I was very pleased with the Solar panel addon for my Sky module so i ordered one for my Air too. After attaching the Solar panel to my Air the amount of Lightning detections rose dramatically. Orientation of the Air unit was the same as before. Any idea why this is happening ?
Is the Solar panel acting as a kind of antenna for this to happen ?
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I have the Solar Panel on both Air units and neither get false lightning.
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In your opiniion could this be a case of a faulty Air unit?
already take away the solar panel and test again with batteries. That way you will know if the air is acting ‘normal’.
Once you’re sure the air is ok, place the solar panel close next to the airt and see if it triggers …
Remember the detector is pretty sensible and can easily be triggered by nearby ‘noise’ … maybe something else changed recently near it’s position (not only solar panel)?
One of the WeatherFlow staff suggested that the Panel could cause false lightning but I have not seen this on either of the two units I have. You could try switching the two panels you have and see if the Air still reports false lightning. Also, try rotating the Air 90°.
I’ve been away from the forum for a while. I have the solar for Sky. Great invention. How does the solar unit fit on Air ? Same as Sky, or do you have to McGiver some wires etc?
Yes, it’s the same mount.
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Great ! Seems like it’s time to order a solar unit for my Air, thanks to your post ! My Air is in a solar shield so I’ll have to think of some way to either attach it or just attach Air to the North side of the deck.
Thanks again !
Quick question. My Sky solar unit is of course pointed south. Perfect recharging.
How well does your Air solar unit recharge when it’s not in the sun etc ?
Surprisingly it charges very well with no direct sunlight.I have an Air sitting in a corner outside where it stays rather dark all day. It keeps its charge. I never thought it would work so I have proven myself wrong.
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Sounds so awesome. I’ve ordered the 2nd solar unit.
I can probably hang the bottom of the Air with solar unit hanging out the bottom of the shield a bit. It’s a snug fit inside but I’ll manage something to hold the bottom position anyway.
Thanks again. Glad to have your experience shared here in the forum. I got a solar unit as field tester and never turned back.
Thanks to Air is consuming only al little power …
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Yesterday i’ve removed the solar panel from my Air and put in the batteries i kept. I can confirm that the false lightning detections have disappeared.
So it seems in my case the solar panel is not suited to power the Air module 
I’ve had similar experience. For the moment I’ve left Air attached to the solar unit.
Interesting thing happened this morn … voltage has been steady at 3.3v since I installed the solar unit on Air two weeks ago. Tons of false lightning detections.
Suddenly this morning, voltage began rising to 3.5v, same as my Sky. Also, no lightning detections since the time voltage started rising this morning.
Can’t explain the voltage increase and the null lightning counts, but they’re working as designed for the moment.
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False lightning is produced by the inductors in the solar power accessory. The inductors are only active when the battery is charging. So, as long as the battery is fully charged, you shouldn’t see any false lightning.
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Thanks much. Always lots to learn for non-techs like me. :).
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Thanks that makes sense. So we are talking EMC disturbances. In this case are we talking radiated or conducted EMC ?
If radiated then a solution could be to mount the Solar panel further from Air
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