Author Topic: Access issue & 5in1  (Read 1050 times)

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Offline hdtvluvr

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Access issue & 5in1
« on: November 29, 2018, 02:12:49 PM »
I had posted at the end of the Access Connection Issue thread but need help in understanding.
I currently have a 5 in 1, an Access and 2 displays in the home

Access is located 74 yards (using a rangefinder) from the 5 in 1 and signal passes through the roof decking and 1 layer of shingles
Display 1 is 90 yards from 5 in 1 and the signal passes through 1 2X4 insulated wall with vinyl siding as well as a 23 cubic foot refrigerator.  This display shows 4 signal bars and gets data when MyAcurite shows offline indicating the Access doesn't see the signal.
Display 2 is 100 yards from 5 in 1 and the signal passes through the same wall as Display 1 (excluding the refrigerator) as well as 3 additional 2 X 4 walls.  It also has 4 bars and gets data when MyAcurite shows offline indicating the Access doesn't see the signal.

In July, I added the remote battery pack and installed fresh lithium batteries into the pack.  It's difficult to get to the 5 in 1.

In Oct, I had 11 instances of loss signal for 2 + hours.   In Nov, I'm now up to 10 instances and while MyAcurite was up for a few hours this morning (now down again), WU has been offline for 21 hours.  I checked the batteries in the battery pack this morning and they were all well within the green range of my tester.  In fact the needle on the tester matched that for a brand new lithium battery so they should be good.
Temps have been in the low 30's and are now above 50 so I do not think this is temperature related.   And in Oct, temps never got below freezing.

Now for the questions:
1. Given the distances, why do my displays not have any issues and yet the Access can't connect?
2. Doesn't the Access read the same signal from the 5 in 1 as the displays?
3. Since it is way closer, why can't the Access read the 5 in 1 signal?
4. Does the Access have a worse antenna than the displays?

I have performed both options here:
https://support.acurite.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007646513-Access-Status-Offline


I'm just not sure this is an issue with the 5 in 1 or distance.  This particular 5 in 1 unit was installed in July 2017.  The Access does have a solid blue status light.  I can also see the splash page at it's web address.  I saw one post about adding WU info on that splash page but I do not know what to enter for Wunderground Device:  The WU ID and password are correctly entered.  I lost the original settings when I did the reset.


I did look into a signal extender in case the signal is the problem with the Access and found:
https://www.acurite.com/wireless-signal-extender-for-acurite-sensors.html
but in the description it says it isn't compatible with the Access.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2018, 02:18:31 PM by hdtvluvr »

Offline hdtvluvr

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #1 on: December 05, 2018, 10:20:43 AM »
Well, when everyone says to work with the Access and make small adjustments by moving it a little, rotating, etc. they are actually on to something.   :shock:

After days of moving the Access a little, rotating, raising, lowering, etc.  I've had a signal strength of 4 bars for the last couple of days.   I guess this means that the antenna on the Access is not very good because it is so sensitive that small changes make a HUGE difference.  Shouldn't be this way IMO.    So the Access now sits where the blue light, instead of pointing towards the 5 in 1, is now pointing 45 degrees clockwise from the 5 in 1, about 2 inches south of its original position on the shelf and is now standing on a 5 inch tall box.  It took a lot of time to adjust and check.

After much reading here on the forum, it seems the bars on displays are not really signal strength but has to do with packets of data received.   So the "signal" on displays and My Acurite are looking at apples and oranges. 

Thanks everyone for all of the help and I hope my work and findings will help others.   The advice of moving slightly, rotating slightly, etc. actually does work.  It just seems ridiculous and should be unnecessary. 

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #2 on: December 05, 2018, 10:52:10 AM »
Well, when everyone says to work with the Access and make small adjustments by moving it a little, rotating, etc. they are actually on to something.   :shock:

After days of moving the Access a little, rotating, raising, lowering, etc.  I've had a signal strength of 4 bars for the last couple of days.   I guess this means that the antenna on the Access is not very good because it is so sensitive that small changes make a HUGE difference.  Shouldn't be this way IMO.    So the Access now sits where the blue light, instead of pointing towards the 5 in 1, is now pointing 45 degrees clockwise from the 5 in 1, about 2 inches south of its original position on the shelf and is now standing on a 5 inch tall box.  It took a lot of time to adjust and check.

After much reading here on the forum, it seems the bars on displays are not really signal strength but has to do with packets of data received.   So the "signal" on displays and My Acurite are looking at apples and oranges. 

Thanks everyone for all of the help and I hope my work and findings will help others.   The advice of moving slightly, rotating slightly, etc. actually does work.  It just seems ridiculous and should be unnecessary.

Good grief.  I guess people don't remember fiddling with antennas on their TV?  Turning an AM radio to get better reception?  Swiveling your antenna this way or that on your WiFi router to get best performance?

The antenna is just fine.  The world is complicated.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2018, 11:04:03 AM by nincehelser »

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2018, 12:19:04 PM »
Well, when everyone says to work with the Access and make small adjustments by moving it a little, rotating, etc. they are actually on to something.   :shock:

After days of moving the Access a little, rotating, raising, lowering, etc.  I've had a signal strength of 4 bars for the last couple of days.   I guess this means that the antenna on the Access is not very good because it is so sensitive that small changes make a HUGE difference.  Shouldn't be this way IMO.    So the Access now sits where the blue light, instead of pointing towards the 5 in 1, is now pointing 45 degrees clockwise from the 5 in 1, about 2 inches south of its original position on the shelf and is now standing on a 5 inch tall box.  It took a lot of time to adjust and check.

After much reading here on the forum, it seems the bars on displays are not really signal strength but has to do with packets of data received.   So the "signal" on displays and My Acurite are looking at apples and oranges. 

Thanks everyone for all of the help and I hope my work and findings will help others.   The advice of moving slightly, rotating slightly, etc. actually does work.  It just seems ridiculous and should be unnecessary. 

Thank you for the update. It's good to verify what you've experienced is what others have also found to be the case when working with the station.

As Nincehelser said, the world is an imperfect place, and you cannot just plug a receive antenna in and hit the jackpot in most cases.

Offline havtrail

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2018, 05:11:25 PM »
Well, when everyone says to work with the Access and make small adjustments by moving it a little, rotating, etc. they are actually on to something.   :shock:

After days of moving the Access a little, rotating, raising, lowering, etc.  I've had a signal strength of 4 bars for the last couple of days.   I guess this means that the antenna on the Access is not very good because it is so sensitive that small changes make a HUGE difference.  Shouldn't be this way IMO.    So the Access now sits where the blue light, instead of pointing towards the 5 in 1, is now pointing 45 degrees clockwise from the 5 in 1, about 2 inches south of its original position on the shelf and is now standing on a 5 inch tall box.  It took a lot of time to adjust and check.

After much reading here on the forum, it seems the bars on displays are not really signal strength but has to do with packets of data received.   So the "signal" on displays and My Acurite are looking at apples and oranges. 

Thanks everyone for all of the help and I hope my work and findings will help others.   The advice of moving slightly, rotating slightly, etc. actually does work.  It just seems ridiculous and should be unnecessary.

Good grief.  I guess people don't remember fiddling with antennas on their TV?  Turning an AM radio to get better reception?  Swiveling your antenna this way or that on your WiFi router to get best performance?

The antenna is just fine.  The world is complicated.

You're right! Most people do not remember that at all - so long ago. Look at the advances in antenna design since then, like the fractal-based antenna in cell phones. Maybe it's time for AcuRite to look into an improved, updated antenna.

Rich K.
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https://www.havtrail.com/weather/
NEWA https://newa.cornell.edu Haverford, PA

Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #5 on: December 05, 2018, 06:44:12 PM »
You're right! Most people do not remember that at all - so long ago. Look at the advances in antenna design since then, like the fractal-based antenna in cell phones. Maybe it's time for AcuRite to look into an improved, updated antenna.

Rich K.

You're kidding, right?   :shock:

Fractal antennas aren't magic.  They aren't optimum for picking out a narrow frequency range as is being used here.
« Last Edit: December 05, 2018, 06:58:10 PM by nincehelser »

Offline Jim Ace

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #6 on: December 05, 2018, 06:56:16 PM »
There has been an issue with Access for months,  for some strange reason  after I had mine replaced it's worked fine.  Acurite fixed the problem  with my unit but, it seems there is an issue with other units. \:D/
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Offline nincehelser

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #7 on: December 05, 2018, 07:09:33 PM »
There has been an issue with Access for months,  for some strange reason  after I had mine replaced it's worked fine.  Acurite fixed the problem  with my unit but, it seems there is an issue with other units. \:D/

"For some strange reason" isn't a basis for declaring there is a problem with other units.   #-o

Offline DoctorKnow

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Re: Access issue & 5in1
« Reply #8 on: December 05, 2018, 07:31:34 PM »
There has been an issue with Access for months,  for some strange reason  after I had mine replaced it's worked fine.  Acurite fixed the problem  with my unit but, it seems there is an issue with other units. \:D/

I haven't had any problem. The issue was with Wunderground as far as not uploading rapidly.

 

anything