1.   Rainfall Data Collected when No Rain Occurs 

A)  The weather station may not be properly mounted, allowing for the station to sway in the wind. This is usually indicated by rainfall data being logged on windy, rainless days. This problem is solved by securing the station and the mount properly, so that it does not sway.

B)  The reed switch may be faulty, causing erroneous data. To test this, follow the steps below or replace the reed switch if you have a spare.

I.   Disconnect the reed switch from the motherboard.
It is recommended that you contact RainWise Technical Support for assistance with this. Before you begin working on the interior of your weather machine or handling the motherboard, make sure you discharge any electrostatic charge you may have and make sure that you are grounded. 

a.   Remove the solar panel from the sensor assembly. This is done by loosening the four screws located in the corners of the solar panel. Once the solar panel and cover are free from the housing, disconnect the solar panel connection and TAKE NOTE of the way the connectors clip together so you can reconnect them. The motherboard inside the unit is now exposed to view.

b.    Working with the motherboard, remove the rain gauge connection shown in the picture.

c.   Once the connection has been removed, you will see two gold legs. Use a metal screwdriver to short out these two pins. Make sure the screwdriver touches both pins at the same time, do this multiple times. After shorting the pins, check for rainfall data on RainwiseNet, it should show within a few minutes. If rainfall data show up, there is an issue with the wire going to the rain gauge, the connection from that wire to the reed switch is not well connected, or the reed switch is faulty. If no rainfall data show up, then there is an issue with the motherboard.

d.   After testing the motherboard, reassemble the weather station and switch the power back on. If needed, contact RainWise and NEWA, newa@cornell.edu, to delete the motherboard test rainfall data from the weather database.

II.     Monitor the rainfall data collected on RainwiseNet by following steps below. If the erroneous data is no longer being uploaded, the reed switch needs to be replaced. If the erroneous data continues contact RainWise Technical Support for assistance.

a.   Download the station data from the RainwiseNet webpage. You must be logged into your account.

b.   Make sure the date range includes the time the system last communicated. Click Export.

c.   Click the downloaded, exported file to open it. The file will open in an Excel spreadsheet. The “Station Voltage” column is the last column on the right. Look for the last recorded battery voltage which will be at the bottom of the Excel sheet.

2.   Abnormally Large Amount of Rainfall Data Collected

A)  The reed switch may be faulty, causing erroneous data. 

I.     Disconnect the reed switch from the motherboard.
It is recommended that you contact RainWise Technical Support for assistance with this. Before you begin working on the interior of your weather machine or handling the motherboard, make sure you discharge any electrostatic charge you may have and make sure that you are grounded. 

a.   Remove the solar panel from the sensor assembly. This is done by loosening the four screws located in the corners of the solar panel. Once the solar panel and cover are free from the housing, disconnect the solar panel connection and TAKE NOTE of the way the connectors clip together so you can reconnect them. The motherboard inside the unit is now exposed to view.

b.  Working with the motherboard, remove the rain gauge connection shown in the picture.

c.   Once the connection has been removed, you will see two gold legs. Use a metal screwdriver to short out these two pins. Make sure the screwdriver touches both pins at the same time, do this multiple times. After shorting the pins, check for rainfall data on RainwiseNet, it should show within a  few minutes. If rainfall data show up, there is an issue with the wire going to the rain gauge, the connection from that wire to the reed switch is not well  connected, or the reed switch is faulty. If no rainfall data show up, then there is an issue with the motherboard.

d.   After testing the motherboard, reassemble the weather station and switch the power back on. If needed, contact RainWise and NEWA, newa@cornell.edu, to delete the motherboard test rainfall data from the weather database.

II.     Monitor the rainfall data collected on RainwiseNet by following steps below. If the erroneous data is no longer being uploaded, the reed switch needs to be replaced. If the erroneous data continues contact RainWise Technical Support for assistance.

a.   Download the station data from the RainwiseNet webpage. You must be logged into your account.

b.   Make sure the date range includes the time the system last communicated. Click Export.

c.   Click the downloaded, exported file to open it. The file will open in an Excel spreadsheet. The “Station Voltage” column is the last column on the right. Look for the last recorded battery voltage which will be at the bottom of the Excel sheet.

B)  There may be cross communication from another nearby weather station. This can occur even if that station is beyond the range stated by RainWise. Check the NEWA weather station map on newa.cornell.edu to see if any NEWA RainWise weather stations are in your vicinity. Contact RainWise Technical Support for assistance with verifying the problem. Fixing it will require changing the D.I.P. switch settings, according to RainWise recommendations.

Download the 2015 Maintenance and Troubleshooting Guide.