Topic: EcoWitt WH57 false positives

[StephenH]

I recently purchased the ECOWITT WN1981 Wi-Fi Weather Station Indoor and Outdoor, Includes WN1980 LCD Display Console and WS90 Outdoor Sensor, 915 MHz. It arrived at the end of January and I installed it. It has been working well, although I still need to calibrate the rain sensor. I also ordered the WH57 Wireless Lightning Detector Sensor and installed it. This has been an exercise in frustration.

The lightning sensor keeps reporting hits at a distance of 8 miles. I have changed the settings from standard all down to low sensitivity and still get strikes at 8 miles even though we have had no thunderstorms or lightning in our area during the time I have had it. I have written Ecowitt customer support and they suggested moving it, which I did. They also suggested setting it back to all switches down, which I also did. I continue to get a count of "strikes" at 8 miles. March 2nd, it was 27. March 3rd, it was 20. It has been as high as 40 some odd "strikes" at 8 miles distance.

I have until March 8th to return this item which I will do unless someone can suggest how to get it to stop with the false positive reports. It isn't useful if I can't trust it. I would appreciate any suggestions or advice that I could implement.

Additional information: I am an amateur radio operator and have HF, VHF, and UHF transmitters. I orginally had the WH57 mounted on the same side of the house as my main HF antenna. I moved it to the other side of the house. We live on a small lot and I can't move it much farther away. Moving it did not help anyway. What else could I try?

Edit:  I am using Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries.

[swright1957]

Hi
Do any of these false strikes coincide with you using the VHF equipment for your radio?
if not try changing the settings on the WH57 to low, and see what happens.

[StephenH]

I am running a Terrestrial Amateur Radio Packet Network (TARPN) node. It has both UHF and VHF radios. These are running constantly and multiple times an hour, it at least gives a status update. The count does not seem to have any correlation to the use of the radios. I already tried switching to low power (switch positions 1 and 2-down, 3 and 4-up). So far today, there is a count of 21 at the distance of 8 miles.

Either this unit is a dud or there is something out there that is putting out a signal being picked up by this unit and interpreted as lightning. There is a power substation, but it is about 2 miles away, not 8.

[countzero]

I get phantom hits every now and again at precisely 31 kilometres. It's a minor irritation. I'm guessing it's someone's irrigation turning on but I still haven't nailed it down to a schedule that makes sense

[zoomx]

I have false positives too, only one a day that is for sure connected to something that happens in my house because if nobody is in no false positive occurs.
I believe it is a LED lamp (not the others, only one) but this occour not when it is turned on but after some time.

[swright1957]

It could be the power station, that is turning on or off.
If you have turned it down to low and still happening it could be a faulty unit, but try putting it indoors next to the gateway and see what happens...