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Which weather station to buy??

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WetCoast
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue 12 May 2015 6:00 am
Weather Station: WS-2095
Operating System: Vista (Debian Linux)
Location: Surrey, BC, Canada

Which weather station to buy??

Post by WetCoast »

Hi All,
I'll looking for recommendations as to which weather station to purchase. I currently have an "Ambient Weather" (fine offset) that has stopped reporting the wind speed. I tried repairing it but couldn't see anything obviously wrong. Now I'm thinking of replacing it, so... which one should I buy?

Thanks in advance,
Gord
RayProudfoot
Posts: 3372
Joined: Wed 06 May 2009 6:29 pm
Weather Station: Davis VP2 with Daytime FARS
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England
Contact:

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by RayProudfoot »

Gord,

You don't mention a budget so recommendations are difficult. You could just buy another Fine Offset equivalent but the chances are it would only last up to 5 years and then another replacement would be required.

Or you could spend more in the probability the station could last up to 10 years and maybe more. Have a look at Davis VP2 or Vue stations. I don't know where in the world you live so the price will vary quite a lot depending on that.
Cheers,
Ray, Cheshire.

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WetCoast
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue 12 May 2015 6:00 am
Weather Station: WS-2095
Operating System: Vista (Debian Linux)
Location: Surrey, BC, Canada

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by WetCoast »

Thanks Ray. Sorry I didn't reply before this but for some strange reason I was not 'subscribed' to this thread and only saw your reply today. Anyway...
I managed to fix my Fine Offset weather station, (pinched/broken wire between the anemometer and the other electronics) so I'm kind of happy for that, which means I can take a bit more time looking for a replacement (hopefully years??)

The station I have now is OK for a started station but next time I'd probably get one that was a bit more sophisticated. Not sure exactly. One of the things I dislike about this station is the fact that the console keeps losing contact with the weather unit outside. It's not that far away, certainly withing the 'claimed' distance. Strange thing is it seems to work best if I leave the console on the floor, not sure why that is...

BTW, I live in Canada near Vancouver. I purchased this unit from somewhere in the States, I believe Arizona.

Thanks again for the reply,
Gord
RayProudfoot
Posts: 3372
Joined: Wed 06 May 2009 6:29 pm
Weather Station: Davis VP2 with Daytime FARS
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England
Contact:

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by RayProudfoot »

Hi Gord,

I had a similar problem with the poor signal when I had an Oregon Scientific thermometer in the garden. Despite my console being only 50ft away it would lose the signal quite frequently. In comparison the Davis is rock-solid.

There's no need for an immediate decision as you have your station working again unless the loss of signal drives you mad.
Cheers,
Ray, Cheshire.

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JoeBOB
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri 20 Oct 2017 1:53 pm
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Pro2
Operating System: Windows XP

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by JoeBOB »

Thanks Ray. Sorry I didn't reply before this but for some strange reason I was not 'subscribed' to this thread and only saw your reply today. Anyway...
I managed to fix my Fine Offset weather station, (pinched/broken wire between the anemometer and the other electronics) so I'm kind of happy for that, which means I can take a bit more time looking for a replacement (hopefully years??)

The station I have now is OK for a started station but next time I'd probably get one that was a bit more sophisticated. Not sure exactly. One of the things I dislike about this station is the fact that the console keeps losing contact with the weather unit outside. It's not that far away, certainly withing the 'claimed' distance. Strange thing is it seems to work best if I leave the console on the floor, not sure why that is...

BTW, I live in Canada near Vancouver. I purchased this unit from somewhere in the States, I believe Arizona.

Thanks again for the reply,
Gord
Gord,

Not sure how your existing station is running these days. I thought I'd share my experience. I like the Davis Pro2, but of course, it's a relatively expensive unit by the time you purchase all "goodies" that you might want with it. :lol:

It looks like wxobservation likes the Davis Vantage Vue. Does anyone else here have experience with it? It's less expensive, but still has the same accuracy as the Pro2.

Good luck with your search!
JoeBOB
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CBers
Posts: 24
Joined: Tue 06 Aug 2013 1:36 pm
Weather Station: N96FY
Operating System: Windows 10
Location: Kent

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by CBers »

I was going to start a new "Which Weather Station to buy" thread, then I found this one :D

My 4-year-old Maplin N96FY has started freezing on the temperature and wind-speed, even though when you allow CUMULUS to do catch-up, you see all of the values loaded since the last load.

So, assuming I can't figure out what needs fixing, I'm going to buy another weather station.

So, given a budget of around £250, what is the best to work with CUMULUS please ??

I assume CUMULUS is still being developed, as I notice no release since January this year.

I don't run CUMULUS MX, but the original CUMULUS 1, v1.9.4 :)

Thanks in advance.
Brandos
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri 04 May 2018 2:20 am
Weather Station: Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: Windows 10

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by Brandos »

Another vote here for the Davis Vantage Vue. I have been using it for nearly a year after reading the reviews on this website https://www.weatherstationadvisor.com/

When it's time for an upgrade and when I have the spare cash :lol: I will step up to the Pro2 with the fan aspirated radiation shield.
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PaulMy
Posts: 3775
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Weather Station: Davis VP2 Plus 24-Hour FARS
Operating System: Windows8 and Windows10
Location: Komoka, ON Canada
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Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by PaulMy »

I am just replacing my 2008 Davis VP2 with a VP2 Plus and 24-FARS.
The VP2 has operated flawlessly for these 10 years and is still working great. The only thing I have done to it is replace the ISS battery in 2010 and 2017, just because I thought I should. It will find a good home for itself for more service to someone.

Enjoy,
Paul
Davis Vantage Pro2+
C1 www.komokaweather.com/komokaweather-ca
MX www.komokaweather.com/cumulusmx/index.htm /index.html /index.php
MX www.komokaweather.com/cumulusmxwll/index.htm /index.html /index.php
MX www. komokaweather.com/cumulusmx4/index.htm

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RayProudfoot
Posts: 3372
Joined: Wed 06 May 2009 6:29 pm
Weather Station: Davis VP2 with Daytime FARS
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, England
Contact:

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by RayProudfoot »

My VP2 was bought in April 2009 and as far as the ISS is concerned the only thing I have changed is adding a daytime FARS and a new rain bucket as a friend who has a relative in the US was able to take advantage of a cut-price deal for spares.

My friend has a VP2 but his temperature sensor stopped working back in the winter and because it's on his roof he hasn't got around to replacing it yet. Hopefully that is not a difficult job?

The most troublesome component has been the anemometer. One blew down in Jan 2014 and its replacement had bearing problems a couple of years ago but was replaced gratis by ProData. :clap:

My website is 9 years old next Thursday and in all that time the VP2 and Cumulus have done a sterling job. :clap: I'm also indebted to Steve for hosting my website. :clap:
Cheers,
Ray, Cheshire.

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ExperiMentor
Posts: 214
Joined: Tue 24 Nov 2015 11:30 pm
Weather Station: Fine Offset & Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: Windows 10; Raspbian Buster
Location: Switzerland

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by ExperiMentor »

You say "My 4-year-old Maplin N96FY has started freezing". Well my old Maplin N96FY (a Fine Offset, rebranded), which Maplin were often selling half price (£50, $70) has been going strong for 8-9 years now. It's a long way from the base station, connection never fails and the batteries last for years. The only problem I ever had was the wind speed gauge got broken in hailstones. They were the size of golf balls mind, and caused £8,000 of damage to each of my two cars, plus another few thousand for redoing damaged varnish and shutters on the house. Insurance refused to pay for the weather station, but the spare part was only £2.50.

So I now have a complete spare station in the attic. Might come in useful now that Maplin went bankrupt. Many years before I need something better!
uncle_bob
Posts: 505
Joined: Wed 17 Aug 2011 2:58 pm
Weather Station: WeatherDuino Pro2
Operating System: 2008
Location: Canberra

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by uncle_bob »

WetCoast wrote: One of the things I dislike about this station is the fact that the console keeps losing contact with the weather unit outside. It's not that far away, certainly withing the 'claimed' distance.
Hi Gord,
This issue is very well known and also Wind speed spikes.

It annoyed me so much that I tossed out the transmitter and console and used the anemometer and rain sensor with a WeatherDuino Pro2 that I built.
The WeatherDuino gives you the precision data of a Davis but with a lot more flexibility and a lot less cost.

Building your own isn't everyone's cup of tea as it does require a little bit of electronic know how. But it's a lot of fun and very satisfying.
Interested in building your own Weather Station? Maybe check out the WeatherDuino Pro Project Here
Conder, Canberra Weather
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AllyCat
Posts: 1124
Joined: Sat 26 Feb 2011 1:58 pm
Weather Station: Fine Offset 1080/1 & 3080
Operating System: Windows XP SP3
Location: SE London

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by AllyCat »

Hi,
ExperiMentor wrote:my old Maplin N96FY (a Fine Offset, rebranded), which Maplin were often selling half price (£50, $70) has been going strong for 8-9 years now.
Ah yes, that was probably the "old" version where the "wireless protocol" was far better engineered than later versions (but almost impossible to "hack"). However, the issue with Fine Offset stations has always been the (lack of) "Quality Control". Some can be excellent, but I recently had one (Maplin) transmitter that couldn't work reliably through a standard brick wall (25 cms) and about 3 metres of air !

Cheers, Alan.
ExperiMentor
Posts: 214
Joined: Tue 24 Nov 2015 11:30 pm
Weather Station: Fine Offset & Davis Vantage Vue
Operating System: Windows 10; Raspbian Buster
Location: Switzerland

Re: Which weather station to buy??

Post by ExperiMentor »

AllyCat wrote:Ah yes, that was probably the "old" version
I hope that doesn't mean my 'spare' turns out to be useless!
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