ISS Transmitting Board

[Blicj11]

There ought to be some way to jump the current from the connector such that you could get a voltage reading.  I was measuring the voltage at the end of the connector of my solar panel although perhaps the probes of my multi-tester were pointed enough so make contact.  You ought to be able to send a bit of metal conductor and use that as a bridge to get a voltage reading.  Maybe a sewing pin would work?

When I was dealing with my station's "issuez" a Davis tech that I spoke with said that he had never heard of of a solar panel ever failing.  Certainly a cable can get damaged, but if you don't see any visible sign of damage - it would be quite a fluke.

Great suggestion. Thanks. Davis told me the same thing. He told me in the 7 years he had been working there he had never heard of a solar panel failing.

Hey Blick. Sorry to hear about your SP issues. Like Edouard points out, surely you can find something that you can use to make contact with the cable connector. I usually keep scrap pieces of wire from previous projects. Sometimes it is fine wire and sometimes it is stranded. So, if you have any stranded wire about, you might be able to remove the insulation from a piece about 2 inches long and separate the strands to get a tiny enough wire. If not, there is always a pin of some sort somewhere in the house. A cloths pin can act to hold it to your meter's probe. ? Just throwing things out there, just in case.

Thanks for the battery business, though. 

Herb, thanks for providing the additional details on how to probe the solar panel connector.

As for the battery business, WeatherCat newcomers will have to search the forum to figure out how you got into the battery business, assisted by Edouard and me.

Have a good one.

[xairbusdriver]

Sorry to hear about the too late warning! Maybe something to add to the monthly checked items?

Check he manual/images, but I think that cable is ordinary land-line phone cable. If so, you may have some laying around the house, but it can certainly be obtained at most any hardware store. If the jacks/cables are not "phone" cable, disregard this whole post!

I'd buy a female/female junction device to connect the solar panel into one side. Into the other side, plug in a short piece of the cable you have laying around. Sacrifice about a foot of that cable, script the insulation off the cut end and separate the wires and strip off enough insulation so you can easily touch the two wires you need (maybe enough to wrap at least one of them around a meter lead).

[Blicj11]

Today my son and I installed the replacement ISS wireless transmitter. Since we have already done this once, it went a lot faster than the first time. If you ever have to replace one of these, after you take your old one out, change the DIP switch ID on it to be something different than what you have been transmitting on. That way, when you put the new one in, it is not competing with old one at your console.

While we had the ISS apart, we used Herb's recipe to fashion some speaker wire inserts to stick down into the solar panel connector so we could test the voltage. We got a voltage reading. It wasn't 2.2 volts, but we were doing this on a very overcast day and trying to beat a snow storm so the sun was not shining. The fact that we got a voltage reading tells us the panel is working.

While we had the collector cup off, I gave it the annual Rain-X wipe down.

While the transmitter is being swapped, WeatherCat will start accumulating sensor errors because the outside sensors are all unplugged. In 30 minutes we racked up 6,794 sensor errors. They are all cleared out when you reboot WeatherCat.

In 5 months, if the battery doesn't go out, we will know this puzzle has been solved. If the battery does die in 5 months, we will know the Solar Panel should be replaced. If that doesn't solve our issue, we will be officially stumped.

Stay tuned. I'll report back in September.

[elagache]

Dear Blick and WeatherCat station caregivers,

Glad you have the new ISS board in place.  Yes, I can sadly attest that repetition does make the process go faster.  I do hope that you'll be soon forgetting your ISS board swapping skills in the bliss of a durable and trouble-free weather station! 

Cheers, Edouard 

[Bull Winkus]

Sounds like you've got a good team on the job there, Blick. Good luck with the results!

By the way, we got a sale going on. $14.45 Prime, for 8 batteries. Free shipping! That's a buck eighty each.



 

 

[Blicj11]

Eight? Only Edouard can go through 8 in the same year. I'm just going though 1 every 5 months. It would take me 40 months to use 8. I'm more of a 2-pack guy. However, have to admit I'm liking that US$1.80 price.

[Weatheraardvark]

http://www.batteryjunction.com/batteries-size-cr123a.html

1 dollar a battery, not bad

[Bull Winkus]

Coincidentally, I just recently ran out and ordered a pack, and received it today. All checked out with > 3.24v using my Fluke 87  multimeter.

The incident is worth mentioning, because my last pack was an 8 pack as well, and I had some of the same concerns as you about buying 8 at a time. However, On receiving the previous 8 pack order, I had written the date on the box. It was in November of 2013. So the 8 only lasted me 2 1/2 years. And I always checked the voltage before installation. It was always >3.24v. But, along with the ISS, I have the wind transmitter and two remote temperature transmitters. It is the two remotes that are the most demanding. Every six months, like clockwork, 2 more batteries out of the box and into service. That's 4 a year, so I must have still had some from the previous order when I received those.

So, my suggestion is, if you want to get the 8 pack to save money, order you a couple of remote temperature sensors. 

 

[Bull Winkus]

$1 a battery is a good price. May be worth trying next time, if the price is still low.

Would you believe that I found an even better price? $0.99.

But then, one must pay shipping. Depending on how many you buy, that can cut into the price difference a bit.

 

[xairbusdriver]

$1 a battery is a good price... Would you believe that I found an even better price? $0.99.

I'd be willing to pay the higher cost if it includes installation.  

[Bull Winkus]

I don't know? Letting some stranger inside the weather station to mess with its fiddly bits? Sounds like a recipe for  trouble pudding.

 

[xairbusdriver]

Oh, I'd have to see a background report on the person, along with a certification from Davis... after all, that what you're paying for at that higher price!

[Weatheraardvark]

$1 a battery is a good price. May be worth trying next time, if the price is still low.

Would you believe that I found an even better price? $0.99.

But then, one must pay shipping. Depending on how many you buy, that can cut into the price difference a bit.

 

I go through a lot of those over a year. I have 8 stations, several 1000 lumen flash lights (If I go out side at night, I want to see them critters before they get me.  Three things get me outside. 1.  take dog out for dump. 2.  We are going to a movie. 3. the wind gauges are frozen because of the freezing rain)

[xairbusdriver]

Three things get me outside. 1.  take dog out for dump. 2.  We are going to a movie. 3. the wind gauges are frozen because of the freezing rain

A cheaper solution:

1. Get an indoorcat. They live longer than outdoor models and are born potty trained.
2. Drive a car. Most of them come with headlights and even the parking lots at the movie have lights.
3. Move to an area without freezing rain or at least one where it only occurs without winds.

Bonuses:

1. Less dangerous landfill material.
2. At least one nice meal with your wife at a good restaurant.

You're welcome!

[Weatheraardvark]

No offense to cat owners, but I can't stand them.  Louie is  a cocker spaniel.   He craps in the yard and the grass later is a dark green.   Kitty (which by the way was the real name of a principal I had to work with.  She was mean spirited and plain evil to some of us.)  needs litter box changed and I have enough trouble changing the toilet paper roll.

I do drive  a Jeep,  4 wheel drive, gets throw snow fine.  Even has fog lights, not that I need them.   Things are foggy enough.

Moving, sure right way.  As soon as I win the lottery.

meal with wife,  we go out to eat a lot.   We know the menues by heart.