Vantage Vue Debris Screen Missing

[mickopla]

Lately i was having some issues with my Vantage Vue. For example yesterday i got a rainfall rate over 1000mm/hr and its not the first time this has happened. Also i got some phantom tips when it wasn't raining. Its been about a year since i did a service on the ISS so i took it down today from my roof to find the debris screen missing. A bird must have taken it out of there. Would a missing Debris screen cause such issues as crazy rainfall rates?? Also could a mesh be used to replace the screen in some way.

Cheers

Michael

[DanS]

A hardware or department store may have a common stainless sink strainer (I have been using the same one for years) that you could drop in.
Other than hardware issues something that can cause false rain bucket tips is a loose mounting and the wind moving it.

[SlowModem]

I would only add that you could put a bread bag tie or wire tie in the screen so you have something to grab when you want to remove it.

[mickopla]

Great idea guys. Actually my wife suggested something similar but silly me had put the ISS back up on the roof before i could use her suggestion  . With regards the High rainfall rates would the lack of a Debris screen cause that issue? I'm starting to think its not related because if for example birds poh dropped into the cup surely it would just register as 1 tip and not increase the rainfall rates by such large amounts. 

Mike

[dalecoy]

Great idea guys. Actually my wife suggested something similar but silly me had put the ISS back up on the roof before i could use her suggestion  . With regards the High rainfall rates would the lack of a Debris screen cause that issue? I'm starting to think its not related because if for example birds poh dropped into the cup surely it would just register as 1 tip and not increase the rainfall rates by such large amounts. 

Mike

If the cone is plugged for a while, when it rains, water will accumulate.  Then if it's suddenly unplugged, you will get a high rain rate.

Was the total rainfall reasonable on those occasions?

And the replacement rain screen for the Vue is available.  http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/weather_product.asp?pnum=07342.199

I believe it clips in rather securely, and is then difficult to remove.

[mickopla]

Great idea guys. Actually my wife suggested something similar but silly me had put the ISS back up on the roof before i could use her suggestion  . With regards the High rainfall rates would the lack of a Debris screen cause that issue? I'm starting to think its not related because if for example birds poh dropped into the cup surely it would just register as 1 tip and not increase the rainfall rates by such large amounts. 

Mike

If the cone is plugged for a while, when it rains, water will accumulate.  Then if it's suddenly unplugged, you will get a high rain rate.

Was the total rainfall reasonable on those occasions?

And the replacement rain screen for the Vue is available.  http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/weather_product.asp?pnum=07342.199

I believe it clips in rather securely, and is then difficult to remove.

The total rainfall was reasonable even on the occasions when i got those High Rain rates. With regards your theory dale i'm guessing due to the fact my Debris screen was gone a bird would crap in the rain gauge hole which blocks it. Then it rains and eventually causes the bird crap to tip the mechanism and cause a massive rainfall rate. Would this be a feasible explanation???

With regards my other issue of phantom tips in dry conditions i think this could be due to wind even though my station is in its current position nearly a year. The guy wires were a little slack today when i checked so maybe that's the reason. I did tighten them today and make the ISS completely solid. We will see what happens when stronger winds arrive.

Cheers

Mike

[dalecoy]

Yes, that's feasible.

[mickopla]

Yes, that's feasible.

Cheers Dale

[mickopla]

An interesting development since my last post. I emailed Davis with regards my issues and just got a reply which stated that they think my transmitter needs repairing and to contact my local dealer for repairs. I'm wondering does this make sense??? Has anyone had issues before which lead to their ISS needing its transmitter repaired???

Mike

[dalecoy]

Well, I suppose it's possible, but .....

Take a look at the reception diagnostics on your console (see the manual), and let us know what they look like.  That's not an absolute indicator of ISS (transmitter) quality, but it's a clue.

Then - what's your warranty status?  If you are out of warranty, I would wait and observe for a while longer.

[George Richardson]

I had a crack in my SIM Box cover which allowed water in. When circuit board got wet, rain rate went through the ceiling. So, what they say is possible.
George

[mickopla]

Well, I suppose it's possible, but .....

Take a look at the reception diagnostics on your console (see the manual), and let us know what they look like.  That's not an absolute indicator of ISS (transmitter) quality, but it's a clue.

Then - what's your warranty status?  If you are out of warranty, I would wait and observe for a while longer.

Here are my readings after looking at the reception diag screen. 1= 195, 2=0, 3=-10, 4=-57, 5=0, 7=-22, 8=-108, 9=3.84v

Mike

[C5250]

With regards your theory dale i'm guessing due to the fact my Debris screen was gone a bird would crap in the rain gauge hole which blocks it. Then it rains and eventually causes the bird crap to tip the mechanism and cause a massive rainfall rate. Would this be a feasible explanation???

No. Rain rate can not be determined from a single bucket tip, rain rate can only be determined by the time between bucket tips. Davis is most likely to on track to your real issue.

[dalecoy]

With regards your theory dale i'm guessing due to the fact my Debris screen was gone a bird would crap in the rain gauge hole which blocks it. Then it rains and eventually causes the bird crap to tip the mechanism and cause a massive rainfall rate. Would this be a feasible explanation???

No. Rain rate can not be determined from a single bucket tip, rain rate can only be determined by the time between bucket tips. Davis is most likely to on track to your real issue.

I think you mis-read the "theory".  If the funnel fills up with water, and then it is suddenly released, there will be multiple, fast tips.

[dalecoy]

Well, I suppose it's possible, but .....

Take a look at the reception diagnostics on your console (see the manual), and let us know what they look like.  That's not an absolute indicator of ISS (transmitter) quality, but it's a clue.

Then - what's your warranty status?  If you are out of warranty, I would wait and observe for a while longer.

Here are my readings after looking at the reception diag screen. 1= 195, 2=0, 3=-10, 4=-57, 5=0, 7=-22, 8=-108, 9=3.84v

Mike

I would call those excellent numbers.  (but what was #6?).  Good signal strength, low background noise.  That doesn't prove anything about the ISS data, but it's a good sign.

[C5250]

I think you mis-read the "theory".  If the funnel fills up with water, and then it is suddenly released, there will be multiple, fast tips.

While it is true that clearing a plug would trigger a high rainfall rate, I think not.

Was the total rainfall reasonable on those occasions?

The total rainfall was reasonable even on the occasions when i got those High Rain rates.

This would suggest there was not anomalous total rain amounts, which would be the result if a plug was suddenly cleared. In which case the rain fall total would be low due to loss of the excessive flow by the tipping bucket overflowing and not being capable of keeping up with the flow.

[mickopla]

Well, I suppose it's possible, but .....

Take a look at the reception diagnostics on your console (see the manual), and let us know what they look like.  That's not an absolute indicator of ISS (transmitter) quality, but it's a clue.

Then - what's your warranty status?  If you are out of warranty, I would wait and observe for a while longer.

Here are my readings after looking at the reception diag screen. 1= 195, 2=0, 3=-10, 4=-57, 5=0, 7=-22, 8=-108, 9=3.84v

Mike

I would call those excellent numbers.  (but what was #6?).  Good signal strength, low background noise.  That doesn't prove anything about the ISS data, but it's a good sign.

Number 6 was just a graph so i didn't include it originally but all the dots were at their highest point on the scale.

I have the unit over 18 months now so its well out of guarantee. The nearest dealer to me is not in Ireland so i would have the ship the ISS to the UK. I'm not sure how much a fix would cost but taking into account postage i would imagine it wouldn't be cheap.

For what its worth we did have some rain here overnight which amounted to 2.2mm and no extremely high rainfall rates were recorded. I will just keep an eye on things for now and hope the issue doesn't arise again but if it starts to affect other data i will have to try and get it fixed.

Mike

[dalecoy]

Number 6 was just a graph so i didn't include it originally but all the dots were at their highest point on the scale.

There's usually a number associated with that - on the right side of the screen.  But it was probably 100%.

[dalecoy]

While it is true that clearing a plug would trigger a high rainfall rate, I think not.

Fair enough.  So, what do you think caused it?

[mickopla]

Number 6 was just a graph so i didn't include it originally but all the dots were at their highest point on the scale.

There's usually a number associated with that - on the right side of the screen.  But it was probably 100%.

Just checked that figure and its currently 99%.

[mickopla]

Finally had a chance to take down my ISS and replace the missing Debris screen. The thing i found strange was how loose it is in the hole. Its very feasible it could be blown out. I'm wondering did Davis change the size of hole in the rain collector. My Vue is over 18 months old.