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Orion WS3036: Miscellaneous

Talk about anything that doesn't fit elsewhere - PLEASE don't put Cumulus queries in here!
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OliverMcDermott
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun 15 Nov 2015 7:23 am
Weather Station: Orion WS3036
Operating System: Windows 10 x64
Location: Muizenberg, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Orion WS3036: Miscellaneous

Post by OliverMcDermott »

I've recently acquired a second-hand Orion WS3036 Weather Station (essentially, a Fine Offset Clone similar to the WH3080) - I'll share my experience, based on many hours spent configuring the station to report correctly.

By the time I'd acquired the station it had already been in operation for 1 year.
The UV/Solar Sensor had ceased, resulting in the base station reporting '---' for UV/Solar/LUX & presumably the batteries not charging. I replaced this unit & observed high UV values (as documented on this forum) - which I've resolved by attaching a piece of 'cloudy' CD-sleeve plastic over the UV Sensor. Post-mod the values being reported are acceptable, when compared to official sources.

Question: How do I determine if the batteries are being charged by the Solar unit?

Guidance: Don't sight the UV/Solar unit in direct sunlight - where this is not possible due to location, mount a 'cloudy' plastic sheet [or a similar, sensible construct] over the sensor to assist with the impact of harsh, direct sunlight.

Wind Vane: The wind vane teetered and spun, rendering useless results.
I resolved this by adding a piece of duct-tape and two cable ties to the vane & a hex-bit acting as a 'counter-weight' to the nose, by following an article on this forum that addressed the issue. Post-mod the wind direction is stable and less 'scattered'

Guidance: Bearings may take strain over time, and potentially fail - if the vane is not correctly balanced.

Rain Gauge: I observed, by comparison to several nearby stations: this particular 'shallow-dish' design results in slightly-lower values due to some rain splashing out, though this is minor. Several effective modifications are advised on this forum. I've yet to be bothered.

Guidance: When the station is sending data, any teetering / sudden movement of the rain gauge may result in random (usually high) values being presented to the base station.

I'm running an instance of the well-written Cumulus on Windows 10 x64, without any hiccups whatsoever.
AllyCat
Posts: 1124
Joined: Sat 26 Feb 2011 1:58 pm
Weather Station: Fine Offset 1080/1 & 3080
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: SE London

Re: Orion WS3036: Miscellaneous

Post by AllyCat »

Hi Oliver,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for those insights.
OliverMcDermott wrote:Question: How do I determine if the batteries are being charged by the Solar unit?
---
Guidance: Don't sight the UV/Solar unit in direct sunlight
It's moderately easy to measure if the cells are receiving current from the PV panel (using a cheap multimeter) but difficult to know if the cells are charging usefully. The (normally supplied) "Rechargeable Alkalines" are basically a "rubbish" technology, even their manufacturers admit that they can't be recharged once they get much below 1.5v / cell. They're basically just the same as "non-rechargeable" Alkalines (of which some brands can be charged to a very limited extent), so I normally fit non-rechargeables and replace when or if needed.

If you want "genuine" rechargeability and the Solar Pod/Transmitter works well enough at around 2.5 volts, then use two NiMH rechargeable cells. If you're lucky, the "Low TX battery" icon on the Console may even turn off when the cells are charged and turn on after a period of low or no charging.

There are a few options if the transmitter needs 3 volts to work reliably. One is a single LiFePO4 AA cell (nominally 3.2 volts) with a "placeholder" (short-circuit) cell in the second position. These cells are very rugged and often sold as replacements for the better "Solar Garden Lights". Another possibility is to use one NiMH cell (1.2v) and one NiZn AA cell (1.6v) which should total just over 3 volts on charge.

However, when I tested one of the Solar Pods, it appeared to have a built-in 3 volt regulator which effectively prevented any 3 volt cells (including the intended rechargeable alkalines) from charging properly. If other Solar Pods are like this, then two NiMHs seem to be the only worthwhile option.

---

I doubt that you can get very "valid" solar readings if the Pod is not located in direct sunlight. But I do agree that some protection/calibration may be needed, particularly in SA, etc..

Cheers, Alan.
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