Author Topic: Access Connection Issues  (Read 30156 times)

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Offline HH2

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #50 on: April 16, 2018, 07:31:48 AM »
I chose not to reset Access yesterday because I wanted to see if things would reconnect on their own after the power blip yesterday. About nine hours after the power blip, Access reconnected with Acurite and Wunderground.  All but one of my temp/hum sensors reconnected about 12 hours after the power blip.  At least I now know the system will reconnect on it's own (a good thing to know).

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #51 on: April 16, 2018, 08:37:56 AM »
Glad to hear it came back on it's own! I'm hoping things will be more stable with the latest firmware update.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline daman

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #52 on: April 16, 2018, 09:32:28 AM »
I cant believe it would take that long?  :sad:
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AcuRite Iris/AcuRite Access

Offline BeaverMeadow

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #53 on: April 16, 2018, 10:27:29 AM »
Was the 9 hours of data saved and uploaded to MyAcurite and WU by the Access?

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #54 on: April 16, 2018, 01:27:36 PM »
I cant believe it would take that long?  :sad:

I had a somewhat similar issue. My unit was reporting to WU, but not MyAcurite. Took a few days to clear. Someone on the Acurite support form mentioned that the batteries in the Access could have an effect on the unit coming back online after an outage. If they weren't at a certain power level, it could cause issues.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline HH2

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #55 on: April 17, 2018, 08:01:51 AM »
Batteries have only been in Access for a couple months, so I hope it's not a battery issue for the slow restart.  All history appears to be in Acurite, even things were off line for around nine or ten hours.

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #56 on: April 17, 2018, 09:34:56 AM »
Was the 9 hours of data saved and uploaded to MyAcurite and WU by the Access?

At this time the Access does not back-fill wunderground.  It's a feature that has been requested.

Offline HH2

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #57 on: April 18, 2018, 01:23:36 PM »
At 8:48 this morning I lost our internet connection for around 30 seconds.  I know because I was on my desktop and working with my browser.  Access, 5 in 1 station, and all temp/hum monitors are all off line again (since 8:48).  I am not going to reset Access at this time, I want to give it awhile and see if it comes back on line like it did the other day nine hours after a power blip.

It has been offline now for almost five hours.  If I do decide to reset Access, what's the best procedure?

It has now been 23 hours and Access is still not on line, so I guess if there's the slightest internet blip while on vacation, things are down until it's manually reset.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 07:50:45 AM by HH2 »

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #58 on: April 19, 2018, 01:21:54 PM »
Keep us posted. That's been offline for quite some time.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline HH2

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #59 on: April 19, 2018, 01:58:08 PM »
I got tired of waiting so I reset Access.

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #60 on: April 25, 2018, 03:14:20 PM »
I had a network blip last night and it knocked the Access offline. Despite that, all lights were showing as normal on the Access. After rebooting the router, it started reporting to WU without an issue. That was at 6AM. It's now 3:15PM....still nothing on MyAcurite and it's showing as "offline". But still reporting to WU.

Sometimes, I just don't get how this thing works. It reports to WU better than MyAcurite.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #61 on: April 25, 2018, 03:23:07 PM »
Sometimes, I just don't get how this thing works. It reports to WU better than MyAcurite.

Some of it is on Acurite's end.  The API is new and they are still working out some bugs.

Wunderground is the same as it ever was.

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #62 on: April 27, 2018, 09:42:59 AM »
Thanks George. That very may well be the case.

Things did get a bit strange Wednesday evening. The Access just stopped reporting to WU. When I went to reset it in the AM, all lights were operating accordingly. I did a battery pull/power cord pull, network cable pull....let it sit, reboot and all was well.

I can't figure out: Why this thing randomly disconnects and then has issues getting back online by itself.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline davefr

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #63 on: April 27, 2018, 06:24:32 PM »
Everything was going pretty good until I got the dreaded "loss of signal" notice last night.

I unplug the access hub, remove the batteries, reset the router, power up and it fails to connect to the sensor.  The IP address shows nothing connected. Factory reset does not help.

Next I bring in the sensor, change batteries and place it close to the hub and get a "4" in signal strength.  Next I take it half way back to the original mount and signal drops to 2-3.  I remount it in the same exact spot is has always been and functioning just fine and no signal is reported. (I've previously had about a month of consistently excellent signal quality.)

I revert back to Smart Hub and all is fine.  So now I try Access hub again and no signal. Nothing would get me back to the good signal I've had over the last month.

I finally opened up the Access case and unsoldered the "ball point pen spring" antenna and soldered on an RF connector and routed it thru a hole I drilled in the top of the case.  I attached the same external 433 MHz dipole antenna I made for Smart Hub to improve it's reception.  Now I'm back at 4's in signal quality with Access.

This new Access hub appears to be another half baked/intermittent design and I'm obviously not alone. I'm wondering if their new rev 47 firmware is causing degradation in reception issues. That's the only thing that's changed recently.






Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #64 on: April 27, 2018, 07:35:24 PM »
Since the release of firmware 47, complaints have dropped dramatically.

That "ball point pen spring" antenna is called a "helical".

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #65 on: April 28, 2018, 08:28:57 AM »
Davefr,

Your issue is not the access, but the remote sensors... You proved that by moving them and the signal coming in. I've also found myself needed to move the outdoor sensors just a little to improve reception. When the leaves come out on trees, it can really cause issues from reflections. I've also had to adjust my outside TV aerials in the last few weeks.

Offline davefr

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #66 on: April 28, 2018, 09:25:15 AM »
Davefr,

Your issue is not the access, but the remote sensors... You proved that by moving them and the signal coming in. I've also found myself needed to move the outdoor sensors just a little to improve reception. When the leaves come out on trees, it can really cause issues from reflections. I've also had to adjust my outside TV aerials in the last few weeks.

That could be.  The sensor is about 150' away which is probably pretty close the "real life" range of the system. All I know is that Smart Hub was pretty flaky until I added an external antenna and then it became rock solid.  It now appears that the same external antenna helps with the Access hub.

RF reception can be a weird thing at times.  (part of it is antenna design and another part seems to be unpredictable/luck).

I wish Chaney would add external antenna connectors to the hubs.  Just like others they do with WiFi adapters/routers/etc.






Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #67 on: April 28, 2018, 11:41:33 AM »

I wish Chaney would add external antenna connectors to the hubs.  Just like others they do with WiFi adapters/routers/etc.

That isn't allowed per FCC regulations for this type of equipment and frequency.

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #68 on: April 29, 2018, 08:50:13 AM »
I know part of my problem is the signal between the 5 in 1 and the Access. I had similar issues with the Hub. But the not reconnecting to the internet on it's own is unique to the Access.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline davefr

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #69 on: April 29, 2018, 08:55:08 AM »

I wish Chaney would add external antenna connectors to the hubs.  Just like others they do with WiFi adapters/routers/etc.

That isn't allowed per FCC regulations for this type of equipment and frequency.

I'm curious why the FCC would care about receiving antennas?  I thought they were only concerned about the transmitting side of things. I thought anything in the airwaves was free game to receive using whatever antenna design would work.

Is there any handshake between the hub and 5 in 1 that would involve transmitting from the hub back to the sensor?
« Last Edit: April 29, 2018, 08:56:41 AM by davefr »

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #70 on: April 29, 2018, 08:56:33 AM »
I'm curious why the FCC would care about receiving antennas?  I thought they were only concerned about the transmitting side of things. I thought anything in the airwaves was free game to receive using whatever antenna design would work.

Unintentional emitters.

Offline Glenn

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #71 on: May 08, 2018, 08:20:52 AM »
I had about a 40 minute drop last night with the Access. No data went to WU or MyAcurite. I'm again back to the loss of signal between the Access and the 5 in 1 theory. If it was an internet blip or a power issue, it should be back filling data on to MyAcurite. I can only guess that if there's no data, there's no signal between the two for that time period.
Acurite 5 in 1 Pro+
Southern VT
Connecticut

Offline JonMacaluso

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #72 on: June 04, 2018, 05:47:51 AM »
Hi All. I’ve been a member of this group for about 4 years now and have never chimed in here. I primarily participate in the two Facebook pages and on Acurite’s own forum. In any case, I though it’d be nice to get involved here.

While not an electronics engineer, I have over 20 years of extensive knowledge with computer networking, topology, and peotocols as well as trouble shooting up tp and including disaster recovery.

My experience with Acurite goes back about 5 years. I got a 5-in-1 that came with an LCD display with scrolling text, and a “WeatherBridge”. Everything worked great. Except the scrolling text was hard to read. One call to Acurite and I had their brand new (at my the time) color LCD display (also with scrolling text - but readable!). I was the weather guru for friends and family. Then there was the big software/firmware upgrade that converted the WeatherBridge to the SmartHUB. Zero problems, flawless in place upgrade. I then ordered a dual panel upgrade for the 5-in-1’s ambient air flow fan. Easy install. The next issue I had was that my 5-in-1 stopped giving proper humidity readings. It was stuck at 99% all the time. I contacted Acurite and the were aware that this happens. My unit was too old for the $10 replacement part to work, so I bought a new 5-in-1 and when it was delivered I immediately a :roll:put the Pro top on it (the dual solar panel unit). All was well again. That’s when the Access was released. I jumped on the $90 discount offer right away. I followed the directions to the letter and it worked flawlessly. I was amazed at the increased signal strength. I added four (4) temperature/humidity sensors to my setup (one for a gun safe, one for a garage, and the others to monitor a couple of indoor areas. They all work flawlessly. My next two additions consist of a temperature/humidity sensor with a leak detector for my laundry room (just in case the water heater or the clotheswasher have an issue) and one of those battery extension units for the 5-in-1 so I don’t have to climb up on the shingles of my roof every year to swap out batteries. I’ll be able to do it at the eave instead.

So I am a happy customer with excellent equipment. I have had none of the issues I hear the very loud whiners complaining about. I have offered suggestions to help others and all that seems to happen is a widening of the right between the silent group of happy users (I’d say at least 98.5%) and the very vocal and extremely rude whiners that comprise about 1.5%. The problem is that their whining is louder than my smiling.

The point of this post is to say that if you’re willing to come to for advice, I will gladly provide it. But when your system starts to work, you need to spread,the word,that it is not Acurite’s fault, it’s the fault of,the users who take things out of the box, don’t read the instructions and then start doing things their way instead of doing them the right way.

I am here to help those who admit they need it. Sass

Message me here as JonMacaluso
Message me at either of the Acurite sites as Jon Macaluso
Check out my PWS  KCABUELL4.

Thanks!
« Last Edit: June 04, 2018, 05:53:24 AM by JonMacaluso »

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #73 on: June 04, 2018, 11:03:09 AM »
Jon,
If you installed the 5n1 on the top of the shingles, I can't imagine how high above ambient your thermometer must run. While I agree with everything else you have said above, I don't know how you can be thrilled with that installation?

The nice thing that hopefully will transpire soon with the Atlas line, is the ability to install the thermometer and rain bucket near ground level, and have just the anemometer section on the roof tops.

While I had my 5in1 on the roof, I had to use a different thermometer to send to networks because my readings were up to 20 F too high. After a few months, my anemometer "froze up" because of the dry heat pouring into the sensor, causing the lube on the ball bearings to become useless.

Offline JonMacaluso

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Re: Access Connection Issues
« Reply #74 on: June 04, 2018, 11:55:06 AM »
My 5-in-1 is mounted on a 2x4 that is mounted to the eave of the highest point of the upwind side of my home. See the picture on WU for KCABUELL4. The wind blows to the east 98.9% of the time and my gauge is elevated above the west side of my home. With the dual solar panels on the 5-in-1 Pro, and the fact all of my ambient heat from the roof blows away before reaching the sensor, I have very accurate readings. And yes, the wind is always breezy to 29moh every day in Buellton. So I got lucky. 

 

anything