Topic: WS-2000 Going Dark

[sctdg]

I have a WS-2000 weather station. The display goes dark every day at 9:25 am . Auto backlight is checked and set to go on every day at 6:30 am and off at 1:25 am .Auto brightness is not checked . I live in Northern NJ and Longitude and Latitude inputs are correct for my location . Time is regulated through internet connection .When backlight goes off on it's own at 9:25 if any button is touched backlight will come back on and stay on . I have seen backlight come back on it's own after a few minutes . Does anyone have any idea why this would happen? Any suggestions would be appreciated .

[galfert]

The turn off time a 1:25 AM if it were to be UTC is equivalent to 9:25 PM EDT for your time zone. That is a little suspicious. Maybe you found a software bug. Maybe the WS-2000 is interpreting that turn off time to be 9:25 AM EDT instead of 9:25 PM UTC. Change your turn off time to be something other than 1:30 AM but keep it being something in the AM time frame ...then sit around and watch if it does work correctly at that set time or if it interprets it wrongly like I'm suspecting. Or you've not entered your correct time zone into the WS-2000.

Also it would be good to know what version of the Revision Firmware you are running on your WS-2000.

[sctdg]

Thank you galfert. Just reset shut down time to 12:25 am and will see what happens tomorrow morning . Should be interesting . I will report results in Morning . Thank you again. I am running 1.4.1 . This has been happening since before going to 1.4.1 .

[sctdg]

After resetting backlight off time to 12:25 am backlight went off this morning at 7:25 am . Again pushing any button brings it back on.  Time zone is set to UTC-5:00 Eastern US ,which is correct for NJ. Not making sense to me.

[galfert]

Makes sense to me. Sounds like you found a bug. Congratulations! I get very excited when I find a bug and then I get to report it so that they can fix it. Although I'm not able to reproduce this. See next post for details.

Try this. Set the turn off time to 5:25 AM. My thinking is that it is treating the turn off as UTC time and then converting it to EDT time but keeping the AM or PM. So if you set it for 5:25 AM it should think of that as UTC and convert it to 1:30 and keep the AM. And then it will turn off when you want. Try that and see what happens.

[galfert]

I just tried time turn off function with my WS-2000. I set it to turn off at 9:17 AM and it turned off as expected. So something else may be amiss with your WS-2000. I am however still running Revision firmware 1.4.0 (I don't like some other bugs SD card bugs in 1.4.1 so I'm waiting for next version).

So lets make sure the following settings are correct for you. You said you had the time zone to Eastern. But make sure all these other check boxes on on and also select the Update button to synchronize time. Then look at the main display and make sure that you see the correct current time and that it is properly showing AM or PM.
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Also I suggest making sure you have entered in your Latitude and Longitude information into the correct settings menu. I'm not sure if this affects this time issue or not...I don't think it should but you never know. It is something you should have set anyway to get sunrise and sunset working.

[sctdg]

My settings concerning time are as yours are . All boxes are checked the same . I will try with another AM turn off time and see what happens . Longitude and latitude are correct for location . Guess I will play with settings and get back with results. Thanks again for the help .

[sctdg]

I may have have found what is going on with screen going dark . I set off time to 8:25am and on time to 8:35am .It cycled on and off as it should for the 10 minutes . At 9:25am it went dark ,came back on without touching anything at 9:31am . I'm thinking it might have something to do with internet time server synchronization which happens daily .

[galfert]

Sounds like you still may have something worthy of reporting as a bug. Keep playing with it till you feel you are comfortable explaining all the settings necessary to duplicate the issue. Then let us know what those settings are. I'll test it and then see what results happen. Try and come up with an example like you just mentioned where the time frame is short and not in the middle of the night.

For example....If I set a turn off at 8:25 AM and and Turn on at 8:35 AM are you saying that I should see a 9:25 AM off every day? or just some times? Try and see if there is anything you can set to duplicate it every day.

Then when I or someone else can reproduce it then we can call it a bug and we can report it with a good chance that it can then be fixed with the next firmware update.

Keep in mind that I'm still running firmware 1.4.0 and I don't plan on moving to 1.4.1. So maybe someone else here on 1.4.1 can do testing also. Or maybe you can decide if to move down to 1.4.0 to see if the problem is there too.

One other thing that I like to suggest when doing a firmware update is to do a factory reset. Just flashing firmware without a factory reset can sometimes on some devices cause weird problems. Especially when moving backwards in firmware version. Can't hurt sometimes to do this also when moving forwards...obviously I don't do this on every device I run as it can be a lot of trouble to restore settings.

[sctdg]

If I do factory reset will I loose my connection to weather underground ? I was thinking about doing the reset but did not want to deal with WU because of the changes that have been made to the WU site and was not sure on making the connection again .

[galfert]

If you do a factory reset you will have to enter in you WU settings again. Should be no trouble even with recent WU changes. You don't need to register a new station ID.... Just log in to WU and get your station credentials. I find it easier to enter these in this after the WS-2000 is on WiFi by using the awnet app instead. You'll have to recalibrate barometer also. Then you'll need to enter in yearly, monthly, weekly etc. rain totals. And any other custizations you may have liked. Of course time zone and lat/lon. Like taking it out of the box.

[sctdg]

Did not do factory reset yet but disabled Backlight on off function . Leaving it on 24 / 7 and see if it changes anything . Was not able to watch display this morning to see if display went dark . When it goes dark it is off for a few minutes and comes back on on it's own. 

[kbellis]

I am running 1.4.1 . This has been happening since before going to 1.4.1 .

There was a DST-related issue with 1.4.1 which was fixed with v1.4.2, and while it had to do with how local time was being stored in the internal database (Backup .csv), I wonder if maybe the fixed version; i.e., v1.4.2, still shows the issue discussed herein.

[sctdg]

Just did 1.4.2 update late today .Keeping my fingers crossed maybe it's the fix. Only problem is I think problem started before 1.4.1 ,I could be wrong,memory sucks . 

[sctdg]

Might have found why display goes dark on it's own . On setting was an AM time. Off time was also an AM time . Reset off time to 11:59 PM and on time to 6:30 AM . So far looks alright. I think it does not like the two AM settings for on and off. Will post update in a couple days or earlier if problem persists .

[kbellis]

Might have found why display goes dark on it's own . On setting was an AM time. Off time was also an AM time . Reset off time to 11:59 PM and on time to 6:30 AM . So far looks alright. I think it does not like the two AM settings for on and off. Will post update in a couple days or earlier if problem persists .

Thanks for checking in, I was wondering how you were making out. Odd problem indeed. I haven't tried duplicating your issue as I keep the WS-2000 in the shop with its constant nonfluctuating glow throughout the day, 24/7. And that's quite okay with me. When it first arrived mid-January, I played with its brightness settings and seeing absolutely no difference from one end of the range setting to the other, found its impotent performance not worth worrying about, particular given where it's presently located.

[sctdg]

Might have found why display goes dark on it's own . On setting was an AM time. Off time was also an AM time . Reset off time to 11:59 PM and on time to 6:30 AM . So far looks alright. I think it does not like the two AM settings for on and off. Will post update in a couple days or earlier if problem persists .

Thanks for checking in, I was wondering how you were making out. Odd problem indeed. I haven't tried duplicating your issue as I keep the WS-2000 in the shop with its constant nonfluctuating glow throughout the day, 24/7. And that's quite okay with me. When it first arrived mid-January, I played with its brightness settings and seeing absolutely no difference from one end of the range setting to the other, found its impotent performance not worth worrying about, particular given where it's presently located.

Well it did not take long to see problem is solved. By now would have seen display go dark and knock wood has not happened. Guess it is connected to having ON and OFF time being AM. Could even be problem with double PM . Another odd thing I saw when I was having problem was that signal strength
from osprey was fluctuating from no bars to full bars ,almost as if it was cycling .Now staying solid on full bars. Only reason I was using shut down times was I just wanted to conserve what ever lights the display and add to it's longevity. Can you say cheap? LOL Still don't understand what auto brightness adjustment does. Thought it had to do with ambient light but I don't see a sensor anywhere.

[Platokidd]

 Still don't understand what auto brightness adjustment does. Thought it had to do with ambient light but I don't see a sensor anywhere.
[/quote]

The only thing I noticed about the auto brightness is when set to on. Then I manually increased the brightness, it would stay brighter and show the bars on the light meter, then drop back down in brightness on its own after a few seconds. At times its a bar or two difference in times of dark or daylight.  Not worth calling it an auto brightness for sure as it looks the same.

[sctdg]

 Still don't understand what auto brightness adjustment does. Thought it had to do with ambient light but I don't see a sensor anywhere.

The only thing I noticed about the auto brightness is when set to on. Then I manually increased the brightness, it would stay brighter and show the bars on the light meter, then drop back down in brightness on its own after a few seconds. At times its a bar or two difference in times of dark or daylight.  Not worth calling it an auto brightness for sure as it looks the same.[/quote]

I might have found what auto brightness is doing. It bases how light or dark display is based on Solar Radiation coming from outdoor sensor. Setting your minimum to lowest and Max to highest will show the correlation with solar radiation readings from outdoor sensor. Make sure auto box is checked .

[sctdg]

Spoke to Ambient this evening . Ok I was totally wrong about Auto brightness control according to Ambient . I'm still at a lost about that setting . All I know is going dark problem is solved and I figured it out not ambient. They wanted me to send it back . What a great $279.00 Investment ????? LOL Oh ,by the way with all the WS-2000's out there I'm the "only one" to be experiencing the problem. As per ambient customer service. GIVE ME A BREAK !

PS. Been watching display this evening and as solar radiation levels go down so does brightness. Ambient weather just 2 hours ago says that's not how it works. Who is minding the store over there. Not a warm fuzzy feeling for further support if needed. Hate to say it but if you buy Ambient you are on your own. Not much different than Acurite.

[galfert]

My experience is different with Ambient Weather. I feel that they are very available and they are responsive. The fact that they offered to you to return it speaks volumes. The fact that they answered the phone is incredible. Acurite doesn't even have a phone anymore. I'm not experienced with other Acurite support issues as I've not had an Acurite system so I won't say more about them. They did answer my emails that were pre-purchase questions (although I never bought from them). With Ambient though you need to also be patient. Sometimes they can rub people the wrong way and make you feel like you aren't worth their time. That is something that Ambient can improve so I won't give them 5 stars, but certainly 4 or 4.5. As for the wrong information that you got...yep I have to agree that perhaps their lack of perfect understanding of their product caused the misinformation you got. The reason is because they are reseller not the manufacture. For them to answer every detail of their product they would have to sometimes involve the manufacture and you don't want to bother your manufacture needlessly. They probably think they understand their product just fine, and I attribute that to just human error that could happen to anyone. You have to also realize that the manufacture Fine Offset is in China and getting good information from them is difficult too sometimes. All you have to do is look at the product from a user point of view to leave yourself scratching your head sometimes. The fact that this setting we are discussing is not clear is probably caused by 2nd language issues and translation challenges. It wasn't long a go that I found even features in the firmware that were complete misspellings like Upgrate and Radation. Such is the nature of dealing with many Chinese companies. But they do try and work hard and they aim to please. I think we should try and help and provide feedback for product improvement rather than just complain. This is why English speaking countries get a bad rap sometimes as we expect the world to cater to us and if it isn't perfect we often aren't polite or patient or grateful.

I'm going to look a this issue and try and duplicate it. I hadn't tried yet because I'm still on 1.4.0 and if I tried to duplicate the issue and I found no problem then it wouldn't be conclusive...although I think you said you "think" the problem was there before 1.4.1. I don't yet want to move to 1.4.2 as it is too new. I'll think about moving to 1.4.2 soon and then get back to you on this issue. You know what ...I'll give it a go with my 1.4.0 and if I am able to duplicate it then we know it is a firmware bug...which I really do think it is from the work you have done.

[Platokidd]

Spoke to Ambient this evening . Ok I was totally wrong about Auto brightness control according to Ambient . I'm still at a lost about that setting . All I know is going dark problem is solved and I figured it out not ambient. They wanted me to send it back . What a great $279.00 Investment ????? LOL Oh ,by the way with all the WS-2000's out there I'm the "only one" to be experiencing the problem. As per ambient customer service. GIVE ME A BREAK !

PS. Been watching display this evening and as solar radiation levels go down so does brightness. Ambient weather just 2 hours ago says that's not how it works. Who is minding the store over there. Not a warm fuzzy feeling for further support if needed. Hate to say it but if you buy Ambient you are on your own. Not much different than Acurite.

What did Ambient say about how the Auto Brightness Control works?

[sctdg]

Spoke to Ambient this evening . Ok I was totally wrong about Auto brightness control according to Ambient . I'm still at a lost about that setting . All I know is going dark problem is solved and I figured it out not ambient. They wanted me to send it back . What a great $279.00 Investment ????? LOL Oh ,by the way with all the WS-2000's out there I'm the "only one" to be experiencing the problem. As per ambient customer service. GIVE ME A BREAK !

PS. Been watching display this evening and as solar radiation levels go down so does brightness. Ambient weather just 2 hours ago says that's not how it works. Who is minding the store over there. Not a warm fuzzy feeling for further support if needed. Hate to say it but if you buy Ambient you are on your own. Not much different than Acurite.

What did Ambient say about how the Auto Brightness Control works?

According to Ambient Auto Brightness adjustment is coupled with the Automatic control backlight . How or why ,it was never explained clearly. Like I said in previous post you can watch brightness drop off as solar radiation numbers go down. I'm just happy I got my issue fixed . By the way it seemed that Ambient guy was not that interested in the going dark issue ,got impression I was bothering him . Ambient / Acurite no different . One answers phone other has no phone ,otherwise same.