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MKIII Non-LR

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VaJim:
I've got an old MKII Non-LR that basically is still clicking along.  Lately the temp/RH has been off.  I took the sensor our, did some cleaning.  I also had a backup solar panel (same style) and swapped that out. 

During the day, the temp and RH, for the most part, are good.  Once the sun sets, the temp stays fairly accurate but the RH drops to zero and the dew point at a negative 40.

Not sure if this is caused by the sensor itself or a capacitor on the motherboard, like what I read with some of the Davis units..(?)

According to my Rainwise Net data, the battery low reading at night is around 6.2, then it jumps to 7.1 during the day.

Of course Rainwise (or whatever they call thmselves today) are no longer makes parts for this station.

DaleReid:
Just a long shot, but I have had several of those and the majority of time I get funny readings or there are a lot of missing data display areas, I have swapped out the 6 v. battery with a new one (not too expensive, I got mine at a Fleet Farm store in the fishing area).  I fully charged it before swapping it out.

I wish I knew more about the circuit, but there are apparently many different versions of the boards even though they all interface with the same sensors and solar panel. 

I suspected my solar panel wasn't putting out the charge/voltage and that still may be, but during the spring/summer/fall they run OK.

If you haven't replaced the internal 6 v. battery, it is worth a shot and may help. 

I agree, there are a lot of older stations from Rainwise so it is sad to see that service or tech help on the phone isn't available, or at least easily.  The last I spoke with Brian or whomever it was there, I was basically told that repair and service was not going to be available as they moved on.  I hope he was wrong, but if it wasn't a part listed on their web site (like R/H, temp sensor, or wind, or such) there was a good chance he couldn't do anything with it.

Let me know if this kludge fixes it or helps at least.
Dale

VaJim:
Thanks Dale

Yeah...I've sent 2 emails to the last email address I had for Brad and they both were returned.

My battery, according to the RainwiseNet (via the IP-100) appears to be fine.

I'll keep poking around.  The RH and dew point basically stop working about an hour after sunset while the temp is now working fine 100% of the time.

DaleReid:
I know it sounds crazy, but I'd not trust the voltage readouts if  you have a less than fully functioning  unit.
It is a pain  to swap the battery, especially if mounted higher  up and with the self retaining screws not always self retaining!

But before I pulled much hair out over this, try the battery swap.  I was in the same position with what was being telemetried as a good voltage but the problem went away when I did the swap.

Obviously I can be wrong, but I haven't any further advice to track things down without a schematic and that was impossible for me to get back when.
Good luck!  Dale

VaJim:
Thanks Dale

A battery swap out for me is fairly easy as I've always kept my station on a tripod at about 6' off the ground.  I'll look into it today.

Jim

UPDATE:  Got the old battery out and my meter reads it at 6.67.  At this point I'll try a new battery for I'm not sure how old the current one is.  I'm guessing 3-5 years.

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