WH1081 Maplin N96FY

[alpha123]

I've recently purchased a WH1081 from Maplin. From looking at various forums it appears to be the Maplin badged version of the Fine Offset Easy weather station. Code N96FY. It was on offer and looked like a good way of collecting weather information and taking a passing interest in meteorology a step further. As a result I hold my hands up as a complete novice and an amateur.

I assembled the unit and powered it up and it has been logging for a couple of weeks. It appears to be working and logging OK. I downloaded Easyweather, and Cumulus which looked to be receiving far better comments on forums than Easy Weather. I have only had the opportunity to connect the WH1081 to my PC over the last couple of days but have experienced problems. My PC recognises that a device is trying to connect via the USB but will not get much further. The device manager shows a yellow question mark for the WH1081. I am using Windows XP.

I have tried to use a different computer and cable combination but have not faired any better.

I would value any help that anyone can give to get me up and running. I wondered if there was a driver download available or if I need to change any settings? It could possibly be a faulty USB connection in the weather station. I don't have a problem with other devices.

Many thanks for your time and efforts on my behalf.

All the best.

Dave

[steve]

You don't need any drivers, Windows sees the station as a 'HID' (Human Interface Device) like a keyboard, for example. What happens when you run Cumulus, does it say that it can't find the station?

[alpha123]

Steve,

Many thanks for taking the time to respond. I have the Cumulus set as Fine Offset (WH1081etc) and the VP Type as USB. Not sure about any of the other settings they are as the initial set up. When I open Cumulus the status is flashing red on the error icon.

Dave

[steve]

The only setting you need is the station type, which you've selected correctly. If you click the red error light, what is the error message?

[alpha123]

Steve,

Fine offset station not found! Check Connections and restart cumulus. I've done this on several occasions but have got the same result.

Dave

[alpha123]

I've not managed to get connected to East Weather either so it looks to me like the USB element of the WH1081 could be faulty?

[steve]

Yes, given that you've tried a different cable and a different computer, and Windows is unable to see the station, it looks like it's faulty.

[alpha123]

Thanks for looking at it. I'll see about getting it returned and replaced.

All the best.

Dave

[Nebby]

Hi all, after a lot of searching and getting blank stares back from Maplins and Sandaysoft. I have a very similar problem to this. For years my N96fy has run faultlessly, three month ago Windows7 said it didn't recognise the usb device so. I thought to myself maybe the station finally gave up! So.. I bought a new one! This one doesn't work either. New leads, new station, latest software and nothing! I can find lots of bits of references to this problem but never a definitive cure. Is there one?

[bruce45]

I had the same problem with my dell 1545 failed to recognise base station. it is running windows 7 and windows 8 dual boot. base station worked on another laptop without any problem.
check out https://cumulus.hosiene.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=10510
after doing this mod there has been no more problems so my thoughts were that it is a power issue on the 1545.

the diodes are only coppers so it might be worth giving it a try.

bruce

[steve]

There are rarely definitive cures for problems with stations as there can be many causes.

Does the station relay click when you make the USB connection? Does Windows make a 'device connected' sound?

[Nebby]

That's high level stuff for a man of my soldering Bruce but it may come to it After thinking for a bit longer and believe or my 4yr old saying "take it out and fix it daddy" a little light came on in the head. Back in the days of Win98 if the usb stack caused trouble that's exactly what people used to do. So, I've uninstalled all the usb controllers, rebooted. Re-instal of the new software and I have a weather station! It's seriously unstable and this power dropper might be the one. I'm going to go back to the previous software version first to see if that helps, worth a go! If not a trip to maplins is in order for one of those bits.

[Nebby]

Hi Steve, I remember the old one doing it but just pulled the connection, no click! Now windows doesn't recognise the weather system again! lol, back to square one

[bruce45]

in the link to the other post there is mentioned about the relay. the older base stations do have a relay which changes over the power from the internal batteries to the usb port and you can hear it operate then you connect the usb connecter. with the newer base stations you don't hear the relay. never opened the newer ones up to see if there is a relay or weather it is a solid state switch.

if you cant get it sorted I could make up a cable and post it to you to see if that helps.

bruce

[steve]

with the newer base stations you don't hear the relay

I did wonder if that was the case, I thought someone had mentioned it. But Windows should still make the 'device connect' and 'device disconnect' sounds, assuming you have system sounds turned on.