2810 (2) New Problem ?

[DanS]

Update....well we're at day 7 (one week) and the 2810 (2) is still ticking.   Today was a real test.  We had a 30mph wind gust and nearly an inch of rain.  

Read a post over on the 'Greg in the desert' blog where someone says he thinks Lacrosse is aware that the anny (some) have a leakage problem.  There was some discussion on Lacrosse possibly replacing the anny.  Interesting. 

...for now...mine continues to be on probation under a close watch.  More to follow.

Thanks for not falling asleep.

Good to hear! That 30mph wind, inch of rain sounds like a good test too. Alright!

[VaJim]

...well the 2810 (2) is still ticking sorta.  The missing bar graph is back and the anny dropped out (dashes of death) but came back after only a few seconds.

I'm wondering if replacing the batteries in the display would help with the bar graph problem.

[DanS]

Is the barometric pressure there varying pretty much? I ask because I've been watching my graph along with the pressure here and saw my graph go down to only 2 horizontal bars in one of the columns today. This was following the pressure drop in the area and it if would have dropped a little more then those 2 horizontal bars may have been none. A blank field. After reading the manual again about this it says the first column, far right, stays at mid-scale and represents the current pressure. All the rest follow after it and rise (if the current press. is dropping) or go down (if the current press. is rising). I know it's confusing at first and I have difficulty putting into text. Bottom line is, if your area pressure is changing rapid enough then the graph's range may be exceeded for the time and nothing's really wrong.

Separate issue. I've also noticed that moving the console around different areas (still in range of the sensors) can cause temporary wind data drop outs (a little later) just like you describe. Mine will run just fine for a week or more and I'll pick up the console for whatever reason and put it back only to see a drop in the wind data for a brief period. After that it's happy again until the next time I decide to move it. Maybe just mine.?.?.

Rain / water seal part holding up o.k.?

edit: Just got off WU looking at your press. chart and you do have a pretty good pressure swing. May be all that's happening. Perhaps when the barometric pressure around there starts to level off then you won't see the blank columns anymore. I hope.

[PNWFlyer]

The barometric graph on the display unit rescales based on the trended pressures, so as someone suggested, if there's significant swings in the pressure that will happen. In Washington last week we had record low pressures, my lowest measurement was 28.95, so at one point there was only 1 bar displaying. Very interesting El nino effects.

I was also a victim of the leaking anny and have had uninterrupted signal for 21 days now, following a total of about 6 inches of rain during that time.

[DanS]

The barometric graph on the display unit rescales based on the trended pressures, so as someone suggested, if there's significant swings in the pressure that will happen. In Washington last week we had record low pressures, my lowest measurement was 28.95, so at one point there was only 1 bar displaying. Very interesting El nino effects.

I was also a victim of the leaking anny and have had uninterrupted signal for 21 days now, following a total of about 6 inches of rain during that time.

Good deal and think you got that leak problem under control with 6" of rain and still clickin' along. Chalk up another successful recovery.
How's your rain measurements compared to other local readings (manual gauge, nearby station equip., airport, etc.)? Appear to be accurate or closer to twice the amount as everywhere else? I ask because the over measuring has been noted with some of the 2810 systems but fairly easy to remedy.

[VaJim]

Day 11...and its' still clicking.  Tonight and tomorrow we're 'suppose' to get 10" of snow.  That with the possible sleet or frozen rain will make one heck of a test for the 2810.  Ru rah.....

[DanS]

Day 11...and its' still clicking.  Tonight and tomorrow we're 'suppose' to get 10" of snow.  That with the possible sleet or frozen rain will make one heck of a test for the 2810.  Ru rah.....

(Similar to the MADIS green thumbs up  )

[VaJim]

well I believe the end has come.  The anny has stopped transmitting.  I've tried to reset it a couple of times.  Can't really do anything since we've got about 10" of snow.  I think I'll drop Lacrosse a note and see what they say.  Will probably end up taking it back to Costco next week.

[VaJim]

well perhaps I spoke too soon.  about 10-15 minutes after i tried to re-synch it twice, the anny came back.   during the time that it was dead we were having almost blizzard conditions.   it sure is trying hard.  the weather yesterday was brutal and this morning is not much better.

[GWD]

Hate to be a wet blanket here but the Costco 2810 with Heavy Weather just never worked right for me. Rain amounts were consistently about double compared to the NWS station at the airport two miles away and with my old tube gauge. The last straw was either the batteries in the solar powered anemometer or the solar panel itself failed (apparently - since Heavy Weather showed it to be one bar charged) with no data. This after three months.

Thank goodness for Costco's generous return policy. However, I was now bitten by the weather bug and needed my daily fix. A Davis VP2 is arriving with an Envoy and Weatherlink on Tuesday. Yes, it is ten times the price of the 2810 but I'm looking at having a much more reliable unit with high quality that will last a looooong time.

You are to be commended for your patience with the 2810.

[VaJim]

..I hear ya.  I've actually turned it over the the Lord.  Apparently there are a few 2810's out there that do work.  My brother-in-law in Savannah, GA may have one and our friend Dan in Thailand may be another.  You really can't do anything about the anemometer leakage problem other than pray.  Some have tried to take it apart and do some home seal work.  I'm not that brave.  I'm now hearing that some folks have sent the wind sensor back to Lacrosse.  That's fine but who paid for the postage there and back?

My 2nd 2810 (1st one was returned to Costco) now has been up and running 13 days and it's taken some major hits.  2 good rain events and yesterdays 10" of snow.  It's by no means as accurate or reliable as my Rainwise or Davis but it's fun (?).  Yeah...I must be a weather geek.

Thanks

[VaJim]

....well I wanted to give you all an update (yeah it's me again).  Yesterday I thought my 2810 (2) had met its match.  The anny was down for the count and not coming back after repeated resets, factory resets, etc.  While on life support I decided to go back to ground zero and bring all the sensors back in the house and basically start over.  Removed all batteries, waited 10-15 minutes and tried again.  This time everything came back on line including the anny.  I then proceeded to move all the sensors back to where they were.  All was fine, and then the anny started to feel ill.  After about an hour the anny shut down.  After giving it some thought I decided to move the thermo sensor closer to the anny.  The anny is at one end of my yard up about 10-11' above the ground (mast/fence).  As soon as I positioned the thermo within about 10-15' of the anny (left rain gauge on deck railing) the whole system came back.  I like where the anny is located and do have the flexibility of moving the thermo around.  So this is starting to sound more like a close in reception problem.  It's now been 24 hours (16 days from original install) and the icons are as strong as I've ever seen them.  No drop outs.

Still not 100% sure the anny doesn't have the infamous water leak, but as is well.  I'll keep an eye on it.  As soon as we get a 'mild' above 40f weekend, I'll tweak/position the weather shelter I have the thermo resting in.  I did notice the rain gauge is off, but after what I've been through that problem can wait for another day.  Did like what DanS did with his rain gauge mod.  Just need to figure out if that's something I can do.


FYI....if any of you are thinking about returning your 2810 to Lacrosse for repair,…don’t. I called last night about my anny problem and they told me they are out of parts and not to send it to them (I pay) until the end of Feb.  Parts are due early March.  Yikes….mine will go back to Costco before I get in that line.

That’s all for now.  Hope your WS-2810 is well.

[VaJim]

...well today is my one month anniversary with the 2810 (2).  The anny is still clicking and the baro graph seems to make more sense now.  Still waiting on some real rain to see if the mod I did on the rain gauge actually works.  Maybe Monday...?

[DanS]

Happy to hear of your success!   I've been watching my baro graph as well and have seen what you were explaining earlier. This isn't a malfunction, just that the actual barometric pressure climbs sharply enough to show previous bar readings drop down off the scale. The opposite happens when the pressure takes a dive, the previous readings max out.
Good luck with the upcoming rain tests.

Edit: Thinking more about your rain gauge mod and running some numbers around I believe your new mod. opening should be just about 3.185" diameter to get you real close.

[Miami Sky]

Just tossing my two cents in...

I think DanS may be on to something.  I noticed two columns worthbars disappearing when a low pressure center at 1000mb was coming through here on February 12.  I've been assuming the unit uses some sort of auto-scaling but hoping it's not using a fixed-minimum at 1000mb (~29.53"). 

Has anyone noticed bars with pressures lower than that?  (This would be good to know with hurricane season a few months away)!