Topic: Low Battery On Station 8

[raldridge]

My console ticker is displaying low battery on station 8. Is this something I should worry about as I have just purchased a new battery for the transmitter of my Davis Vantage Pro2 plus
weather station only a few days ago. This message is displayed both day and night and is not cleared at midnight like I was told it should?. My Davis ISS is wireless model.
raldridge

[johnd]

The message should clear with a new battery but impossible to comment without more detail. eg How old is the system? Is the ISS the only transmitter? [Won't affect the answer, but if so, what's it doing on channel 8 (ie rather than the default channel 1)]? Etc.

[Mattk]

Is your ISS set to Station #8?

[raldridge]

In the first my ISS was receiving two station IDS, 1 the default and ID station number 3. So I was told to try a different ID station so I chose ID station 8.
But as I am still getting this low battery warning it seems it is me that is having the problem not the ISS on station 3. Even though I exchanged the batteries only a few days ago.
I have had my ISS only a month. I am thinking of purchasing the other sun sensor after purchasing the UV one. Making my ISS a full Davis Vantage Pro 2 plus.
My ISS is working well despite this battery warning.
Do you know what the second button from the left does on Weatherlink software?. I am hoping that it will load the internet blue screen which is nice and easy to read without having
to log in every time to view my own station. Also can I and other people view these blue screens without having to login to the internet, because when I click on the map it does not
bring up the blue screens but does give a few brief items of data.

Thanks to the people who kindly answered my my first post to this forum.
raldridge
 

[Mattk]

Change your ISS to a different ID and see if the condition continues? Would it be possible you are receiving a signal from another ISS #8?

If you change the ID from #8 then make sure you recycle the power.

[Mattk]

Second button from left - Download the logger data

[raldridge]

Hi Mattk,

What did you mean when you say recycle the power after changing the station number?.

raldridge

[raldridge]

Hi Johnd,

Yes, Station 8 is my only station.
I am running my console using my mains power and using the 3 batteries as backup in case of power blackout, as is recommended in the manual.

[W3DRM]

Since your weather data is apparently good (it is isn't it?) then, have you checked to make certain the battery was installed correctly? If your ISS is still indicating good data at night then it probably isn't this but it may be worth a quick check.

If none of this helps, I would suggest contacting Davis Support and let them troubleshoot the problem. A new ISS should simply work without any problems.

And, enjoy your new VP2 and welcome to the WXFORUM! As you are already finding-out, there is a lot of great information and knowledgeable folks on the forum.

[dalecoy]

My console ticker is displaying low battery on station 8. Is this something I should worry about as I have just purchased a new battery ....

Was it saying "low battery" before you installed the new battery?

Possibilities include: (a) new battery isn't good; (b) new battery installed backwards or not fully inserted or ...

[Bushman]

IIRC you will get faster results if you use a lower station number.

[dalecoy]

IIRC you will get faster results if you use a lower station number.

Does that apply to the "Low Battery" indication?

(And "how much faster?")

[Bushman]

Here's the faster question answered.

ISS Weather Variable Update Intervals
(Transmitter ID Dependent)
Wind speed: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 to 3 seconds
Wind direction: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.5 to 3 seconds
Accumulated rainfall: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 24 seconds
Rain rate: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 to 24 seconds
Outside temperature: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 to 12 seconds
Outside humidity: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 seconds to 1 minute
Ultraviolet radiation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 seconds to 1 minute
Solar radiation: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 seconds to 1 minute

[Mattk]

Hi Johnd,

Yes, Station 8 is my only station.
I am running my console using my mains power and using the 3 batteries as backup in case of power blackout, as is recommended in the manual.

Changing the DIP switches then you will need to re-power the ISS for the new ID# to take effect

[johnd]

Changing the DIP switches then you will need to re-power the ISS for the new ID# to take effect

Not as far as I'm aware! Change of channel seems to happen pretty much straightaway IME.

And I thought that the main benefit of using lower channel numbers was quicker synching by the console (whenever  a resynch is needed), plus less of a need for resynchs.

[Aardvark]

How old is your station?   sometimes  the supercap can go bad and over a few days drain the battery.  I have had 2 do that over the years.   you can get a new one from Scaled Instruments, or purchase a new board .  The board comes mounted with the back half of the ISS.  Davisnet has a video on how to replace it. Very easy.

I would first  replace the battery and be sure you are plugged in.
Next if the thing fails,  take off the cover over the circuit board and look for signs of corrosion on the super cap. It is a tube like thing .    If it looks good, then  put the cover on and check that the solar panel cover is intact.    If it still is giving you a bad reading,  then replace the board.

I definitely look to see if anyone is broad casting with a davis on station 8,  maybe check the dip switches and change to a different channel

[dalecoy]

My console ticker is displaying low battery on station 8. Is this something I should worry about as I have just purchased a new battery ....

Was it saying "low battery" before you installed the new battery?

Possibilities include: (a) new battery isn't good; (b) new battery installed backwards or not fully inserted or ...

[raldridge]

Hi Dalecoy,
Yes, it was displaying low battery before I installed the new one.

[raldridge]

Hi Ardvark,

My ISS is only about one month old.

How does one find out if anyone is broadcasting on channel 8 in my area, I have not seen any from the street when walking even my own is difficult to spot from the street unless you
know exactly where to look through trees etc. I suppose a low flying drone might be able to spot one in an area radius of about 300 meters or 984 feet from my place.

Would mine have corrosion on the super cap when I have had it only about one month so far?.

Yes, I was advised by another member of the forum to change the channel again, as I have already changed it before from 1 to 8, and to re-power both units the outdoor and the indoor console. I did not know about re-powering both units before so I did not when changed channels before.
But the console is displaying channel 8 ok.

[raldridge]

Hi W3DRM,

It appears to me to be working properly with all of the features displaying on the Weatherlink software.

[dalecoy]

Hi Dalecoy,
Yes, it was displaying low battery before I installed the new one.

You only owned this station for a month, and it was displaying "low battery". 

At some point, you changed the station address to #8

Is there any chance that, in the process of changing the address, you put DIP Switch #4 (the test switch) in the ON position, and it has been left in that position?

Or, is there any chance that you get a bad "new" battery, or installed the new battery backwards?

Note: the fact that it appears to be working properly, probably rules out any problem with the supercap.

[Aardvark]

Hi Ardvark,

My ISS is only about one month old.

How does one find out if anyone is broadcasting on channel 8 in my area, I have not seen any from the street when walking even my own is difficult to spot from the street unless you
know exactly where to look through trees etc. I suppose a low flying drone might be able to spot one in an area radius of about 300 meters or 984 feet from my place.

Would mine have corrosion on the super cap when I have had it only about one month so far?.

Yes, I was advised by another member of the forum to change the channel again, as I have already changed it before from 1 to 8, and to re-power both units the outdoor and the indoor console. I did not know about re-powering both units before so I did not when changed channels before.
But the console is displaying channel 8 ok.

I had a similar problem, I had to walk the area,  it is only a 1000 foot radius.   However,  since your station is only a month old,  contact Davisnet.  It is under warranty and they are obligated to make sure it works perfectly for you.  While you problem solve,  do contact them and call , not email, but call their support line.  They are in Hayward California.


Technical Support: (510) 732-7814
For answers to technical questions or help with troubleshooting. We are open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Pacific Time.

[raldridge]

Hi Dalecoy,

Good point now I think of it I may have done this put the #4 dip switch to on position so this would this make my console display low battery
Remembering of course that before I changed the channel that this low battery warning was displayed.

I presume that I do not have to have the the re-transmit set to on for weatherlink software to receive data from the console?.

[dalecoy]

Hi Dalecoy,

Good point now I think of it I may have done this put the #4 dip switch to on position so this would this make my console display low battery
Remembering of course that before I changed the channel that this low battery warning was displayed.

I presume that I do not have to have the the re-transmit set to on for weatherlink software to receive data from the console?.

DIP Switch #4 is the transmitter test - it makes the transmitter run sorta continuously, which would drain the battery. 

No, don't turn on re-transmit.

[W3DRM]

Robert,

Based on your internet link, it appears you are in Tasmania so for you to call Davis directly in the United States may be a bit expensive. Thus, I would suggest that you contact whoever you purchased your VP2 from and find out what kind of technical support they offer for a new weather station. Of course, if you discover the problem was caused by having the #4 DIP switch in the on position, then this is a moot point but something to think about how and where to contact support for any future problems you may encounter with your Davis VP2.

You mention the low battery message was present before you changed the battery. Has it been on since you initially installed your VP2? And, as has been suggested, is it possible that the battery was installed backwards?

And lastly, to determine whether there are any other VP2 units in your area and what channel they are operating on, simply turn off your ISS and then let the console sequence through looking for any signals it may find. If there are any in your neighborhood, this will tell you what channel they are on. Then, simply disable any channel that is active and set your ISS to the "lowest" channel number that is not in use. That will optimize your data times for your area. All of this can be found in the Vantage Pro2 Console Manual. Go to Chapter 4 - Troubleshooting and Maintenance and go to the "Check Console Reception" section. It also refers to Screen 1: Active Transmitters on page 10 where you can see the active transmitters in your area. Going on to Screen 2: Configuring Transmitter IDs - Wireless Only, will allow you to manually turn on or off various channels. I would highly recommend that you disable (turn off) any channel that you are not using for your ISS. This will eliminate interference from any future VP2's that get installed in your area. Of course if one pops up on your channel you will need to consider moving to another channel to avoid interference between the two stations. From personal experience, I had a new VP2 installation pop-up a block away from me and I started having intermittent errors. The ONLY way I found the problem was to turn-off my own ISS and then let the console go through its search for nearby ISS's. Once I found the culprit, I changed channels and my intermittent problems disappeared.

Sorry, I know this is long-winded but being new, I can imagine how overwhelmed you can get when things don't work as they are supposed to.