Author Topic: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?  (Read 8768 times)

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Offline looney2ns

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Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« on: April 01, 2019, 08:53:23 PM »
I need a replacement Wind Vane for my Texas Weather Instrument weather station. I have tried calling them, you get an answering machine directing you to email and a site where you can order parts.
I ordered a Wind Vane, Received a confirmation, then crickets. The charge to my CC was pending in my account for a couple of days, now it has dropped off, and was not charged.

Anyone know where I might obtain a wind vane? I've looked at ebay, and no luck.
Thanks!


Offline Kev

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #1 on: April 02, 2019, 01:08:44 PM »
That’s unfortunate news, I was about to call them for support myself.  I have two consoles, a malfunctioning WRL-32 and a fully working WR-25.  Looks like they may not be in business at all at this point.  You can follow my saga which Dale Reid has been a huge help with in the Climatronics/WR-25 thread in this section of the forum.

The last TWI sensors available were in 2013, on eBay.  There were two new WPS complete packages up for auction.  There have been none listed since then, sensors or parts.  The consoles do appear time to time. Your best option would be to fabricate a replacement vane if you’re handy with that sort of thing.
Heath ID-5001-C Advanced Weather Computer (1990)
Texas Weather Instruments WR-25 (1998)

Offline BeauDodson

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #2 on: August 02, 2019, 03:16:14 PM »
I need some parts, as well.

I called but no luck.  It goes to a message.

I have emailed them.  No response.

It appears you can still buy instruments from them.  I think.

Wish there was another phone number to call.  I am not sure who owns the company or I would call them.  :)

Offline Bushman

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #3 on: August 02, 2019, 03:29:43 PM »
President:  David Patterson
TEXAS WEATHER INSTRUMENTS, INC.
Texas Taxpayer Number   17521866768
Mailing Address   555 E BLACKJACK RD PILOT POINT, TX 76258-7208
 Right to Transact Business in Texas   ACTIVE
State of Formation   TX
Effective SOS Registration Date   07/16/1987
Texas SOS File Number   0104464500
Registered Agent Name   NANCY P PATTERSON
Registered Office Street Address   15820 MIDWAY ROAD DALLAS, TX 75244
Need low cost IP monitoring?  http://wirelesstag.net/wta.aspx?link=NisJxz6FhUa4V67/cwCRWA or PM me for 50% off Wirelesstags!!

Offline ValentineWeather

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #4 on: August 02, 2019, 07:29:05 PM »
The online store is closed also.

You get this message:
texas-weather-instruments.myshopify.com is currently unavailable.
Randy

Offline BeauDodson

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #5 on: August 03, 2019, 03:10:37 PM »
President:  David Patterson
TEXAS WEATHER INSTRUMENTS, INC.
Texas Taxpayer Number   17521866768
Mailing Address   555 E BLACKJACK RD PILOT POINT, TX 76258-7208
 Right to Transact Business in Texas   ACTIVE
State of Formation   TX
Effective SOS Registration Date   07/16/1987
Texas SOS File Number   0104464500
Registered Agent Name   NANCY P PATTERSON
Registered Office Street Address   15820 MIDWAY ROAD DALLAS, TX 75244

I found this lady.
http://www.nancyppattersonpc.com/contact_us

She may be their lawyer.  I called and emailed her.

It does seem they closed.  Unsure.

How odd to just close and not tell their customers.  Sort of rude.  A lot of us spent a lot of money with them.

Their phone service is active and acts as if they are in business. 

Nobody can place an order.  The orders are never filled.

Beau

Offline BeauDodson

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #6 on: August 05, 2019, 10:47:20 AM »
She emailed me back.

She is their attorney it appears.  As their attorney, she can't say much.

She did say she would forward my email to someone at the company. 

Offline TNWeatherGuy

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #7 on: August 05, 2019, 03:08:08 PM »
Hey, thanks for digging into this.  I am following this saga as well, so the updates are appreciated.

Might be wishful thinking ... but with TxWx's main web site still being up, and the message stating "we're not manufacturing weather stations at this time", there might be some hope of David's company coming back on-line once whatever is going on resolves itself.  I've spoken with David many times over the years, and he has always been responsive, so this is totally out of character.  We shall see.

Offline BeauDodson

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #8 on: August 05, 2019, 03:43:47 PM »
She sent me a second email.

I forwarded your email to me and the request. I haven't gotten a bounce back yet.  So, I hope that they get it.  One would assume that the email address is still valid.

Nancy 
 
Nancy P. xxxx, Atty
Fee Attorney for Fidelity National Title Agency, Inc.

Offline Bushman

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #9 on: August 05, 2019, 06:40:23 PM »
Interesting that the attorney for the company has the same last name as the company owner...  :)
Need low cost IP monitoring?  http://wirelesstag.net/wta.aspx?link=NisJxz6FhUa4V67/cwCRWA or PM me for 50% off Wirelesstags!!

Offline Kev

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2019, 06:57:15 PM »
Thank you guys for digging into this, greatly appreciated! Hopefully the company will break its silence and at least confirm whether or not they are closed permanently.
Heath ID-5001-C Advanced Weather Computer (1990)
Texas Weather Instruments WR-25 (1998)

Offline Kev

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2019, 07:04:31 PM »
I located him on LinkedIn, I will try to contact him there and see what happens-  EDIT: I am not premium on there so I can't direct message, I sent a connect request, if it gets accepted I can message him.  If anyone has a premium LinkedIn account you can message him directly. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-patterson-3833721/

« Last Edit: August 08, 2019, 07:08:06 PM by Kev »
Heath ID-5001-C Advanced Weather Computer (1990)
Texas Weather Instruments WR-25 (1998)

Offline WeatherHost

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #12 on: August 08, 2019, 07:44:44 PM »
Why are we stalking these people?  Perhaps they have some sort of personal issues and would like to be left alone.

Offline BeauDodson

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #13 on: August 31, 2019, 03:28:21 PM »
Why are we stalking these people?  Perhaps they have some sort of personal issues and would like to be left alone.
 

1.  It's an open business.
2.  They have not posted anything on Facebook, Twitter, emails. Online support telling us what is happening has gone silent.
3.  Some of us own thousands of dollars in equipment and they guaranteed that equipment.  We are looking for answers.
4.  True.  We've thought of that.  If true then just tell everyone in an email what is going on.  Not that hard and it would be professional. 

All of us understand personal issues.

 Those of us who own businesses also know this isn't appropriate. 

Hopefully, everything is okay within their families.  If not, then we are all sorry to hear that. 

Offline Phil14

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #14 on: September 09, 2019, 07:35:03 PM »
Does anyone know where I can get a  Texas Weather Instruments console repaired? It lost power and I don’t know how to fix it. The company appears to be out of business

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #15 on: September 09, 2019, 07:55:23 PM »
Phil,
they are gone.  The repairs were well done and honest, but the company has closed up.  As far as I know, no one has been given or bought the schematics and the various codes to program eproms or know in depth what to do to fix them.

However, not all is lost.  While it doesn't happen often, the fuse can blow and is easily found, just make sure you get the right amperage and I think they all are slo-blow.  Please check that before disparing.  Next is to make sure the power supply isn't zapped, and can be fixed with a swap.  Not too hard, but can be intimidating for someone who hasn't an idea of what to do.

If there is some part that does light up, both the fuse and the power supply are less likely.

Is there a knowledable ham radio operator in your area to assist with opening, testing power supply and check fuse?  I'm not saying they can analyze a CPU on board, but they can look for loose connections and such.

Dale
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Offline Phil14

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #16 on: September 09, 2019, 08:02:11 PM »
I did try changing the fuse. I went to Auto-Zone and bought a package of various amp fuses but that didn’t work. With radio-shack gone it’s hard to find fuses.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #17 on: September 09, 2019, 08:13:45 PM »
Phil, no kidding. When I had to change mine if it weren't for an ancient store associated with a local TV station supply that had parts dating to the 50s (and new stuff too) I'd never have found the 3/4 amp slow blow I needed one time. 

Well, if you've been inside it to find the fuse, do you see any green LEDs on the board only visible with the back off (depending on revision number) that light up?

Can you take a picture of the rear of the unit, there usually is a paper glued on the back with serial number and some humidity setting values typed onto it.

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Offline Phil14

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #18 on: September 09, 2019, 11:11:32 PM »
I tried a 5amp fuse but the black box that you plug into the wall outlet started smoking. Pulled it out right away, somethings fried.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2019, 06:57:14 AM »
Phil,
Yes, failing the smoke test is never a good thing, unfortunately.  I think the fuse was a 3/4 amp but can't recall for sure.
There must be a short on one of the boards.  At this point things seem a bit dismal.  There is a small diode near the fuse, that sometimes blows and is a sort of a safety net.  but if it blows, there is an interruption in the current, not a short to ground

At this point the best you can hope for is to ask a local ham radio club if there is someone who has some experience with troubleshooting radios and other gear who might open things up, and examine the boards to see if there are signs (subtle or obvious) of some failed part.

Failing that, and if you want to keep this station working, I would suggest you make  a request for anyone with a working display (there are more of them than there are complete stations, since the sensors frequently are abandonded in place if someone moves, dies or otherwise leaves the world of observing weather. 

The problem is knowing which of the three kinds of a display box you had, and that can't be determined reliably without the box powering up. 

If it gets to that point, and you can take a picture of the wind speed and direction sensor, it is almost certain which kind you have. 

Does your station do more than just temperature, humidity, rain and wind?  Is there a lighting sensor?  Is there a solar readout?  Those are about the only two options that were out there that anyone got.

Once again, a picture of the back of your station is helpful.

Finally, if you throw in the towel and determine that the station is unfixable, and that you cannot find a replacement console, since Texas Wx is out of business, there are a few people who'd love to have the outdoor sensors.  They are nearly impossible to find, and would be very well worth the effort to others keeping their stations going to get the humidity and temp 'pagoda' and also the (usually harder to get down) wind direction and speed sensor.  I encourage you to keep this in mind and if you finally just say chuck it, please let us know so someone could offer to buy them from you in an attempt to keep an old station somewhere else running, as these are great devices and a very visible display.  Yes, it is that important, so please let the group know. 

Dale
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Offline TNWeatherGuy

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #20 on: September 18, 2019, 04:09:39 PM »
Dale is spot on.  I am such a person who'd be interested in the outdoor temp/humidity sensor.   Let us know what you decide.

Offline Kev

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #21 on: September 18, 2019, 05:05:09 PM »
Phil,

A 5 amp fuse is much too high for the console, Dale is correct, the fuse required is a .75 amp fuse (3/4). The manual unfortunately doesn't say whether it is a slow blow or not, it simply says use a .75 amp fuse. You can find all the types and ratings of appliance/electronics fuses at any local hardware store.  I found the correct fuses for both my TWI WR-25 console and my Heathkit ID-5001 at my local Aubuchon Hardware.  Ace, True Value, any of the regular hardware stores will have them. If you look in the electrical department they will have a section with parts drawers where you will find the fuse drawers.

From what you've described it appears the wall transformer is defective and finally cooked itself.  You need to find a replacement transformer and try that.  If you go on eBay you can easily find one with the correct ratings matching the original.

Photos of your console and the model would be very helpful.

As everyone has said, be sure to not throw anything away.  There are plenty of folks on here needing sensors and parts as you can see.
Heath ID-5001-C Advanced Weather Computer (1990)
Texas Weather Instruments WR-25 (1998)

Offline Phil14

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #22 on: September 18, 2019, 07:44:27 PM »
The fuse that was in the unit looked like it said 5 amp but It was hard to see even with a magnifying glass.I know the manual says .75, I tried the .75 first and again it’s hard to tell but it looks like it blew. Then I tried the 5amp and that’s when the transformer smoked.

Offline Kev

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #23 on: September 19, 2019, 02:27:15 PM »
If the fuse installed was indeed a 5 amp, someone put a larger fuse in at some point. Did you buy your console new or second hand? However, you may have been reading it as 5 amp when in fact it was a .5 amp, (1/2).  Both of my consoles when I got them had fuses in them that were slightly overrated, not by much, but still not correct.

I think the wall transformer frying after the fuse change was merely coincidental.  I still recommend trying another transformer correctly rated and see if that works.
Heath ID-5001-C Advanced Weather Computer (1990)
Texas Weather Instruments WR-25 (1998)

Offline FDWxNet

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Re: Has Texas Weather Instruments gone out of business?
« Reply #24 on: April 27, 2020, 10:02:42 AM »
Hi All,
So, I've started to repair my station... the sensors just need a little TLC.

Does anyone have the TWI Software? TWICal in particular?

I have the WRL-25

Thanks!
Matt