Davis Weather Stations KB Prodata Weather Systems Manual 1 — Last update: 2015/05/16 Prodata Weather Systems
Table of Contents General – please read ................................................................................................................................ 2 How to use Help...................................................................................................................................... 3 Common issues and fixes ....................................................................................................................... 5 Contacting support ........................
Third-party software .............................................................................................................................. 68 Older Davis stations ................................................................................................................................. 69 MeteoBridge & related products.............................................................................................................. 71 MeteoBridge Setup .............................................
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 General – please read This knowledgebase (KB) covers troubleshooting advice for Davis weather stations (principally Vantage Vue and Vantage Pro 2 models), Weatherlink data loggers and other specialist accessories such as MeteoBridge. For pre-sales questions, please see our main website. Please use this KB as a first port of call if you’re experiencing any problems with your Davis stations.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 How to use Help Using this knowledgebase This knowledgebase is designed to be viewed on-screen in a standard web browser and should be easy and intuitive to use. Individual topic pages may be printed off if you wish using the Print icon at the upper right of each topic page. The knowledgebase is organised as a series of topics and subtopics grouped into a hierarchy of broad toplevel categories.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 If you cannot find what you’re after from simply browsing the knowledgebase then please don’t ignore the Search option in the main title bar at the top – these may often be able to reveal words or phrases that are buried within the content of individual topics. If you try to search for a term that you think should be searchable but fail then please let us know using the Comments option at the bottom of each topic page.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Common issues and fixes Remember that the instruction manuals for all consoles and sensor transmitters contain troubleshooting information for common problems (usually towards the end of each manual). It’s always worth consulting these manuals as a first step before searching further on this knowledgebase.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Contacting support Getting help If you’re a customer of Prodata Weather Systems First, PLEASE look for an answer in this knowledgebase to start with. There may well be a simple answer or fix to your problem that’s described here.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 If – and please only if – you’ve already contacted us about a problem and we’ve agreed that you should return a part to us at Prodata for investigation/repair then please proceed as follows: • Pack it carefully to survive rough handling in transit and include no more parts than are requested.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Find Product No & Mfg Code You will often need to know the exact Product Number and Manufacturing Code (Mfg Code) of a station component to order the correct spare part or to assess compatibility of old and new parts. Both Product Number and Mfg Code will be found on the label attached to every Davis main component.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 bought as separate items then the console and ISS will show as, for example (but obviously depending on the exact part), 6312UK and 6322OV respectively. There is no functional difference between eg a 6152UK console and a 6312UK console, the label is simply indicating whether the part was originally part of a complete station or not.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 NB In general, ISS and console in a complete station will tend to have identical Mfg Codes. But occasionally this rule is broken during production and for 100% accuracy it’s a good idea to check codes for both ISS and console. (Of course, if the transmitter board or console have ever been replaced at any time then the numbers can be completely different.) Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 External links This knowledgebase is intended to be a self-sufficient troubleshooting guide for modern Davis stations. But there are various additional resources available on the web which offer more technical detail on certain specific topics. Davis PDF manuals: Copies of all Davis manuals are available for download from the support section of the Davis website.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Glossary Glossary/Abbreviations ISS Integrated Sensor Suite: This is the Davis term for the main sensor assembly and sensor interface module (SIM board) which sits outside in the weather and actually generates the raw weather readings. On a standard Vue or VP2 system, the weather station will consist of two components: the ISS and the display console.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Vue and VP2 consoles This category mainly covers issues related to the Vue and VP2 consoles. But it also includes topics where both console and ISS may be involved, eg wireless range. Note that issues to do with the Weatherlink logger are covered in the separate logger category – please look there for problems with software configuration, data downloads etc.. Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Rebooting the console Many transient console faults can often be remedied simply by resetting or rebooting the console. It is always worth trying a reboot as a first step if you’re having problems with unexpected or apparently faulty console behaviour.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Under some circumstances (but typically because of a pulling cable), the logger can become loose on its pins and this is a classic cause of intermittent or erratic logging. If you suspect this sort of issue then it is always worth checking that the logger is tightly home on its pins, but do so only when the console is fully powered off. The logger usually needs a good firm push to ensure that it is fully home.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Console seems dead or unresponsive Symptom: No text or icons at all are visible on the LCD screen. (Readings partially missing is a different fault) Cause: Power failure The console can be powered by either or both of the standard 5v AC mains adapter or 3 ‘C’ cells. Check both sources of power before concluding that the console is dead.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Console ‘Low battery’ warnings Low battery warnings can appear on the console display or in software. There are two types of battery warning: • Transmitter low battery • Console low battery It is important to recognise which type of warning is showing. A low battery warning for a transmitter will show (on the console display – software reports may vary) with a message similar to ‘Low battery on Station #1’.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Outside data missing Symptoms: Readings from the outside sensors are missing, but the console display still works in general and inside readings such as temperature. humidity, pressure, time/date etc are all still present. On a cabled station, or on a wireless station with just a single wireless transmitter (e.g. just the standard ISS), all of the outside data is missing.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Misconfigured data channels: Cabled VP2 consoles still retain the underlying functionality of the wireless consoles which allows different transmitter types to be set for any of the eight wireless channels. This is despite the fact that a cabled console can only receive the ISS transmitter type and only on channel #1.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Pressure reading problems Pressure reading problems Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Wireless diagnostic screens To be added Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Setting transmitter channels Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Vue and VP2 ISS/Sensors Vue ISS issues Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Temperature/Humidity Sensors This topic covers Temperature/Humidity (T/H) sensors used in VP2 stations manufactured since 2006 and is relevant also to Vue stations. [Please see the topic Older Davis Stations for T/H issues relating to Monitor II, Original Vantage Pro (VP1) and VP2 stations manufactured prior to 2006.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 T/H Sensor – General General Description While not officially disclosed, it is widely understood that Davis has used the Sensirion SHT-1x series of temperature/humidity (T/H) sensor elements in all VP2 weather stations manufactured since 2006 (and also in the Vue model). This is an integrated digital sensor that delivers its data on an interface similar (but not identical) to the I2C protocol.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Humidity accuracy has its own characteristic profile: Maximum RH accuracy is attained across a central band of RH values spanning roughly 20-80% RH. Accuracy then decreases markedly towards 0% and towards 100% RH.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Station ‘Low battery’ warnings Note: This topic refers only to low battery warnings from Vue and VP2 transmitters (or what are reported as messages similar to ‘Low battery on station #1’). Console low battery warnings are dealt with in the console section.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 message accurately. The digit after the # sign will indicate which channel number is flagging up the low battery condition and hence the fading transmitter can be identified. The battery required is a CR123 (sometimes labelled CR123/A) type which is a small lithium battery of a type often used in digital cameras and so is fairly readily available from most battery outlets.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 SIM board faults Wireless SIM board faults General troubleshooting TBA Vue stations TBA VP2 stations TBA Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 VP2 Supplementary Transmitters VP2 Supplementary Transmitters Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Wireless Repeaters To be added Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Weatherlink logger Is this definitely a logger issue? All the topics covered in this section assume that the display on the Vue or VP2 console screen is showing all readings correctly – errors are being seen only with data passed to the linked computer. If the console screen is not reading correctly then investigate and fix that fault first.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 • No communication possible with logger • Errors with archive download • USB port dropout • WeatherlinkIP issues • Console/logger compatibility – the green dot issue • Weatherlink for Windows software issues • Weatherlink for Mac software issues • Support for third-party software Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 New installations This topic covers problems encountered when setting up a new Davis Weatherlink logger for the first time, but may also be relevant if your logger installation has previously been working OK and you have attempted, but unsuccessfully, to update the Weatherlink software.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 the Baud rate is to enter Setup mode and then to press the Bar key (which takes you backwards through the setup sequence, as opposed to pressing the Done button briefly which cycles through the settings in the normal forward direction.) Remember to exit Setup mode once the check is done. New Weatherlink installations must be run from the CD supplied with every logger.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 option. If this option is not correctly set up then you will not be able talk to the logger at all, so accurate configuration is vital. It is really important to appreciate that the USB logger can run in two distinct modes which are termed ‘serial’ (or VCP) and USBXpress. (Yes, even though the logger has a USB connection, one of its operational modes is called ‘serial’.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 • The logger mode can be switched from serial to USB or vice versa with appropriate software commands. However, while the switch from serial to USB can be made by any software that implements the appropriate command (which Weatherlink does do), the switch back from USB to serial can only be made by a special utility called ‘CP210x USB to serial converter’ which is installed along with Weatherlink.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 No logger communications Introduction It is assumed that if your Vue or VP2 station includes a display console (ie you are not solely using the Envoy console) then all console readings appear normal. Do not try to troubleshoot logger communications until all console readings are behaving normally.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 As with many PC-related issues there are some simple-minded fixes that will often remedy many problems. It is always worth trying these as a first port of call. If one of these fixes works and the problem is just a oneoff or only very occasional then it may well not be worth spending time on more extensive troubleshooting. • Unplug the USB plug from the PC, wait eg 10-20 seconds and then replug.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Comms troubleshooting IMPORTANT: This topic covers scenarios where all of the following is true: • The logger is the USB type; • There is a complete loss of communication between logger and computer, ie both real-time and archive data cannot be accessed.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 USB Dropout Overview Note: This issue applies in the main only to the USB version of the Weatherlink data logger (6510USB), although it can occasionally also be encountered with serial port WL loggers connected to a PC’s USB port via an external serial-to-USB adapter.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 powered down at any stage. Sometimes, checking this may require delving quite deeply into the powersaving settings. However, power-saving is not usually the culprit and interference-related causes are much more likely. See the USB Interference topic for further discussion. Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 USB Interference Interference and USB connections Why interference should cause problems with USB connections doesn’t seem to be well understood, but it does definitely seem to be the case that USB connections are more sensitive to external interference than, for example, traditional RS232 connections.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 the USB cable well away from any other cables that could conceivably be carrying or transmitting interference; • At least as an experiment, try disconnecting the console completely from the mains and running the console on batteries only – the wireless console should run for 6-9 months on batteries alone and the cabled one for 3-4 months.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 you connect the USB logger to an interface box, which in turn connects into your network. The USB data then passes to and from the PC over the network rather than over a direct USB cable link and the network routing might well be less susceptible to interference. This is obviously a more costly option, although not hugely so.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Archive download errors Symptom: Real-time data is passing successfully from logger to computer, but attempts to download archive data are failing, either partially or completely. Background: Davis loggers can all generate two quite distinct types of data: real-time data (sometimes called Loop data) and archive data.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 • Incomplete or repetitive downloads: Downloads start OK but do not complete successfully. Sometimes the program will repeatedly report that it’s downloading the same (or similar) large number of records, but new data never appears in the archive database; • Errors in downloaded data: Downloads do complete successfully, but problems with the downloaded data subsequently become apparent.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Simple causes of archive errors Cause 1. Logger not fully initialised Origin: The logger was installed with the console powered up or for some other reason has not initialised fully or its configuration has become corrupted. The only reliable way of fitting any type of WL logger into its console socket is to fully power off the console prior to logger installation.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Detailed troubleshooting This topic describes detailed causes and troubleshooting for issues and errors associated with the Weatherlink logger archive data and that have not been fixed by the Simple remedies. The root cause of archive download issues that have not responded to simple fixes is usually data corruption either in the logger itself or on the computer hard drive.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 especially at the date/time values and see if you can spot one that’s patently in error (eg a date or year value that is still in the future!) or out of sequence. The commonest cause of download problems is that a spurious date/time value has somehow and, typically, recently made its way into the database. But look also for other signs of a malformed record.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 So with shorter archive intervals (and especially with the 1-minute interval) it will often be the case that data may be split across two distinct data files for the current month – the potentially corrupt one in the existing folder and the new one in the new station folder. Unfortunately, Weatherlink itself does not provide any tool to merge two such files and to create one single intact file.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 4. Clear the logger In the unlucky event that none of the above suggestions cures the problem then reluctantly the one last ploy that can be tried is to clear the logger. Please remember that once the logger has been cleared there is then no way of ever recovering the deleted data from the logger. The suggested way of doing so is to use the ‘Setup | Set Archive Interval’ option from the main Weatherlink menu.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 cures the problem then it might be worth investing in a small but good quality PC UPS supply (which usually provides good noise suppression ans smoothing) and running the mains adapter through that. For ideas on investigation the wireless interference possibility see the “USB interference” topic, which can have the same cause.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Logger compatibility (‘Green Dot’) In 2012 Davis announced that changes were being made to VP2 and Vue console circuitry and firmware that would require an updated Weatherlink logger for compatible operation.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 NB Contrary to speculation in some forum postings, whether or not a console requires a green dot logger is solely a hardware issue – console behaviour cannot be modified by upgrading or attempting to downgrade console firmware. Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Weatherlink for Mac Note that the Davis 6520 Weatherlink for Mac software does not implement all the features present in the Weatherlink for Windows version. The Windows version outsells the Mac version by a considerable margin and therefore traditionally Davis has focused its development effort on the Windows version.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 There are two sources of this driver, the Davis support website and then the website of the manufacturers of the USB chip inside the logger, which is SiLabs. The version available from Davis will have been checked by Davis for correct operation with Weatherlink, but the most recent driver versions will naturally be available from SiLabs.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 WeatherlinkIP issues This topic relates only to the 6555 WeatherlinkIP (WLIP) logger product, ie the logger with the Ethernet interface that connects into a network rather than cabling directly to a PC. The various issues covered below relate specifically to the WLIP logger and will not be relevant to e.g. the USB or serial loggers. Uploads to weatherlink.com are failing to occur 1.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 the Internet), waiting 5 minutes and only then registering the new account. (The weatherlink.com server needs to have received a discovery packet from the logger before it will allow account registration to complete successfully.) If you have done things in the wrong order then simply reboot the console and waiting a few minutes before trying again to register the new account.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Review the following points: • Be sure to check the three general points above (see point [1] at the beginning of this main topic); • The IP address assigned to the logger may have changed (not because of the logger itself triggering any change, but because the router or server controlling the local network has – for whatever reason – decided to update the assignment of IP addresses to its network devices).
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 WeatherlinkIP configuration by local software This topic covers options for setting and checking the configuration of a WeatherlinkIP logger from local software. It does not duplicate the detailed instructions for setting up and editing a new account on the weatherlink.com service, which can be found in the ‘Weatherlink – Getting Started’ booklet included with each new logger.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 The Communications Port dialogue in Weatherlink for Windows (see right for example – and accessed from the main WL Setup menu) provides tools for checking and configuring the WLIP logger. To set communications for the WLIP logger, select the TCP/IP option at the top as the Communications option.This will enable the TCP/IP panel midway down the dialogue.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 • Configure the new test station to use the ‘Local Device ID’ setting in the Communications Port dialogue, as above; • Try running the Bulletin screen (which often takes a couple of minutes to initialise with a WLIP logger) and downloading a block of archive data; If both Bulletin and archive data are flowing normally then any problems with uploads to weatherlink.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 the Davis website for updates at regular intervals.The changelog on the Davis website (see link below) usually gives an indication of the significance of each update. Your IP logger’s curernt firmware version can be found in one of three ways: • (Simplest): Log on to your WLIP logger account at weatherlink.com and look at the ‘My Account’ tab.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 The WLIP logger should then restart automatically with the new firmware now active. For those preferring to view a video, instructions for performing the firmware update are also available on a Youtube video on the Davis channel.. Viewing the WLIP web interface It is sometimes overlooked that the WLIP logger does have its own very basic web interface (see right).
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 use of the WLIP logger is to feed data across the local network to a computer for local processing and uploads to weatherlink.com are of no interest. Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Setting the communications port To be added Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Third-party software Many users have adopted third-party software such as Cumulus or Weather Display. It is not possible here to provide detailed troubleshooting for anything other than the logger itself and for the Davis Weatherlink software. Each of the third-party programs should have its own support forum and users should look there for support with their specific programs.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Older Davis stations This topic covers issues with older Davis stations, specifically original Vantage Pro (what are now referred to as VP1 stations to distinguish them from the current VP2 models) and the prior generation of Weather Monitor II and Weather Wizard III stations. All of these models are likely to be at least ten years old now and so relatively few will be in active operation still.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 Manufacture of these parts ended several years ago and stocks at Davis and at dealers have long since been exhausted. Note that it is still possible to replace the temp/hum sensor with a simple temperature sensor, which is still available – obviously the humidity and dew point readings will be lost, but it may be a way of prolonging the life of an elderly system.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 MeteoBridge & related products Meteo products MeteoBridge is a tiny, self-contained computer able to process data from any of the Davis stations using a data feed from one of the Weatherlink loggers. MeteoBridge is a product of Smartbedded and is one of the family of software and hardware products whose names all start with ‘Meteo’ and which also include MeteoStick, MeteoHub and MeteoPlug.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 MeteoBridge Setup To be added Generated by Manula.
Prodata Weather Systems Davis Weather Stations KB - Prodata Weather Systems - 1 MeteoStick To be added Generated by Manula.
