Weather Station

[rozett]

I am interested in buying a 'professional' weather station and I am looking to our members for input and feedback on what to buy.

I have a simple temp/humidity unit that I bought from Brookstone about four years ago. It is wireless with 3 remote sensors. But I want more information and I am not happy with battery life and the fact that the sensor outside does not like it (won't xmit) when it is at or below zero. And that is a regular occurance here. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]

I am interested in temp, humidity, wind, rain, barometer, etc. I'm interested in wireless, but would like to stay away from 900 MHz because I already have problems with my 2.4 GHz phone interfering with the surveillance cameras in the horse barn.

I see that the key manufacturers are Davis, Oregon Scientific, and LaCrosse. Anyone have any feedback on particular models? What is your real world experience with the wireless range under severe temperatures? There are standalone units and units that are driven by PC software. Any feedback on which to chose? Any input on where to buy?

Thanks.....

[GaryM]

You'll probably find that Lithium cells will work better at lower temperatures. I have a RS wireless indoor/outdoor thermometer and they said to use Lithium cells if you expect really low temps. I've not had any failures down below zero F.

[JoeR]

I use a peet bros. U2000 which is hard wired. Very reliable station. My boss has a Davis wireless model. He has had problems with battery life too. It has a solar charger, but if he gets two consecutive days of rain with little or no sun, then he has problems. You can expect to pay $500-$700 dollars for a complete station with rain gauge, humidity, temp, etc... The one thing I really like about the peet bros is their true RS-232 data output port. It allows me to collect all kinds of data without special adapters.

http://www.peetbros.com

A good WX software:

http://www.weather-display.com

Joe

[dummy]

I bought a Vantage Pro from Scientific sales which does operate in the 900 MHz range. If you scroll down on the weather station page, there is a model ws-2310 they offer also and I don't know which freq., but it does offer all the goodies you might want. Scientific sales guys were super helpful and the lowest price I could find. They also offered me an exchange option if I didn't like the one I bought.

[pbenven]

I'll second dummy's plug for Scientific Sales. I too bought my Davis Vantage Pro from them. If you decide on this one, buy the data logger - I couldn't imagine owning the station without it.

I've had mine going on 2 years now - no battery changes yet.

The coldest temp recorded this year is -19.3 F. I also have a 2.4 Ghz phone and found that it does interfere if you place the console too close. The only other feasible option was to move the unit upstairs to a room at the front of the house. The station is in the back yard about 75' from the house. I no longer have reception problems.

What was said re the solar charger is true - more than 2 days of cloud and you will start to lose data. This hasn't been terribly concerning to me, but if I ever end up "missing" some interesting storm developments as a result, my feelings might change. Perhaps Davis is looking into this (I haven’t checked - slow Internet connection today). It wouldn't surprise me because they are continually updating their products.

There are many neat features with this unit: packet radio; cell phone; modem. It is modular - you can separate the rain collector/temp, humidity, and barometer from the anemometer. My next project is to erect a 30' pole in order to make the wind data more meaningful.

I like the features of the software also - you can schedule automatic data retrieval from the console. It will transform it into html and then upload via ftp to your website - great for checking things out while you're away.

In all, I am pleased with this unit.