acurite atlas, how to reset rain without using console

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William Garber

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Feb 7, 2022, 7:45:13 PM2/7/22
to weewx-user
Let's face it I can not afford the console so I used rtl-sdr.  If you remove the batteries from the main unit (sensors) will it reset the rain total?  It is stuck at 0.37 (below) which is from being jostled during installation.  It is working correctly in the regard that there has not been any actual rain after installation and it is and should be still 0.37.

Only relevant portion of debug log is this:
Feb 05 19:55:38 electron python3[554291]: mweewx[554291] DEBUG user.sdr: packet={'outBatteryStatus': 0, 'rain': 0.37, 'windSpeed': 0.0, 'windDir': 292.0, 'rxCheckPercent': 28.293, 'dateTime': 1644119735, 'usUnits': 1}

The problem is that I think there is a maximum like 100 inch after which it stops working and you have to reset it.  So when it reaches that will I have to buy a console?
thanks

William Garber

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Feb 7, 2022, 10:23:55 PM2/7/22
to weewx-user
looking at weewx/drivers/acurite.py it seems the max is 100 inches.  line 335 says bits 24-25 are for rain:
 24-25: rain                  (r[24]*256 + r[25]) * 0.254        mm                                
two bytes hold 64k * .254 = 16646 mm = 16.6 meters = 655 inches.  so either the counter wraps around at 655 inches or it locks up and stops working and you have to buy a console or find a hack at 100 inches.
not sure it will ever rain that much here.  there is a chronic drought.

William Garber

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Feb 7, 2022, 10:45:40 PM2/7/22
to weewx-user
I unplugged one of the batteries and nothing changed.  But I noticed there are two "banks" of batteries.  Next I unplugged ALL the batteries when there was no sunshine to power the solar panels.
I can't believe my eyes but the packet is now giving "rain_total":0.0 instead of "rain_total":0.37. So am I correct that I successfully reset the rain counter to zero by removing all the batteries or
am I confused or making a mistake?  This means there is no need for the console so far ...
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