Davis Vantage Vue polling interval

[staze]

All,

I just recently had to replace the backup battery in my vantage vue I bought 10 months ago. This is a bit odd since a friend in the same town (with a similar install) has had his battery going for 2 years now.

What is interesting is looking at the weewx (only other software I know) documentation, I see that the console and station normally talk every 48 seconds. But looking at the screen of my console, it looks like mine is talking every 5-10 seconds (antenna shows little waves that often) and the comm count increases by several each polling period in Weathercat.

Is it possible Weathercat has told the console to talk to the ISS more, and is running my battery down faster? Or does that antenna icon mean something else? Or did my ISS just come with a bad battery? And no, the whole system is too new to be affected by the corrosion issue the vantage vue ISS used to have.

Thanks!

[Randall75]

Hi Staze
 I don't think WeatherCat would change how often your ISS sends data to your console
Are you sure your solar panel is working correctly?
And I have read where some of the batteries have been bad at least in the VP2
So I just change mind every year to be sure
It should tell you in your Vue manual how often it send data to your console and if you can change it with your console


hope you get it figured out


cheers


 

[staze]

Hi Staze
 I don't think WeatherCat would change how often your ISS sends data to your console
Are you sure your solar panel is working correctly?
And I have read where some of the batteries have been bad at least in the VP2
So I just change mind every year to be sure
It should tell you in your Vue manual how often it send data to your console and if you can change it with your console


hope you get it figured out


cheers


 

Correct, it doesn't seem to change it. looking at the docs, it looks like it's supposed to be 2.5 seconds. But that means the weewx docs seem odd...

[elagache]

Hi Staze, Randall, and WeatherCat Davis owners,

I just recently had to replace the backup battery in my vantage vue I bought 10 months ago. This is a bit odd since a friend in the same town (with a similar install) has had his battery going for 2 years now.

It could be that the battery in your unit wasn't as "fresh" as your friends.  Normally, 123 batteries easily last at least a year in a Davis station.  Like Randall, I replace mine every year.  My thinking is to replace it before the weather turns bad in the autumn - that way I won't have to replace it in the middle of a storm!! 

What is interesting is looking at the weewx (only other software I know) documentation, I see that the console and station normally talk every 48 seconds. But looking at the screen of my console, it looks like mine is talking every 5-10 seconds (antenna shows little waves that often) and the comm count increases by several each polling period in Weathercat.

Actually you are getting two different polling processes confused.  The instrument cluster communicates with the console very frequently (~ once a second.)  That's what is the antenna icon is indicating.  WeatherCat never communicates directly with your instruments, it only talks to the console.  At worst, it might cause the console to use more power, but I assume you have that plugged into AC power.

Is it possible Weathercat has told the console to talk to the ISS more, and is running my battery down faster?

If you have adaptive sampling enabled (second misc. preferences - Pages 15 & 148 in the current WeatherCat manual) then WeatherCat can sample more frequently than the rate that you have set.  However, that won't effect your instrument cluster battery at all.

I'll still bet you got a weak battery from Davis.  Keep an eye on it, but I'll bet it will last through next autumn when you should replace it to avoid any unpleasant winter emergency station servicing.

Cheers, Edouard 

[staze]

Hi Staze, Randall, and WeatherCat Davis owners,

I just recently had to replace the backup battery in my vantage vue I bought 10 months ago. This is a bit odd since a friend in the same town (with a similar install) has had his battery going for 2 years now.

It could be that the battery in your unit wasn't as "fresh" as your friends.  Normally, 123 batteries easily last at least a year in a Davis station.  Like Randall, I replace mine every year.  My thinking is to replace it before the weather turns bad in the autumn - that way I won't have to replace it in the middle of a storm!! 

What is interesting is looking at the weewx (only other software I know) documentation, I see that the console and station normally talk every 48 seconds. But looking at the screen of my console, it looks like mine is talking every 5-10 seconds (antenna shows little waves that often) and the comm count increases by several each polling period in Weathercat.

Actually you are getting two different polling processes confused.  The instrument cluster communicates with the console very frequently (~ once a second.)  That's what is the antenna icon is indicating.  WeatherCat never communicates directly with your instruments, it only talks to the console.  At worst, it might cause the console to use more power, but I assume you have that plugged into AC power.

Is it possible Weathercat has told the console to talk to the ISS more, and is running my battery down faster?

If you have adaptive sampling enabled (second misc. preferences - Pages 15 & 148 in the current WeatherCat manual) then WeatherCat can sample more frequently than the rate that you have set.  However, that won't effect your instrument cluster battery at all.

I'll still bet you got a weak battery from Davis.  Keep an eye on it, but I'll bet it will last through next autumn when you should replace it to avoid any unpleasant winter emergency station servicing.

Cheers, Edouard 

That's all what I figured. I was hoping to make it until Halloween so that I could do the battery replacement when I was already on the roof for lights... but, ah well. Thanks for the info, all. Wish you could turn down the rate that the console talks to the ISS... no reason it needs to update every 2.5 seconds... at that rate, it's just marketing wank... =P

[Blicj11]

For what it's worth, my first Davis battery lasted 7 years. I called Davis and they said that was twice as long as they expected a battery to last. When I went to buy a replacement, I went to a store that just sells batteries. They manager told me that the generic and the name brand batteries he sells are made in the same plant using the same process. He always advises people to buy the generic. Best practice is to take along a tester and see what the battery output is before you buy the replacement battery. I'll bet your battery was not up to par when you got it.

Unlike Edouard and Randall, who are more prudent than me, I am a cheapskate and don't replace the battery until it goes dead. I'm just betting that the odds of having to replace the battery during a blizzard are too small to worry about.

[Bull Winkus]

Unlike Edouard and Randall, who are more prudent than me, I am a cheapskate and don't replace the battery until it goes dead. I'm just betting that the odds of having to replace the battery during a blizzard are too small to worry about.

Me too, Blick. In fact, the console usually puts up a warning at least a month or two before the battery goes completely non-functional. I know, because the first time it happened I didn't know what battery it was talking about; the one in the anemometer transmitter, the one in the ISS, the backup for the console or one of the ones in each of the two temperature transmitters. Everything was working, so I just waited for something to give out. After a couple of months on a pleasant sunny afternoon, I gave up waiting and just went around replacing batteries. Now I use Calendar to set a battery maintenance appointment a year after changing one. The two temp transmitters need changing after 6 months.

I usually buy them at Amazon for $2.11 each for a box of 8. Free shipping on orders over $35, so I buy a box when I'm ordering something else as well. They've always been 100% when tested with my Fluke 87.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002IGW15G/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[elagache]

Dear Blick, Herb, and WeatherCat Davis owners,

Me too, Blick. In fact, the console usually puts up a warning at least a month or two before the battery goes completely non-functional. I know, because the first time it happened I didn't know what battery it was talking about; the one in the anemometer transmitter, the one in the ISS, the backup for the console or one of the ones in each of the two temperature transmitters. Everything was working, so I just waited for something to give out. After a couple of months on a pleasant sunny afternoon, I gave up waiting and just went around replacing batteries. Now I use Calendar to set a battery maintenance appointment a year after changing one. The two temp transmitters need changing after 6 months.

I'm in the same boat as you Herb.  Since I have a second transmitter for to provide me with another temperature probe, I have to replace that battery more often since there is no solar power at all.  It was much easier to add an event to my Mac calendar and now I replace that battery once every four months.  One less thing to have to deal with in a "crisis mode."

As to the ISS battery, I decided it was easy enough to replace when I gave my station the autumn check-up.  I try to go through the seasonal maintenance checklist that we have here:

http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Station_Maintenance

I try to do the maintenance around the first of October since that is the station's "birthday."  As long as I'm doing all that, why not replace the battery and get on with it?

I usually buy them at Amazon for $2.11 each for a box of 8. Free shipping on orders over $35, so I buy a box when I'm ordering something else as well. They've always been 100% when tested with my Fluke 87.

Thanks for the reminder!  I had forgotten about this.  I just added an 8-pack to my amazon shopping cart.  When I need to buy something else at Amazon I'll snag the batteries at the same time!

Cheers, Edouard