Topic: VP II going offline to the ISS when it gets cold

[flyingvranch]

I recently purchased a cabled serial port version Davis Vantage Pro II. The console is mounted inside a well pump house for protection from the elements, while the ISS is mounted on the roof.

The problem that occurs is that when the inside ambient temperature inside the wellhouse (around the console itself) dips below about 40 deg, the console will quit reading from the ISS sensors. It will be showing inside temp and humidity, but dashed lines for all of the outside data. As soon as the sun warms up the air, the unit will start working normally again.

I am unsure at this point if the problem lies with the outside sensor suite, or the inside console unit. I have noticed that while this problem is occurring, that the console shows no signal from the ISS, even though it is a cabled unit.

Any thoughts or information and help would be very much appreciated!

[capeweather]

Could it possibly be the enviroment that you have it in? It's really hard to picture it from your description. Have you tried a different cable? I guess a way to retest it would be to unmount the console and stick it in the fridge and see if the problem reoccurs. I strongly recommend that the wife be out of the house for several hours while conducting the test. 

[Anthony]

I would suggest giving Davis a call. Could be a faulty ISS or console. Thinking.... If I remember correctly you can put the ISS in test mode? Or is this just for the wireless units? What happens if you leave the ISS in test mode?

[flyingvranch]

Initially the console was mounted under a covered pavillion. I thought that maybe humidity was the culprit, so I moved it inside a building. The building is unheated, so it gets fairly cold in there, but it is not as humid. The console still goes offline like clockwork. I wondering if it's my ISS. I have a letter in to Davis support and I'll see what they say I suppose.

[ocala]

I could be completely wrong about this but is the console designed to be stored in a cold environment like that? I would think the sensitive electronics inside weren't made for that. Also, come summer time the humidity would probably damage the the unit. I had always thought the console was to be stored in a controlled environment.
Well, just now looking at the manual it says the console operating temp is 14F-140F.
I guess it is made for cold conditions. I still think the humidity in the summer time would shorten it's life though.
Looking a little further under trouble shooting it says the console may not work below 32F. That contradicts what it says it's operating temp is.

[ncpilot]

You do have the console powered by AC adapter, right? Just wondering if it's a temp/voltage issue.

[flyingvranch]

The console is powered by the AC adapter. Now that we've been having warmer weather, it has not gone offline since.

The location that it is in, while being unheated, is indoors and completely out of the elements. It's sitting next to a PC that is running 24/7 without any problems. Also the weatherlink software is not dialing out reliably as I have it set to dial out every 30 minutes, and it skips over about every third or fourth try and while making connection with the server, it fails to upload files and hangs up after a few seconds. Subsequent attempts will usually be successful.

I'm about to pull what little hair I have out....