Have one of those Auriol weather stations here. Sensor outside and the station within 10M on windowsill in line of sight.
Exterior temp keeps dropping off. New batteries and changed to another of the 3 channels. Bring sensor indoors and it re displays but then drops off once located back outside.
Anyone any experience of these things? Nothing of help in the RTFM :-)
Last edited by: Fullchat on Sun 13 Nov 11 at 20:13
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It could be interference on the 433mhz radio frequency. I have a similar setup with the external sensor in a gas meter box and three walls from the base unit, which works fine. Have you tested the "new" batteries? They may be duff. Have you changed the base station batteries as well? Lack of range is usually a battery problem.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 13 Nov 11 at 20:22
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I have an Auriol, mine wouldnt work at 12 metres, so I now have the sender about 4 metres away.
Mine also shares the power supply monitor sender so I have two channels working! I get temp from the front of the house and the side!
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! Power supply monitor sender. Now is that the problem??
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Nope thats not the problem but new batteries in the base station did the trick :-)
Many thanks.
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Now I do know I'm probably setting myself up for a fall here but....
Why would you want a weather station in your garden? I find sort of looking out the window more or less works, or if in any continuing doubt, opening the door for temperature confirmation usually nails it.
:-)
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Just because.
After spending some of my career flying became somewhat of a weather anorak.
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I moved my outside temp sender a couple of metres closer to the house last month, as I now have a modest shed to attach it to. The signal immediately began dropping out, new batteries all round seem to have cured it though. Disturbing the sender must have been the trigger.
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Are you using lithium batteries or normal ones? Lith ones seem to be the only ones that cope with cold weather.
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Perhaps the Lithium batteries are manic?
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My external sensor worked with alkaline batteries through the -20C period last winter. That -20C was good enough reason for me not to go outside to check the temperature Humph. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Sun 13 Nov 11 at 22:29
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It's a bike thing for me Humph (and there's always the hope the outside temperature drops below 0 - you know for the er....tyre thing)
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£2.99 from Aldi is my weather station sensor on window sill today 8.5c same as it says in the car & 17c in the house.
Though Costco had loads last year £55.00 i was tempted but then just bought beer instead.
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>> Perhaps the Lithium batteries are manic?
Surely, if the batteries were manic lithium might stabilise them?
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Not if they have discharged themselves.
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Are you positive? dont think we should show them in a negative light.
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The Police might charge them for you.
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Cheers Fullchat, The batteries died in my weather gadgets base station today. How did you manage that? :-)
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well as we all got them from Lidl at the same time, what do you expect?
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>> well as we all got them from Lidl at the same time, what do you
>> expect?
>>
Good reasoning Z, but mine is an "Ascot" branded ALDI one running on IKEA batteries. :-)
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 15 Nov 11 at 09:08
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Sorry to resurrect a slightly old thread but I have two of these things, about three and five years old respectively and both from Lidl.
The two external sensors are of different types, the older one runs on two AA, the newer on two AAA batteries and is a bit smaller. Both of them eat their batteries in four to five days, whether rechargeable or alkaline.
Although it goes up and down a bit, the current from the batteries is about 20mA, which would tie in with the rate they get through them (2400mAh).
Do they all get through batteries at this rate or has something aged, causing them to increase their power consumption? The base stations run for weeks on a single set of batteries.
Ta.
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Did they always use batteries at that rate?
I've recently recently replaced one I've had for yonks where the outdoor sender went u/s. Cannot remember the make but it came from Maplin. Lithium batteries usually lasted several months.
Current one is Watson W-8681 MK2. Been in place for about eight weeks and seems fine except it seems to be wrongly calibrated. It includes a wind direction indicator and there's an align west arrow on the sender. Unfortunately it seems to be 180 degrees out. Easier to turn it than re-pack, return etc. IIRC the batteries are said to last months; there's a warning when they go low.
Would cleaning the battery contacts help (I suspect that's the problem with the Maplin one).
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I have an Oregon weather station and the external temperature sensor used 2 AA batteries. They always lasted for well over a year until the unit died after about 5 years. Sadly replacement sensors are no longer available.
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>> I have an Oregon weather station and the external temperature sensor used 2 AA batteries.
>> They always lasted for well over a year until the unit died after about 5
>> years. Sadly replacement sensors are no longer available.
I think my Maplin may have also been sold as Oregon Scientific. The Anemometer packed up with brittle plastic a couple of years ago after ten years use. But until recently it would still broadcast outside temp from a shady spot behind the ivy at the end of the garden.
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How long has she been there?
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I've had an old LIDL one for donkey's. The transmitter takes two or three AAAs (I can't remember how many, as I haven't had to renew them for months). An LED flashes when it transmits to the receiver.
I have heard of other folk having high battery drain problems, but strangely only one of the battery positions.
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tbh I can't remember whether they've always died so quickly.
There don't seem to be any components that might have aged so maybe just keep a selection of rechargeables and change them as and when. It's a shame because otherwise they're a good piece of kit, although I suspect the temp calibration is not that good but near enough if you're just deciding what to wear that day!
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I'm intrigued by these things. What do they provide in the way of information that you don't get by lloking at a weather app or out of the window?
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>> I'm intrigued by these things. What do they provide in the way of information that
>> you don't get by lloking at a weather app or out of the window?
Mine gives me outside air temperature and humidity, dewpoint, wind speed and direction and recent rainfall. It records data which can be downloaded to a PC or tablet.
It's just interesting, nothing more.
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Do you have to put them in one of those Stevenson's screens? I remember when I was at school I had to take the daily temperature etc.
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>> Do you have to put them in one of those Stevenson's screens? I remember when
>> I was at school I had to take the daily temperature etc.
No, mine is hidden in an evergreen hedge thing. Its windproof, shady and get little in the way of moisture
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>> I'm intrigued by these things. What do they provide in the way of information that
>> you don't get by lloking at a weather app or out of the window?
The barometric pressure is interesting, you forecast your own weather by the trend up or down. One occasion watched the pressure fall like a stone, and yes a big storm arrived.
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>> Sorry to resurrect a slightly old thread but I have two of these things, about
>> three and five years old respectively and both from Lidl.
>>
>> The two external sensors are of different types, the older one runs on two AA,
>> the newer on two AAA batteries and is a bit smaller. Both of them eat
>> their batteries in four to five days, whether rechargeable or alkaline.
Nope they should both last about a year on good batteries.. I would guess yours have water ingress causing current drain
dry them out and try again.
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