MSGID: <10gs7qc$bvup$3@dont-email.me> ef7754f7   
   REPLY: <-Kx*lEgtA@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk> 504b6b3a   
   PID: PyGate 1.5.1   
   TID: PyGate/Linux 1.5.1   
   CHRS: CP1252 2   
   TZUTC: 0000   
   REPLYADDR tnp@invalid.invalid   
   REPLYTO 3:633/10 UUCP   
   On 04/12/2025 14:43, Theo wrote:   
   > The Natural Philosopher  wrote:   
   >> On 04/12/2025 07:52, David Taylor wrote:   
   >>> On 03/12/2025 20:28, The Natural Philosopher wrote:   
   >>>> Anyone have any anecdotal or other wise informatin on pi PICO W and   
   >>>> other pis with wifi being more, or less able to connect with temperature.   
   >>>> I took mine outside and it connected and reported its indoor   
   >>>> temperature, but hasn't reported since. Wifi is on the bleeding edge   
   >>>> (-94dBm)   
   >>>   
   >>> I've found that Wi-Fi on the Pico W to be dependent on its supply   
   >>> voltage.ÿ Two A cells isn't enough.   
   >>>   
   >> I have *three* AAs !  The ultrasonics need nearer 5V.   
   >>   
   >> It worked fine on my desk here but the signal strength was around -87dBn  ..   
   >>   
   >> Now it's outside on the far side of a garage I seem to have lost about 6dB.   
   >    
   > Do the AAs suffer when the temperature drops?  I recall stories of arctic   
   > explorers having to keep camera/etc batteries close to their skin so they   
   > don't freeze and stop working.   
   > ]   
      
   Well yes, but not enough to matter in this case   
      
      
   > Maybe it's marginal but usable inside and the temperature drop is enough to   
   > tip it over the edge.  Does it work better on a warm day than a cold night?   
   >    
   That was what I thought, but the reality is a bit different   
      
   see http://vps.templar.co.uk/Odds%20and%20Ends/POilSesnor.png   
      
   The unit measures battery voltage and temperature as well as the    
   received Wifi signal strength. In addition to oil level   
      
   [ I deliberately anticipated issues with any one of these]   
      
   As you can see the one parameter that is shit, is the signal strength   
      
   I posted the query before this one sample got through last night.   
      
   And proved that the unit was in fact operating, just unable to get    
   through 99% of the time   
      
   So it is on the ragged edge. And probably amenable to having an RF    
   mirror stuck behind it.   
      
   Which I will experiment with, Currently the access pint has a stainless    
   steel tray wedged behind it, but it doesn't seem to have improved much.   
      
   Its cold and wet and I am not bothering to go outside and play with the    
   external installation today.   
   :-(   
      
      
      
   --    
   ?But what a weak barrier is truth when it stands in the way of an    
   hypothesis!?   
      
   Mary Wollstonecraft   
      
      
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