Topic: Strange Atlas Temp Readings

[SkellyCA]

Not sure my Atlas is working right

Atlas Display says: 40°
My Acurite says: 64°
I have a separate outdoor sensor that reads: 48°
The weather report on tv says: 48°

Is there an easy fix for this or do I have to send it back?

[DoctorKnow]

I don't understand? Is the Atlas transmitting?

[davefr]

Not sure my Atlas is working right

Atlas Display says: 40°
My Acurite says: 64°
I have a separate outdoor sensor that reads: 48°
The weather report on tv says: 48°

Is there an easy fix for this or do I have to send it back?

What's the signal strength on the console?

What's the signal strength as reported by the IP address of the hub?

[MrM1]

When you say:

"Atlas Display says: 40°
My Acurite says: 64°"

Do you mean the Atlas display says 40°, but the Atlas Array says 64°?  Is that the same unit,  Or is the 64° coming from an older AcuRite 5-n-1?

[SkellyCA]

When you say:

"Atlas Display says: 40°
My Acurite says: 64°"

Do you mean the Atlas display says 40°, but the Atlas Array says 64°?  Is that the same unit,  Or is the 64° coming from an older AcuRite 5-n-1?

Both reading are from the Atlas. My 5-in-1 currently is not mounted and has no batteries; I may mount the 5-in-1 again as a second station but I do not have a pole right now.

The signal strength is good.  It did say the batteries were low; they were new when I got the atlas. I checked them just now and they were at 1.4v. I put in new ones, measured them first and those are at 1.6v. The display no longer indicates low batteries. Swapping batteries did cause a false lightning strike.

So I'll keep an eye on it for the next few days. Right now both Myacurite and the display show 67°. The stand alone says 71°. The stand alone is in the shade though; so I can what the difference is between sun and shade temps.

The forecast on the display is not to good. Ever since I've had the Atlas, the display has mostly has said rain. I live in California, we haven't had rain since April 19th. I know the unit takes time to learn but how much time does it take? The forecast on the app seems to jive with the local forecast.

[nincehelser]

The forecast on the display is not to good. Ever since I've had the Atlas, the display has mostly has said rain. I live in California, we haven't had rain since April 19th. I know the unit takes time to learn but how much time does it take? The forecast on the app seems to jive with the local forecast.

The forecast on the display is based on the station readings and some basic rules for weather forecasting.  Since it doesn't take advantage of meteorologists and all the weather data at their disposal, the results are pretty limited.

The app, however, does take advantage of a third-party forecasting service called "Dark Sky".  https://darksky.net/dev

[SkellyCA]

So my forecast isn't my forecast, it's Dark Sky's forecast?

[nincehelser]

So my forecast isn't my forecast, it's Dark Sky's forecast?

On the app, yes.

Dark Sky generates a forecast based on the address you've specified for your Access.

Console displays, in general, generate a forecast based on the Zambretti algorithm, perhaps with some proprietary heuristics mixed in.  Depending on your location, the forecasts can run from great to abysmal.  There's only so much you can do with data from a single station.

[galfert]

So let me summarize...

Currently myAcurite and your display show 67 a lower temperature (out in the sun) than your outdoor standalone 71 in the shade. You have the standalone temperature sensor outdoor in the shade that matches the TV temperature report. Sounds like your station is not calibrated for temperature properly, because I would expect the opposite of your current results.

What could also be happening may be related to what other people are saying. Acurite is doing some data averaging and it may be slow to respond to temperature changes. But your initial post really had some wildly different numbers more than I would expect even if data averaging was occurring.

Keep an eye on it and take some manual data logs and create a chart, list the time and the readings of standalone vs display vs myAcurite vs local METAR. Then post back your manual chart to see if there is a steady trend (calibration issue) or if it's just wild and then something is broken and needs replacing.

[nincehelser]

What could also be happening may be related to what other people are saying. Acurite is doing some data averaging and it may be slow to respond to temperature changes.

myAcurite updates temperature every 5 minutes.  The display updates temperature every 30 seconds. 

There is no data averaging of the temperature.

[SkellyCA]

It seems to be ok this morning. Now new lightning strikes.

At what temperature does the fan come on? Or when does it come on?

[nincehelser]

It seems to be ok this morning. Now new lightning strikes.

At what temperature does the fan come on? Or when does it come on?

It doesn't turn on at a set temperature.  If there is enough solar power to run the fan, it runs.

[SkellyCA]

It seems to be ok this morning. Now new lightning strikes.

At what temperature does the fan come on? Or when does it come on?

It doesn't turn on at a set temperature.  If there is enough solar power to run the fan, it runs.

Thank you.

That's good then. I live in sunny California, so it must be running at least a few hours a day. I haven't gotten any false lightning strikes except when I changed the batteries. So I guess I'm in the clear. So strange issues going on such as false lightning strikes, no connection problems or what nots.

So I can relax, enjoy and be happy with my Atlas.