Lifespan of WS-2080 transmitter/receiver

[wmayfield]

It's not really a Cumulus question, but I figured this crowd was probably the best place to turn with this question:

What do you think is the lifespan of the thermometer/hygrometer/transmitter unit and/or indoor receiver unit in a WS-2080 weather station? I've had it out for about two years in some pretty extreme summer heat. It ran fine for 6 months or so when I first got it but since then I run into trouble more and more often with communication dropping between the transmitter and the receiver. Resetting the receiver usually doesn't help, but taking the batteries out and replacing them (or just putting the same batteries back in) usually does restart the communication. Now however I have finally hit the point where it just doesn't reconnect at all.

The shield took a direct hit from a tennis ball sized hailstone a couple of months ago and things have gotten noticeably worse since then. The transmitter itself didn't get hit so I'm not sure if there's a connection or not.

Any ideas how can I diagnose whether the issue lies with the transmitter or the receiver? I don't want to get a new transmitter only to find the receiver is the one with the problem or vice versa.

[wmayfield]

Additional information: When I replace the batteries in the transmitter the red led lights up for 4 seconds. At the 10 second mark I get a single red blink, and then at the 20 second mark I get 5 red blinks. Then at the 48 second mark and every 48 seconds thereafter I get a red blink.

I brought the transmitter inside so I could make sure it was not a range issue and also so I could see the red blinks. No luck with the range -- even when the transmitter is 3 feet from the receiver the receiver still does not show anything.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

AFAIK with that model (with the later non-touchscreen versions you can hold in the down-arrow button for 8+ seconds), whenever you replace the battery in the transmitter you must afterwards remove a battery from the Console (and disconnect the USB), wait a short period and re-insert. Also, 3 feet might be too close and overload the receiver (but probably not).

If you have some electronics experience and test tools, there are a few checks which can be done on the Transmitter and Console (but no certainty that a repair is possible).

Cheers, Alan.

[Charlie]

Additional information: When I replace the batteries in the transmitter the red led lights up for 4 seconds. At the 10 second mark I get a single red blink, and then at the 20 second mark I get 5 red blinks. Then at the 48 second mark and every 48 seconds thereafter I get a red blink.

If you read the manual, you will see this is exactly what it is supposed to do.

The lifespan (MTBF) is compromised by the chip on board manufacturing technology, generally intended for singing greeting cards and such. Not sure of what the actual numbers are, but I doubt it will be measured in decades.

[wmayfield]

I had looked through the manual supplied by Ambient Weather and couldn't find any reference to the 5 flashes but I maybe I missed something. I did remove the batteries in the transmitter for 10 minutes and when I put them back in then the communications were re-established. Everything has been running OK for about 24 hours now. Hopefully that will keep up -- for the last couple of months I've been having to reset the transmitter about twice a week.

Based on the info at http://www.timetec.freeserve.co.uk/DCF/dcf_003.htm I thought the antenna alignment might have been part of the issue so I rotated the mounting of the transmitter 90 degrees (I didn't disassemble the transmitter and physically re-mount the antenna). We'll see if that makes a difference.

[Charlie]

The 5 flashes are part of syncing with the time signal. I'm not sure if it's in the version of the manual you got, but the version in the Wiki (http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/File:WH1080.pdf) explains it on page 5. It would be a strange thing to remove.

Changing the alignment is a good idea and could help range a bit, but re-seating batteries in the transmitter should not make any difference. Perhaps the contacts are getting corroded?

[hamerly]

I found that problems receiving data/disconnecting from the remote unit could be fixed by opening the unit and extending the internal antenna of the base unit. It is a red wire that circles around inside the case, but there is an exit hole that you can push it through so that its extends in a straight line. This fixed my communication problems. I still occasionally have to restart everything by pulling the batteries, but that's when the overall unit is failing.