General
The console itself provides a good walk-through of the steps needed to set up the console for the first time, but a PDF manual is also available for download for the 6313 console; this PDF manual is a good general introduction to setting up and using the 6313 console, albeit perhaps a little too short. To a large extent, this manual should provide all the information that the typical new owner will need to set up and use the console, but additional description is often useful to understand exactly how to use certain features, as provided here in two topics:
- Some specific extra tips and tricks – see below
- A more detailed description of how to customise the console display – see the separate Customising the console display screen topic
Setting up an account and station at weatherlink.com
For optimal functionality, the 6313 console should be allowed to upload to the Davis cloud platform at weatherlink.com (although the console can be used in standalone mode without uploads if preferred). So setting up uploads to weatherlink.com is one key step in the initial set-up walkthrough.
If you already have an active account at weatherlink.com then be sure to choose the option to add the new 6313 console uploads to an existing account when stepping through the 6313 console walkthrough and do not create a new account. Otherwise you will end up with two separate accounts, one for your existing station(s) and a new one for the 6313 console. There is a way to merge such accounts, but better to stick to one account in the first place.
Understanding the console screens
Overview
The 6313 console has numerous screens that are called up with presses on the touch-screen to display data in different views and to control console settings. These screens need some familiarisation to understand their different roles; also, some of the screens are quite deeply nested and the process for navigating different screen groupings does vary. But, overall, the user interface seems efficiently designed and the console should be easy enough to use once the location and functionality of the various menus, tabs and screens has been learned. The console’s PDF manual adequately summarises moat of the key operations, but the additional notes below may assist the learning process and also fill in a few gaps.
I tend to think of the console as having two distinct home screens (if that is not too much of a contradiction):
- The Display screen (as Davis term it): This is the main dashboard type display which uses a tile-based template and is where the live weather readings can be viewed. This is the screen that the console will display maybe 99% of the time for most users and so is arguably one type of home screen. A fuller description of this Display screen can be found in the Customising the Weatherlink display screen topic.
- The Summary/Forecast screen: This is the screen that Davis have chosen to associate with the home icon and is accessed by pressing the icon area in the top centre of the main Display screen. This is very much a traditional home screen in that it provides access to all the other screens used to view data and control console settings and so is the gateway screen to every function that the console offers. But this is effectively a dual-purpose screen in also displaying the summary/forecast data and so has two distinct roles:
- Provides access to all other screens The top line of the screen shows a set of icon tabs, each of which provides access to the other primary functions of the console (each leading to a new screen), i.e. charting data; browsing archive data; and controlling console settings, as well as the very first tab which provides a route back to the main Display/Dashboard screen.
- Displays the summary/forecast data itself Below the top line is a second set of text-based tabs: These tabs call up summary and forecast data; each tab remains on this same screen, but displays data for different periods from ‘current’ up to annual. The format and layout of each of these tabs varies, as appropriate to the period being displayed. Note that the data display on the hourly, 7-day and monthly tabs blends data already logged within the console with forecast data sourced from global weather models in the cloud (currently sourced from Custom Weather) so that trends connecting past, present and future weather can be clearly seen. The timeline of these 3 displays typically stretches from the past into the future and at the current time point of the chart or table the data transitions from logged data to forecast data.
Other screens accessed from the top-level icon tabs of the Summary/Forecast screen
Graph screen
This provides a charting function for all logged data. On the 6313 console this is currently limited to a maximum of 2 parameters and so is not quite as powerful as the analogous charting function on the Pro plan at weatherlink.com, but nonetheless is fine for most practical purposes.
Data screen
This is effectively a Browse function for reviewing all the logged data in text format. Note that there is currently no edit function for this data.
Map screen
A zoomable map screen showing all public stations in your area reporting to weatherlink.com. The station markers on the map can be tapped to call up a text display of current Bulletin data to the right of the map.
Account screen
‘Account’ is perhaps not the best name for this screen – ‘Settings’ might have been better, because this screen provides access to multiple sub-screens and to the many settings that can be configured on the console. The account details at weatherlink.com is certainly one of the menu options, but only one, and there are many other local settings also, each accessed via a text menu option. Some of the other names are also less informative than they could be, eg it is not obvious what the difference might be between ‘Console configuration’ and ‘Console settings’, nor that the system health data is accessed from the Device information screen. That said, new users will quickly learn which settings are to be found within each menu option.
There are currently seven sub-screens in this Account/Settings section, as detailed below. Some of these screens have subsidiary screens that are nested 2 or 3 levels deep and usually with ‘Back’ and/or ‘Save’ buttons, It is worth exploring each of these sections to understand where each of the different types of setting can be made. Arguably, the allocation of settings to these different screens is not always totally intuitive (for example, ‘Elevation’ surely belongs with location in the Console configuration screen rather than in Console Settings) but this is a small gripe.
Account Information: Sets and edits all the settings for your account at weatherlink.com.
Console Configuration: Sets important general parameters for the console like Wi-Fi configuration, location, time zone etc and also, importantly, sets the transmitter configuration for the station via the ‘Stations and Sensors’ menu option, .
Customise Display: Accesses all the customisation parameters for the main Weather display screen. For more details see the ‘Customising the Weatherlink console Display screen’ topic.
Console Settings: Controls parameters like display units, format/resolution of readings, calibration and various other general parameters like local archive period, display language etc.
Alarms: Configures the audible alarms.
Device Information: This is primarily a Diagnostics screen, providing detail on the firmware versions currently installed and also Health data for the various wireless signals.
Terms & Conditions: The legal stuff – maybe the one menu item that you really don’t need to memorise.
Extra tips and tricks
Seeing data from other stations on your 6313 console
The 6313 console can display current weather data from other non-local stations in two ways:
- If you own more than one station listed in the same account at weatherlink.com as your 6313 console then a swipe left or right on the main data screen should enable you to see current data from these other stations (assuming a working WiFi and Internet connection), but limited to using the same display template as for your primary station. As far as we can see at present, this feature is limited to stations owned by the same user account, ie you cannot see stations shared with you or, simply, third-party stations that you have added to your saved list. And stations owned by you but reporting to a different user account at weatherlink.com similarly cannot be seen on the 6313 console.
- If you check the map page at a suitable zoom level then you should see markers for other stations in your area/region. Touching the marker should show a simple Bulletin-type display of current weather conditions to the right of the map presentation.
Resetting the 6313 console
There are, however, a couple of other less obvious reset options, which may be useful on rare occasions when the console software hangs completely and needs resetting or there are other reasons for wanting to restart the console. This might be needed if, for example, a firmware update fails to complete successfully.
Soft reboot: Unfortunately, currently there seems to be no provision such as an onscreen button in the standard console user interface to trigger a simple reboot (ie without losing stored settings and data). However, there does seem to be two hardware reset options:
This is not publicly documented by Davis and is subject to further clarification – use only when necessary, though it does appear to work cleanly and easily. This function seems simply to restart the console app and no settings are lost, though it may take a few minutes for a new value of some data values like a 10-minute mean wind speed to be calculated.
Power reboot This option triggers a full power-down of the console, which is not otherwise possible because of the built-in backup battery. This option may be worth trying if the R-button reset above fails to restart a stalled console.
The purpose of the U pinhole is currently unknown (there is speculation that maybe it stands for Update, though this may be a factory-only procedure).
Factory reset There is an interface button on the Device Information screen to perform a Factory Reset. Use this option ONLY if you really intend to:
Wireless reception monitoring on a 6313 console
Much of the general background to wireless reception monitoring still applies as described for the legacy consoles. Note that the 6313 console uses the same dBm scale for signal strength (RSSI) as the Vue console. But the 6313 also provides more detailed reception monitoring built into the console.
On the Device Information page you will find summary reception values for all active transmitters. But pressing on the text line for any active transmitter will take you through to a much more detailed page of reception data for that transmitter. And on three of the parameters (reception, RSSI and resyncs) there is a small chart icon. Pressing this will take you through to a page showing a full chart for this parameter over different timespans and dates – very useful for troubleshooting reception issues.
ISS and supplementary transmitter compatibility with geographical location
The 6313 console itself is identical worldwide, though it is supplied in different model numbers (eg 6313; 6313EU; 6313UK) simply to denote the type of mains adapter provided with the console. (The console is able to vary the transmitter wireless frequencies to which it listens according to the worldwide latitude/longitude location assigned in the settings. It is therefore important that the location is correctly set to match the local country and transmitter type. So, for example, a US specification transmitter can only be received if the geographical location is set somewhere in N America.)
Setting a primary ISS
Read this if you anything more than a basic VP2 or Vue station with a single ISS. While a 6313 console will happily display data from any transmitter or sensor on all 8 of the VP2 wireless channels, it still retains a concept of a ‘Primary ISS’. (An ISS transmitter being the main board in a Vue or VP2 ISS (or a supplementary 6332 transmitter with an identical circuit board) and whose sensors provide temperature/humidity and rain data, plus optionally wind and solar/UV data.) The primary ISS is a single ISS whose readings are assigned a priority status and which are used whenever the console needs a preferred source of ISS sensor values. For example, on the Summary/Forecast screen there is only space for a single set of ISS sensor data and in the case of a multi-ISS station these will always be sourced from the ISS assigned as the primary ISS.
A checkbox to assign the primary ISS can be found under the Console configuration | Stations and Sensors screen and then editing the settings for a transmitter channel for an ISS-type transmitter. If the station has just a single ISS then this should be assigned as the primary ISS by default. If you have multiple ISS-type transmitters then the console will only allow one of these to be assigned as the primary ISS. In the case of missing or unexpected readings it is always worth checking that the primary ISS is set for the particular ISS transmitter that you wish to prioritise.
One important function of the primary ISS setting is to allow the preferred anemometer to be set in configurations where a single anemometer is wired to a supplementary transmitter rather than the primary ISS or where there might be multiple anemometers. So if you look in Advanced Settings area of the transmitter/channel currently designated as the primary ISS then you should see an option to ‘Select anemometer’ which will allow your preferred anemometer to be used as the source of data for parameters like wind chill and the wind data for the Summary/Forecast chart. Note that even if you don’t have an anemometer connected to your primary ISS (eg your anemometer is instead connected to a supplementary transmitter) then you still need to have the wind sensor checkbox checked for the primary ISS otherwise the Advanced | Select anemometer option will not be available.
Importing existing Weatherlink data into the 6313 console or 6313 station at weatherlink.com
Unfortunately, neither of these two data import options is currently enabled for the 6313 console, though both are obvious candidates for addition by Davis at a later date. There is also a note about this possibility at the bottom of the Migrating between upload devices topic.
Retransmit function not implemented
Note that neither the 6313 console nor the related Weatherlink Live unit have the Retransmit feature implemented. So, unlike the legacy VP2 console, 6313 consoles cannot act as a relay to allow data from a single ISS unit to be rebroadcast on a new channel to other receiver units. (That said, 6313 and WLL units CAN quite happily receive data retransmitted by legacy VP2 consoles, subject to appropriate channel settings.)
Wi-Fi connectivity and setting the console to work offline
Typically, the 6313 console will be connected to the local Wi-Fi network and will also be uploading data to your account at weatherlink.com. However, it is possible to set the console to work offline by disabling uploads to weatherlink.com and also, if necessary, disconnected from any local Wi-Fi network. Normally the Wi-Fi and weatherlink.com account settings will all be made during initial set-up of the console. However, the notes below provide some help if you ever wish to change away from these initial settings.
Wi-Fi connectivity: Access to the Wi-Fi network is controlled from the Console configuration | Network screen. An active Wi-Fi connection is denoted by the Wi-Fi icon at the right-hand end of the bottom ‘Ticker-tape’ or taskbar area of the main screen. If the icon has a slash through it then the Wi-Fi connection is not working. If necessary, changes to the Wi-Fi network configuration can be made via the Network screen. In practice, it is sensible to allow the console to maintain Wi-Fi connectivity wherever possible and even if you wish to disable uploads to weatherlink.com. Wi-Fi connectivity through to the Internet helps ensure that the console maintains its date/time setting accurately and also provides access to other network services. If the Wi-Fi settings do need to be changed then remember also to check the Advanced Settings area in the Network screen where additional configuration options such as setting a static IP are available.
Uploads to weatherlink.com: These uploads can be disabled by hitting the ‘Offline’ button, which can be found, slightly hidden, off the bottom of the Account information screen.
What is much less obvious is how to change the mode back to online again if the console has been set offline for a period. Davis say that the easiest way is to request an action that can only be completed if you are online and the console will then prompt you to log in again. It isn’t clear whether or not a more obvious button or menu option might be added in future.
So, for example, go to the Home screen and hit the tab for 7-day data. If the console is not actively uploading to weatherlink.com then this will bring up the log-in screen to re-establish the uploads to weatherlink.com. Unfortunately the console does not currently seem to remember the log-in and password if these were previously set up and so these details will need to be re-entered. But once the uploads are flowing again then the past history while the console was offline will be uploaded as well, though this process may well take some substantial time, especially if the console has been offline for an extended period. Of course, it is always a good idea to check with the Weatherlink phone or browser apps that data has started to be uploaded again.
Slow touchscreen response
Screen responds only slowly If the screen seems poorly responsive or stuck then be patient and watch the screen for 10-20 seconds. You may see a message pop up that gives the options of ‘Restart app’ and ‘Wait’. Restart app is a good option to choose here because it seems effectively to close the Weatherlink app and then restart it (as indeed you might well expect!). This only takes a few seconds and typically results in a much more responsive screen. The downside is that certain summary parameters such as 10 minute mean wind speed may be lost temporarily and need to be regenerated. But this is a relatively minor inconvenience.
But if you do still encounter a problem of poor touchscreen response then it may well be worth checking that the firmware is fully up-to-date or try a hardware reset as detailed above.
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