iROX Pro-X / HoneyWell TE923 Setup blog

Hardware Weather Station Siting and Setup Tips
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Hi all - I have been reading your terrific forum for a few hours, which has been a great help so far, so I would like to put a bit back to those who might be considering an iROX Pro-X / Honeywell TE923.

This is a kind of blog of how I’ve got on. Please tell me if its not appropriate and I will remove it.

The unit is well made - however I had trouble with the grub screw to hold the wind cups on - it just fell out with no thread to purchase on. I’ve logged a return with the supplier, so hope to get that in the next few days.

User manual for unit setup is very tough for a newbie like me. Tips I would offer are:
Get Logitude and Latitude values from your TomTom. Mine reports them in decimal format, but there are plenty of websites who will convert between that and degrees, mins, secs as needed by the setup. Google Earth might be another source of this information.

I got height value from my local map.

Opting for the USR for the city location, allows you to punch the Long/Lat values into the Pro-X.

Then I got confused - it started talking about setting the sea level pressure. I have no idea what the pressure at sea level is - I thought that was what a barometer was for! Anyway, I just set the value from my old fashioned mechanical barometer on the hall wall. Perhaps I will dig deeper into this forum and find out.

Feeling quite smug now, I planted the UV, rain and temp sensors in the garden - all seemed OK.

Then I tried to hook it up to my PC - boy! The user manual points you to weird looking websites which refer to other models and strange software versions, some of which work and others just fail (I refer to the WeatherCapture V4 (works, but limited) the Weather Capture Advance (looks better but times out reading info from the unit on my Vista PC).

Luckily I came across Weather Display, but OMG! more confusion! It is obvious that I will have to spend some quality time with it!! So far I have managed to get temperature, humidity and pressure readings for inside and out coming through, but no rainfall data. I will wait and see if that arrives tomorrow!

I am not sure if WD is intended to run 24*7, or if it will synchronise data from the iROX from when it was last turned on. I guess I will find out tonight, as I will be turning off my PC in a minute!

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Have fitted UV and wind sensors to the pergola in the garden after checking the signal can reach. Distance is about 25meters, so I am quite impressed (perhaps new batteries are helping).
The rain sensor is on the flat roof outside bedroom. Will not get all the rain as it is partly in shadow from the house, but then unless I put it in the middle of the lawn it would be in the shadow of trees, so not a lot of option really.
Control unit is in the hall - replacing the old Barometer. Not sure how to connect it to the PC from there, will have to get a 10m USB cable if they exist. Has anyone got a long USB cable working?
Got an RMA number so posted off the wind speed cups - hope for a replacement soon.

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Hi,

Very good idea this “blog” about installing the WS.

Please keep in mind that connecting the console to a pc drastically influences the reliability of the connection of the wireless sensors. I expect you’ll get troubles with the 25 meters you have now… Anyway, just try and find out, maybe your situation is the exception to the rule :wink:

Keep us informed!

Rgds,
Kees.

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Will let you know about the USB connection issue when I’ve got a longer cable.

I tried to install the Linux WD version on my Thecus N1200, as I figured this would be a good way of minimising my carbon footprint. I copied over the console version, as the N1200 NAS has only a very small amount of RAM. First problem was I don’t have the BASH shell installed, so will have to get that.

Dog was barking at the wind sensor this morning - must think it is some kind of courageous invader! I hope she gets used to it quickly.

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Something really starting to get on my nerves now is the pressure graph on the control unit, keeps on updating. Is there a way to keep it displayed all the time, rather than constantly flashing?

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Nope… it shows the trend :roll:

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Transmission loss is a very real problem with the iROX. I fitted a ferrite choke to both ends of the USB cable and moved the Console well away from the PC and cordless phone but that did not fix the problem. Signal loss is patchy, usually just one sensor at a time (and a different one every time) over 1 or 2 days then comes right again for a few weeks.
I am moving soon so I will see if the situation improves. If it does not I have procured a 433 Mhz stub aerial so will do the mod covered elsewhere in this forum. Apart from that I am very happy with the iROX. Mind you having said that the next station I will get will be a Davis, when funds allow.

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Hi Windy - yes I read your post on that with interest.

Well, no surprise to you, but I lost signal from the UV sensor some time ago. Got it to pick up again by pressing ‘down’ button. I assume that it does not automatically try and find a sensor if it looses it.

Does anyone know what the two holes are for behind the small access panel on the rear are for? I will try to upload a photo to show it. One looks like a reset, but the bigger one :?

iROXPro-Xrear.jpg
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Here is the iROX in its final resting place (I hope). Will chase the power into the wall and a USB cable, when I get a long cable.

Where do you put your gear?

iROXPro-Xonwall.jpg
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Replacement wind cups arrived, and I fitted them this morning. Top marks to Weather Front for doing this.
I now realise that the wind sensor is in the wrong place, hardly picking up any wind when the trees around are swaying! So I will move it to a pole on the flat roof.

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re the rain data, note that WD stores its rain totals independent from the station
(you can set the starting totals under control panel, barometer offset and rainfall setup)

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My Irox base loses contact with the UV sensor regularly (several times per week); it will rarely reconnect on its’ own and I have to do the “down button” operation to get it back. I’ve tried the various antenna fixes, but none of them has solved the loss of signal issue with the UV sensor. On rare occasions, the base loses the rain gauge or anemometer, but the main issue is the UV. It annoys me greatly, as all of the sensors are less than 50 feet away and through a window, so signal quality should be well in line with the specs.

As with Windy Greg; when funds allow, the Irox will be tossed and replaced with a VPII Plus.

-Keith

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Personally I have found the UV sensor to be very flaky. I am now waiting for the fourth one to arrive, other three have either recorded readings way off the scale or started recording UV when there isn’t any even at night.
I have set up a solar in a jar sensor using a remote probe sensor which works well rather than use UV to record sunshine and watt M

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I tried another Irox UV sensor, but it had identical signal loss issues and had readings that were way off. I sent it back for a refund, since it didn’t solve the problem and seemed to be defective.

VPII prices aren’t a lot better here in the states, at least, not to my meager budget; “eye watering” is a very apt description. :frowning:

-Keith

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I will try and keep an eye on that UV too. I was surprised the other day to see a reading of 7.7 8O - would you say this was a way off reading? Most of the time that day the readings were 3.something.

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Not knowing where you live sort of makes it hard to say what readings you should be expecting
VP2 prices here in NZ are
Wireless Vantage Pro2 Plus w/fan $2,781.00
Datalogger $382.00.

Cheers

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Windy, I live in England, west of London about 40 miles.

I thought I was cleaver setting alarms for wind speed, gusts and temperatures. As I never heard them I forgot about it and went away to Switzerland for work last week. After a day or so I got complaining emails from my wife asking about the beeping from the unit (in the night of course!) Oops. So, that ‘feature’ has been switched off now.

I have moved the anemometer to on a pole on the flat roof over our kitchen. This is still not ideal as the wind direction sail gets spun round wildly with every gust. I noticed the other day a neighbour has one on his roof aerial mast! How do you change the batteries on that I wonder!

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Hmmm, having trouble switching off the alarms. I saved the settings using the iROX software but it still beeps every so often.

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:smiley: finally I think I’ve done it - using the front panel controls rather than the software. Fingers crossed, because last night was not very funny.

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Great thread, I’ve just bought a new Irox as a experimental station, which is the new model without the UV sensor, but with a solar panel to keep the wind sensor charged.

Look forward to your updates …