Da' dreaded ISS battery "eatin'" syndrome . . . .

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat subscribers to my Davis station "mellar-drama."

Could it be that deliverance is at hand?  . . . .

It was a terrific struggle, but today I finally completed relocating my station transmitter from the Davis factory position at the end of the rain gauge to a 6382 enclosure next to my temperature/humidity probe under the deck.  This meant running 3 50+ foot data cables from the anemometer, rain gauge, and solar radiation sensor back to under the deck.  It took a lot of prep work, but today I actually spliced the data cables, moved the ISS transmitter board into the new enclosure and replaced the old temperature/humidity probe with a new fan-aspirated assembly (fan is also AC powered via a universal AC adapter.)  I had to buy an extra Davis AC adapter to power the ISS board since solar power was no longer available.

This afternoon, I powered up the ISS board and waited . . . . .   At first the console couldn't find the instruments, but eventually everything worked normally.  I ran some water through the rain gauge and used a blower to get the anemometer moving just to be sure.  I then deleted the data logger in the Weather Envoy using the Davis WeatherLink software so all erroneous data was purged before WeatherCat was launched.  Everything has been working fine since.

I'll write-up the changes in gory detail, but I've had to put some other projects on hold that are now pressing.  So it may be while.

In a word Phew!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

Congratulations. I love it when a plan come together. This should eliminate your spare change going to Herb for battery commissions and is actually a much better arrangement for data transmission.

[Bull Winkus]

Good job, Edouard!  With all the spare change you've sent my way, I can retire! ? Oh, wait.  I am retired. ? Never mind.

Can't wait to read the gory details.

[elagache]

Dear Blick, Herb, and WeatherCat soap opera viewers,

Thanks!  It was a terrific struggle but clean living prevailed! 

Everything looks just fine after a bit over 24 hours.  The one pleasant surprise is the responsiveness of the thermometer now that it is fan aspirated.  I was a bit concerned when I first put the thermometer under the deck that the air was a bit stagnant.  I removed some of the baffles in the radiation shield to improve the air flow.  Clearly that wasn't good enough.

The only downside with using the Davis fan kit is that the motors aren't supposed to last very long when running at 3 volts.  So I'll have to come up with another fan in the not too distant future.  The guys on the WXForum suggested trying a fan for PC.  Sounds like a good idea since those fans run a long time and have to be tough.

Cheers, Edouard 

[LesCimes]

I'm a bit slow catching on. Why did you want to move the transmitter board to under the deck? Doesn't the 6382 have its own transmitter? (I have one on order as an add-on to my station.) Glad it all worked out, but am confused about the new setup.

Speaking about the fan aspirated retrofit, I did this. Can't tell if it is still operating. I know it requires pretty direct sunlight to make it work. Suspect that the solar panel is not putting out the "juice" that it should be.

[elagache]

Dear LesCimes and WeatherCat soap opera viewers,

I'm a bit slow catching on. Why did you want to move the transmitter board to under the deck? Doesn't the 6382 have its own transmitter? (I have one on order as an add-on to my station.) Glad it all worked out, but am confused about the new setup.

The reason I had to make this change is that I had been running a 50+ foot data cable between the temperature/humidity to the ISS transmitter when I put up the station 2009.  It turns out that Davis no longer recommends extending the data cables at all on the temperature/humidity probe.  It is likely to cause problems.  Last fall, my station started to generate sensor errors after I replaced the ISS transmitter, and I believe Davis made some changes in the past 5 years and caused that long temperature/humidity data cable to generate errors (even if it had worked for 5 years.)  I didn't want to relocate any of my instruments, so I basically used the same strategy in reverse.  Instead of running 1 long data cable from the deck to my other instruments, I ran 3 long data cables from my rain gauge, anemometer, and solar radiation sensor back to the temperature/humidity probe.  According to Davis tech support, all those instruments work just fine with longer data cables.  I then moved the ISS transmitter into a 6382 enclosure.  I was able only buy the enclosure from Scaled Instruments so I saved a little money.

Speaking about the fan aspirated retrofit, I did this. Can't tell if it is still operating. I know it requires pretty direct sunlight to make it work. Suspect that the solar panel is not putting out the "juice" that it should be.

Do you have the daytime only fan setup or the 24 hour version with the additional batteries?  According to the tech support guys at Davis, the solar panels basically never wear out.  So if you aren't hearing the fan motor, odds are something else is wrong.  There are reports on WXForum and elsewhere that the Davis motors that you buy today are poorly constructed and just won't last very long.  So replacing the motor with another Davis one is most likely a costly mistake.

Cheers, Edouard 

[LesCimes]

Davis no longer recommends extending the data cables at all on the temperature/humidity probe.

Odd. I emailed them about this same thing, extending the cable on 6382 which I ordered last week. I expect I will need to locate the transmitter, which comes with 2' cable connecting to the sensor, a short distance from the sensor unit in order for the signal to reach my Console. Davis tech said it can be extended. Hmm, we shall see. Hopefully I won't need the extension or if I do the extension will be within tolerances. Thanks for the info - helpful. Alternatively, they sell a relay to extend the transmitters reach. Expensive, but it would work.

[LesCimes]

Do you have the daytime only fan setup or the 24 hour version with the additional batteries?

I retrofitted the fan, so it doesn't have batteries, just the solar panel. So it runs only when the sun is shining on it. I haven't investigated it closely to see if indeed it is no longer operating. Need to find time on a bright sunny day to go out to the unit and look/listen closely. Hopefully it is still operational. If not, then what your saying is that it is likely to be the fan motor. Bummer. Would really like to upgrade to the 24 hour fan unit, but that requires a totally new VP2 with the feature included. Something to save for.

[Blicj11]

It was a terrific struggle but clean living prevailed! 

This is the key to most successes in life. 

[elagache]

Dear LesCimes, Blick, and WeatherCat Davis fans,

Davis no longer recommends extending the data cables at all on the temperature/humidity probe.

Odd. I emailed them about this same thing, extending the cable on 6382 which I ordered last week. I expect I will need to locate the transmitter, which comes with 2' cable connecting to the sensor, a short distance from the sensor unit in order for the signal to reach my Console. Davis tech said it can be extended. Hmm, we shall see. Hopefully I won't need the extension or if I do the extension will be within tolerances. Thanks for the info - helpful.

I'm a bit confused.  You were considering extending the cable between the temperature/humidity probe?  Davis still sells the 6 conductor extension cable but only as a close-out:

http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/install_cables.asp

It may be okay for the Soil sensors, but the techs I spoke to at Davis were really against extending the temperature/humidity cable.  They buy the actual sensor from another company and that company has made it clear that these cables need to be kept as short as possible. 

I retrofitted the fan, so it doesn't have batteries, just the solar panel. So it runs only when the sun is shining on it. I haven't investigated it closely to see if indeed it is no longer operating. Need to find time on a bright sunny day to go out to the unit and look/listen closely. Hopefully it is still operational. If not, then what your saying is that it is likely to be the fan motor. Bummer.

If you made this upgrade a long time ago, the motor should be of the better quality type Davis used to have.  However, these motors do operate in a tough environment.  They won't last forever.

Would really like to upgrade to the 24 hour fan unit, but that requires a totally new VP2 with the feature included. Something to save for.

Actually you can just upgrade to the FARS probe.  Scaled Instruments parts out Davis VP2 stations and sells just the FARS setup:

https://www.scaledinstruments.com/product/davis-6153s-24hr-solar-powered-aspirated-shield-for-pro2/

It is expensive at $250, but that's still a small fraction of replacing the entire station.

Cheers, Edouard 

[LesCimes]

Thanks, Edouard, for the tips. I'll look at that option from Scaled Instruments for a new fan.

Yes, a person at Davis sent me a link for cable extensions. http://www.davisnet.com/weather/search_product.asp?pnum=7876 I'm not convinced he was paying close attention to what I was asking. He answered my email addressed to the sales department. I also email the tech department at Davis to get a different perspective. That guy also said the cable could be extend but he thinks I'll be able to connect wirelessly, i.e. that the distance won't be too far. So, I ordered the sensor and will verify it is calibrated the same as my VP2 ISS (I presume it will read the same) and then move the new sensor to the final location further from my house, hoping that the signal will be strong enough to reach the Console in the house.

Appreciate the input. Helpful.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat fans of Davis stations,

Just a quick heads up.  Running the daytime fan aspiration setup at 3 volts via a universal AC adapter is known to shorten the life of the Davis motor, but this morning I walked by the temperature/humidity probe and the motor is already "rattling" much louder than it was when I first installed it . . . . 6 days ago. 

So it seems these fan motors are indeed of a poor quality.  I was planning to replace it with a PC case fan as these are inexpensive, tough, and run on 12 volts that my adapter can also supply.  Looks like I'd better start shopping for one!

Cheers, Edouard