Trying to set up Weatherlink on a new PC.  I have set up a new station but when using autodetect, it fails to find a serial port.
Any ideas on how to overcome this problem would be appreciated.

 

 

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How old is your copy?
- Try updating it after installing.
Do you actualy have a serial port?
There is a common pitfall to do with setting up as a virtual serial port when you are actually connecting via a USB.
If you have done it wrong you have to download a special tool from Davis.net to reverse it.

I'm a bit rusty on this to be honest!

Also, not impossible to manually enter a port number and try to connect, there are not that many it could be

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All was well on my old PC but not on this new one, running windows 8.1.  I loaded the original disc with WeatherLink 5.5.1 and updated to 6.0.3.  I have the blue logger (serial?) connected to black device with an integral usb cord.

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It is very likely that the Silicon Labs Serial to USB driver has not installed properly.

 

I have always found this a pain in the butt and installation has to be done very carefully.

 

Did you plug in the Weather station in before installing WL? (Not a good idea)

 

Things to do: Go into Device manager and see if the Silicon Labs USB to Serial driver has installed properly. If it hasn't, you will see a yellow mark and an exclamation mark against it in Device Manager. This may be under Universal Serial Bus Controllers or "COM and LPT" If it's the former, you will probably see "Unknown Device" there.

See if under "COM and LPT" you have a "Silicon labs CP210xUSB to UART Bridge (COM3)" If you don't, or you have the yellow ! mark blob with it, then it won't be installed cleanly. (The number with COM may not be 3, but is in my case).

If you have the ! marks, you will need to completely uninstall it and reinstall it again

Go to Control Panel, bring up Programs And Features and look for Windows Driver Package - Silicon Laboratories.

Uninstall the package completely, uninstall Weatherlink, and then reboot.

 

Next, (making sure that the weather station is not connected to the PC before you reboot) re-install Weatherlink. This should cleanly install the Silicon Labs drivers too. Connect the weather stationa and you will probably be prompted/asked about intalling the drivers for the new device just connected (can't remember if that happens in W8 but I think it does..). Once that has completed, run Weatherlink and hopefully you should find your serial port.

 

Hope this helps... shout back if you need any more help.

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Thanks for the replies.  I have been scouring the net for a solution but none of the "fixes" worked.  I ended up ordering a Windows 8 compatible usb/serial adapter, sould arrive Wednesday.  Will post if it does/doesn't solve the problem.

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What is your weather station? Did it come with a USB cable? Or does it have a serial plug with 9-pin and 25-pin choices?

If so, then the USB/Serial adapter you have ordered will almost certainly not help you as the Weatherlink adapter has the USB to serial converter built in.

 

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Apologies Jim, I have not tried your fix as I had gone back to a PC running Windows 7.  I purchased a VP2 Dec '95, along with WeatherLink.  I recall the serial went directly into the PC I had back then but somwhere along the way I must have bought a usb to serial an upgrade PC did not have the spare port.  The set up Works fine for Win 7 but not Win 8.  I will wait and see if the more up-to-date kit works.  Knowing my luck, it won't. 

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A VP2?? Do you mean a WM2? VP2 I thought was a lot newer than that and has a USB connection.

If your station does have a serial plug that needs a USB adapter, then your new adapter should work fine. If you ordered it online, do you have a link?

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VP2 for sure, link: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plugable-Adapter-Prolific-PL2303HX-Chipset/dp/B00425S1H8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402771267&sr=8-1&keywords=serial+to+usb

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OK.

I have found problems with adaspters with the Prolific chipset in the past - used to cause my machine to fall over with the Blue Screen Of Death. I was recommended to get an adapter with the FTDI chipset and they were rock-solid.

Perhaps they have sorted that problem with the Windows 8 drivers but if you suffer BSOD, try an FTDI adapter.

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Arrived thismorning and works a treat

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