Davis Vantage Pro II with wireless repeater

[nelsonar]

Just installed a newly purchased (July 2008)  VP II with one wireless repeater. Should I see an indication on the LCD display that the station is receiving from a repeater or directly from the ISS? My signal strength seems to be the same with or without the repeater in place. I'm wondering if it's working or if I have it setup incorrectly. From what I read in the repeater documentation, you don't to make any changes to the equipment if only using one repeater?? Did I miss something?

Right now my station LCD always says " Receiving From Station 1" . Should that say "Receiving from Repeater 1" if it's configured correctly?

Thanx!
Nelsonar

[prodata]

Are you sure that you set the station type to use Repeater A in the console setup? This is one of those cases where you really do need to read the manual - the section where it talks about 'Verifying Repeater Communication with a console' and specifically step 4 relating to using the WIND button to select the repeater ID. (You can also do this quite easily from the Weatherlink software but I'm not sure whether or not WD supports this configurational step - possibly not.)

[nelsonar]

Thanks for the reply, Prodata!

This is where I got confused.. when I follow the steps in my manual. I don't get the same options or results from my station receiver as are described in the docs. I'm wondering if the firmware of my station doesn't match with the manual it was shipped with?

For example, on your station, when would press the "wind" button to select the repeater? During the "done" + "-" setup config?

And should the receiver display specifically indicate that it's receiving from repeater not ISS station?

Thanks for all the help!

[niko]

From the manual:

"Press and hold DONE then press the up arrow at the same time to display the console firmware version in the ticker at the bottom of the screen."

[prodata]

Some of the original VP2 consoles (2004/5 vintage) couldn't see a repeater without a firmware update, but you're saying both your VP2 and repeater are brand new?? What's the firmware revision on your console (Press Done and + cursor key simultaneously)

What's your repeater manual say at the bottom of p16 - 'Verifying repeater communication with a console'? There's a blow by blow account of how to set the repeater configuration there. Does it definitely say press 2nd and Wind buttons - that was a change made to the firmware at the end of 2005.

[prodata]

That last reply was dashed off pretty quickly last night. Let me just underline a couple of points:

1. You do need to be sure of the console firmware version you're using. But assuming that this is a brand new VP2 system (and not eg one bought from Ebay) then it would be very odd if the console didn't have a recent firmware version (the latest is v1.75).

2. Davis did subtly change the way that the repeater ID is set at the end of 2005. This is explained in the 7626/7627 manual (the Rev C copy dated 25 Oct 2005) but it does involve a certain sequence of keystrokes on the console - assuming you don't have a copy of the Weatherlink software loaded temporarily (setting this via software is simpler) - which is why there's no substitute for reading this section of the manual in detail. Assuming you're looking at the same version of the manual then the key section is at the bottom of p17. As this explains, if you're using a recent firmware version then you need to press 2nd and then WIND in order to enter the Repeater Setup Mode (and not just WIND as was previously the case). If you have the repeater configuration correctly activated then you should see the word REPEATER appear within the ticker display when viewing the assigned station type.

[nelsonar]

Thanks for taking the time to walk me though this... I've got it working now.

[prodata]

No problem. Out of curiosity has it made any difference to the signal strength indication on the wireless diagnostic screen?