I keep getting the temperature and humidity readings failing ---- etc, when I get this for my 2nd thermometer it stays like this but the message 'Low battery on station 2' displays. It's intermittent and can be either day or night and goes like this for 45 mintes or so. My hunch is, could it be the battery in the outside unit on it's way out.

Before I change it just thougt I'd ask the question.

Keith (Southend)

On 24/09/2019 18:22, Keith Harris wrote:
I keep getting the temperature and humidity readings failing ---- etc, when I get this for my 2nd thermometer it stays like this but the message 'Low battery on station 2' displays. It's intermittent and can be either day or night and goes like this for 45 mintes or so. My hunch is, could it be the battery in the outside unit on it's way out.

Before I change it just thougt I'd ask the question.

Keith (Southend)


Prompted me to look things up. Came across this fron John Dann
https://www.manula.com/manuals/pws/d...ttery-warnings

Not seen that page before but it looks useful

--
George in Swanston, Edinburgh, 580'asl
www.swanstonweather.co.uk

On Tuesday, 24 September 2019 22:05:07 UTC+1, George Booth wrote:
On 24/09/2019 18:22, Keith Harris wrote:
I keep getting the temperature and humidity readings failing ---- etc, when I get this for my 2nd thermometer it stays like this but the message 'Low battery on station 2' displays. It's intermittent and can be either day or night and goes like this for 45 mintes or so. My hunch is, could it be the battery in the outside unit on it's way out.

Before I change it just thougt I'd ask the question.

Keith (Southend)


Prompted me to look things up. Came across this fron John Dann
https://www.manula.com/manuals/pws/d...ttery-warnings

Not seen that page before but it looks useful

--
George in Swanston, Edinburgh, 580'asl
www.swanstonweather.co.uk

Thanks George, it's definately got a lot worse this evening, but I won't be able to get and check it over until later tomorrow afternoon. In the last minute the temperature has disappeared again :-(

It coupld be Battery, it may just need a clean around the connectors or even the board, finger crossed it's not terminal.

Keith (Southend)

On 24/09/2019 18:22, Keith Harris wrote:
I keep getting the temperature and humidity readings failing ---- etc, when I get this for my 2nd thermometer it stays like this but the message 'Low battery on station 2' displays. It's intermittent and can be either day or night and goes like this for 45 mintes or so. My hunch is, could it be the battery in the outside unit on it's way out.

Needs more description (eg which temp/hum readings are failing - main
ISS or what?) and troubleshooting to really answer. But at first glance
looks like a simple low battery issue - obvious answer is to fit a good
new battery and review after a few days.

Yes when I read it back my question wasn’t that clear. The intermittent temperatures are on the console. Will change the battery later on. Unlike my 2nd thermometer you don’t seem to get a battery low message when the one in the ISS dies. I think that batteries been in quite a while. Thanks Keith (Southend)

On 25/09/2019 10:25, Keith Harris wrote:
Yes when I read it back my question wasn’t that clear. The intermittent temperatures are on the console. Will change the battery later on. Unlike my 2nd thermometer you don’t seem to get a battery low message when the one in the ISS dies. I think that batteries been in quite a while. Thanks Keith (Southend)



I got a low battery message when the ISS battery was low. The battery
lasted 6yrs.

If it's only affecting the temp/humidity then maybe that particular
sensor is bust or has a loose connecting in the ISS.



--
Brian Wakem

I’m going to check the connections later as well, check nothing got damp etc. Thanks Keith (Southend)

Think there's a risk of overcomplicating things here. If the transmitter
battery has been in place for eg 18-24 months or more then there is
every chance that the low battery alert simply means what it says - ie
the battery is almost dead and needs to be replaced - and with no
further fault implied.

In the UK, ISS batteries typically last for 18-24 months maybe more in
sunny areas, maybe less in eg the north of Scotland. In sunnier climates
the batteries can last for several years. But ultimately every battery
will need replacing with new - the standard CR123 is not a rechargeable
battery type and anyway the VP2 circuitry has no means of recharging the
battery.

Only if a new battery fails to fix any reception issue is more
troubleshooting needed.

On Wednesday, September 25, 2019 at 3:40:23 PM UTC+2, JGD wrote:
Think there's a risk of overcomplicating things here. If the transmitter
battery has been in place for eg 18-24 months or more then there is
every chance that the low battery alert simply means what it says - ie
the battery is almost dead and needs to be replaced - and with no
further fault implied.

In the UK, ISS batteries typically last for 18-24 months maybe more in
sunny areas, maybe less in eg the north of Scotland. In sunnier climates
the batteries can last for several years. But ultimately every battery
will need replacing with new - the standard CR123 is not a rechargeable
battery type and anyway the VP2 circuitry has no means of recharging the
battery.

Only if a new battery fails to fix any reception issue is more
troubleshooting needed.

I have two spare batteries and a recharging unit in the house. When the operational battery goes flat, as they invariably do, I replace it with a charged-up spare, and put the discharged one on to charge.

If anyone's following this thread and getting confused about battery
types, let me try to clarify:

The standard CR123 lithium batteries used in the VP2 wireless
transmitters are _not_ designed to be rechargeable.

However, if you look on eBay and the like you will find some batteries
that are the same form factor as CR123 but which use a different lithium
chemistry & design and which are rechargeable. In fact there seem to be
multiple types of rechargeable CR123 that deliver different voltages
(presumably using different chemistries) ranging from 3.0 to 3.7v.

Davis recommend not using these rechargeable types because their voltage
characteristics are different from standard CR123 and so they won't
necessarily trigger the low voltage warning correctly. Also the
rechargeable types tend to have only 30-50% of the capacity of the
standard types and therefore will need to be changed out more often.

There's also some suggestion that the rechargeable type is less
reliable. Here's some commentary online about the issues (in the context
of CR123 as a torch battery, but behaviour will be the same in other
applications):

================================================== ======
Why we stopped selling rechargeable CR123A batteries:

There are various reasons why we no longer sell rechargeable CR123A
batteries.

Firstly, the many problems we had with those batteries. They range from
overheating batteries, defect batteries to leaking and even a few
exploding batteries.

We are not the only ones to have those problems. Read the forums...

The background of that problem is that the leading manufacturers of
Lithium-Ion accumulators, like Sanyo and Panasonic, do not produce cells
in a format suitable for the production of a RCR123A accumulator. The
accumulators used for RCR123A batteries are therefore of a lesser quality.

The 2nd reason is that the capacity and the so-called C-rating* of the
rechargeable CR123A accumulators fall short of the powerful torches that
are currently produced. The low capacity provides disappointing life.
And the too low C-rating generates overload of the accumulators with
high heat as a result.
================================================== ======