Weather station recommendations please

daugen · Sep 20, 2013

Hi. I have the usual outdoor thermometer now which works, occasionally, no matter how many new batteries I put in.
So...before I buy another disposable one, thought I might up my game and get a weather station. I can go on Amazon.com
and just buy the top rated one, though not the most expensive for sure, but I bet lots of TBN folk have weather stations already.

Wireless. PC Compatible. Bluetooth/Wifi directly to my pc? (I know I'm dreaming)
automatic rain cup, ??
I'm looking to record temp, humidity, rainfall, and perhaps wind direction and speed of course.
Nothing more esoteric. No earthquake recorders or acid rain analyzers...

I can't go wired, my office/desk faces the front of the house and my wife would go ballistic if I stuck a big weather gizmo on the front of the house.

Ok, so this will help more than just myself, could you comment on brands that you have found to be reliable and ones that have failed repeatedly? Not counting the ones the squirrels chewed on...

Many thanks. Drew

Scooby074 · Sep 20, 2013

Davis Vantage Pro2 is what I use.

Wireless. Very good quality. Nice large display. Made in the USA. Almost Pro grade, matter of fact, many "pro" stations are Davis.

Upgradable to be able to broadcast data on the internet or store on computer.

We have 2 of these stations now. No issues.

Ranger Rick · Sep 20, 2013

I also have the Vantage pro2. Great station. The station I have mounted on a pole in the field a couple hundred feet from the house. The indoor receiving unit does well anywhere in the house. I got my at this site. Davis Instruments 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station with Standard Radiation Shield They have all the choices that you may want to see. Rick

IXLR8 · Sep 20, 2013

Another vote for the Davis Vantage Pro2, I also got mine at ambientweather.com. I have had it 6 years with no issues, except I did have to replace the battery in the remote sensor after 5 years. About a month ago the outside humidity started reading wonky at times so I need to look into that. If you do a search, this question has been asked here several times over the last few years.

ustmd · Sep 20, 2013

Ranger Rick said:
I also have the Vantage pro2. Great station. The station I have mounted on a pole in the field a couple hundred feet from the house. The indoor receiving unit does well anywhere in the house. I got my at this site. Davis Instruments 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station with Standard Radiation Shield They have all the choices that you may want to see. Rick

Piling on for the Davis Vantage Pro2. Mine is 300 ft from the station to the consul and works great. I had a series of the cheaper stations and they never lasted in the Texas heat.

The software package is good as well.

daugen · Sep 20, 2013

thanks guys greatly. And yes, after I posted, I thought, hmmm, maybe I should have searched this first...I know better.
Ok, It's a Davis and they have a new $350 unit priced under the $550 unit recommended. I'm going to study the specs and see if I need to spend the extra two hundred bucks.

Jimbrown · Sep 20, 2013

The Davis VUE will do what you want. You will need to buy a data logger also if you want to tie it to your computer and send the data to the internet. I recommend the USB data logger.

Be sure to look at the site you buy from. Davis products are one of the ones that they have to advertise the list price but almost all vendors will sell at discount if you email them for a better price. Most have a button that will automatically send the discount price if you click it.

daugen · Sep 20, 2013

Amazon.com: Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 Weather Station (Wireless): Sports & Outdoors

seems that the Pro is 110 bucks more, and that gives one pretty tested machinery plus the radiation shield that hopefully will give more accurate temps. Going to think that over.

Scooby074 · Sep 20, 2013

One nice thing about the pro is the anemometer and rain gauge are separate. You can place them in their ideal locations while with the Vue, its all in one. Also if you have a component failure, like the anemometer, you can replace just that component on the pro, without having to buy more than you need.

Plus the display is way nicer on the pro. IIRC the Vue is not able to switch between metric and standard measurements either, requiring you to buy either a standard or metric unit when making your initial purchase.

There is a bit of a price difference between the pro and the vue, but I believe you get enough more with the pro to justify the $100 or so difference. I bought from these guys: Weather Instruments & Equipment | Home Weather Stations Very good people! Click the "Email low price" link for the items youre interested in and you'll get an automated email within seconds with a significant savings.