Topic: Vue 6250 - problems

[twofus]

Newbie - Vue 6250 and the other day got a low battery warning for the transmitter out of the blue (new unit.. 2 months old).

Was previously on ID #1 - we changed the Vue battery and pushed the white button then went back to the house and the unit had flipped to ID #3. We changed the console to match ID 3 and now the console has trouble receiving the signal from the Vue. Thinking we needed to be closer, we took the console to 30' away and noticed better connectivity for like 1 minute then it would stop (no antenna signal on the console main screen). We put the console in settings mode and, 30' away, tried to get a bead on what the ID was and nothing ever showed up. I reset the console (did not put it in settings mode first - ouch) by removing a battery and the power, and fired it back up. Same problem - it would connect for a time or two then never be seen again.

When we do get connectivity, the wind speed is shown on the console but not the temp or humidity - just dashes.

A couple of points -
* wifi strength isn't an issue -- I run an ubiquiti mesh network that can be seen 3/4's of mile down the road.

* It all started with a low battery on transmitter warning.. not that that was the problem, but that perhaps something failed internally which caused the backup battery (CR123) to fail and create the error on the console?

*I have a wifi logger in the console as an FYI.

CONCERN

I can't get the Vue to go into setup mode. The manual says to push the transmitter ID white button and hold it until the green light flashes rapidly but it never does. Instead, the green light flashes one time - pauses - one time -- pauses -- then three flashes -- then pauses - then one time -- pauses -- one time -- pauses -- then three times -- etc in a constant sequence... all the time.

Thank you for any help! My son's hobby is on hold until I can figure this out.

His station:
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KFLSTCLO35

[Mattk]

Certainly sounds like a Tx/Rx mismatch re the reception, assume the new battery is the right way around? Pressing the white button once when the new battery was installed would not have changed the TX ID as it requires a very deliberate action to do that. If the TX was ID1 have you set the console back to ID#1 and give it time to acquire?

With regard the WiFi strength isn't an issue, what has the Ubiquiti network got to do with the ISS/Console reception?   

[ConligWX]

Just thinking out loud, does the Vue suffer from the same Super capacitor problems of the Vantage Pro/Pro2?

[johnd]

Just thinking out loud, does the Vue suffer from the same Super capacitor problems of the Vantage Pro/Pro2?

Yes, but the OP would be extremely unlucky to have encountered this issue on a 2-month old station. Not an easy fault to diagnose remotely and certainly nothing whatsoever to do with WiFi.

Best guess from the description of symptoms is that the ISS push button or mechanism has got stuck (and might conceivably have caused the battery to run down prematurely) - probably worth trying to ensure that the button is releasing fully when pushed in and then released - it's not rubbing on the side of the case is it and getting stuck? Probably worth demounting the ISS and examining closely indoors. NB The button does need to be held fully in for eg 30 secs or more before before entering setup mode.

[twofus]

Certainly sounds like a Tx/Rx mismatch re the reception, assume the new battery is the right way around? Pressing the white button once when the new battery was installed would not have changed the TX ID as it requires a very deliberate action to do that. If the TX was ID1 have you set the console back to ID#1 and give it time to acquire?

With regard the WiFi strength isn't an issue, what has the Ubiquiti network got to do with the ISS/Console reception?

Battery is in correct, yes. The console was on ID#1 for more than 6 hours after the battery change as we explored ideas why the console remained blank. We then learned to switch the console to the correct ID based on the number of flashes. Not sure what I was thinking posting about the Ubiquiti network - uh, brain fart posting late? LOL Thanks for reminding me the unit is a FHSS at 900 MHZ.

[twofus]

Just thinking out loud, does the Vue suffer from the same Super capacitor problems of the Vantage Pro/Pro2?

Yes, but the OP would be extremely unlucky to have encountered this issue on a 2-month old station. Not an easy fault to diagnose remotely and certainly nothing whatsoever to do with WiFi.

Best guess from the description of symptoms is that the ISS push button or mechanism has got stuck (and might conceivably have caused the battery to run down prematurely) - probably worth trying to ensure that the button is releasing fully when pushed in and then released - it's not rubbing on the side of the case is it and getting stuck? Probably worth demounting the ISS and examining closely indoors. NB The button does need to be held fully in for eg 30 secs or more before before entering setup mode.

ISS push button isn't rubbing on the side. I did not know about the 30 sec rule - I'll re-try with a longer hold.

[twofus]

Update - so far nothing has worked. I've been asked to remove the battery in the Vue and cover the solar panel for 24 hours to see if it will go back into settings again once it fires up. I'm losing about 80% of the packets, but it is intermittent. It will run an hour perfectly then drop offline and not come back for 2 hours; come back up for 10 min then drop off for 20. When I hold the ID transmitter button in, I never get the rapid light flashes - just the repeat of the one, one, one, three, one, one, one, three code indicating its current channel.

First noticeable problem: the console said "low transmitter battery" or something similar and the console stopped receiving packets. Its been all downhill since.

   

[johnd]

Update - so far nothing has worked. 

Well in that case you've tried all the obvious suggestions. So suspect you have a hardware issue which will need fixing by your local Davis supplier/support service, which I guess would mean contacting Davis direct if you're in the US.

[VaJim]

Update - so far nothing has worked. 

Well in that case you've tried all the obvious suggestions. So suspect you have a hardware issue which will need fixing by your local Davis supplier/support service, which I guess would mean contacting Davis direct if you're in the US.

Just a guess...how far is your ISS to the display?  Can you bring them closer?  Is it possible you're experiencing interference of some type?  Neighbor with another unit, etc..??

[twofus]

Update - so far nothing has worked. 

Well in that case you've tried all the obvious suggestions. So suspect you have a hardware issue which will need fixing by your local Davis supplier/support service, which I guess would mean contacting Davis direct if you're in the US.

Only 30' from the Vue.. with it spewing out a low-band 900 FHSS signal, very, very hard to disrupt that. I'm guessing the one of the modules (temp?) took a dump and it is affecting other processes. 
Just a guess...how far is your ISS to the display?  Can you bring them closer?  Is it possible you're experiencing interference of some type?  Neighbor with another unit, etc..??

[twofus]

Toast - the unit ended up being toast and is being replaced by Ryan at Scaled Instruments (great guy!). I talked him into letting me upgrade to a Pro2 - good move or bad? The 6250 Vue just seemed a bit on the cheap side so I hope the Pro2 is a bit better. I'm also looking at a Davis 6372 temp probe for the pool water. Anybody have any experience with it? Thanks again for all the help guys/gals.

[Bushman]

Yes Ryan/Scaled is top notch!  I use the SS probe in my hot tub.  Works well.