Pursuit... just want to say thank you for your post AND your follow up over the years. I've had exactly the same problem. I even went as far as building a custom WeeWx raspberryPi to power my Acurite base station and moving it to the nearest window to the outdoor unit. Completely eliminating the PC... STILL had the same problem.
I followed Pursuits directions and got EXACTLY the same behavior. 100% signal and i've moved the base station away from the window and in a location further away and more convenient location.
My only issue is that the solder joint holding the spring on is pretty strong, but the spring metal is weak. So as i tried to wrap my wire around the spring (too hard) i broke it from the solder joint. I could feel i was getting to the edge as i was wrapping but i went for it.
Luckily for me, i know how to solder. So i had the spring in my hand at this point and the wire in the other. I wrapped it well, threaded the wire out the drain holes then re-soldered the spring back on. Put it back together and i haven't had a single signal drop yet. And i would get 10-15 drops EVERY DAY!.
This works and works well. Thanks again.
U P D A T E ! - 2020!
Morning everyone,
Well its now February 2020, almost 5 years since my original post.
I now live in the other side of the country, in a completely different house, material and population housing density, much more signal interference from homes with wifi etc...
So, lets re-hash a bit. Since moving across the country in 2018, I hadn't bothered to set up my Acurite weather station, and it remained packed up in its original box until yesterday, 10th February 2020.
The original cable I attached for the antenna gain was removed on packup, and had since been thrown out or misplaced, so I simply thought it may have just been an issue with the old house etc. Therefore, I would take onboard all of the technical advice from the original thread above and simply re-install the weatherstation in its original form and give it a go, the way it was designed.
Only to experience the EXACT SAME SIGNAL ISSUE!
I tried switching channels, A,B,C, all connected as they should, but all lost signal within a minute or two, JUST as they had done 5 years ago.
So, once again, into my shed to locate a spool of 4mm electrical wire, nothing special, just copper core with black plastic coating, normally used in auto-electrical work, 12v upto 10amp situation.
I took the unit down, unscrewed everything, to find that amazing little spring they use for the antenna, and just as before, I inserted a stripped end of the wire down inside of the spring, and ran the remaining few metres of wire out through one of the drain holes, ran a few tests at ground level.......FULL, and UN-INTERRUPTED SIGNAL!
So, it's up on the roof we go, re-attached the weatherstation to the mast/pole, ran the remaining couple of metres of wire down the mast and cable tied it on, crossed my fingers and headed back down the ladder, back inside the house to the indoor unit......FULL, and UN-INTERRUPTED SIGNAL ONCE AGAIN!!!
IT WORKS!, for all of the reasons that it shouldn't, from guys that gratefully shared their knowledge above, all I can say is, 5 years later, other side of the country, completely new environment and I've replicated the exact same success I had the first time by attaching some wire.
Absolutely wanting to convey nothing more than HELP for anyone struggling to get decent signal with their Acurite 5-in-1 Weather Station, PLEASE try this and save yourself alot of time.