Looking for wireless weather station

[Country Geek]

Both dad and I have Davis Vantage Pro2s.

Love them. Mine is 2 years old now, Dads is about 4. Theyve been flawless. You can upload to the internet with Weatherlink USB, with the PC on or use the standalone WeatherlinkIP if you want to not have to run a PC to upload (its a standalone data logger with internet connectivity). Using weatherlink USB a PC (or laptop or equivalent) must be running to push the data up to WeatherUnderground (or equivalent). I use the WeatherlinkUSB

Were in some particularly harsh environments here with dads particularly bad due to high winds and ocean salt spray, and the Davis never misses a beat, other than loosing a cup on the anemometer in an ice storm (a $5.00 fix).

They arent cheap, but they are very well made in the USA. And you can buy basically all the parts to rebuild one should the need arise. They are not chicom disposable units.

Check ScientificSales.com out of new jersey. They had the best prices by far when I bought mine. If you get a good price, the differential between a $100 disposable and the Davis isnt nearly that bad. Currently ScientificSales has the Davis Vue2 Wireless for $385
]

I agree with you that the Davis stuff is premium and well made. But the price differential is off the charts. For example to get the ability to upload to the internet from that $400 Vantage Pro or that $250 Vantage View, you have to add on a $200+ WeatherLink IP dongle. So you're in it for $450-600+ to get what a $100 AcuRite can do.

I agree it's worth paying more for better quality made in USA. But 4-6x more is a bit harder to justify.

I have a Davis setup and it's very nice. But it cost me a big pile of money and if I had it to do again I would buy AcuRite. And if it didn't last I'd buy a new one that would be more advanced than the last one, because that's what technology does. And I could do that 4-5 times and still be ahead.

 

[Scooby074]

I agree with you that the Davis stuff is premium and well made. But the price differential is off the charts. For example to get the ability to upload to the internet from that $400 Vantage Pro or that $250 Vantage View, you have to add on a $200+ WeatherLink IP dongle. So you're in it for $450-600+ to get what a $100 Accurite can do.

I agree it's worth paying more for better quality made in USA. But 4-6x more is a bit harder to justify.

I have a Davis setup and it's very nice. But it cost me a big pile of money and if I had it to do again I would buy AcuRite. And if it didn't last I'd buy a new one that would be more advanced than the last one, because that's what technology does. And I could do that 4-5 times and still be ahead.

Davis 6152 with WeatherlinkUSB is $489 @SS. This is the setup Im running. Even at that price, the Davis is a genuine bargain in the field of Professional weather instruments.

To me, after going through a $100 "Scientific American" model from Walmart in 6mths, that ended up with corroded fasteners and terminals, and ate batteries the Davis models are a no braner. Solar powered, wireless and maintenance free.

You cant even begin to compare the build quality between the two. I usually try to buy good once as opposed to replacing the 4 or 5 times for the same cost. I dont deal well with the frustrations caused by cheap equipment. I just expect it to work in harsh conditions. I got burned by the $100 special before and wont do that again.

Plus the Acurite cant do Solar, UV, Soil Temp, Soil Moisture, Leaf Wetness, nor can you add an extender and other remote sensors and displays. They really arent in the same ballpark.

Then there are accuracy issues. What good is an instrument you may or may not be able to trust?

A Honda inverter and a Harbor Freight 2 Stroke special both generate electricity.. I prefer my Honda. For others the HF is fine, but they arent the same.

I should say, in fairness, the Acurite is one of the better lower priced units, but there are lots of people on the weather forums who have made the progression past the Acurite and settled on the Pro2 (or Vue)// and there who are plenty happy with the AR. Just depends on what you want I guess.

 

[Country Geek]

Fair enough. The Davis units are definitely superior, I never disputed that. It's just a question of whether they are worth the price differential. They may be to some people, just in a thread about recommending equipment I think we need to be open about the general price ranges. Also it wasn't made clear in any of the posts until I mentioned it that internet capability is an extra $$$ option on the Davis equipment.

 

[Happy Gilmore]

Davis 6152 with WeatherlinkUSB is $489 @SS. This is the setup Im running. Even at that price, the Davis is a genuine bargain in the field of Professional weather instruments. To me, after going through a $100 "Scientific American" model from Walmart in 6mths, that ended up with corroded fasteners and terminals, and ate batteries the Davis models are a no braner. Solar powered, wireless and maintenance free. You cant even begin to compare the build quality between the two. I usually try to buy good once as opposed to replacing the 4 or 5 times for the same cost. I dont deal well with the frustrations caused by cheap equipment. I just expect it to work in harsh conditions. I got burned by the $100 special before and wont do that again. Plus the Acurite cant do Solar, UV, Soil Temp, Soil Moisture, Leaf Wetness, nor can you add an extender and other remote sensors and displays. They really arent in the same ballpark. Then there are accuracy issues. What good is an instrument you may or may not be able to trust? A Honda inverter and a Harbor Freight 2 Stroke special both generate electricity.. I prefer my Honda. For others the HF is fine, but they arent the same. I should say, in fairness, the Acurite is one of the better lower priced units, but there are lots of people on the weather forums who have made the progression past the Acurite and settled on the Pro2 (or Vue)// and there who are plenty happy with the AR. Just depends on what you want I guess.

I found the 6152 on Ambient Weather for $418.00 wireless, $348.00 wired. No weather link included though.

 

[chuck172]

I have an older Davis. Big bucks. Pissed me off when Davis decided not to sell parts for it anymore. If you needed their support, buy a newer model.

 

[Scooby074]

I found the 6152 on Ambient Weather for $418.00 wireless, $348.00 wired. No weather link included though.

ScientificSales has the 6152 for $385 without the Link.

For the minimal savings, I wouldnt get the wired model. The wireless on the Davis units is very good.

 

[Scooby074]

I have an older Davis. Big bucks. Pissed me off when Davis decided not to sell parts for it anymore. If you needed their support, buy a newer model.

What model Davis?

 

[DB Pilot]

I have two Davis weather stations. Neither has given results that I expected. :confused3: I see that for some they have given great results and stood the test of time. I do have trees around the house and found wind speeds to be always way less than observed winds. Of course wind direction was never correct either. Nothing against the companies that make the units just make sure you have an ideal location for monitor placement. I feel I have taken the cure for wanting another weather monitor.

What I noticed after several years was that I was most interested in "inside/outside temps", barometer readings, time/date and some weather prediction. Found a wireless weather station that gives me all these readings very accurately. :thumbsup: :2cents:

 

[Branchchipper]

We have had a Davis Vantage Pro wireless since 2001. While it has not been completely trouble-free, it has been repairable, usually by me. They sent me small parts, for free, to fix the rain gauge sensor, for example, and I also sent the whole unit in to be rebuilt to the newer transmitter standard years ago, as mentioned here by others. The unit's ability to store Wx data internally for later use is a great benefit- the data logger would be even better, but not necessary for most users.
Bottom line is that it is a real Wx instrument, made and supported in the USA, and we'll be buying another Davis this year as this one is retired.

 

[Scooby074]

I have two Davis weather stations. Neither has given results that I expected. :confused3: I see that for some they have given great results and stood the test of time. I do have trees around the house and found wind speeds to be always way less than observed winds. Of course wind direction was never correct either. Nothing against the companies that make the units just make sure you have an ideal location for monitor placement. I feel I have taken the cure for wanting another weather monitor.

What I noticed after several years was that I was most interested in "inside/outside temps", barometer readings, time/date and some weather prediction. Found a wireless weather station that gives me all these readings very accurately. :thumbsup: :2cents:

You could be experiencing "micro climate". Its very possible for your readings to not match a station a few miles away. A friend of mine is a meterologist and he loves seeing the data from multiple "homeowner" sites to put into his models. You could be reporting accurately on what is happening in your area, assuming your station is sited correctly and your wind vane has been calibrated for direction.

One other advantage of the davis Vantage Pro2 is you can set your station up according to Madis and CWOP standards. The Anemometer is supposed to be mounted in a clear area above the canopy, at a height of 10m. Thats where having the ability to separate the anemometer from the rain/temperature gauges (which is supposed to be in the open 0.6m above ground) comes into play.

Granted, setting up to these professional standards is the next level from just seeing if you need a coat this morning, but its the reason for the 2 piece design, and the reason why the all in ones like the Acurite and even the Vue cant meet all the site selection criteria that the pro2 does.

Heres the siting "bible" from CWOP http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/CWOP_Guide.pdf

I dont meet all the criteria myself for the perfect site. My rain gauge is mounted at rooftop, and my anemometer is only about 25' in the air. Someday I hope to get closer to being correctly sited. I plan on putting up a flag pole and mounting the anemometer to the top and the rain gauge to the bottom.

 

[breadtrk]

I found a thing online called farm logs. It uses noaa information to keep track of your land. I have food plots, gardens and yards spread throughout middle TN. I get alerts weekly and after rain events at the various properties. It does a lot more for me and I can keep track of it all on my android phone, there may be an iPhone app too but those are for folks that ain't slick enough for Androids. You can also use your desktop.

https://farmlogs.com/

 

[fordmantpw]

Well, as an update, I decided to go with the AcuRite 01057. For about half the price of the Davis units, I was able to get the outdoor sensor, the internet link, and two displays for in the house (one upstairs, one downstairs). I really like the Davis units, but I was on a bit of a budget and couldn't swing one and get it to do everything I wanted. I will probably look to upgrade to a Davis when our AcuRite has lived it's full life. Hopefully I will have more available for a budget then.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[fordmantpw]

Well, as an update, I decided to go with the AcuRite 01057. For about half the price of the Davis units, I was able to get the outdoor sensor, the internet link, and two displays for in the house (one upstairs, one downstairs). I really like the Davis units, but I was on a bit of a budget and couldn't swing one and get it to do everything I wanted. I will probably look to upgrade to a Davis when our AcuRite has lived it's full life. Hopefully I will have more available for a budget then.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[Tony_S]

:thumbsup:

 

[chuck172]

What model Davis?

I believe they stopped support on the vantage pro, not the vantage pro 2.

 

[Scooby074]

I believe they stopped support on the vantage pro, not the vantage pro 2.

I see that now. Depending on what is wrong with the unit, there may be an aftermarket fix. There is quite a community of knowledgeable folks for these Davis models. It appears that Davis is/was offering a $100 credit on the old models towards a new one (which is pretty decent).

 

[Country Geek]

I've said many times on here that I don't think Davis is worth the price difference over AcuRite, but I will say that one nice feature of Davis is that the rain cup can be easily removed and cleaned. I've found on mine that's necessary 2-3 times a year, and maybe more often in the fall when the spiders start building webs on them. In the AcuRite units I've seen the the rain cup is internal and can't be accessed, so once a spider makes a nest in it, you're not going to be measuring rain any longer.

<edit> after googling it looks like you can clean out the AcuRite rain cup by taking the whole unit apart, so it is fixable. But on the Davis, the rain cup screws onto the bottom with thumbscrews and can be easily removed for cleaning without taking down the whole unit. So Davis is nicer in this respect, but is the convenience worth the extra cost?


Here is my rain cup after a particularly industrious spider got into it. The web was so strong it stopped tipping. I'm not sure how or if you could fix an AcuRite unit this happened to.

 

[chuck172]

I see that now. Depending on what is wrong with the unit, there may be an aftermarket fix. There is quite a community of knowledgeable folks for these Davis models. It appears that Davis is/was offering a $100 credit on the old models towards a new one (which is pretty decent).

I don't think it's right for Davis to "shut the door" on their older models so customers are forced to buy new. Tells me they won't stand behind what they sell.

 

[Scooby074]

I don't think it's right for Davis to "shut the door" on their older models so customers are forced to buy new. Tells me they won't stand behind what they sell.

I guess the question becomes how long is reasonable to support a product? IIRC Davis supported the original Vantage for 10 years. Thats a long time for electronics. Itd be nice for them to support it for 50 years or more like you can still get parts for old Deeres and Cats, but not too many companies do that, let alone electronics companies. Even the car companies are only required to keep parts for 10 years.

 

[Country Geek]

I guess the question becomes how long is reasonable to support a product? IIRC Davis supported the original Vantage for 10 years. Thats a long time for electronics. Itd be nice for them to support it for 50 years or more like you can still get parts for old Deeres and Cats, but not too many companies do that, let alone electronics companies. Even the car companies are only required to keep parts for 10 years.

Yeah I work in the computer industry where a 5 year legacy tail is considered pretty darn long.

But it's not a simple question of supporting them to for 10 years, it's how they withdraw support.

If they stopped selling new ones and then continued to support them for 10 years that would be amazing (and unlikely). If they are still selling them new right up until the day they withdraw support, that is a different story as the people who bought in the last year or two would rightfully feel conned.

Somewhere in between, like make a public statement that they will go out of support at a certain date and stop selling them new 2 years or so before that date is the ethical thing to do that won't bankrupt the company.

I'm not sure which of these paths they took.