Topic: Probable bad solar panel

[WheatonRon]

Part source for VP's is eBay....Just have to keep watching.

eBay item number:
201671608955

262618882392

232058751227

Ebay--A great suggestion. Unfortunately, a used solar panel that Skip needs is likely to be beat up after all these years, but maybe he will get lucky! Let's hope so.

[moehoward4]

Money is always an issue......LOL  But I think 100.00 would be pretty easy to come across.  It is the 750.00 that I get a bit chocked up on.  If I buy brand new, I would get a new weather link as well.  I bought this whole set up and never really got complete package that I would have plus support.

Scaled Instruments sells a new VP2 with Weatherlink, which includes the datalogger, for $545 plus shipping. A great price for a new setup.

   SHOW me a direct link to that deal, would you please? I sure can't find it after spending 15 minutes on Ryans' site.

[WheatonRon]

Money is always an issue......LOL  But I think 100.00 would be pretty easy to come across.  It is the 750.00 that I get a bit chocked up on.  If I buy brand new, I would get a new weather link as well.  I bought this whole set up and never really got complete package that I would have plus support.

Scaled Instruments sells a new VP2 with Weatherlink, which includes the datalogger, for $545 plus shipping. A great price for a new setup.

   SHOW me a direct link to that deal, would you please? I sure can't find it after spending 15 minutes on Ryans' site.

You need to log into his website, then his "special pricing" will appear. The VP2, Davis part no. 6152 is $428, and the Weatherlink is Davis part no. 6510USB is $117, plus shipping charges which are his actual cost, I believe. I have purchased several items from Ryan this past year and he knows the Davis product line backwards and forwards. He is also a great person to work with.  https://www.scaledinstruments.com/

[moehoward4]

Yeah, I know all about doin the login thing, been buying from Ryan for 6+ years(ever hear of Archer Trading Post?)....but you made it sound like a 'package' deal and I wanted to see a direct link.

[WheatonRon]

Yeah, I know all about doin the login thing, been buying from Ryan for 6+ years(ever hear of Archer Trading Post?)....but you made it sound like a 'package' deal and I wanted to see a direct link.

No package deal, just me shopping on his website for the two items. No, I am not aware of Archer Trading Post, but it appears that Scaled Instruments evolved from that business maybe?

[BigOkie]

Yeah, I know all about doin the login thing, been buying from Ryan for 6+ years(ever hear of Archer Trading Post?)....but you made it sound like a 'package' deal and I wanted to see a direct link.

No package deal, just me shopping on his website for the two items. No, I am not aware of Archer Trading Post, but it appears that Scaled Instruments evolved from that business maybe?

That is exactly what happened.  Ryan changed the name of ATP to Scaled I believe sometime around 2014.

[WheatonRon]

Yeah, I know all about doin the login thing, been buying from Ryan for 6+ years(ever hear of Archer Trading Post?)....but you made it sound like a 'package' deal and I wanted to see a direct link.

No package deal, just me shopping on his website for the two items. No, I am not aware of Archer Trading Post, but it appears that Scaled Instruments evolved from that business maybe?

That is exactly what happened.  Ryan changed the name of ATP to Scaled I believe sometime around 2014.

Thanks for the information!

[Skip_Amarillo]

This is al great info..  I am headed to the roof in about 15 minutes to pull my unit down and start unbolting every thing to see what looks bad.  Will post pictures later for more advice I am sure.....

[WheatonRon]

This is al great info..  I am headed to the roof in about 15 minutes to pull my unit down and start unbolting every thing to see what looks bad.  Will post pictures later for more advice I am sure.....

Good luck. We look forward to seeing your photos. I had an 11 year old VP2 station and decided to buy a new ISS as the 11 year old one was ugly. But when I put up the new ISS, I decided to rehab my old unit. Removed the electronics from the ISS and soaked the rest of the ISS in a bleach solution overnight and presto, the unit looks brand new. I did replace the electronics (sensor and PCBA) so now I have two stations that report data to my two consoles so I can compare. In any event, you may find spare parts on Ebay, clean up your ISS, and you may be good to go, vs. buying a new VP2!

[Skip_Amarillo]

Well I have very few images to compare it to, but my super cap looks more like a mini cap to me......LOL  I think there is some corrosion at the base.  I cleaned the face of the solar panel as suggested and got the voltage to 2.66 VDC.  Is that a good level for a VP?

[Scalphunter]

Sounds about right for solar cell

[moehoward4]

Skip says he has a VP...Aardvark, you show a pic of a VP2...two totally different supercaps. IIRR, the VP cap is round like a coin, not cylindrical like the VP2.

[nixxon]

EDIT: This post is a reply to a later deleted post above by user Aardvark that suggested that the component pictured above (4 pictures by user Skip_Amarillo) was a coil. Now my post looks a bit funny    For consistency and forum readability, I suggest we do not delete posts, even if we regret slightly writing them. In my opinion it is better to edit the posts we wished we hadn't written using Strikethrough to indicate that they may be wrong

The component is labeled "ELNA", a company that makes capacitors. The PCB is labeled "C.." for capacitor. There are polarity markings as well. Coils or inductors do not have polarity. The component even looks  and possibly smells like a capacitor as well. If the component is desoldered, it probably would walk like a capacitor too.

The voltage and capacitance is possibly printed somewhere not visible on the photos. It may be equivalent to an Elna DX or DXN series "Dynacap".

It seems that only one out of four capacitor locations is populated on the PCB. Maybe it is possible to double the capacitance (and operation time at night) by installing two capacitors (in parallel).

[kobuki]

That cap should be a 5.5V, 1F model. I think larger capacitance would fit the board, too, and even 2 in parallel.

[Garth Bock]

You said you saw corrosion at the base of the supercap ? Sure signs that it is leaking and needs replacement.

[Skip_Amarillo]

Well I hate to turn this into bad luck, but I cleaned the unit up, polished the solar panel, and changed the location of the receiver by 18" and I have stayed connected for 4 days so far.  I still wonder what happened to change everything over night, but for now, I will just continue with my fingers crossed until a pro 2 and weather link becomes available..  Thanks for all of the help and ideas.

[kobuki]

It sounds to me like clean solar panel + more sunlight solved your problem.

[WheatonRon]

Well I hate to turn this into bad luck, but I cleaned the unit up, polished the solar panel, and changed the location of the receiver by 18" and I have stayed connected for 4 days so far.  I still wonder what happened to change everything over night, but for now, I will just continue with my fingers crossed until a pro 2 and weather link becomes available..  Thanks for all of the help and ideas.

Well done! Have you seen my rainfall measurement woes? See here..

http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=30460.new;topicseen#new

[nixxon]

You said you saw corrosion at the base of the supercap ? Sure signs that it is leaking and needs replacement.

The funny thing is that a broken, 12 year old (Mfg. code B40217A68A) VP1 console (Product #6310) was for sale locally. The seller also had the rest of the ISS equipment, but this was faulty (not transmitting). I bought all of it for a reasonable price, hoping to be able to fix the ISS transmitter issue.

It seems that a leaking super cap had corroded a couple of traces on the back side of the VP1 PCB. A quick DMM resistance measurement confirmed that one of the suspicious looking traces was broken (open circuit). I cleaned up some of the mess and soldered in a "bodge" wire and the ISS started transmitting again.

Does anyone know the best way of neutralizing and stopping further corrosion of the PCB traces? I used a Q-tip with IPA to scrub the damaged parts. I also scraped off some of the hardened, corroded stuff along the damaged traces.

[Skip_Amarillo]

Congratulations on the repair.  My cap looks just as silly.....LOL

[dalecoy]

Does anyone know the best way of neutralizing and stopping further corrosion of the PCB traces? I used a Q-tip with IPA to scrub the damaged parts. I also scraped off some of the hardened, corroded stuff along the damaged traces.

In general, the corrosion has already occurred (i.e., it's finished) assuming you have removed the leaking supercap.

I would use some "contact cleaner" to try to make sure, and then not expect any further damage.  (Alcohol was an excellent idea, too).

[nixxon]

Thank you for your reply. I have not removed the leaky capacitor yet. I just discovered the damage last night. The cap is located (hanging by its solder lugs) underneath the PCB on the VP1. I am a little surprised that the corrosive stuff has made it's way (fighting gravity) up to the PCB and even further up to the other side of the PCB. Maybe there is some capillary action going on here?
(Look below for the strikethrough)

EDIT: I just remember that the seller told me that the unit has not been in use for 5 years. It worked when he put it away for storage, but did not work when he tested it recently. My guess is that the ISS was stored bottom side up, allowing the capacitor to leak down onto the PCB while in storage and ruin the traces. So - it may be wise to store the VP1 ISS in the correct orientation (rain collector facing up) to avoid damage if the capacitor decides to leak out it's liquid dielectric guts.

[nixxon]

Does anyone know the best way of neutralizing and stopping further corrosion of the PCB traces? I used a Q-tip with IPA to scrub the damaged parts. I also scraped off some of the hardened, corroded stuff along the damaged traces.

In general, the corrosion has already occurred (i.e., it's finished) assuming you have removed the leaking supercap.

I would use some "contact cleaner" to try to make sure, and then not expect any further damage.  (Alcohol was an excellent idea, too).

Thank you for your reply. Do you think that the corrosive capacitor leakage has been neutralized to a non-corrosive substance as it reacted to the copper traces on the PCB? Or is it still corrosive, but making no more damage to the PCB because it has dried up and no longer is spreading further to good (uncorroded) parts of the PCB? Or is there something else going on that I have not thought of?

I actually don't know if the leakage is acidic or alkaline. If an alkaline battery leaks, I have read that baking soda (acidic) is good for neutralizing. But if the leakage is acidic, vinegar (alkaline) is said to do the trick. I guess I have to figure out if the capacitor leakage is (still) acidic or alkaline.

More on this matter on a forum I visit a lot:
http://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/electronics-cleaning-leaked-batteries/msg15821/#msg15821

[CW2274]

Does anyone know the best way of neutralizing and stopping further corrosion of the PCB traces? I used a Q-tip with IPA to scrub the damaged parts. I also scraped off some of the hardened, corroded stuff along the damaged traces.

In general, the corrosion has already occurred (i.e., it's finished) assuming you have removed the leaking supercap.

I would use some "contact cleaner" to try to make sure, and then not expect any further damage.  (Alcohol was an excellent idea, too).

I actually don't know if the leakage is acidic or alkaline. If an alkaline battery leaks, I have read that baking soda (acidic)is good for neutralizing. But if the leakage is acidic, vinegar (alkaline) is said to do the trick. I guess I have to figure out if the capacitor leakage is (still) acidic or alkaline.

You've got your PH's backwards, baking soda is the alkaline and vinegar is the acid.

[dalecoy]

... Do you think that the corrosive capacitor leakage has been neutralized to a non-corrosive substance as it reacted to the copper traces on the PCB? Or is it still corrosive, but making no more damage to the PCB because it has dried up and no longer is spreading further to good (uncorroded) parts of the PCB? Or is there something else going on that I have not thought of?

Yes.

I actually don't know if the leakage is acidic or alkaline.

Most likely acidic.