Station Power Status

[Blicj11]

I have two questions:

First, when you open the Station Hardware Options tool, in the Station Power Status section, it appears to be checking the Transmitter Battery Status and the Console Voltage. The graphical representations in that section turn red and then green. I assume it is running a status check and if everything looks good, the colour of the readings turns green. Can someone confirm this?

Second, I would appreciate some clarification on what is happening when you click on Test Power System. I did actually read the manual before asking this question. I know that various power failures are simulated. I clicked on this today and received 6 emails in response, as follows:

Email 1
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: Station Power Alert. Transmitter battery failure.
ISS battery - Fail.
Transmitter 2 - Good.
Transmitter 3 - Fail.
Transmitter 4 - Good.
Transmitter 5 - Good.
Transmitter 6 - Fail.
Transmitter 7 - Good.
Transmitter 8 - Fail.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:33:34 14-Nov-14

Email 2
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: ***Station Power Alert*** Station voltage is low - actual value is 4.175 Volts.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:33:41 14-Nov-14

Email 3
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: Station Power Alert. Transmitter battery failure.
ISS battery - Good.
Transmitter 2 - Fail.
Transmitter 3 - Good.
Transmitter 4 - Fail.
Transmitter 5 - Fail.
Transmitter 6 - Good.
Transmitter 7 - Fail.
Transmitter 8 - Good.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:33:59 14-Nov-14

Email 4
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: Station Power Alert. Transmitter battery failure.
ISS battery - Fail.
Transmitter 2 - Good.
Transmitter 3 - Fail.
Transmitter 4 - Good.
Transmitter 5 - Good.
Transmitter 6 - Fail.
Transmitter 7 - Good.
Transmitter 8 - Fail.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:34:12 14-Nov-14

Email 5
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: ***Station Power Advice*** All transmitter batteries are good.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:34:25 14-Nov-14

Email 6
WeatherCat Vantage Driver: Station Power Advice. Station voltage is now good - actual value is 4.525 Volts.
WeatherCat TimeStamp: 07:34:38 14-Nov-14

I assume that emails 1 through 4 are simulated tests and that emails 5 and 6 are the ones that tell me everything is ok. But I am a wee bit confused about email 2. Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks.

[WCDev]

#2 is the console voltage - if you get this one, replace the batteries in the console asap (or remove them if you are running off mains and can't get new batteries immediately). If this voltage gets too low you will lose comms to the console.

[Blicj11]

Thanks Stu. Does the Station Hardware Options tool run a diagnostic on the Station Power Status when it is first opened or are the red and green colours on the transmitter battery and console voltage just for show. In other words, does opening the tool run a check or is the check only run when you select Test Power System?

[WCDev]

No, when the window is opened, the status of all the batteries are read (this can take a second or two as the driver has to be told to stop updating and we have to wait), then the indicators are updated to display the current actual station voltage level and state of the transmitter batteries.

The check injects simulated failures and voltages to the monitoring system and is only run when you press the test button.