Is the transmitter on NG968Y Directional

[Marvin02]

Hi all,

Quick question that i cannot seem to find the answer to in Faq, is the transmitter directional.
I had a problem with the windspeed indicator,rain gauge ,etc going offline, it comes on for hours, then goes off for anything up to 3 hours.
I think it might be related to the direction its pointing as its only 20-25 feet away from the receiver, albeit, through a wall

Help appreciated

[AllyCat]

Hi,

The transmitter antenna is probably slightly directional, but the operating range of these FO units varies considerably between samples. I wanted to plot the radiation pattern of the transmitter (by testing the maximum range in various directions) but my particular sample gave almost perfect reception in all directions, at my maximum available range of about 50 metres (plus a few walls in the path). But other samples can struggle at 10 metres or less.

You can find some photos of the antennas in the sticky thread "photos of the insides of FO sensors" and also a link to a rather good RFM antenna application note. If anything, the receiver/console antenna may be more directional than the transmitter (and potentially more can be done to improve it).

Other factors to consider are possible interference sources (e.g. phones, WiFi, etc.) and the USB connecting cable to the PC can cause problems. Note that if a transmitted "message" (sent every 48 seconds) is not received, then the station (obviously) does not update, but the "--" and Cumulus "lost sensor contact" is not normally reported for over 5 minutes (i.e. 6+ lost messages).

Cheers, Alan.

[Marvin02]

Thanks for the reply.
Im going to have to look into a bit more, the receiver unit is beside my pc, which has wifi,usb and just about everything else thats probably bad for it.
Dont quite understand why it would work sometimes and not others, as my wifi is on all the time.
Im up and down this ladder more times than a window cleaner to sort this thing out...lol
Will open transmitter unit and check all solder units are ok and start from there.
Maplins not getting anymore in till end of february,so will just need to try and fix the problems myself

[cobaltblue]

If my WH1080 weather station is put close to my computer screen it blocks the signal even though it is line of sight with the outdoor unit through the window. A couple of inches to one side and it works perfectly but that means I have to hold the unit in mid air! Just purchasing a 2m USB cable to cure the problem as mine is only 0.5m at the mo.
Peter