Ya know, you're gonna have to take it down to fix it anyway. You didn't say if you tried another set of batteries after they died. Or rather than buy yest another set, since you have to pull it down one way or the other, put in another set and see if the weather station works.
True. Nobody here knows anything that will help you deduce what has failed without you taking down the wx station, cleaning out the inevitable corrosion, inspecting the batteries, and making a few measurements. However, you're in luck here. I've had some experience with both the WS-1200 and WS-1201-IP.
Spare parts. Sorry, no solar cells: The WS-1200 uses rechargeable alkaline batteries. Rechargeable alkaline batteries are only a little better than junk. They cannot be recharged to 100% of original capacity and are only good for a limited number of partial recharges. It doesn't take much to kill them: The capacity of a recharged alkaline battery declines with number of recharges, until it becomes unusable after typically about ten cycles. So, every time you run the weather station batteries down to zero (such as after a cloudy winter), you kill one of the 9 lives of this cat. Ambient is apparently aware of the problem as the newer WS-1201-IP uses a super capacitor instead of batteries. I suspect you could replace the 3 AA cells with a super capacitor: Note: The WS-1201-IP replaces the WS-1200-IP. The WS-1200-IP uses rechargeable batteries that are charged by a solar collector. The WS-1201-IP uses a super capacitor for energy storage, and is charged by the solar collector in the day, and non-rechargeable batteries at night. I think you'll find that the batteries are dead, your solar cells are just fine, and you'll either be making a phone call to Ambient to see if they offer an upgrade to the WS-1201-IP, or buying 3 more rechargeable alkaline cells.
[1] I've been doing morning exercise walks in a local county park, which feature a pond inhabited by a family of Canadian geese. I've been watching three little goslings grow up very rapidly: I know all about chasing wild geese, or rather about being chased by papa wild goose for getting too close to his family. Wild goose chases can be fun.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Well, your weather station isn't a low cost unit from Walmart, so it's not exactly fair to flame the rest of the world for not having THE RIGHT ANSWER at the tips of their fingers. You haven't said anything about your electronics knowledge. If you have none, or very little, you might be out of your league from the start. Now, do you have a multimeter of any sort? Have you attempted to measure the unit's charging voltage and/or current? How about measuring the solar panel's voltage in full sunlight? How about the voltage and current (if any) it's putting into the charge controller? Knowing that information can tell you whether your problem lies with the batteries, the solar panel or the charge controller. Chances are that a schematic is not available for your station. You might send an email to the manufacturer and ask for the schematic. That little piece of paper could be invaluable for you (of someone who is able to read it and determine where the problem lies. Just guessing here, but if the unit uses 3 AA cells, that means that the solar panel will likely be rated for 6 - 9 volts open circuit, at maybe
50 - 100 mA. You need to make some voltage and current measurements and report them, then someone might be able to help you get it going again.
The problem is that it doesn't quite work the same way south of the border. In Canada, it's a Canadian citizen, and a Canada Goose. In the USA, it's an American citizen, but also an American Elk, American Black Bear, American Alligator, American Bison, American Beaver, American Otter, American badger, etc. The distinction is perhaps understandable as the results of our previous presidential election suggests that some of these animals may have voted.
--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
My weather station uses rechargeable alkaline AAs. When they failed after several years of use the outdoor unit continued to function in daylight but not in the dark. At first I replaced them with Nicads but that didn't work. I found one place on ebay selling the proper ones and they are working. Oddly enough after an extended power outage the weather station started displaying the symptoms of failed batteries. A reset of the display unit fixed that.
ElectronDepot website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.