DW3370 errant rain data sent

[Judith Murphy]

Good afternoon everyone,

I’m afraid  my weather station (Davis Vantage Pro2, DW3370) sent errant rainfall data over the weekend. We had severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings here on 5/27, and I was preoccupied with monitoring those. We were also getting some heavy rain, so the rain data problem wasn’t immediately apparent. On 5/28, the rainfall amounts looked higher than I expected. I initially assumed the bucket had been clogged and then cleared itself allowing all of the water through at once, but by 5/29, it was obvious that wasn’t the case. When I checked the data, I found that the rain bucket was adding rainfall in 0.24-0.25 inch increments at a rain rate of 14.05 inches per hour. The amounts were being added intermittently, but frequently between 2:11 PM on 5/27 and 6:27 PM on 5/29 for a total of 106+ inches of rainfall. I’ve since unplugged the rain bucket to prevent a repeat, but I’m bothered by having sent incorrect rainfall amounts. Is there a way to remove the errant data? I did add notes to the data in Weatherlink, but I don’t know if those are seen or not. I apologize for the mess with the data. I’ve taken care to send good quality data over the years, this is not the norm.

In view of what happened, I took a hard look at my weather station. It has been in service continuously for about 14 years now and while it has been accurate and reliable, it started  limping along recently with the 24 hour fan failing, then the super capacitor starting to go. The problem with the rain bucket kind of pushed things over the edge and I’ve decided it’s time to replace the whole thing. I’m ready to order a new Davis Vantage Pro2 (possibly a different model than my current one), but I have a question.  As far as CWOP is concerned, is there more to replacing a station than simply taking the old one down and putting the new one up? Is there anything else I have to do, or information I need to provide?

Your help is most appreciated,
Judy Murphy

[googl...@tedlum.com]

Unfortunately, you can't alter data once it's been sent to CWOP (MADIS). With Wunderground you can. Locally, you can fix your data depending on the software you are running.

I would contact Davis and ask them about repairing the station you have. What they'll actually do is refurbish it, usually for a fixed fee, and in your case you'll end up with a mostly new station for a lot less than purchasing a new one. So much has changed that most of what is in the old stations, including the console is not compatible with the newer parts that are available which pretty much means they have to replace everything, or close to it.

There is nothing you have to do when you bring the new/replaced station on-line. There really isn't anything model dependent in the registration and the software sends version information in every packet.

[Judith Murphy]

Thank you, Ted. I feel really bad about the inaccurate data being sent. I've read good things about Davis' refurbishing of old stations. I may eventually do that and give the old station to my grandchildren to learn about weather. For my use, I'll purchase a new station. Thank you again for your help. 

[Jim Bayer]

An upvote for Davis' restoration/refurb program: Two years ago I sent in our 12 YO Pro 2 as the solar panel was UV fogged and even cracking. The unit was running on the local battery and was down a lot. I contacted Davis with the base problem and got the RMA within a few days. I boxed and sent the Pro 2 and console. In 4 to 5 weeks I got it all back. It had the same housings except for the face plate of the ISS with the solar. All cleaned up of dust and gunk over the years. Many sensors had been replaced completely and the transmitter/function board was swapped out (cap?). Aero??? sensor was completely new. Maybe a s/w upgrade in the console but who knows as it works the same as always. It was literally like new again. I was so impressed I bought the UV and  solar radiation sensor kits to add in celebration. Plug and go and we have a Pro 2+.

Thread diversion: I have always wanted the solar radiation sensor to compare with our solar panel efficiency as we are off grid. A lot of ideas have been confirmed about solar panel power production - not in the sunlight but on cloudy days. A separate system was invaluable for planning on low solar days with various weather conditions. Not much you can do when covered in snow (wink).

Another diversion: I have had terrible experiences with WeatherLink. Even from many years ago - the broken connections with locked app or even locked up computer. But in those times we had weak 3g cell as our internet and in the last 8 years DishNet upgraded to HughesNet G5. Most all of the failures disappeared when we finally put StarLink in place. I don't know whether latency or momentary gaps or both but it I don't have to restart WeatherLink anymore. I only have to restart the bulletin and rarely.

I've pondered the subscription. Nah, we're retired. It costs more in fuel to go out to eat than the meal. But it would be cool to review a day of detail in the past. We do a lot of comparisons year to year in these draught conditions. This wet spring is curious but yet another diversion.

Best to you all. Use the refurb program.

Best, Jim

[Judith Murphy]

Jim, thank you for the additional information. I think my station is worth saving and would make a nice learning tool for my grandchildren. I'll contact Davis about repairs. I'm just geeky enough to want the solar sensors, but my husband is more practical than I am and doesn't see the need. As for Weatherlink, I'm using version 5.8.3, which came out, I believe, when Windows XP was around. We have no internet here.  Comcast started at both ends of our road installing cable, then left a 1/4 mile stretch in the middle and refuse to finish it. Guess where we live?  I had Hughesnet for many years, but I'm not interested in going back. Because of the internet situation, my current setup is a little convoluted: a serial data logger connects to a serial to USB converter that plugs into a laptop running Weatherlink. A cell phone, dedicated to the weather station, provides a wifi hotspot for the laptop to connect to the internet. I'd love to find a more elegant solution, so I'm willing to give Weatherlink Live a try to simplify things, but I need to research it more.