Station Power Alert But Using An AC Adapter

[mopac01]

I finally got my Vantage Pro 2 back on the Weather Underground after a few year of only using the IP logger in the Vantage Pro 2 Console to post weather to the Davis site directly.  (Old Mac mini running WeatherCat 1 died a few years ago, but now have another Mac to dedicate to the task.) 

I've upgraded to WeatherCat 2 and everything is back up and running.  My Weather Underground PWS was even still out there in limbo just waiting for data to come at it again. 

I'm getting a WeatherCat admin alert of "WeatherCat Vantage Driver: ***Station Power Alert*** Station voltage is low - actual value is 4.154 Volts."  In WeatherCat itself this is showing as yellow bars with 4.154 across it.  NOTE: The smaller 8 channel battery monitoring for the outside devices is all green (Vantage Pro 2 Plus station wireless and a separate anemometer wireless transmitter on a higher pole location).  My Vantage Pro 2 console with the IP logger is plugged into AC with the original Davis adapter.  The adapter is rated at 5 volts, so I suspect the 4 volts is sufficient to power the console since everything has been working fine.  I don't know when the wall wart started to fall off since WeatherCat hasn't been running the last few years (the Vantage Pro 2 Plus and all it's components were purchased at the beginning of 2012). 

Is this likely causing any damage to the console?  Is there any way to tell WeatherCat not to worry about the console but to continue to monitor the outside wireless batteries?  Or is there an inexpensive replacement wall wart?

[WCDev]

My guess is you have old batteries in there - changing them out for fresh ones should cure the problem.

If you don't have any batteries in there, then you'll need to check out the wall wart - with the voltage indication in WeatherCat being in the yellow, the voltage is low enough that you might start experiencing communications issues to the console soon.

It's probably best to get it sorted sooner rather than later.

[elagache]

Dear Stu, mopac01, and WeatherCat station caregivers,

My guess is you have old batteries in there - changing them out for fresh ones should cure the problem.

If you don't have any batteries in there, then you'll need to check out the wall wart.

While it is a bit of a hassle, it seems desirable to always have batteries in all your devices and replace them every year.  Power outages happen, but Davis hardware will just keep on running so long as there are batteries.

Battery leaks are rare, but losing a Davis circuit board to a leaking battery is an expensive and time consuming proposition.  Replacing the batteries every year and having the batteries recycled seems like the best compromise.

Cheers, Edouard

[mopac01]

My guess is you have old batteries in there - changing them out for fresh ones should cure the problem.

THANKS!  I checked last night as I'd COMPLETELY forgotten there were batteries in there!  They've been in there since February of 2012!  Until the beginning of this year it'd been located next to the computer and attached to the UPS so it NEVER lost power. 

Stopped by the grocery store this morning and there must not be a lot of devices using C cells anymore.  There were hundreds of packages of batteries - mostly AA and AAA with a lesser amount of D.  Picking up 6 C cells dropped the C inventory in half! 

I expect when I swap these out tonight it'll solve the power alert messages. 

WeatherCat proves it's value right there, before you even mention uploading to Weather Underground or the remote WeatherCat clients!!!!     What an fool I was to not have put it back into operation sooner when the previous dedicated MacMini died.

[Weatheraardvark]

One other thing to consider, the power adapter might have died.  I replaced two of them  Now I have an extra 2 in the supply cabinet.  Doesn't happen often but it does.

I replace the batteries in the AC stations once a year, the battery every six months.  The Station it self, twice a year and the other sensors as needed.    I do buy the CR123A batteries in bulk so they only cost about $1.50 US each.

I keep a log which stations had batteries replaced and when, so I keep a pretty accurate log.   I can see if a station is eating batteries.

In the US  I get my batteries from: BatteryJunction.com

[elagache]

Dear Weatheraardvark and WeatherCat station caregivers,

I replace the batteries in the AC stations once a year, the battery every six months.  The Station it self, twice a year and the other sensors as needed.    I do buy the CR123A batteries in bulk so they only cost about $1.50 US each.

I'm curious, why do you feel the need to replace the CR123 batteries twice a year?

You face a much harsher winter so that probably reason enough, but I'm just curious.  I'll always give better advice when I understand the differing conditions these weather stations face.

Cheers, Edouard

[Weatheraardvark]

The weather around here ,and where i have my station, is out in the open . Temperature range is either very hot with direct heat or very cold .  (Summer and winter,)

I replace the ISS .  The other stations as they need it ( when the console says low battery warning).  I have battery operated in the attic, basement, crawl space.  I have a soil surface station (a converted ISS board.. I replaced the supercap), wireless anemometer ( I have two anemometer because of the blasted freezing rain we get around here.0  and of course the soil moisture station.

What I do note is going to the local hardware or pharmacy, the price of the CR123A  is expensive.   I also have some serious flashlights (1000 lumens)  that use these batteries as well (one in the house, and one in each Jeep).

I buy about a dozen when I get low.

[elagache]

Dear Weatheraardvark and WeatherCat station caregivers,

I replace the ISS .  The other stations as they need it ( when the console says low battery warning).

If you don't want the hassles of WeatherCat complaining about a low battery, you can simply give yourself a reminder on your online calendar to replace the battery at the period where the batteries usually give up.  You'll lose a few days of additional battery life, but at least I'm up to my neck in emails!

I buy about a dozen when I get low.

I also buy them in bulk because my station went through an episode of "eating" batteries every few days.

http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=1434.msg12044#msg12044

There is an old joke on the forum about "Herb's battery commission."  It seems to have fallen out of fashion lately though.

Cheers, Edouard 

[mopac01]

Well, 3 fresh batteries replaced the ones I put in there in February of 2012 and WeatherCat is no longer reporting a console issue - all is green.    If not for WeatherCat who knows how much longer those batteries might have stayed in there?  I'd completely forgotten about them and if you'd have asked I would have sworn they weren't in there because I'd had the wall wart plugged into my computer's UPS.

That was an easy fix.  (Much easier than the $118 rental of a boom lift 3 weeks ago to tighten the screw on my anemometer when it suddenly tilted 90 degrees.)

[Felix]

Is the plan to still replace the wall wart, mopac01?


That's the root of your problem, isn't it...low DC voltage from the AC/DC converter?

[elagache]

Dear mopac01, Felix, and WeatherCat station troubleshooters,

That's the root of your problem, isn't it...low DC voltage from the AC/DC converter?

Actually, I'm not sure of that.  The Console circuitry might be "smart" enough to check the voltage of the batteries independently of the AC adapter.  You would want an alert if the batteries are going bad even if the AC adapter is working well.  Should there be a power outage, those bad batteries would take your station down.

Still, it is easy enough to check the AC adapter with a volt meter.  It should produce the correct voltage that is usually printed on the transformer part of the adapter.

Cheers, Edouard

[Felix]

You don't have to have batteries in the console, Edouard, if AC powered.

But I'm sure you are correct, even if AC powered (albeit with batteries in the console), the Davis console likely reports the battery voltage number when put in the Console Diagnostic Mode and uses that same info for any low battery warnings.

So I guess you're right, the only real way to know is to put a volt meter on the DC output of that wall wart. OTOH, I wonder what voltage the Console Diagnostic Mode reports when it's AC powered with no batteries in the console? Does it show "0" or does it report the AC/DC converter output voltage? If the latter, a volt meter wouldn't be required.

I've got to be on my way now but maybe I'll pull the batteries out of a console later and check.

[xairbusdriver]

One the Console, try holding the TEMP an the HUM buttons down at the same time (make sure the buttons are in the 'normal', not secondary mode*). The bottom line will display several important items:
"BGN nn" (The Background noise level, the lower the number the better)
"BATTERY nnnV" This is the... wait for it... Console battery voltage!

I've not tried seeing what the "BATTERY" numbers might be without batteries installed. However, the Davis Manual states, "Ignore this value if using the AC Adapter only to power the console."[Vantage Pro2? Console Manual (Rev k), item 14, page 38] The traditional voltage meter method works well, of course. I did need to use a modified (straightened) paper clip to reach the center/inner contact on the power plug.

*Each pressing of the LAMPS/2nd button changes the function of each button between the label on the button and the label on the Console body.

[elagache]

Dear Felix, X-Air, and WeatherCat Davis station caregivers,

You don't have to have batteries in the console, Edouard, if AC powered.

Yes the console has to be able to operate without batteries, but I don't think Davis intended users to have their consoles without batteries.  Instead, the circuitry is designed to cope with the worst scenario of weak batteries - zero power.  I assume it does no harm to the console to run it without batteries, but it does leave you vulnerable to losing data during a power outage.

For most of us, keeping a continuous data flow is more important than a few dollars spent on batteries.  If you are a super thrifty type, you might replace the batteries once every 2 or 3 years.  The batteries should last at least that long and modern batteries aren't as prone to leaking as they once were.

Even so, is risking your console circuit board worth the savings on even $10 of batteries?  WeatherCat will send you an annual email reminding you to perform station maintenance and one of the items on the checklist is replace the batteries.  Honestly, I think that small additional effort and expense is simply prudent if you want your station components to last a good long time.

Cheers, Edouard