Author Topic: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs  (Read 5931 times)

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Offline miraculon

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Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« on: May 05, 2020, 10:33:15 AM »
I find myself regularly sending users to the excellent Davis anemometer guide at https://www.wxforum.net/wxtech/Anemometer-Vane.htm

Could the admins please make this sticky under the Davis Instruments Weather Stations?

Possibly the wxtech documentation archive, with the soldering and technical library archive as well. The anemometer section is a linked page from the documentation archive, so that might serve the purpose. (and yes I finally put a bookmark in for this...)

Greg H.



« Last Edit: May 05, 2020, 11:20:20 AM by saratogaWX »


Blitzortung Stations #706 and #1682
CoCoRaHS: MI-PI-1
CWOP: CW4114 and KE8DAF-13
WU: KMIROGER7
Amateur Radio Callsign: KE8DAF

Offline Plainwind

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #1 on: October 02, 2020, 07:52:43 AM »
Many thanks for the link to the excellent anemometer Guide.

I have question about the 909 Kohms resistor across the yellow and green wind-vane potentiometer terminals.
To quote from the guide:

"A 909K Ohm fixed resistor is mounted across the pot from the yellow to the green wires. This resistor prevents the slider voltage from ‘floating’ while it is crossing the open end points of the pot. This resistor causes the indicated direction to remain at north while the circuit is briefly open.  If not for this resistor, the direction indication may briefly go to a false direction."

I am using a 6410 anemometer (speed and direction) as the input to a Raspberry Pi based weather station.  So the voltage from the Pi to the yellow pot terminal is 3.3v.  As expected, the pot slider voltage rises nicely (i.e. linearly) from 0 to 3.3v as the pot is turned through 360 deg.  However when the slider is crossing the open ends of the pot, the measured voltage is 1.74v. I would have expected the 909k resistor to have kept the slider voltage in this situation at 3.3v.

Can anyone figure out what's going wrong?
« Last Edit: October 02, 2020, 07:54:32 AM by Plainwind »

Offline miraculon

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #2 on: October 02, 2020, 09:04:19 AM »
Many thanks for the link to the excellent anemometer Guide.

I have question about the 909 Kohms resistor across the yellow and green wind-vane potentiometer terminals.
To quote from the guide:

"A 909K Ohm fixed resistor is mounted across the pot from the yellow to the green wires. This resistor prevents the slider voltage from ‘floating’ while it is crossing the open end points of the pot. This resistor causes the indicated direction to remain at north while the circuit is briefly open.  If not for this resistor, the direction indication may briefly go to a false direction."

I am using a 6410 anemometer (speed and direction) as the input to a Raspberry Pi based weather station.  So the voltage from the Pi to the yellow pot terminal is 3.3v.  As expected, the pot slider voltage rises nicely (i.e. linearly) from 0 to 3.3v as the pot is turned through 360 deg.  However when the slider is crossing the open ends of the pot, the measured voltage is 1.74v. I would have expected the 909k resistor to have kept the slider voltage in this situation at 3.3v.

Can anyone figure out what's going wrong?

What is your ADC (analog-digital converter) input resistance?

My guess is that the input resistance (impedance) is around 1M Ohm.  The voltage divider equation predicts that a 909K resistor feeding into 1M with 3.3V will yield 1.728V. Close enough in my estimation.

You want a low enough value that the input doesn't load this pullup resistor when the pot goes through "north" (open), yet doesn't affect normal operation against the 20K pot resistance. This might require some experimentation to get the right value. Good luck.

Greg H.


Blitzortung Stations #706 and #1682
CoCoRaHS: MI-PI-1
CWOP: CW4114 and KE8DAF-13
WU: KMIROGER7
Amateur Radio Callsign: KE8DAF

Offline Plainwind

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #3 on: October 02, 2020, 10:02:32 AM »
Hi Miraculon
Thanks for your reply
I hadn't considered that the input impedance of the ADC needs to be factored in.  Good point!
As you suggest, I will experiment with various resistor values.

Seems odd to me that Davis didn't put the 909k resistor in the console rather than directly onto the pot terminals?

Offline NK7Z

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #4 on: April 07, 2022, 08:38:21 AM »
I find myself regularly sending users to the excellent Davis anemometer guide at https://www.wxforum.net/wxtech/Anemometer-Vane.htm

Could the admins please make this sticky under the Davis Instruments Weather Stations?

Possibly the wxtech documentation archive, with the soldering and technical library archive as well. The anemometer section is a linked page from the documentation archive, so that might serve the purpose. (and yes I finally put a bookmark in for this...)

Greg H.
Greg,
THANK YOU!  That is exactly what I was looking for, and more!!  I'll grab the meter and scope and hit the sensor up!  THANK YOU!

Offline Mattk

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #5 on: April 07, 2022, 05:48:39 PM »
That link is to a superseded Davis anemometer design prior to 2014, the wind direction component maybe quite similar but unsure just how much relevance there is with the current cartridge design version? Maybe an update is due?   

Offline NK7Z

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #6 on: April 07, 2022, 06:19:53 PM »
No big issue for me, they probably kept things close, which I can deal with.  I went out, and yanked gently on the cable and things changed as far as fail modes, so I suspect a cable...  I suspect on the ISS end, as I did each end separately, and that is the end that seemed to make things better.  So...  I'll get outside soon, put on the contact cleaner, then pull them and grease them up with Dielectric, then reinsert...

Offline JRHill

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Re: Lexington Wx Davis Anemometer and WXTech Docs
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2022, 04:31:22 PM »
I am such an a$$ hole. I just can't participate. So our weather station is NOT worth anything in the whole scope of things. Besides, they don't like my data. I am in a canyon well separate from the other stations. We have our own weather.

Wouldn't it be cool to live on the high prairie where other stations are. Snow storms, etc. But we would never see that. But we don't see it so we get dinged for quality.

Weather patterns are critical. It sucks when we are left out.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2022, 04:33:21 PM by JRHill »

 

anything