Author Topic: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional  (Read 5155 times)

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Offline flainn

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New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« on: November 27, 2017, 12:57:55 PM »
(note: I've emailed this same message to Davis' customer support at sales@davisnet.com, but have not yet heard back).

Hello fellow weather enthusiasts,

I recently purchased a new 6163 kit from Scientific Sales Inc. (scientificsales.com).

I assembled things according to the manual and did an in-the-house sensors test prior to attempting installation. All sensors worked fine, except my son commented that the anemometer seemed to be registering more slowly than he would expect (he was blowing on the anemometer to make it go very fast). I didn't think much of it at the time.

But today I installed the station on a pole. Everything works great, except I'm getting no reading from the wind vane or the anemometer. All other sensors are working just fine.

I took the station back down and checked the anemometer cable thoroughly; no nicks or indication of physical problems. I then did some basic testing. I plugged the anemometer into the rain sensor port and spun the anemometer; data registered as rain. But when I plugged the anemometer back into the wind port, I get nothing.

I also plugged other sensors into the wind port (such as the rain sensor, which is a simple momentary switch -- should work to masquerade as an anemometer). But I get nothing even when plugging any other sensor into the wind port.

My hypothesis, based on my limited testing, is that the wind sensor port appears to be either dead or having some sort of issue. The anemometer itself does not seem to be the problem, as I get output from it when plugging it into a different sensor port.

Can you give me suggestions for what I might try to fix this? I'm really looking forward to having my station working at full capacity.
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Offline SLOweather

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #1 on: November 27, 2017, 01:17:52 PM »
Lo9ok in the modular Wind jack and make sure the contacts are not bent, and there is no crud in there, stuck to the dielectric grease.

Offline johnd

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #2 on: November 27, 2017, 01:20:20 PM »
It's actually extremely rare to get a SIM board on the ISS that's somehow faulty, but that's obviously not to say that there might be a 1 in 1000 issue.

Probably best to wait for some feedback from Davis - guess they may have a significant mail backlog after the holiday.
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Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline PaulMy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #3 on: November 27, 2017, 03:56:27 PM »
From my experience, call Davis, you will likely get a person and maybe an answer as well.

Enjoy,
Paul

Offline CW2274

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #4 on: November 27, 2017, 04:11:20 PM »
From my experience, call Davis, you will likely get a person and maybe an answer as well.

Enjoy,
Paul
Concur. Here's a supervisor, Brett Lane 510-940-1850.

Offline flainn

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #5 on: November 27, 2017, 04:20:04 PM »
Ok. Well, I wish I had time during the work day to call Davis and spend time on the phone, but unfortunately I do not.

I did hear back from Kim Humburg, who forwarded my email to Dealer Support. If I don't hear anything more in a few days, I guess I'll have to find the time to call.

No bent pins -- I checked -- and there is no crud, seeing as how this is literally a brand-new station that has not yet spent a night outside.
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Offline PaulMy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #6 on: November 27, 2017, 04:57:59 PM »
Quote
Ok. Well, I wish I had time during the work day to call Davis and spend time on the phone, but unfortunately I do not.
This is not helpful to you, but being in a time zone 3 hours ahead of Pacific is good for me ;)

Hopefully they will get back fairly quick.

You will enjoy,
Paul
« Last Edit: November 27, 2017, 05:31:38 PM by PaulMy »

Offline dalecoy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #7 on: November 27, 2017, 05:09:47 PM »
Why not contact Scientific Sales?

Offline flainn

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #8 on: November 27, 2017, 06:52:09 PM »
Why not contact Scientific Sales?

I figured they would simply refer me to Davis. After all, if I buy a ThinkPad from Tiger Direct, I don't expect Tiger Direct to give me technical support.
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Offline dalecoy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #9 on: November 27, 2017, 08:23:55 PM »
Why not contact Scientific Sales?

I figured they would simply refer me to Davis. After all, if I buy a ThinkPad from Tiger Direct, I don't expect Tiger Direct to give me technical support.

I suggest that you try it (and let us know how it goes).  This appears to likely be a hardware problem.

Or, ask Davis for an anemometer (wind) test cable.  Davis will send one free, and it is an excellent way to diagnose what's defective.    [Or you could make one yourself.  There's a schematic somewhere on this forum]

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=26648.msg259270#msg259270
« Last Edit: November 27, 2017, 09:48:40 PM by dalecoy »

Offline Mattk

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #10 on: November 27, 2017, 10:19:29 PM »
One thing you should/could do yourself, clean any gel out of the socket as well as wiping any residual gel from the plug and test again

Offline azchrisf

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #11 on: November 28, 2017, 09:47:30 AM »
One thing you should/could do yourself, clean any gel out of the socket as well as wiping any residual gel from the plug and test again

I second this. Use some Isopropyl alcohol.
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https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=41867.0

Offline Aardvark

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #12 on: November 28, 2017, 09:50:50 AM »
You can do all of this and if it works, fine.  I would contact Scientific Sales where you bought it and let them know they sent you a defective unit .  Have them replace it for you. I think you will get faster results that way.   

Offline flainn

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #13 on: November 28, 2017, 12:08:53 PM »
Okay folks. Thank you for all the great suggestions.

I'll give some alcohol on the wind sensor port a try this evening. I didn't notice any gel anywhere, but it can't hurt.

I also forwarded my concerns to Scientific Sales. I will let you know what they say.
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Offline azchrisf

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #14 on: November 28, 2017, 12:57:40 PM »
Well, just to be clear, don't pour alcohol on the thing, just use it on a q-tip or cotton ball to clean out the gel. ;-)
Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus 6163 w/ 8 Transmitters!
Also doing Soil and Leaf 4x
WU: KAZGLEND106 CWOP: FW1398 (F1398) Purpleair: 98793/LAZGLEND8
My setup:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=41867.0

Offline dalecoy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #15 on: November 28, 2017, 01:03:38 PM »
Well, just to be clear, don't pour alcohol on the thing, just use it on a q-tip or cotton ball to clean out the gel. ;-)

Of course, being very careful to not leave any lint or strings behind......

But why would there be gel there to begin with?  And if there is supposed to be protective gel there, why clean it out? 

Offline azchrisf

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #16 on: November 28, 2017, 01:05:48 PM »
Well, just to be clear, don't pour alcohol on the thing, just use it on a q-tip or cotton ball to clean out the gel. ;-)

Of course, being very careful to not leave any lint or strings behind......

But why would there be gel there to begin with?  And if there is supposed to be protective gel there, why clean it out?

It's dielectric grease. Supposed to stop water and stuff, but they aren't exactly, ahem, careful with it sometimes, so it can stop signals passing thru if it gets on a prong.
Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus 6163 w/ 8 Transmitters!
Also doing Soil and Leaf 4x
WU: KAZGLEND106 CWOP: FW1398 (F1398) Purpleair: 98793/LAZGLEND8
My setup:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=41867.0

Offline miraculon

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #17 on: November 28, 2017, 01:16:07 PM »
It seems a bit odd to me that the anemometer connected to the rain port "works" and indicates a signal, yet there is no wind indication. Also strange is that neither direction or speed indication is present. It is possible that both signals are missing, but your rain test tells me that the speed is actually OK.

I would raise the possibility that the "Wind" was configured as a "Wind Station" instead of the ISS. There should be only a single "ISS" and no "WIND" (anemometer transmitter) should be configured. If your console was set up for an anemometer transmitter, it would give no wind indication since it would be expecting wind data from this source and not the ISS.

Something to check. Sometimes, even "new" units could have been a customer return and it was configured assuming an anemometer transmitter is present.

See: "Screen 2: Configuring Transmitter IDs - Wireless Only" in the console manual. There should be no "WIND" station configured. If so it should be turned "off".

Greg H.


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CWOP: CW4114 and KE8DAF-13
WU: KMIROGER7
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Offline johnd

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #18 on: November 28, 2017, 02:18:06 PM »
I would raise the possibility that the "Wind" was configured as a "Wind Station" instead of the ISS. There should be only a single "ISS" and no "WIND" (anemometer transmitter) should be configured. If your console was set up for an anemometer transmitter, it would give no wind indication since it would be expecting wind data from this source and not the ISS.

It's always worth checking these things, but you end up asking a new user for information and troubleshooting checks that they might not understand, hence my thought that it would be best done on the phone to Davis.

But yes, assuming that it's just a basic station with default settings, Station 1 should be ON ISS and _all_ other 7 channels need checking to ensure that they're OFF. Not a bad idea to get acquainted with channel setting on the console though - it's really quite straightforward.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Aardvark

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #19 on: November 28, 2017, 02:31:48 PM »
It seems a bit odd to me that the anemometer connected to the rain port "works" and indicates a signal, yet there is no wind indication. Also strange is that neither direction or speed indication is present. It is possible that both signals are missing, but your rain test tells me that the speed is actually OK.

I would raise the possibility that the "Wind" was configured as a "Wind Station" instead of the ISS. There should be only a single "ISS" and no "WIND" (anemometer transmitter) should be configured. If your console was set up for an anemometer transmitter, it would give no wind indication since it would be expecting wind data from this source and not the ISS.

Something to check. Sometimes, even "new" units could have been a customer return and it was configured assuming an anemometer transmitter is present.

See: "Screen 2: Configuring Transmitter IDs - Wireless Only" in the console manual. There should be no "WIND" station configured. If so it should be turned "off".

Greg H.
I think that  it gets a "signal" is that everytime the reed switch in the rain collector opens and closes, it gets a "tip,"  so when the magnet in the Anemometer opens and closes its reed switch, it is intrepreted as being the rain switch.  Shows the problem is with the ISS.

Offline johnd

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #20 on: November 28, 2017, 02:36:55 PM »
Shows the problem is with the ISS.

Or the console settings as miraculon suggests!
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline dalecoy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #21 on: November 28, 2017, 05:28:59 PM »
It's dielectric grease. Supposed to stop water and stuff, but they aren't exactly, ahem, careful with it sometimes, so it can stop signals passing thru if it gets on a prong.

I understand dielectric grease (non-conductive, anti-corrosion, etc. etc.).  This particular port has had several connectors inserted and removed, and the "wind" plug has been inserted, tested OK, and removed from other ports on the ISS.  And the owner does not see any grease.  Given that, I consider it highly unlikely that there's a problem with excessive dielectric grease.

Offline flainn

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #22 on: November 28, 2017, 05:45:20 PM »
It's always worth checking these things, but you end up asking a new user for information and troubleshooting checks that they might not understand, hence my thought that it would be best done on the phone to Davis.

It's ok. I've got 20 years working in IT, a ham radio license, and am a trained Skywarn and CoCoRaHS observer, plus it's not my first weather station (just my first professional-grade one). Feel free to talk high-level troubleshooting.
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Offline dalecoy

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #23 on: November 28, 2017, 08:46:25 PM »
You could probably quickly construct that "wind test cable".  It would conclusively diagnose the problem.  If it's a bad ISS (board), then Scientific Sales will quickly send a replacement.

de W5VBQ

Offline miraculon

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Re: New 6163 station - wind sensor port nonfunctional
« Reply #24 on: November 29, 2017, 08:07:21 AM »
Were you able to verify that there is no "Wind Station" set in the console? Not saying that you did this, maybe it came that way...
It is worth eliminating as a possibility, since it would give the same symptoms due to a non-existent Anemometer Transmitter.

Greg H.


Blitzortung Stations #706 and #1682
CoCoRaHS: MI-PI-1
CWOP: CW4114 and KE8DAF-13
WU: KMIROGER7
Amateur Radio Callsign: KE8DAF

 

anything