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WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Discussion specific to Fine Offset and similar rebadged weather stations
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: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by AllyCat »

Hi Andrew,

The method I use is to remove the two AA batteries and tape two short, insulated wires (stripped at each end) one onto the positive end of one battery and the other onto the negative end of the other. Then reinsert the batteries with the wires at the lower (bridged) end with the tape preventing contact with the metal bridge. Now put a milliammeter or low value resistor (less than 20 ohms) across the wires to measure the current.

The transmitter draws pulses of about 25mA when transmitting (only 50ms every 48 seconds) but the rest of the time the current should be very low (generally tens of microamps, depending what is connected). My faulty Pod drew continuously about 300uA when connected (after a large pulse for a few seconds initially) which dropped (or even went negative) if enough light was present. The replacement Pod drained almost no current continuously. Note that the PV cell output appears to be regulated, so you may not detect any charging current unless the batteries are below about 3.0 volts.

Yes, my faulty pod produced satisfactory data, except the UV which is ludicrously high. Perhaps slightly more accurate Lux than the replacement (the first seemed high the second low), both give a rubbish UV index.

Personally, my experience with Signatrol, was excellent.

Cheers, Alan.

Edit: If you want to follow the solar charging route (assuming your leakage is not too high), the best type of battery is probably a single (3.2volt) Lithium Phosphate (LiFePO4) AA cell with a dummy (short circuit) cell in the second bay position. Not easy or cheap to find, especially with a rating above say 600mAh. Possibly the cheapest source of PV cells would be two (wired in series) from two Pound Shop garden solar lights. The cells should have a forward diode connected in series, preferably Schottky (low voltage drop) type, but you might be lucky and find one in the garden light. Note that one PV cell could be enough because the tiny circuit board in most garden lights carries a voltage step-up converter (the LEDs require about 3v), but modifying the circuit is not quite trivial (because there are various different types).
aurion45
Posts: 20
Joined: Sun 22 Jan 2012 5:30 am
Weather Station: WH3081
Operating System: Windows 8.1, Raspbian
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by aurion45 »

http://shops1.bizarsoftware.com.au/lite ... ogue/c2/p3
I might give these batteries a try.
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: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by AllyCat »

Hi,

I doubt if you'll find anybody (except the manufacturers) who have a good word to say about rechargeable alkalines.

If your transmitter works with 2.5 volts (and maybe you don't mind the "Low TX" icon permanently displayed on the console) then get some of the new technology "Hybrid" (low leakage or "precharged") NiMH cells branded as Eneloop, or many other names. If you need 3.0+ volts for transmitter range, etc., then IMHO a 600mA AA LiFePO4 (+ dummy cell) should work fine in Australian sunshine. Search ebay for LiFePO4 AA or 14500 (and read the specification carefully) but I'm afraid they may have to come from Hong Kong or China.

Cheers, Alan.
aparsons
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri 24 Jun 2011 2:20 pm
Weather Station: WH3080
Operating System: MacOSX
Location: Studland, Dorset

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by aparsons »

I got the soldering iron out and ran a cable from inside the shed to the battery terminals of the WH3080 and connected it to a 3v mains transformer. This works nicely and I'm back on line (www.harrywarrenhouse.com/weather/Weather.shtml) although while it was down the system seems to have logged 10m of rain!
ejay
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun 01 Apr 2012 8:31 am
Weather Station: WH3081
Operating System: Windows XP
Location: Malvern VIC Australia
Contact:

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by ejay »

Did you get the idea from Stevenw's Mains Power for the Fine offset WH3081?
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Live_Steam_Mad
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon 19 Mar 2012 5:32 am
Weather Station: WH1081
Operating System: Win 10 Pro
Location: Moss Bank, St.Helens, Merseyside, England

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by Live_Steam_Mad »

Has this "continuous drain" fault (300 µA being drained continuously) as noted above been solved yet in the latest WH3080's that are available from Nevada / Waters & Stanton / Watson etc. or in the latest solar pods that are available from Ebay etc?

I think I read somewhere that Fine Offset acknowledged a problem with the solar pod (something to do with grounding and crystals IIRC) ?

I hope that's all fixed now as I would like to get a 3080 at some point. I currently have a Maplins N96FY (FO WH-1081) that I am very happy with (great transmissions on 433MHz, never misses any data, no glitches, it just works fine on WinXP with Cumulus, reporting to Wunderground.com as IENGLAND609), and my friend in Gravesend Kent has one too but his is a Watson WH-8681 (FO 1080 with RCC) which also works flawlessly).

I was wondering where I could buy just the console and/or the transmitter separately for the 3080. I see the 433MHz 3080 console on Ebay but no transmitter for it!

I take it that the 3080 console will not receive transmissions from my 1081 transmitter (even though both are on 433MHz) ?

Best Regards,

Alistair G.
uncle_bob
Posts: 505
Joined: Wed 17 Aug 2011 2:58 pm
Weather Station: WeatherDuino Pro2
Operating System: 2008
Location: Canberra

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by uncle_bob »

Live_Steam_Mad wrote: never misses any data, no glitches
I'm amazed. I've had a few of these stations over the years, all of them have had issues with data spikes and the wireless ones just losing connection, even when they're only 5 metres apart.

I've now ditched my Fine offset consoles altogether and are now using the fine offset sensors with the a lot better WeatherDuino system.
Interested in building your own Weather Station? Maybe check out the WeatherDuino Pro Project Here
Conder, Canberra Weather
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henkg
Posts: 99
Joined: Sun 24 Jul 2011 8:53 am
Weather Station: WH3080 (Alecto WS-5000 ECO)
Operating System: Raspbian Wheezy on RPI B+
Location: Zeeland, Netherlands

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by henkg »

My new WH-3080 (a Dutch version, branded Alecto WS-5000 ECO, 868 MHz) came with 5 alkaline Duracells. Not rechargeable ones. It is up and running for only two weeks now, can't tell how long the transmitter batteries will perform.
I do not know if Fine Offset changed the design. If someone could tell where to find a version number, I will take a look.

About signal reception: transmitter and base station are 40 meters apart, in line of sight, only obstruction is one wooden wall. No loss of signal (after relocating the base station, I moved it about a meter away from the RPI, home plug and AC mains).
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Live_Steam_Mad
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon 19 Mar 2012 5:32 am
Weather Station: WH1081
Operating System: Win 10 Pro
Location: Moss Bank, St.Helens, Merseyside, England

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by Live_Steam_Mad »

uncle_bob wrote:
Live_Steam_Mad wrote: never misses any data, no glitches
I'm amazed. I've had a few of these stations over the years, all of them have had issues with data spikes and the wireless ones just losing connection, even when they're only 5 metres apart.

I've now ditched my Fine offset consoles altogether and are now using the fine offset sensors with the a lot better WeatherDuino system.
I suppose it's a matter of how much time goes by before glitches occur. I have had my weather station online only 1 week on Wunderground (IENGLAND609) and it seemed fine for a few days. But you're right, I checked and a couple of days ago I found my first ever momentary wind speed glitch of 92 Km/h when the average wind speed was very low, quite annoying, but no glitch since. So yes it might be a problem if it happens more often, I'll keep an eye on it.

I would also consider using WeatherDuino if I have any more problems. I checked my several days worth of data and haven't found or ever experienced any loss of wireless connection on my WH1081, nor any USB problems.

It seems like the newer (recently bought) WH3080's are working well now for some people, and maybe Fine Offset finally solved most of the problems with these Solar units? Or not? I noticed that e.g. Signatrol stopped selling them, due to so many faulty units being returned. Can't say I blame them.

Nevada has them on Ebay at the moment at 80 quid plus a fiver for delivery, they had 50 left the other day but someone just bought one, Nevada dropped the price since they don't sell well because of the 3080's terrible reputation. I just hope that Fine Offset sorted the design problems out and got it all working reliably now? In which case I might well consider buying one to get the UV and solar data.

Funnily enough I've just been in contact with my friend Jon H. who moved to Kent about a year ago, he bought a Davis Vantage Pro 1 Plus from a neighbour 15 years ago and it lay in a box for about a decade, then some years ago I persuaded and helped him to get it set up and it was working great, except that his newer PC lacked a serial port and we had to use a USB to serial converter. We tried Prolific and Keyspan ones but Cumulus would regularly stop communicating with the console.

Then one day after a year or so of it working fine (as regards the wireless transmission to the console from his instruments on the roof on a 20 foot pole) one day it suddenly quit working with dashes on the console display instead of readings. He tried new power cells in the console and a new CR123A in the transmitter but nothing worked. I was not impressed, and he was rather annoyed. Anyway he can't send it to Davis in USA (Davis haven't made them for years and I don't imagine that they have any spares now), and the postage cost would be huge, and I imagine that they would want a fortune of money to replace it (the VP2 console itself is 215 GBP on Ebay and his needs a VP1 console, and there are none available new or used that I can find), and the original owner doesn't know how to fix it and neither does Jon, and there are no places in the UK that I am aware of that can fix the old Davis Vantage Pro 1 weather stations?

I have a very cheap RTL 2832/RT820 type dongle for receiving MPEG-2 TV broadcasts in DVB-T where it is well known that it can be used as a scanner and just out of curiosity I listened in on 433,900,000 Hz in AM and got a 30dB carrier to noise signal (very strong) sounding like a BRR-BRR that lasted a fraction of a second, every 48 seconds, which I quickly figured out was the transmissions from my WH-1081 transmitter (and just after each transmission the weather readings updated on my WH1081 console).

So Jon says that he is sending me the VP1 set up and I'll have a listen to 433 and 868 MHz and see if the Davis "inverted plant pot" (well, actually the PCB and aerial on the bottom end) is still transmitting when a new power cell is in it (I'll check it for voltage on my multimeter etc. also). But it might be the console that has stopped receiving. I have to say that Jon did drop the console several times inside the house (but onto very thick plush carpet) so that might have been a factor. But still it is a Davis and it did just stop working one day for no apparent reason. It makes me nervous about investing 1,000 GBP in the VP2 Plus wireless when there is AFAIK a 1 year limited warranty, so I will probably end up with a FO 3080 instead in the end. I don't have much hope of getting his dead Davis set up to work IMHO.

If the Davis had a 10 year guarantee or was 1/4 of the price then I would think about it but otherwise I cannot afford to take such risks that it will stop working 1 day out of warranty period and then I would be left with 1000 GBP of junk.

The above is of course merely my own personal opinion.

Anyway, what's the verdict on those newer 3080s? Are they working reliably now for solar and UV?

Best Regards,

Alistair G.
Live_Steam_Mad
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon 19 Mar 2012 5:32 am
Weather Station: WH1081
Operating System: Win 10 Pro
Location: Moss Bank, St.Helens, Merseyside, England

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by Live_Steam_Mad »

henkg wrote:My new WH-3080 (a Dutch version, branded Alecto WS-5000 ECO, 868 MHz) came with 5 alkaline Duracells. Not rechargeable ones. It is up and running for only two weeks now, can't tell how long the transmitter batteries will perform.
I do not know if Fine Offset changed the design. If someone could tell where to find a version number, I will take a look.

About signal reception: transmitter and base station are 40 meters apart, in line of sight, only obstruction is one wooden wall. No loss of signal (after relocating the base station, I moved it about a meter away from the RPI, home plug and AC mains).
The new 3080's have a gold star under the solar pod, apparently.

The console firmware (shown briefly on the console display when it has a power cell put back in after taking one out of it) would be interesting to know also.

Interesting to hear it seems to work well. Are using Cumulus? Are you uploading to WU or anywhere?

EDIT: Oh sorry I see it now, at http://henkg.myds.me/weerpi/ , I read your review, translated by Google, very good review of your WH-1080, you were using Cumulus until November 2013 and now you use a "mini computer" with Raspberry Pi OS and PYWWS, and you were using WH-1080 until November 2014 and now you are using WH-3080.

Regards,

Alistair G.
henkg
Posts: 99
Joined: Sun 24 Jul 2011 8:53 am
Weather Station: WH3080 (Alecto WS-5000 ECO)
Operating System: Raspbian Wheezy on RPI B+
Location: Zeeland, Netherlands

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by henkg »

Thanks, now I know where to look for, at the moment I will (try) to detach the solar pod from the transmitter and move it further away from the transmitter.
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Live_Steam_Mad
Posts: 10
Joined: Mon 19 Mar 2012 5:32 am
Weather Station: WH1081
Operating System: Win 10 Pro
Location: Moss Bank, St.Helens, Merseyside, England

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by Live_Steam_Mad »

uncle_bob wrote:
Live_Steam_Mad wrote: never misses any data, no glitches
I'm amazed. I've had a few of these stations over the years, all of them have had issues with data spikes and the wireless ones just losing connection, even when they're only 5 metres apart.

I've now ditched my Fine offset consoles altogether and are now using the fine offset sensors with the a lot better WeatherDuino system.
Well I have now been persuaded by the lure of the WeatherDuino system and I have just ordered a TX and RX board for it. The ability to have UV and solar data as add-ons and keep my original WH-1081 sensors for use with it, and have Cumulus compatibility, and side step the faulty reputation of the 3080 was too strong a temptation. I'll be calling in on the WeatherDuino forums shortly.

Regards,

Alistair G.
eddie500
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed 28 Aug 2013 1:28 pm
Weather Station: WH3081
Operating System: Linux
Location: Bridgetown West Australia

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by eddie500 »

Hi All, I have hard wired an external supply to the Tx supplying 3.2 volts and working quite well.removed batteries from console so when the dreaded usb cable lockup occurs just reboot the computer,seems to work reasonably well,although some times I have to unplug the usb cable and replug it in a different port ?
Not sure why that would be,as,if the computer is rebooted there is no power to the USB port
should be the same as unplugging the cable.
Perhaps cumulus knows the port number and as it hasn't, changed it still hangs?
I sure I read somewhere that the USB port address stays the same unless a different USB device is plug in on that port.
If there was some way of altering the USB port address upon reboot via some sort of script
Would be a solution to the USB cable lockups !!?
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: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by AllyCat »

Hi,
eddie500 wrote:removed batteries from console so when the dreaded usb cable lockup occurs just reboot the computer,seems to work reasonably well,although some times I have to unplug the usb cable and replug it in a different port ?
Not sure why that would be,as,if the computer is rebooted there is no power to the USB port .. should be the same as unplugging the cable.
Have you checked for how long the USB power goes off when the PC reboots?

Like the Transmitter, the Console runs on extremely low power during the 48 second (or 1 minute) periods between transmissions, so it may be able to keep "running" (i.e. not reset) on its internal reservoir capacitors during that time. This may be the reason why many recommend that the batteries should be removed for several minutes to reset the Console.

Cheers, Alan.
eddie500
Posts: 4
Joined: Wed 28 Aug 2013 1:28 pm
Weather Station: WH3081
Operating System: Linux
Location: Bridgetown West Australia

Re: WH-3080 Transmitter Batteries

Post by eddie500 »

yes the console does go dead.as I visually checked it with a reboot of the computer.
I,am no expert but I,am sure I read somewhere that windows remembers the assigned usb port address, and will just use the same one
on reboot.
as I said if unplug the cable and plug it in another usb port, it works so therefore windows assigns a new address.
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