Weather Stations

[chuck172]

I had an old Davis setup for years. Then one day Davis decided they would not support it any longer. They would not sell any parts for it any longer. They told me to buy a new one. I didn't like that. Costco has an acurite on sale for $75.00.
Bought it, installed it, never looked back. Never lost signal, very accurate. I really think it beats Davis hands down.
Accurite has great support. They stand behind their product.
I went out and Bought another cause I like it so much.

 

[txdon]

Remember Mate: pants first, then shoes.

:laughing:

Ah ha, just like I thought no gadget just another . . . app?

 

[Industrial Toys]

At what point do the socks come into play?

Wouldn't ground temperature be highly variable, with factors like previous snow cover, sunlit or shade, sheltered or windy?

I had a Heathkit thermometer I loved. Indoor and outdoor temperature readings with a lit Neon display. It flicked back and forth reliably for decades. Then it started to give erroneous readings. I went through it, replacing dried out caps, and attempted to calibrate it. The design however made the one temperature affect the other, especially at very high or low readings. Now I wonder, how accurate it actually was all those years and have lost confidence in it.

 

[B7510HSD]

Maybe try giving them a call. From comments on the weather forums, davis has dropped the ball lately in their once excellent customer service area, particularly email. I find a call gets better results anyways. Hope they get you squared around at no charge.

:thumbsup:

 

[Redneck in training]

Interesting, thanks. I was hoping the sensors would give some accurate data for this site to maybe help a future purchase. PVWatts doesnt have much detail for this area.

Davis does offer a mouth watering assortment of sensors dont they. I find Temp and wind/windchill are my first reads. I considered the aspirated temp, but I wonder if it was worth it cost vs. accuracy-wise because right now, Im pretty much spot on with all the stations in my area, including the official government ones.

Ground temp would be a good one, especially if I ever get my greenhouse off the ground. I could put a sensor right inside the greenhouse and monitor. Heating my raingauge would also be a nice upgrade, but that would require running 120v out to the ISS, which would be a lot of work for the end result.

It might be tough to keep the greenhouse warm year around in NS. I have seen pictures of a greenhouse buried in ground with only glass roof above it.
The mushroom (morel) season in IA starts usually first week in May and lasts about two weeks. Ground temperature is the main factor for the morels to emerge. Then soil moisture determines the number. Therefore I would like to add ground temp sensor and gather data about rainfall and temperature versus morel appearance. My method of determining start of the morel season is size of the oak leaves. When oak leaves are size of Mickey Mouse ears is the time to hit the forest.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

I bought one of my VP2s (PN: 6152 ) through These guys . They were excellent to deal with. Price right now for the basic wireless VP2 is $425. The WeatherlinkUSB is an additional $108. $533+ applicable taxes + shipping. I found Scientific Sales to have the best pricing when I was researching several years ago, and from what Ive seen they still have the best prices Ive found.

I want a weather station that can broadcast info to Weather Underground. If I understand correctly, I will need the WeatherLink in order to do that??

Or, do I only need the weatherlink, if I can't connect it to my computer?

I plan to put the weather station monitor in my office next to my computer.

 

[B7510HSD]

I want a weather station that can broadcast info to Weather Underground. If I understand correctly, I will need the WeatherLink in order to do that??

Or, do I only need the weatherlink, if I can't connect it to my computer?

I plan to put the weather station monitor in my office next to my computer.

You will need the weatherlink to connect to the PC

 

[Scooby074]

I want a weather station that can broadcast info to Weather Underground. If I understand correctly, I will need the WeatherLink in order to do that?? Or, do I only need the weatherlink, if I can't connect it to my computer? I plan to put the weather station monitor in my office next to my computer.

Yes a Weatherlink is required if you want to get the data from the station to either a PC or the Internet.

There are 3 versions of Weatherlink.

One is a Serial version, but its pretty old tech.

In practice there are only 2 versions used today. One is the WeatherlinkUSB and the other is called the WeatherlinkIP.

The WeatherlinkUSB is, like the name states, a USB connection from the station to a USB port on a PC. From your PC you then broadcast your data to sites like WeatherUnderground using either the Davis software (not the best) or a 3rd party software like Cumulus which is the software I use. The WeatherlinkUSB requires you to leave your PC powered on for all the time you wish to broadcast your data live. If you shut down your PC at night (as I do), the next time you boot your PC and run the station software it will upload your offline data to whatever sites you belong to.

The WeatherlinkIP is a standalone "Router" that enables you to broadcast your station data direct to the internet without having to go through a PC. If you dont want to run your PC 24/7 and need to get that 4am weather fix, this is the best option. Its cost is higher than the WeatherlinkUSB because it contains a lot more physical hardware and it also includes a free subscription to Davis's weather website called Weatherlink Network Join the WeatherLink Network by Davis

IMHO Davis REALLY needs to work on their descriptions of what each of their Internet connection options do. Its confusing for most people to choose which option they want. They really dropped the ball there. Actually, Davis should be including network connectivity in their units right out of the box, but they want to get that extra $100 out of people for a WeatherlinkUSB for the "privilege" of being able to put their data online, a bit annoying in this day and age.

There are also some 3rd parties making hardware to connect the Davis units to the net as a standalone (like the WeatherlinkIP). One is called Meteobridge IIRC. And some people have done some homebrew devices using RasberryPI and Arduinos.. Problem is that you still need at least to buy WeatherlinkUSB (or build your own) to get your data off the station before buying something like a Meteobridge. The Meteobridge is also more money than the Davis WLIP so it isnt a cost saver either.

Check the weather forums for more. I like this site : Davis Instruments Weather Stations

 

[buickanddeere]

Been through a couple of La Crosse units here. The temperature, humidity and wind direction functions operate well enough. However the three cup wind turbine looses the bearings at about 14-15 months.

 

[Redneck in training]

I want a weather station that can broadcast info to Weather Underground. If I understand correctly, I will need the WeatherLink in order to do that??

Or, do I only need the weatherlink, if I can't connect it to my computer?

I plan to put the weather station monitor in my office next to my computer.

Most if not all weather stations can send data to Internet. We have Davis Vantage Pro 2. It came with a small box called TP-Link that connects to Monitor via USB and to our home network via wired Ethernet (I think the latest version of the TP-Link can also connect via Wireless). It doesn't need PC to push data to Internet service of your choosing. Then you can see the data on any PC or smart phone.
Here is a link to our station:
House in Medora Weather | Personal Weather Station: KIANEWVI3 by Wunderground.com | Weather Underground
or here
AWEKAS Automatic Weather Map System