Topic: Anemometer Difficulties...Reception?

[NorthNJwx]

On occasion, my anemometer randomly becomes "stuck" - for a period of time, it does not update. Very important to note that I do indeed use the anemometer transmitter kit. I've seen this anemometer problem last for almost 2 minutes or so, during which time the anemometer will display the same exact wind speed and direction. Two nights ago, for example, it became stuck on WSW 10 for about 2 minutes (thankfully there were no big gusts while it was stuck, as it occurred during a windstorm!). I have noticed this effect several times. When it occurs, no "R" appears on the console - the "X" continues to show, presumably since the ISS is still updating fine. In addition, checking the console diagnostics on WeatherLink doesn't help indicate anything; console reception never changes during these intervals, so I assume this reception is only referring to that of the ISS. I can give no reliable estimate as to how often this happens, but I wouldn't be surprised if it were more than once per day. My console is only about ~50 feet from the transmitter kit at most, although there are 4 walls in between the two. The ISS is closer; only 1 wall and a shorter distance separate it and the console. With the same exact distances at my old house (which I moved out of in November), I never had a problem w/anemometer reception in almost 3 years of having the VP2 there. The station at the new house is a new VP2. So, I have a couple of questions:

1. Is there any way to check reception of the Anemometer Transmitter Kit?

2. Could the transmitter ID be causing these problems? If so, should I switch it to one of the other ID options in setup mode?

3. Has anyone else noticed problems w/the anemometer transmitter kit reception?

[jruys]

In WeatherLink, one of the values it records is the number of wind packets it receives.  You can check this by going to the "Browse Data" in WeatherLink and scrolling over until you see it.  There should be a three columns, one for Wind Samples, one for Transmitter ID, and one for ISS Reception.  The IS Reception is really the Wind Reception because the percentage is based on the Wind Packets received.  Check those values out.  If they look fine during your "freeze ups", it might be that the transmitter is sending bad data.

[NorthNJwx]

In WeatherLink, one of the values it records is the number of wind packets it receives.  You can check this by going to the "Browse Data" in WeatherLink and scrolling over until you see it.  There should be a three columns, one for Wind Samples, one for Transmitter ID, and one for ISS Reception.  The IS Reception is really the Wind Reception because the percentage is based on the Wind Packets received.  Check those values out.  If they look fine during your "freeze ups", it might be that the transmitter is sending bad data.

I never knew about that, thanks for the info! Looking at the ISS reception data (I use 10-min updates just as an fyi), the vast majority of the obs show 100% reception, with a few high 90s peppered in there and then the occassional ob in the 70s or 80s. These must be the lock-ups. In yesterday's data, I saw only one ob below 80% and only one other below 90%. In today's data, there have been a couple in the mid 70s, but everything else looks to be at or around 100%. Considering the fact that the reception seems to only go under 90% a few times per day, perhaps my issue isn't as significant as I thought? At least I certainly hope this is the case.

[jruys]

Well, 80% would be 2 minutes missing from your ten minute archive interval.  Maybe there is some interference with your wind transmissions.  Next time it happens you might want to see if anything might be powering up or something that could interfere with your signal.

[NorthNJwx]

Well, 80% would be 2 minutes missing from your ten minute archive interval.  Maybe there is some interference with your wind transmissions.  Next time it happens you might want to see if anything might be powering up or something that could interfere with your signal.

Interesting...is there anything in particular (perhaps a general household item, for example) that may cause interference? I also speculate if the 4 walls between the console and transmitter could be the culprit, even if the distance between the two is only ~50 feet. While my problem could certainly be worse, I agree that even missing maybe ~5-8 minutes or so of wind data each day is far from optimal.