I'd be tempted to try better ones, yes.

Hi Jeremy,

The problem is deciding what are "better" rechargeable batteries. The "best" I know are low-leakage NiMH cells but these are nominally only 1.2 volts compared with the 1.5 volts of the rechargeable alkalines, so the transmitter power may be lower. Personally I'd use 1.5 v non-rechargeable AA Lithium cells, but I've seen not seen any reports of potential risks which might occur if these are "charged" from a solar cell.

However, IMHO the first thing to try (if practical) is to rotate the transmitter and/or logger (base station) by say 90 degrees to see if the internal aerials have better directionality. I found the comms from my 3081 seemed particularly poor when the receiver was located only about 5 metres immediately below the transmitter (and less than 20m horizontally through a couple of walls doesn't seem totally reliable).

Cheers, Alan.

Hi

It could be that you have another station nearby. The antenna in the base - if it is the same as the 1081 - is just a short length of red wire and could be positioned badly inside. Try turning the base on its side as the 'antenna' might be running hoziontally. Adding an external antenna would improve things but would invalidate the warranty. Is the reception any better during bright sunlight when the batteries should be well charged if so - as you say better batteries - I don't know if they are still available but rechargeable alkalines would give a better voltage.

Regards
Alan

Hi Alan

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I'll try different batteries in the transmitter, and try changing the orientation of the console and transmitter.

I'll let you know if I see any improvement. Could take a little while as I'll have to wait for a convenient time to get the station down from it's mast.

As an aside, I just wanted to say what an excellent forum this is. I've been involved in a few (especially those on photography), and I'd have to say that the people on this forum are the most helpful and polite of any I've seen. Thanks Steve for running such a great forum....!

Cheers
Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

You're not alone, as I'm seeing this as well on a newly purchased N96FY (1080 or 1081 not sure which exactly)

Seems to me it's as the memory gets to 25% as well as the 2-3 day cycle thing you mentioned.

I think I may try decreasing the interval on the unit so as to fill the memory quicker, then we could rule out faulty memory chips I would suppose. (can anyone confirm that might be the right way to diagnose that?)

Any other diagnostic ideas anyone has would be most welcome too.

Flying Eye wrote:Seems to me it's as the memory gets to 25% as well as the 2-3 day cycle thing you mentioned.

I think I may try decreasing the interval on the unit so as to fill the memory quicker, then we could rule out faulty memory chips I would suppose. (can anyone confirm that might be the right way to diagnose that?)

Sounds good to me - if I suspected faulty memory, that's the way I'd approach it.

Thanks for the second opinion Steve, we may both be wrong but it makes me feel better about it at least! I've set it for 5 minutes as that's as low as it will allow. I'll find out twice as fast as before if it is a memory problem, or not. I'm hoping not and that the new batteries this morning have the desired effect, it had lost contact yet again this morning just before I changed the cells!

Had a general tidy up too while I was there, I was in that familiar sort of hurry a week or so back when setting it all up for the first time.

It's starting to look quite sober and respectable for one of my efforts. (that's quite a worry in itself)

UPDATE:

OK, so it's lost contact before getting as far as 25% in the memory usage, so that's looking less likely now. I actually see that as better news! I just learned down the years that when times get tough, equipment and component makers cut corners in Memory and Capacitors first in general.

This "lost contact" was with brand new batteries, and they have a use by date of 03/2018!

I have also found a suitable bit of wood and "wall mounted" the console to that, so it now has it's back facing the transmitter about 3 metres away through a window. dead level line of sight; I don't think I can be any more accommodating!

So given all that I got a lost contact, BUT what is new is that it recovered! One error log entry of lost contact and then right back to it again! That is a very nice sight to see as every previous incident resulted in being forced to remove the batteries from the console and then replacing them to force a wipe/reset.

So, this is looking a bit more promising. I can now only monitor and wait to see what happens next.

Hi Ian,

I think perhaps you should have started a new thread as the OP has a different model (3081) and is in Australia.

The 1080/1 should recover from "lost contact" because it continues to monitor the specific transmitter "window". It seems to be only the new 3080/1 models which attempt to "search" for a lost transmitter (and IMHO run the risk of becoming "confused" by interference or finding a "wrong" transmitter, etc.).

Flying Eye wrote: it now has it's back facing the transmitter about 3 metres away through a window. dead level line of sight;

That is truly terrible performance and after a few checks I think you should return the system to Maplin for replacement or refund. I may have a "good" unit, but my Maplin kit works over at least 50 metres (and on 2.4 volts from NiMH cells).

However, you should ensure that you have no "local" interference (maybe another weather station, or nearby WiFi/Homeplug network, cordless telephone, etc.) and it's worth rotating the transmitter and/or receiver by 90 degrees to ensure you haven't hit a "null" in the aerial pattern.

Cheers, Alan.

I wonder if Steve would be able to trim off my bit and move it to a new thread?

I was thinking that his problem sounded exactly like mine, and thought we may be able to mutually work out what was going on.

If Steve can move it then fine, and if not then I'll go with a new thread for any further updates, good or bad. (fingers crossed it seems to be behaving at last.)