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...

[Del Schier]

I recently received an installed a WH57B ecowitt lightning detector. It has been getting false positives [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]  randomly many times a day. I had it on a pole about 20' up and I have tried all switches down and also mid and low sensitivity settings on 3,4. I also moved it 50' away on the other side of my house with similar results.
Today I found it uses a AS3935 sensor IC that receives on 500 KHz with a 33 KHz bandwidth with a tiny MA5532-AE coil antenna.
I will try and monitor that frequency and see if I can discover what is causing the false signals. Perhaps my water pump or AC units.
I think an AM broadcast radio tuned to the bottom of the band may help find the interference.
I am suspect that it is not local interference as the power went out to my neighborhood and I ran the weather display on a battery and saw false readings with no AC power on my street. A storm came through and I think it did actually detect lightning but maybe only once and that did not correspond to the thunder I heard and flashes I saw.
Chances are I will have to give up on the thing.

[alanb]

You probably already know this, but just in case ... When you change switch settings on the lightning detector, make sure you reset it by removing and replacing the batteries. Otherwise, the switch change does not take. I made that error with my comparable Ambient WH31L sensor when I first got it and was trying to eliminate false positives.

[Del Schier]

No I didn't but that makes sense. I will try that now
Thanks!

[Del Schier]

After setting the switches to low sensitivity and removing and reinstalling the batteries, still false positives every few minutes.
I will try wrapping it in aluminum foil and putting it next to the display I bet it still gets false positives.

[Del Schier]

Wrapping it in aluminum foil with it next to the display I get no false positives! So the WH57 may be working but I have interference that existed when the power in my neighborhood was out. The power company has another circuit within 300' that was on during the outage so I need to look over in that area with a 500 KHz receiver. I expect there is arcing on a power line.
Has anyone found a source of interference?