Quantcast
Channel: WXforum.net - AcuRite Weather Stations
Viewing all 7538 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 21, 2019, 3:52 pm
$
0
0
Quote from: nincehelser on October 09, 2018, 12:26:50 PM
This is another view of the wind section with the tip of the wind vane removed.

I'm still trying to figure out if the wind section can be disassembled further without risking breakage, but I saw a screw just under end of the vane.

Removing the screw removed the wind vane tip.  Apparently this is just to cover some extra weights that were added.  I guess this improves dampening so it doesn't "flutter" as easily as the 5n1.

It didn't help in my disassembly quest, though.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]



This photo is lookup up under the "flare" under the anemometer section.  You can see two magnets that are being sensed to gauge how fast the cups are turning.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]



All that is required to get the vane off is pull it straight up, it pops right off. Also the same with the cups, pull them straight off. The bearings on my beta model were full of grit. There are two bearings in there with a sleeve between them. It should spin very loosely, but mine was rough and binding up. I sprayed them down good with lube and you could hear the grit in there.
↧
Search

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 21, 2019, 7:12 pm
$
0
0
Thanks for that.  It encouraged me to disassemble it further tonight.

I was imagining 5n1 wind-cup type tightness, but the vane and cups pulled off without immense force.  I didn't notice any grit, but I did notice what looked to be graphite on the tip.  Maybe that was to ease assembly.
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Close-up showing attachment screw.  There's another one on the other side.  Remove them and you can remove the "outer core" of the spindle.
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


Outer core removed and set in relation to other parts.
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

Close-up of outer core.  The second tier spins freely. 
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


When the inner spindle turns, that's obviously picked up by the circuit board affixed at the bottom (I assume via a magnet and Hall effect).

However, I'm not sure how the spinning of the outer spindle (wind speed) is being transferred to the electronic board.  It couples mechanically to the plastic cups.  There are two magnets in the cup cowl.  Are the magnets in the wind cups generating a voltage that circuit board can pick through the shaft? 
↧
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 21, 2019, 7:31 pm
$
0
0
Found the answer.  The spindle shaft can be pushed out through the bottom of the assembly. 

There's a reed switch near the shaft, held in place by slots in the outer plastic cover.  That's what the magnets are triggering.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 21, 2019, 8:27 pm
$
0
0
If you pull up the central shaft, it will pull apart from a black piece of plastic that holds the end-magnet for the Hall effect sensor.  You'll also see a bearing here that slides off the shaft.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 21, 2019, 8:36 pm
$
0
0
Close-up of the Hall effect sensor chip board.  Note I've disconnected the main cable (it's socketed to the board underneath).  The gray ribbon cable goes up to the reed switch.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

That's an AS5600 chip.  You can read about it here: https://ams.com/as5600

Interestingly, it is from the same company that makes the lightning sensor chip.
↧
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 5:32 am
$
0
0
Quote
I was imagining 5n1 wind-cup type tightness, but the vane and cups pulled off without immense force.  I didn't notice any grit, but I did notice what looked to be graphite on the tip.
The grit I was indicating was just dirt, or sand that must have blown into those ball bearings. The anemometer is spinning like brand new now that I lubed it, even better than the new one on the Atlas I was sent for Christmas. When I put the lube on the bearing, and spun it by hand, the first few spins you could hear the dirt in them, and then as you kept spinning it, it was very smooth, and loose like it should be.
Thanks for the pics. It shouldn't be hard for users to lubricate theirs if needed. The hardest part for me was putting the direction indicator back on the spindle. Getting it on with the flat side of the spindle just right was a little tedious.
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 8:48 am
$
0
0
I found why one of my Atlas sensors was not sending a signal to Access, but would send signal to the display. If you are having this issue, what I discovered was a battery not making proper contact. I am not sure which one of the slots was the culprit, but if all 4 batteries are not working, you will get no signal to Access at all, unless the sunlight is hitting the Atlas directly to power the sensor. The sensor will actually work with 3 batteries and give a blinking red light. The battery was not bad in my sensor, it was just not lined up with the contact good enough. I had to pull the batteries out a bit so that each one was not flat down against the housing. Then on the splash page the signal went to 4 from 0.

I am betting this is the main issues with people not getting a signal on their Access.
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 8:51 am
$
0
0
Quote from: DoctorKnow on Today at 11:48:08 AM
I found why one of my Atlas sensors was not sending a signal to Access, but would send signal to the display. If you are having this issue, what I discovered was a battery not making proper contact. I am not sure which one of the slots was the culprit, but if all 4 batteries are not working, you will get no signal to Access at all, unless the sunlight is hitting the Atlas directly to power the sensor. The sensor will actually work with 3 batteries and give a blinking red light. The battery was not bad in my sensor, it was just not lined up with the contact good enough. I had to pull the batteries out a bit so that each one was not flat down against the housing. Then on the splash page the signal went to 4 from 0.

I am betting this is the main issues with people not getting a signal on their Access.

Recently there has been some speculation that, unlike the 5n1, the solar panels of the Atlas are supplementing the batteries, so that makes sense.
↧
Search

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 9:13 am
$
0
0
Seems there is always something more to dig into...

Here's the UV module.  The wiring is not removable, but you can remove the module from underneath the black upper assembly with only two screws.  Note the yellowing due to aging, some have been concerned about if this is a problem or not.

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


The cap of the module can actually be removed with another two screws.  Note the white insert and foam circle.  I assume the white insert must be some sort of filter.  I'm not sure about the foam circle function... maybe to prevent light from the side?  It seems unlikely that it is for water protection.

The sensor chip is an Si1133.  More info about that here: https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/data-shorts/Si1133-DataShort.pdf

 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

↧
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 9:20 am
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 9:22 am
$
0
0
If you could test yours, and confirm what I experienced, that would be helpful I'm sure. Remove a battery or two and check, also check the red light blinking and check in the sunlight with one battery out.
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 9:27 am
$
0
0
Quote from: DoctorKnow on Today at 12:20:05 PM
Mine has yellowed as well.

I've been looking at the application note: https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/application-notes/AN968-Si1133-UV-Index-Sensor-Electrical-and-Optical-Design-Guide.pdf

It states that the "overlay" can't have a UV stabilizer.  I guess that's why it is yellowing, and makes sense since you're trying to measure UV.  I'm still unclear if the yellowing is a problem, but as long as there is less than 50% attenuation, maybe it doesn't matter.

The white dot is what they call a diffuser which results in better readings.  It's probably a thin dot of teflon tape.

↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 12:47 pm
$
0
0
Hi all

I have the same problem with Access (firmware 047) losing signal for hours at the time. Sometimes it comes back by itself and sometimes I have to unplug it and bring it very close to the sensor (Atlas) in order to re-acquire the signal.

The distance between Access and Atlas is about 30ft. Only one wall between the two. There are no signal level drops to 3, 2 or 1. It's either 4 or it drops to 0.

Indoor Display (06061) never lost connection (always 4 bars), even though it's placed about 100ft from Atlas, and signal has to go through 4 walls.

To eliminate possible battery issue, I have installed power adapter for Atlas (Model 06073).

As far as radio interference goes, I checked that out, but at the time Access dropped connection, there was no radio interference. Just Atlas signal every 10 seconds or so.

Currently 0 signal at Access yet again. Atlas signal OK...
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]

There must be some other issue with Access dropping the signal, besides HAM operators interference.




↧
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 1:17 pm
$
0
0
Somethings funny where when mine goes out of sunlight, the batteries don't power the unit properly to send a signal to the Access. I don't think it has anything to do with Access at all from what I am experiencing. Tomorrow morning once the sun comes back, it will show up again. I have tried a power supply, and that works as it should and gets picked up by Access, so my experience is different than giveme5's.

Very odd...
↧

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 1:19 pm
$
0
0
I think the foam ring is to keep any refracted light from getting to the sensor
↧
Search

Re: Atlas Tear-Down Photos

January 22, 2019, 3:54 pm
$
0
0
A lot of materials including most window glass block some UV.  The white dot is most likely a teflon or other UV-transparent window, and the foam is to make sure that stray light from the rest of the cover does not hit the sensor.

They could have used UV-protected plastic for the rest of the cover, but probably saved a few pennies per component by leaving it untreated.....
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 22, 2019, 11:29 pm
$
0
0
Update to my Access issues.

I received my Access back from Acurite after a month and then I tested it for 10 ten days. You can see the stats below. The smartHUB still out performs the Access for my two main sensors. The Access does seem to do better with not cutting out for hours but it still misses lots of data points. I'm not at the location where it is but I had someone simulate quick power outages and it seemed to work. I'll test it myself next month.

When I asked what they did to make it work better the answer was, "fine tune the antenna", which l doesn't help me much as I wanted to apply it myself to my other faulty Access.  I asked them what they did specifically to fix the Access losing connection after short power outages of less than 6 seconds and then taking 6+ hours to reconnect.

They replied," We are not able to tell you the exact remediation to the Access. The correction is proprietary information. " I didn't realized they were running a top secret mission with low to mid end consumer weather stations.

The people helping me from Acurite were very accommodating and I felt like they really tried to make it work right. I just wish they would tell me what they did so I wouldn't have to send my other one in and could fix it myself. Still not sure it does work right until I can test it in person.

Below are the number of missed data points in 10 days. The number in parenthesis is the most it missed in a row for those ten days.
 
My 20ft away roof 5 in 1 - smartHUB 1 (1), Access 61 [8]  smartHub much better on this one.
My 60ft away roof 5 in 1 - smartHUB 49 (25), Access 127 [8] again smartHUB better here too although Access missed less in a row.
My 40ft away patio sensor (this is a tower sensor that is about 5 ft off the ground and very old so I don't rely on it since it has issues. I just included it to show the Access does better with my low sensor than my roof ones, which is unfortunate.
     smartHUB 2656 (130), Access 478 (28)

At this point there seems to be some improvement especially not dropping out for hours on end, which is good. But it's still somewhat disappointing that it misses many data points. At least it helped some. I think most of the improvement was from me extending the antenna 3ft and down through a rain drain hole so it's outside the plastic case on my far (60ft away) sensor.
↧
↧

Re: Access Connection Issues

January 23, 2019, 1:08 am
$
0
0
Quote from: DrewShock on Today at 02:29:50 AM
They replied," We are not able to tell you the exact remediation to the Access. The correction is proprietary information. " I didn't realized they were running a top secret mission with low to mid end consumer weather stations.

They remember you, Drew, as I do.
↧

Access and meteobridge

January 23, 2019, 9:03 am
$
0
0
With the end-of-service-life for the smartHUB only weeks away I'm curious if anyone has heard of or is aware of any movement toward making sensor data locally available via the Access. Many here have expressed that interest.

My smartHUB and Meteobridge have been working great together for years and that is about to end.  Ideally, an Access firmware update allowing Meteobridge to acquire the sensor data would be great. Realistically, it's time to get serious about options and other solutions.  I'm aware of some of the options/alternatives out there but am reluctant to abandon my investment in Meteobridge at this time because it does just what I want it to.
↧

Re: Access and meteobridge

January 23, 2019, 9:41 am
$
0
0
I don't believe meteobridge will work with Access. Doc has said he isn't planning to support it. Some modifications may need to be made to the meteobridge before it can continue to run the smarthub, and I am not even sure that will happen.
↧
Viewing all 7538 articles
Browse latest View live
Search