Lithium needed but Alkaline given????

[JennyLeez]

My latest Station sat happily on ‘her’ pole for a couple of weeks. But on the first rain night for the month which also led to lower temps all ceased to function no matter what I did.
The following day once dried out and warmed up all came back on line and has remained as such as our weather has remained dry and warm.
Just for fun I decided to read the manual 
This is what the manual states under trouble shooting.

“Alkaline batteries slow down and freeze in colder temperatures which leads to signal dropouts so we recommend Lithium batteries in colder climates. Also avoid rechargeable batteries as many are 1.2v (standard 1.5v required ) and they also leak their peak charge quickly even if they are 1.5v.”

My question is:
Why did my latest Weather Station come packed with a) rechargeable  b) Alkaline batteries???

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[Deano]

Because they are normally cheaper.
Are you sure it is the battery?
Just wonder if you transmitter frequency is shifting slightly.

The reversing camera on my ute didnt like cooler weather (& bumpy roads) and that was drifting.
Had to hardwire that to fix. Cheap electronics.

[JennyLeez]

I have installed lithium non rechargeable batteries and I am waiting for rain and cold weather. Neither is happening of course.
'transmitter frequency is shifting slightly.'
Please explain what you are meaning? How can the frequency shift?
and thanks Deano

[Deano]

The components they use to set(lock) the frequency are not always stable under some conditions.
E.g. A capacitor or resistor or crystal may be rated stable from 5°c to 40°c .
Under certain conditions, these values may vary, giving your freq shift.
Can be a devil of a thing to track down without quality test equipment.
I worked for JVC many years ago doing tuner alignment & they had a bad batch of components go thru the assembly line that had to recalled as they were not up to spec.

Also, do you know what frequency the tx/rx is on?
Lots of wireless alarms & garage door openers use 433Mhz.
Possibly 1 of you neighbours has a device that is hogging a wider part of the spectrum. 
This may be blocking your signal.

[JennyLeez]

After having a station work fine for around 3 years why would this happen now.
Do these stations all use different frequencies then?
I will do some reading to try and find out the frequency.
Thanks Deano

edit: Yes 433Mhz

[Deano]

Have checked your station specs & it is 433Mhz.
Very widely used for all sorts of short range data. ~100m.
Some units are arriving in NZ that do not meet the spec. 200m+
This is an unlicenced band. Free to xmit on.
Have a look at this link for an example. http://www2.pmb.co.nz/blog/rc-planes/2-4ghz-vs-long-wire-rc-control/
Look for the 433 mhz chapter.

This is why Davis use spread spectrum. To get around channel blocking & noise.
Not saying this is your issue, but something to consider.
No chance you can relocate your receiver(base) at all?

[JennyLeez]

Do you mean move it closer to sensor. If you do I had it sitting beside it that last time when cold and rained and made no difference.
I had not read about the lithium batteries at that stage so both were running with the batteries provided.
The test here will be when it rains again if ever. My back yard is like yours now with big cracks in it

[JennyLeez]

An update on this:
After Lithium batteries changed we have had a many rain days with 1 day only with a decent fall. The console and sensor have not completely lost contact for for a long length of time as with the first time, however sensor contact is continuing but for a short time.

@ Te Puke, I do have quite a distance between sensor and base. If you do not you may not experience this signal lost. As you would have read, Deano is suggesting closing this gap.
I will need a very long USB cable running around the house to do this
However as PM'd you. Given a choice I would not purchase it again.

Lithium needed but Alkaline given?
as the heading states. The manual is loud and clear concerning using Lithium batteries and yet Alkaline were sold with the station.
Go figure 

[Te Puke Weather]

Thanks for all the info 

[Robert]

I published the results of some research I did on the ability of Weather stations of the less expensive kind on the Weather Display forum, covering their ability to operate? at low temperatures, I can,t remember whether it was 2011 or 2013 but I imagine that it is still on the forum web site. Not knowing which station you are using I cant be of much help directly, but I still get e-mails from around the world from time to time, reporting that my comments had proved successful in clearing up this type of problem,  a couple of hints: One they all all designed with the USA market in mind.: look at the temp specs for the Console which is operated inside a house, and in many places the room they they are located in is not heated,: The batteries of the external unit should not in NZ be a problem. Alkaline are ok but the Li. will give a longer life. the easy fix for the console unit to keep its internal components at an safe temp. is to shine a 20 to 40 w incandescent lamp on it during the time period where the outside temp. is going to go below +6deg C. [at least for the north Island] , don't place closer than about 12-20 CM. from the surface of the LCD screen.  Good luck.
Robert 

[JennyLeez]

Many thanks for the above Robert.
All comments have now been checked

[Martin4Jay]

Got solar with the WS3083 What brand of rechargeable batteree I should have as my station loses the signal sometimes?
I am using the ones that came with it 6 weeks ago.

Martin UK

[JennyLeez]

Definitely non rechargeable Lithium. Have at look at the back of the manual. Its written there by memory. I get around 6 months from these and around then is a good time to spring clean the rain gauge

The batteries that came with that station are in my solar garden path lights. Well they were, they did not last long and were tossed. Cheap junk.

Cheers

[Martin4Jay]

Hi Jenny
I will agree thanks for the advice
Martin from UK