Anemometer Readings

[colonieweather]

I received the new VP AC adapter with the feritte attached...  It did not solve the wind problem, however, I also received the externally powered RS232 isolator from B & B Electronics today (http://www.bb-elec.com/product11.asp?sku=9POP4) and it looks like that has sucessfully fixed my issue.  The wind direction no longer frequently jumps to due north.  Cross your fingers that it continues that way!

I just wanted personally thank dalecoy, johnd, belfryboy and jerryg for providing outstanding knowledge and support on this issue.

[dalecoy]

You are quite welcome.  It's quite a challenge to tackle these unusual problems - especially because we are all so far away - and that's why it's fun.

And we learn something new, every time.

[belfryboy]

you're welcome, the knowledge base on WXforum is great, I have learnt so much about a system I thought I completely understood.

[colonieweather]

My weather station is at it again, wind direction readings frequently jumping to due north (360 degrees). 

After several months of  no issues, the problem with the direction readings has resurfaced.  Since I last posted, I have grounded the outlet.  My house has 2-wire wiring with most outlets grounded, but The outlet the PC is plugged into was not and I went ahead and corrected that.  I purchased an externally powered RS232 isolator from B & B Electronics, which corrected the issue, is no longer helping. 

To try to isolate my latest troubles, I  unplugged the station and PC with no luck.  I then shut off the power to the surge protector, with no luck.  I went out to the ISS to check for corrosion and wires seemed fine.  I unplugged the ISS too with no luck.

In my previous posts, I mentioned that this problem only occurred when the direction was in the west to northerly direction, now it is occurring at every direction.

Also, I did experienced a power outage a few days ago where the power went on and off several times before the power company corrected the issue.  I think the issue has developed since then.  I am wondering if a surge affected the station in some way. 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Could it

[KDDA]

I recently had issues with a VP2 after it got knocked over in high winds and severed the cable to the wind sensors.  I cut out all but 2metres of the cable and reconnected it, everything tested out fine but I was having VERY strange readings from the rain sensor and anemometer.  I'm still not 100% sure what happened or how I fixed it, but I believe it was letting the station totally power down and 'die'.  

Now this is just a suggestion, but worth a try, as I know how frustrating this problem is!!  If you remove the backup battery and disconnect the jump lead from the solar panel, let the station run itself down. Then leave it for another 12hours just to make sure before connecting the solar panel and installing the battery.  Call it a 'forced' reboot of the station 

[colonieweather]

Hi,

I have a cabled version, but I also powered down (rebooted) the station too and that didn't help.

[KDDA]

Did you leave it powered down for a few hours to allow capacitors etc to discharge?

[colonieweather]

Yes, no results

[wxtech]

Hi,

I just installed my cabled Vantage Pro2 over the weekend.  I mounted my anemometer on the roof and the cable ended up being about 8-10 ft short of the ISS.  So, I spliced the cable and used the weather proof connectors that came with the extension cable.  I made sure that the wires were in there good before clamping down on the connectors.  I'm now having issues with the wind direction, frequently jumping to due North/360 degrees ( or even dashes out )  when the wind rose is not even pointing in that direction.  There are periods, however, that the wind direction operates normally, but not very often.  It seems like when the wind direction it out of the west and south direction it happens (NNW, NW, WNW, W, SW, WSW, S)

I have a Vantage Pro cabled system that I'm selling and I hooked it up to that to see if I'm getting that same issue and I am not.  The worst of it all, is that most of the anemometer wire is in conduit and cannot be accessed without digging it up.  I am hoping it is as simple as replacing the SIM board.  It is very strange that my original Vantage Pro did not experience the issue when I tested it.

Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Chris

It's seems that this thread has morphed from an anemometer problem to an RS232 console/computer connection problem. 
Well back to anemometers; the wind direction failure with indications ususally reading north is very common.  It ususally is an ISS to anemometer cable problem.  Quoting from my http://www.lexingtonwx.com/anemometer/anemometer troubleshooting section:
Wiring errors:
yellow wire open causes a north indication
green wire open causes a north indication
red wire open causes a north indication and prevents wind speed from being indicated
black wire open prevents wind speed to be indicated
yellow to green shorted causes a north indication
yellow to red shorted causes a north indication
green to red shorted causes a north indication
black to yellow shorted, wind speed zero
black to green shorted, wind speed zero and direction erratic
black to red shorted, wind speed zero, intermittent short causes wind speed error
The above symptoms were verified on the bench with VP2 and original VP and an installed system.  The complete analysis and oscilloscope images are here:  http://www.lexingtonwx.com/anemometer/
 

[dalecoy]

Thanks for the comprehensive details, Al.

[colonieweather]

Yes, thank you for the details. 

I did have to extend the anemometer cable about another 5-10 feet.  My uncle, who's an licensed electrician, soddered the wires together, then placed the black covering over the wires.  I'm wondering if it's that connection.  The horrible part is that it is a good 3 to 4 feet in conduit underground. 

I find it crazy that this problem just started up again after almost a year.  The fact that the RS232 link isolator that I purchased that fixed the issue is now no longer solving the issue, tells me that it is something more than an electrical problem in my house.

[wxtech]

I'm referring to the cable from the ISS to the anemometer; not the connection from the outside sensors to the console.
You should test/check the cable that goes up the mast to the anemometer. 
The other underground cable can be tested with a $5 Ohmeter without digging it out of the ground.

[colonieweather]

The anemometer cable is what I extended a few extra feet and pretty much all the cable is in conduit. 

The location of the anemometer is at the peak of my roof and roughly 30 ft. of the cable goes down the side of the house along the roofline in conduit then goes into the ground another 10-15ft in conduit then up a 5ft. pole to the ISS.

I'll do my best to check.  What should I look for on the Ohmeter if there is an issue?

[wxtech]

I'll put a Davis anemometer on my work bench tomorrow and provide you with pin to pin readings.  Plan to test your anemometer on a day when the wind isn't calm.  We'll want to see the direction vane moving and the anemometer cups rotating.  You'll disconnect the cable from the SIM board in the ISS and use the Ohmeter on the RJ plug of the cable there.
Al

[colonieweather]

OK.  Great. Thank you, Al. Should have a descent breeze here for the next couple of days.

[KDDA]

The resistance between the following wires, should be :

Red and Yellow : Approx 20K Ohms

Red and Green : Varies on Vane direction (only approx values)
-- North is 20K Ohms or 0K Ohms
-- East is 15K Ohms
-- South is 10K Ohms
-- West is 5K Ohms

Red and Black : This will short every time the cups do one rotation. The fast it spins the more pulses you get on this pair.

[wxtech]

Very good, thanks.  I have a instrument on my bench with a Climatronics wind calibrator/test set, and measuring with a digital and an analog Ohmmeter.  The analog with needle is easier to interpret.  
It's difficult to describe the Ohmmeter readings of the wires when the speed switch interacts with the direction pot.  
That's a very good description though and I'll leave it unless more information is needed.
Here is an excellent source of anemometer information and troubleshooting hints: 
http://vp-kb.wikispaces.com/Sensor+errors
Al

[colonieweather]

Please forgive me if these results seem odd, but I'm new to reading/using an Ohmeter:

The red and yellow wires gave me 000.2 ohms
The red and green was 000.1 ohms

[KDDA]

What mode have you it set at?

[colonieweather]

sorry had it on wrong function...

The red and yellow wires gave me 20-25 ohms
The red and green was 3-8 ohms

The red and black was between 3 and 4 ohms.

[KDDA]

sorry had it on wrong function...

The red and yellow wires gave me 20-25 ohms
The red and green was 3-8 ohms

The red and black was between 3 and 4 ohms.

Red and Yellow is normal
Red and Green says the Vane is detecting wind from the North East direction.  Would that be correct?

Red and Black should be pulsing, this is best detected in very light breeze or by using other equipment that can detect the frequency of the pulse.  If there is a constant reading this suggests the reed switch might be stuck closed.

[graculus]

The resistance between the following wires, should be :

Red and Black : This will short every time the cups do one rotation. The fast it spins the more pulses you get on this pair.

Don't forget that later model anemometers have two 47 ohm resistors in series with the reed switch, so if it's one of those 94 ohms (plus the cable resistance) is the lowest resistance that will be seen between red and black.

[colonieweather]

Thw wind was coming out of the southwest.  I have one of the newer anemomter models, the one with the gold colored tip.