Sutron Corporation 8310 & 7310 Users Manual 8800-1125Rev. 2.7 (BETA) 4/16/2014 pg. 202
This maintenance section describes the inspections and tests that should be performed on a
working station to insure its continued reliable operation. If all the proper guidelines were
followed when installing the site, maintenance should be quick and needed once a year.
Included are checks of the enclosure, sensors, cabling, battery, antenna and 8310 itself.
Enclosure
Visually check the environmental enclosure and look for signs of moisture entering in. In some
cases the enclosures "sweat" which does not cause great problems with the 8310 since it has a
protective box surrounding the boards and the boards themselves are conformally coated. If a
leak is discovered in the enclosure, it should be sealed. At locations where there is very high
humidity, desiccant bags may be put inside the enclosure to absorb excess moisture. Desiccant
bags do loose their ability to absorb water over time so they should be replaced at each
maintenance visit.
Sensors
Check the accuracy of the value the 8310 has measured for each sensor. If possible, take with
you a calibrated instrument for making an independent reading. Note that measurements such
as temperature vary significantly depending on where the sensor is placed.
Check all the sensors for signs of wear and tear. If shaft encoders are used, make sure the shaft
spins freely with no signs of binding or wobbling. For wind speed/ direction sensors, make sure
it is able to rotate 360 degrees and the prop spins freely without binding. Tipping buckets
should be checked for anything which may clog up the funneling mechanism and obstruct water
flow into the buckets. Manually tip the mechanism 10 or so times and verify the 8310 counts
the correct number of tips. If not, the mercury switch may need adjustment.
Cabling
Inspect the ends of the cables coming from the sensors. If they were tinned properly, they
should not need servicing. If they were not tinned, they may be starting to fray in which case
the ends should be cut, restripped, and properly tinned. It is very important to maintain good,
clean connections between the 8310 and the sensors being used.
Battery
If external batteries are being used, there may be an in-line fuse between the battery and the
8310. Many users have mentioned that oxidation on the fuse holder itself is a cause of many
intermittent failures. Just as dirty battery terminals in your car will cause it to not start, the
same holds true when the 8310 tries to transmit. Therefore the terminals on the battery should
be cleaned in addition to the terminals in the fuse holder.
In conjunction with dirty terminals causing battery related problems is the problem experienced
with most batteries and their inherent designs. The types of batteries that are commonly used
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