Author Topic: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ  (Read 20069 times)

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Offline Aircub

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Hi I have a Maplin Maplin Professional Solar Powered Wi-Fi Weather Station Code: N23DQ, which I believe is a clone of the Ambient Weather WS-1001.

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/maplin-professional-solar-powered-wi-fi-weather-station-n23dq



Recently the outside temperature overhead by about 10 degrees when the humidity is high, when its dry it goes back to normal, is it possible to replace the temperature sensor on the outside unit.?

Offline dupreezd

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Offline Aircub

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #2 on: May 30, 2017, 03:41:03 AM »
Thanks will take a look at the sensors when I get a free moment.

Offline Rychu

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2017, 01:12:50 PM »
(...)  is it possible to replace the temperature sensor on the outside unit.?

Both stations use WH24 and WH24A (external) and WH25 and WH25A (internal) sensors - both are interchangeable. Important to be configured for the same frequency of 433 MHz or 866 MHz or 915 MHz. Typically, the sensors carry all three bands simultaneously.


Offline senrabyar

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #5 on: October 28, 2017, 05:36:07 AM »
After the Ophelia 'storm' my humidity and temperature readings went totally mad.   

From my Maplin N23DQ, the sensor looks very different to others pictured.
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I replaced it with a  "SHT30-D Temperature Humidity Sensor Breakout 3.3v 5v For Arduino Arm RPi ESP8266"  I found on eBay.    The pins are not in the same order.
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Very pleased it is up and running - just hoping I have silicone sealed it well enough, although the sensor itself is exposed.   

Should the little circuit board be sprayed with something inert but water-repellent ?

Offline Aircub

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #6 on: October 28, 2017, 05:38:23 AM »
Can you give the Ebay link, my reading have gone haywire too.


Offline weather34

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2017, 05:51:32 AM »
After the Ophelia 'storm' my humidity and temperature readings went totally mad.   

From my Maplin N23DQ, the sensor looks very different to others pictured.
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

I replaced it with a  "SHT30-D Temperature Humidity Sensor Breakout 3.3v 5v For Arduino Arm RPi ESP8266"  I found on eBay.    The pins are not in the same order.
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Very pleased it is up and running - just hoping I have silicone sealed it well enough, although the sensor itself is exposed.   

Should the little circuit board be sprayed with something inert but water-repellent ?

at the top of the radiation shield where it meets the rest of the unit apply silicon this also where the water tends to leak through , and can be problematic during dense fog.. self amalgamating tape from b&q or some plumbing shop in the uk or even maplins might sell it .just wrap a small piece around the circuit board leaving the sensor exposed..basically condensation does build up and sends your reading awol ..dew,water all act as a conductor !...brian

Offline senrabyar

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2017, 06:07:42 AM »
Thanks for the detailed advice.

I have sealed the hole where the shield is attached to the main body of the PWS, and the hole through which the wire goes.  So I hope that water cannot be blown through the shield up into the batteries/electronics.

It was quite noticeable how dirty the old sensor was, but even after I had gently removed the grime with isopropanol, I could see apparent corrosion damage to the circuit board tracks (see my cleaned up picture showing where I had checked for continuity under the corrosion)

I suppose it is a perpetual problem - the sensor has to be in free flowing air, so it will get contaminated eventually (18 months in this case).



   

Offline weather34

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #10 on: October 28, 2017, 06:18:40 AM »
If you look the photo you can see the exposed solder points so only need a small amount of water or condensation across the solder points and it will go erratic , when I owned one I particularly paid attention to that area after addressing that area I had no more erratic readings regardless of heavy rain in our case flash floods and heavy dense fog I live 150 meters from the sea so prone to dense fog during the cooling months , in fact you can watch the fog flow through the air at times when it is really dense . I would definitely address that circuit board area .

Have fun and if you live in high UV area like here in Istanbul the wind vane will eventually break mine crumbled in my hand when I took it down a month ago..the plastic is not uv resistant and it just turned in a Bakelite powder literally as I touched it, if a bird sat on it would have broken long before.

Expected life of these models 3 years max and trash it sadly but they give you a good insight into the hobby.if I hadn’t gave it away I would have salvaged the solar panel for another project ..


Brian

Offline dupreezd

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #11 on: October 28, 2017, 07:29:13 AM »
Quote
Should the little circuit board be sprayed with something inert but water-repellent ?

I use Conformal Coating Spray to seal my circuit boards and solder joints. You also get it in brush on which is great, as you don't have to mask items that must be left open such as the sensor opening.

« Last Edit: October 28, 2017, 07:30:48 AM by dupreezd »
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Offline rods55555

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #12 on: February 13, 2018, 07:26:36 PM »
Hi.
I have an Ambient Weather Clone (sold as MiSol).
For more than a month my outdoor unit is not reading the humidity correctly, always shows higher values than any other unit close to it, and at night it usually shows 99% humidity until sunrise, and sometimes the display shows - - %.
I read some topics about this problem, but it seems that Ambient Weather (and Fine Offset) doesn't sell spare parts (sensors). And I'm not going to buy a new outdoor unit just because one bad sensor.
Does anyone know if it's possible to find the sensor (OEM) to replace the bad one, or if there is a way to replace the sensor with another one, a "generic" sensor with the same specs?
I tried to remove the batteries and cover the solar panel to "reset" the unit, but it didn’t make a difference. So, as the sensor is not working as it should, I tried to clean it by spraying clean water and let it dry, it didn't make a difference. So, I put three hygrometers close to the outdoor unit to know what the humidity was and I changed the calibration on the console, since the humidity today is something between 50% and 60% it seems to be "working", but I doubt it will read the correct humidity when it is really high.

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Offline senrabyar

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2018, 08:59:49 PM »
See my earlier posts.   

Try to find the same little circuit board online - wherever you get it in the world it is so timy that the postage will only be the cost of a letter.

Good Luck !

Offline rods55555

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #14 on: February 13, 2018, 09:08:09 PM »
See my earlier posts.   

Try to find the same little circuit board online - wherever you get it in the world it is so timy that the postage will only be the cost of a letter.

Good Luck !

Can I replace the original sensor with the SHT30 / SHT30-D board? Because the original sensor board I can't find it for sale.

Offline senrabyar

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #15 on: February 14, 2018, 05:12:22 AM »
I replaced mine sucessfully. 
But please see my cautionary note on the wires not being in the same order.

Offline rods55555

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #16 on: February 14, 2018, 08:56:32 PM »
I replaced mine sucessfully. 
But please see my cautionary note on the wires not being in the same order.

I bought two of those little boards. Now is just a matter of waiting (a lot of time) to get it here and also to learn which wire goes to which connection on the new sensor. It was really cheap, but the problem is that it takes 40 to 60 days for the awful, slow and corrupt Brazilian customs to release it from "their hands" .... that is the price to pay for being born in a third world country.  :?

Offline alexank

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #17 on: April 20, 2018, 11:55:07 AM »
I would just like to thank everyone for the useful info my Maplin clone croaked earlier this week I bought a SHT31-D from Ebay

one of these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182116692919?ViewItem=&item=182116692919&clk_rvr_id=1505314044227&mfe=si_en-GB_itemClick&mpt=1524239464434

The version with RH connector already soldered on

Once connected it is a 100% compatible part and my weather station is 100% again
In fact the temp is now more accurate as well.

I also updated the Maplin firmware to V2.46 from the Ambient site probably no value in doing so but I wanted to use the "EasyWeatherIP" software rather than the screen buttons to configure the unit and assumed I best use their firmware as well

« Last Edit: April 20, 2018, 11:58:12 AM by alexank »

Offline Martinf54

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #18 on: May 14, 2018, 04:48:39 PM »
My Maplin clone has also started reporting humidity 99% Temperature 60°. I'm really keen to replace the module but don't know which wire is which. Is it obvious when I strip the sensor down? Can anyone help, I'm sure it's easy but I'm nervous. Thanks in advance.

Offline senrabyar

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #19 on: May 14, 2018, 04:58:53 PM »
Be brave. 

Take pictures at each stage in case you want to show them on this forum. 
Write down which wire was connected to which code on the old board.
If two wires have same colour, do something to make them unique before disconnecting. 
Both the old and new circuit boards will hopefully have same codes. So easy then. 
If you cannot match the codes, send the pix here !

Good luck.


Offline Martinf54

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #20 on: May 14, 2018, 05:02:59 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement, it's up the ladder this weekend and I'll order the sensor now. Good to know there's help if it all goes wrong. I'll post photos when I'm done.

Offline Aircub

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #21 on: May 14, 2018, 05:15:22 PM »
Thanks for the encouragement, it's up the ladder this weekend and I'll order the sensor now. Good to know there's help if it all goes wrong. I'll post photos when I'm done.

Will be interested to see if this works, if it does then I will order one too. Taking some good photos would be good for us that still need to do this.

Offline rods55555

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #22 on: May 24, 2018, 07:24:53 PM »
Finally!! the sensors arrived.

I bought two, just in case..... and also bought a set of bars with pins and connectors.
Now is just a matter of disassembly the outdoor unit and try to find out how to solder the wires in the correct order...... let's see if I'm able to do it.

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Offline rods55555

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #23 on: May 27, 2018, 04:51:47 PM »
So, here we go...

I removed the radiation shield to try to find out how to install the new sensor, since it has a completely different shape.


First I thought that I would just to insert it in the slot that the old sensor was (I just had to cut the two little tabs that hold the original sensor in place) but it was a bad idea for two reasons, first because I accidentally broke a small plastic piece with one of the capacitors on the back of the new sensor board, damaging the board (luckily I bought two of them), the second the reason is that the sensor was too close to the top of the radiation shield.


So, I used a flat piece of plastic to create an extension to install the sensor more or less in the same position as the original sensor was. I used hot glue to hold the piece of plastic in place and glued the top of the board to the piece of plastic. After soldering the wires I applied a coat of transparent nail lacquer to try to protect it from moisture.
Also, I was able to "save" the glue on the top, so I reused it to seal the top of the radiation shield (using hot glue to put it back in place).





Then I put everything back together ... and.... it worked! The sensor works really well, the readings seems to be very accurate.




« Last Edit: May 27, 2018, 05:10:08 PM by rods55555 »

Offline Transporterman

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Re: Replacement parts for Ambient Weather WS-1001 Clone - Maplin N23DQ
« Reply #24 on: June 14, 2018, 05:12:37 PM »
Thanks for the pics.  :-)  I might need them when mine stops working!  I got the original unit replaced under warranty and so far (fingers crossed) the new one is still working.  Mine is a Maplins ws1001 clone and the warranty is up in August.  Maplins have now ceased trading anyway so I'm on my own for any back up.  I'll just see how long I can keep it going by repairing it myself if it goes wrong.

I really bought it mainly for the anemometer function but I have found the rainfall data useful via WG when we are away to see if the garden is likely to be drying out.   


 

anything