Topic: WMR200 battery life

[litebkt]

I got a WMR200 for Christmas but was able to install it on the 23rd. Station data is at:

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KCAMARIP6&day=30&year=2008&month=12&graphspan=week

I bought new lithium batteries for it.  They died two days later in the rain gauge and temp sensor (they take different sized batteries in case you are thinking I purchased an old pack).  Since it really doesn't get below freezing here, I replaced them with alkaline batteries yesterday.  Already, the temp sensor is whining that the batteries are low.

And what's with totally disassembling the rain gauge to replace the batteries? .... .count them. I have to remove the mounting hardware (four screws) to bring it in the house so that I can remove those teeny 10 screws (and not lose them.  That's 14 SCREWS to change those batteries!

I tell you, this isn't what I signed up for.  You put these weather stations up a tall pole for a reason. It's not reasonable to have to replace batteries every couple of days.  I purchased a wireless station for convenience... not this.  I could have run cables 30 feet for the trouble this has already caused me. Although the station is functioning quite nicely, I'm not a happy camper so far.

Has anyone else had this problem?  My weather station and controller are only twenty feet away from each other separated by 1/2 sheet of plywood.

Michelle

[killwilly]

Michelle, correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't the batteries in your sensors rechargeable? If so were they fully charged when you did your original setup? Sorry it's the only thing I can think of.

Alan

[Anthony]

I thought the WMR-200 was solar powered and the batteries were a backup power source? I think you might have a serious problem with you station.

[mackbig]

There must be something wrong here.  Even if the solar recharged batteries were not working, the backup batteries should last more than 2 days I would think.   But I would say the solar packs are not connected or really faulty.

Andrew

[SlowModem]

I downloaded and read the manual for the 200.  It looks like the temp/hum and wind are soal panel assisted, but powered by batteries.  It also looks like the rain gauge is battery operated only.

Here's a note from the manual:  The solar panel is an energy saving feature which is an evnvironmentally friendly way to provide additional power to the sensors and prolongs battery life.  However, it cannot replace battery power entirely.  Sensors can operate entirely on battery power.

I don't have any experience with the 200, but from what I've seen, batteries should last at least a month, probably more like a year.  Either something is not connected right, or something is defective.  You should give OS a call.  Don't send an email, they're really slow to respond.

[Scalphunter]

So is calling them.... there something wrong as i got an WMR 100 and  last set of batts where installed in october and still good and i get lot colder then most stations do. Think I would not only call but write  a snail mail letter then you have a hard copy for claim references


John
KL7IFP


Using Alky batts here.

[L5n25]

I also received a WMR200A at Christmas and set it up the next day in the backyard about 60 feet away from the console.  I just used the batteries provided in the box (alkaline I believe) and have had no battery issues or sensor communication issues.  As mentioned already in this thread, the manual states that the batteries are the primary source of power for the sensors -- the solar panel is only a supplement.  The temperatures here have hovered between 0 and 9 degrees C with an avg. of about 5 degrees C / 42 degrees F with no sunshine to speak of.  So no battery issues so far.

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KORBEAVE41  flat line data due to USB communication dropouts and my lack of understanding how to get Weather Display to load and transmit logged data from the flash memory of the console.

[tomwxman]

I got a WMR200 for Christmas but was able to install it on the 23rd. Station data is at:

http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=KCAMARIP6&day=30&year=2008&month=12&graphspan=week

I bought new lithium batteries for it.  They died two days later in the rain gauge and temp sensor...

Something's fishy here, as the link the OP gives indicates everything's worked pretty much continuously since the 23rd???

The only way I can see the batteries failing so soon, barring faulty sensor(s), might be if the solar panel is wired wrong and is Draining power vs. Supplying power, but (not having a WMR200 myself) I can't imagine the solar panel not just having plugs that are impossible to get backwards as for the WMR968 which uses RJ11 plugs.

BTW that the solar panel is "outboard" from the sensors is I think a big plus vs. the WMR968, where a panel, a rechargeable battery pack, and AA batteries are all built-in to a single housing. My next weather station is likely to be the WMR200 where I foresee being able to replace the OS solar panel with a Real Heavy Duty panel to keep everything going indefinitely!