wmr100 console

[ScottSh]

Update, still working fine no problems at all.

I assume everybody is extending the dipole antenna that starts as currently a pair of wires going opposite directions with small spring-like windings on the end?  That antenna should be designed to work with 433MHz signals per the OSI manual.  I'm getting 6.5in or 16.5cm - sound right?

That other antenna, the ANT1 used for syncing time, has to be designed for 60KHz.  That's a 5000m wavelength!  I think I'll leave that one alone (it never works for my anyway.) 

[jerryg]

The idea behind the mod is to attach a cable and get the antenna outside and placed where it sees all the sensors. Since i placed mine outside i have not had any problems with sensor drop out. I used a magnetic mounted antenna with a whip about that length and put it on my metal roof. You could make a vertical dipole or something similar and mount in on a pole or something to get a good look at the sensors.

[Yin]

Hi all,

I got my WMR-100N a couple of yeas ago. Pretty soon I also noticed the the instability in the signal. Back then I searched a lot for a solution but did not find any good info other than I was not alone. I also made sure to place the sensors so their battery did not get in the way of the radio signal, still there were problems.

A couple of days ago I thought I take a new search about the antenna problem which I also guessed the root of the problem. It led me here. Thanks epigenes for the assembly pictures. It helped a lot.

Now to the point. Although I am not an antenna expert. To my best knowledge an antenna is not going to work its best when bent like it is in the WMR-100. So i Simply took apart my WMR-100N and straightened the top antenna like in the pictures. Made a small groove to lead the antenna straight out the top of the case and still being able to close it snugly. 

This seems to have made all the difference for me. Now it seems to find all the remote sensors fast and secure. Where as it often missed some sensors before or was soon to drop sensors connection.

This mod might not be enough for all out there but it seems to make a big difference and that was all I needed. Plus I did not need to solder anything or have an extra antenna attached via a cable. Although the now protruding antenna probably is a little fragile it still looks better than a "big" hole in the back if one does not need it.

[Yin]

Hi, Just a little follow up. 

Still seems stable. Although the computer rebooted a couple of times (Unsure why - WDisplay?) making me miss quite some days due to no auto login/auto start the connection has been stable otherwise.

[Weather Display]

you should be able to set WD to start on windows start up/restart
also maybe set to not install windows updates at 3am auto (which would cause a windows restart/pc reboot)

[ctccbc]

You can get a WMR200 console online now for about $160. I'm thinking of getting one later in the spring.

[Yin]

Thanks Brian.

I just yesterday configured autologin with TweakUI and put WD in the Autostart folder. So this hopefully means no more missed weather data in the future

I have no automatic update of windows - doing it manually.

[horrorking]

After suffering dropouts for months, this finally fixed 2 issues I was having - a poor USB connection as well as adding the external aerial (2 foot of thin speaker cable and now I get signals from the shed, 30+ meters away)

Thanks for the tips - worked perfectly here

[StuartR]

Yin's post #32 fixed the problem with my unit not "seeing" sensors after giving up on it all last year - thanks Yin. Just ungluing the top section of the antenna and bending it upwards through a small slot in the case and 3 sensors I couldn't see sprang into life immediately! There's now a few marks on the case as a result of taking it apart (waning : that glue can be a bugger to unstick  ) but my WMR100 is quite old and tatty anyway. I also don't look at the main unit much as I use WDL to view my station output.

Like a couple of the other posters, I'm also a Ham operator so any further problems and I'll make and mount an external dipole at 20' - that should fix it for good...