# Opening up a broken sky unit **URL:** \ **Category:** Tempest Owners\ **Created:** [January 24, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903 "2021-01-24T14:09:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:09pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/1 "2021-01-24T14:09:43Z")
My sky unit broke down. Before throwing it in the recycling bin, I want to open it up. Four screws at the bottom was step 1, desoldering the power wires step 2, I didn’t want to open up the antenna in order to desolder it, so I cut the wire. Now I’m left with the top part. There was a tiny bit of green stuff (glue?) between the brass part and the plastic which I scratched away. Big question is how to proceed to open the top part I don’t want to just smash it yet, in case something repairable is wrong. any ideas? I’m kind of expecting the white part immediately surrounding the the transducers to just slide over the metal part, but it seems stuck. ![DSC_0183-01](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/sws/original/2X/c/ce26d257b74960695cdefba55153f168e234ba38.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![Weather34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/weather34/32/9316_2.png) [@Weather34](https://community.tempest.earth/u/Weather34)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:27pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/2 "2021-01-24T14:27:57Z")
if you got a good grip (tough fingers ) you can prize it off with your hand or find a thin scalpel blade and gently cut the seal where you can see the groove . then with some thumb pressure you can then move it up. ! basically all you need is good strong pair of man hands not the computer geek type 😁 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/sws/original/2X/c/ca4c28d8124ccf7913090c01bdce2494b7e24488.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:34pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/3 "2021-01-24T14:34:03Z")
is there some glue only next to the transducers, or all around the edge? ---
**Author:** ![Weather34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/weather34/32/9316_2.png) [@Weather34](https://community.tempest.earth/u/Weather34)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:39pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/4 "2021-01-24T14:39:06Z")
all of my six 😁 had some thin silicon seal more like a white elastic band. dont recall anything around then wind sensors it was a couple of years ago .but its not the wind sensors keeping the lid on . your see when you pop it off… ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 2:55pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/5 "2021-01-24T14:55:33Z")
easier said than done. I went around with a knife a dozen times, still no movement. I’ve put the white part around the metal in a vise and pulled the cap. No movement. I even put the metal part in the vise but I assume that is attached to the plastic part around the brightness sensor, so I didn’t expect that to move. It didn’t anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Weather34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/weather34/32/9316_2.png) [@Weather34](https://community.tempest.earth/u/Weather34)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/6 "2021-01-24T15:04:43Z")
ok so a thin screwdriver prize it in between to open a small gap then move it up , unless they superglued later revisions , i recall all came off without any heavy force , tempted to dig one out of the cupboard and video it for you … just keep trying … ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/7 "2021-01-24T15:15:13Z")
got it. scewdriver and more brute force did the trick. There are four tiny notches next to each transducer. Some weather influence is visible around there. Inside, where the electronics are, everything still looks unweathered. ---
**Author:** ![Weather34](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/weather34/32/9316_2.png) [@Weather34](https://community.tempest.earth/u/Weather34)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:17pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/8 "2021-01-24T15:17:46Z")
cool now you can salvage the piezoelectric and use it for an acoustic guitar pickup as i did 😁 have fun… ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/9 "2021-01-24T15:40:38Z")
wow, turning a weather station into a guitar, that’s cool. Actually the only thing working in this unit was the battery sensor and the piezoelectric. ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/10 "2021-01-24T16:03:28Z")
just for completeness, here is the disassembled unit (minus the cover) ![sky-disassembled](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/uploads/sws/original/2X/8/88c80a8d691d7628992031c3c8cd905bcbe042f4.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![iladyman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/iladyman/32/2305_2.png) [@iladyman](https://community.tempest.earth/u/iladyman)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 1:02am UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/11 "2021-01-26T01:02:14Z")
I am late to reply now that you managed it, but this post shows my method and the tabs: [https://community.tempest.earth/t/failing-sky-investigation-discussion/7034/4](https://community.tempest.earth/t/failing-sky-investigation-discussion/7034/4) cheers Ian 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 8:47am UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/12 "2021-01-26T08:47:51Z")
that would have been helpful. In my case the nut showed some corrosion. Using different metals for nut and bold isn’t generally a good idea, as this accelerates the corrosion. I have no idea why the wind and solar sensors failed, but battery and rain were working fine. ---
**Author:** ![eric](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/eric/32/13553_2.png) [@eric](https://community.tempest.earth/u/eric)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2021, 7:24pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/13 "2021-01-26T19:24:49Z")
3 posts were split to a new topic: [How to repair a fallen Tempest](https://community.tempest.earth/t/how-to-repair-a-fallen-tempest/11968) ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/peter/32/1365_2.png) [@peter](https://community.tempest.earth/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 6:21pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/14 "2021-02-16T18:21:21Z")
@sunny and @iladyman, once you have taken the four screws out the bottom, how do you get the outer ‘sleeve’ to separate from the main body of the Sky? I’ve pushed and pulled all over, but I can’t get anything to budge. ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 6:34pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/15 "2021-02-16T18:34:49Z")
I can’t remember that being a problem at all. I guess a bit more force? But I really can’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![peter](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/peter/32/1365_2.png) [@peter](https://community.tempest.earth/u/peter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 7:16pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/16 "2021-02-16T19:16:40Z")
Ok, I’ll more force ago! I was just checking there were no tabs or anything ---
**Author:** ![sunny](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/sunny/32/16368_2.png) [@sunny](https://community.tempest.earth/u/sunny)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2021, 8:01pm UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/17 "2021-02-16T20:01:32Z")
there are 4 tabs when opening the dome on top. Use a sharp knife or something like that. Be careful as there is also some silicon ring, so don’t go to deep. ---
**Author:** ![iladyman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/iladyman/32/2305_2.png) [@iladyman](https://community.tempest.earth/u/iladyman)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2021, 11:13am UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/18 "2021-02-17T11:13:54Z")
Hi @peter , If you look carefully at my picture in this post I think I can see the marks where I squeezed a blade or screwdriver into the top seam. [https://community.tempest.earth/t/failing-sky-investigation-discussion/7034/4](https://community.tempest.earth/t/failing-sky-investigation-discussion/7034/4) I guess I prized it apart in stages perhaps beginning with a knife then using a screw driver moving gradually around the seam. cheers Ian 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pmendiuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@pmendiuk](https://community.tempest.earth/u/pmendiuk)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 3:05am UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/19 "2022-02-10T03:05:33Z")
@Sunny @iladyman What did you do with the dead Sky units? Did you do any troubleshooting? I have a Sky with no UV/Illumination data and I’d like to try to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![iladyman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex020/user_avatar/community.tempest.earth/iladyman/32/2305_2.png) [@iladyman](https://community.tempest.earth/u/iladyman)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2022, 6:14am UTC](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903/20 "2022-02-10T06:14:51Z")
Not me, I just examined where the components were. It helped me to understand the antenna location which is valuable because I use them many km away where the direction I place them can make a difference. And helped me to know what is inside and how it works. [Next page](https://community.tempest.earth/t/opening-up-a-broken-sky-unit/11903.md?page=2)