Servicing the outdoor sensors over the weekend provided an opportunity to finally take a good look at my UV sensor that has been reading 0 for a considerable period of time. After following some suggestions in various threads I am pretty sure it is stuffed.
Further to previous discussions, is there any sort of consensis on whether the WMR200 UV sensor is worthwhile perserving with?
If not, does WD support running a separate solar or UV sensor in addition to the main weather station console?
(Apologies if these queries have been covered previously).
I have been using the OS UV sensor and have found it to be of variable quality. The main problem I find is the limited resolution of the unit in that it only works in increments of 1. There are a number of threads on the forum that have got more success from slightly tilting the sensor towards the sun, although I have not tried this.
WD does support other solar sensors. In addition to the UV sensor I also have a modified solar jamjar sensor to estimate solar energy. This does however take lots of calibration and seems to be a labour of love to most people. There are various modifications you can make to the OS sensors to get more accurate solar energy readings, but these seem to require taking the sensor apart and messing with the electronics. A search of this forum should find a number of threads
I also believe that you can use some 1 wire sensors???
Yes you can use 1-wire sensors. I am currently using a WMR200 along with a 1-wire sensor in a jar for solar, a 1-wire Hobby Boards UV sensor, and a 1-wire rain gauge instead of the WMR’s rain gauge.
Looks like my UV sensor has also failed, only ever giving a max reading of ‘0’ !!! This is the second time it’s been replaced in 2 years, think I will also be considering the 1-wire alternative !
Let me know if you have any joy with a 1 wire sensor. I have the OS sensor for UV and a jam jar sensor for Wm2 Neither are fantastic so would love to change. Not sure how practical it will be to drape wire all over the roof and into my office?
Decided to buy a replacement UVN800 while setting up the 1 wire solar & UV. I have a little more work to do yet to get it fully working but have noticed that the new UVN800 sensor (only 4 weeks old) is already playing up !! Full sun at Midday with reading of ‘5’ suddenly drops to ‘0’ then few minutes later back to ‘5’ ! This is how the last sensor went out with a bang…and Oregon won’t admit they have a problem ?? 8O
Keep you posted on the 1-wire progress but may also be trying the sensor in a jar as that looks like a good alternative too.
Hi, I have now been through 4 UV800 sensors and the dealers here say they cannot get anymore as Oregon has stopped supplying them as there were too many problems.Its a pity as the console has place for it and it now shows 0 all the time. I don’t know why Oregon cannot make them to last and work correctly!!