Meteostic Vantage errors on my Meteobridge pro.

[DAP]

I have started seeing dropouts in the data uploaded to Weatherunderground.
Log files show the meteostick getting restarted regularly:

Code: Select all

logger (22.06.2022 00:48:44): services activated.
logger (22.06.2022 11:50:03): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (340 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 11:59:05): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (350 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 13:55:09): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (340 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 14:17:12): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (350 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 15:57:16): message above repeats 1 time.
logger (22.06.2022 16:02:17): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (300 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 16:19:20): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (320 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 16:34:22): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (340 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 16:39:24): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (300 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 16:54:26): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (350 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 16:59:27): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (300 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 17:14:30): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (330 secs no valid rf signal)
logger (22.06.2022 18:09:33): station 0 (Meteostick Vantage), restart meteostick (350 secs no valid rf signal)

There was a power outage about a week ago that caused the meteobridge pro to restart, causing a firmware update. I have no idea if this is related.
I power cycled the meteobridge pro last night, but as you can see, the dropouts continue.

I just updated the RF module (apparently the same thing as the meteostick), but it appears it was already at the latest version: Meteostick Version 2.5.2

What steps can I take to fix this issue?

[Mattk]

Roll back the current firmware version to your previous or last full version version and see if it is version related.

The other obvious issue could be the RF signal? What is the distance between the MBPro and ISS? Has anything recently been changed between the MB and the ISS?

[admin]

Please post weather station tab.

[DAP]

(not sure why the img tags don't seem to be working, but the image is here: https://imgur.com/a/z5kgTBv)
Is this what you wanted to see?

The only thing that has changed is the version of software my meteobridge pro was running due to a power outage, but I can't correlate that to when the issue started happening. The log file from before the power outage was wiped out due to the re-start due to the power outage, so I can't be sure if the problem started before the software update, and I did not notice the problem immediately since the weather in California is particularly boring in the summer.
As for rolling back, I'm not sure which version of software I was running before the power outage since the software gets updated on every re-boot, and I don't know how long ago the last re-boot was. (I also don't know the procedure for rolling back the software).

Edit: I went out and looked at the weather station, it does not look like the angle of the antenna has changed, so I don't think any birds or squirrels have messed with it. I also have a Davis Vantage Pro2 that seems to be getting the signal just fine.

[Mattk]

You haven't mentioned how far the MBPro is from the ISS but you could start by changing Sensitivity to -80db

On the System>Administration tab, Version Control is the top option of the Maintenance box. The drop down options will show "get newest on boot" which is obviously your current setting, then a list of "stick to version x.x" and "use installed version".

Best practice is not to have the "get newest on boot" setting as the default version control. "use installed version" can be used to fix/hold the latest part version release before being finalized.

If you want to try a last previous full version then select "stick to version 5.3" and reboot. On reboot version will be FW 5.3 and this will now stay fixed as such even if you have another power failure or reboot. Depending on releases you can always select "get newest on boot" at any time, reboot, and to prevent further unplanned updates then set Version Control to "used installed version"

[admin]

-55db as RF threshold is very restrictive and will tend to cut off packets. You can see on "live data - raw data" tab how strong data comes in.
When it is at -60db then -70 oder -80 db would be a good value. Don't go beyond -85db as then you will have massive noise pickups that interfere with packets you are listeining for.

[DAP]

I just changed the sensitivity to -65 dB, will check the log tomorrow to see if there is an improvement.
The transmitter is about 30 ft above and 10 ft away from the receiver with a composition shingle roof between. It has not rained in a month, so it is dry. The Davis receiver is right next to the meteobridge pro, and is not having reception issues.

[Mattk]

MBPro RF reception can not be compared to a Davis console as any indication of signal strength. I think your sensitivity still needs to be go up a little? What is the Signal Strength showing on the Live Data>Raw Sensor Data tab?

[DAP]

There has been no missing data on Weatherundergound, and no entries in the log since I updated the sensitivity to -65 dB.
Looks like that fixed the problem.

edit: It seems I had this problem once before two years ago: viewtopic.php?p=36327#p36327
That time I had to make the receiver less sensitive. In that thread, I said I set it to -60 dB. I don't recall changing it to -55 dB, but that was two years ago, so I can't be sure.

Current readings are -49dB to -54 dB.