Personal Weather stations

[n8wrl]

I have a Davis Wireless Vantage Pro2 as well but i have a devil of a time keeping the rain bucket clean. It often gets a good dose of bird-do plugging the funnel and then fills with rain water instead of draining/registering it. It is not far from the garage so it's become a weekly habit to take it off and whack it on a pole to knock the latest cruft loose. There is always something in there.

How do you guys keep that out? I find the little quarter-sized 'screens' they provide don't do much and get lost. I've tried putting a screen over the top but I think that wicks off water that should be measured. I have never _seen_ a bird sitting on it but...

 

[Pushing_Tin]

I don't think I have adjusted the pressure since I installed the station. I probably used an Indianapolis reading, but that is 50 miles away. Thanks for pointing that out.

Barring any super deep low or high pressure systems I wouldn't expect to see more than a .05 difference between two stations only 50 miles apart.

For example right now Eugene Oregon has a pressure of 29.99 and Portland Oregon, over 100 miles away is at 30.02.

 

[ShenandoahJoe]

Sodamo: I've been to your town, a few years back. Isn't a weather station in Hawai'i kind of boring?

The way the last month has gone around here, we're all a little tired of weather. So if you want to get your money's worth out of that station, we could send you some of our extra.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

My FIL has his own weather station, keeping it for 30yrs I think.
I have a little computer that keeps my temps and posts them to my web page along with a trend chart. someday I will add more to it then just temps, so it will be a home monitoring system. right now too much to do, too little time.

 

[sodamo]

Sodamo: I've been to your town, a few years back. Isn't a weather station in Hawai'i kind of boring?

The way the last month has gone around here, we're all a little tired of weather. So if you want to get your money's worth out of that station, we could send you some of our extra.

Hey Joe, ya ought to revisit :thumbsup:

Boring Then again, we've been amused watching a toad swim across the pool :laughing:

We've had about 74" rain YTD, but most of the state is in very much a drought. Mainland temps have been way too hot for my liking.

 

[lhfarm]

Barring any super deep low or high pressure systems I wouldn't expect to see more than a .05 difference between two stations only 50 miles apart.

For example right now Eugene Oregon has a pressure of 29.99 and Portland Oregon, over 100 miles away is at 30.02.

The Davis is reporting correctly (console reading same as local NOAA station 12 miles away), but the software is adjusting it. Looking into the problem. I think I added an offset to correct an old/cheap station and it may not have been removed when I replaced it with the Davis.

 

[Marveltone]

I can't afford a weather station right now, but I do have a neighbor with a herd of goats that he says are more accurate than any weatherman. He told me than when they go up the hill, the weather will be good, so we know when it's safe to do field work. When they are coming down the hill, we know that inclement weather is coming, so we'd best get off the fields.

I asked, "What happens if half of them are up the hill, and half of them are down?"

"Well," he said, "that means half of them are wrong."

Joe

 

[mantis]

Another Davis Vantage Pro 2 owner here.

Weather Station History : Weather Underground

or

PWS - Station Observations for KTXSUGAR4

 

[Wooddust]

I have been considering a weather station at my farm but frankly when I look online to study, the different sites often conflict or they have one model set up this way and another is different or has different add ons...Im easily confused!!

My farm is 40 miles from home and no phone so no internet but would love to be able to track the history when i am not there and load onto my laptop.

Is this workable and what units do you all recommend and what supplier do you trust the most to buy from/

 

[Ken45101]

I have been considering a weather station at my farm but frankly when I look online to study, the different sites often conflict or they have one model set up this way and another is different or has different add ons...Im easily confused!!

My farm is 40 miles from home and no phone so no internet but would love to be able to track the history when i am not there and load onto my laptop.

Is this workable and what units do you all recommend and what supplier do you trust the most to buy from/

The Davis units seem to hold up better than some of the cheaper ones.

It all depends on what data you want, but the Davis Vantage Pro II is pretty flexible and can take several additional sensors. I have wind/temp/humidity/rainfall on mine.

The units maintain some history but for detailed history you need to have a computer connected. They will hold the detailed history only for a short term. You might consider a low cost portable to leave at the farm with the unit.

Ken

 

[sodamo]

Seems in our area, rainfall is a year round topic of conversation, whether getting little or a lot. Many of my neighbors have rain gauges. I even bought one, never figured best place to put it that I would tend to it on a regular basis.
Already knew that one of my friends had some sort of a weather station. The more and more I researched them online, the more confused I got. Seemed some appeared to be quite inexpensive or expensive with nothing in between. Further discussion with my friend revealed that another friend also had the same Davis station that he did. While we all lived miles apart, we all live totally off grid, something of a common bond I guess. Conversations with both assured me they were quite happy with Davis and they had had other wx equipment the were less pleased with. Still seemed like a lot of money to me, but one thing I learned over the years is that frugality and cheap can be mutually exclusive. I just hate to buy cheap only to replace later with what I should have gotten in the first place.

I got my Davis from AmbientWeather.com and was happy with the the price and transaction.

If wasn't until I got my own station that I learned a couple other friends also had them. Guess I had just assumed they had a rain gauge. LOL

When I decided to add the IP module, RainmanWeather.com proved to be the best for me. While I could find nearly the same pricing at other sites, Rainman gave me the best deal on shipping. One thing you learn when living here in Hawaii is to ask about shipping costs. Shipping costs can be a deal breaker very often. Companies that insist on UPS/Fedex for small items that fit USPS Priority mail flat rate just irk me.

So why did I end up with my Davis station? I liked the modular concept. I like that if I wanted or needed I could add capabilities. Most importantly, I trust the opinion of my friend who recommended it.
Good luck in your search.

 

[cmadsen]

I have Davise Weather Monitor II, I have been uploading to Weather Underground for a number of years now.

 

[Rob-D]

I have the Davis pro 2 also after having the Oregon Scientific (horrible). The Davis is great over the last several years and I used it to site my windmills and make sure I had the wind to justify them. I just noticed my rain gauge isn't working, I'll have to go out and clear the debris this morning. Still on the original batteries.
Tied to my computer for data collection. Software works perfectly. Worth the bucks for the Davis, don't waste your money or time on the cheap stuff.

Rob

ps: Just went out and fixed it, There's a little screen that used tyo be with it that fell out one day when I was moving it . Now the debris collects after a year or so.

 

[KWentling]

Am I the only one with the Davis Vantage Vue? Only had it since 2/10 but it has been great so far.

Kim

 

[Rob-D]

Wish I'd invested in the weather station before I waste money on wind generator.

David,
I lived on Oahu (North Shore) for a couple of years. Seems to me the wind on the Islands should be good for windmills. Are you on the Kona side? How high is your mill? The trick is you have to get them up high.

I'm planning on putting the Davis anemometer on a 30 foot pole but at 8 feet i get enough wind to justify windmills here in upstate NY. Also I have a few hundred feet in every direction which helps too.
Are you also running solar panels?

Rob

 

[sodamo]

David,
I lived on Oahu (North Shore) for a couple of years. Seems to me the wind on the Islands should be good for windmills. Are you on the Kona side? How high is your mill? The trick is you have to get them up high.

I'm planning on putting the Davis anemometer on a 30 foot pole but at 8 feet i get enough wind to justify windmills here in upstate NY. Also I have a few hundred feet in every direction which helps too.
Are you also running solar panels?

Rob

Rob

Haven't been to Oahu North Shore since 2006. Couldn't believe how crowded and traffic. When did you live there

I'm about 20 miles north of Hilo, not as much good wind as north Kona. There are 2 major windmill sites on island, Hawi and South Point. My wind generator is on a 30 ft pole. Might have worked better if I'd place it in the middle of the field, lower on the property, but that adds a cabling issue.

Yes, I have 4.5kw of PV and quite happy with it. Over the last 3 years I run my diesel genset less than 500 hours. about 72 hours this year but still some rainy season to come. At some point, I'd likely add some more PV and cut genset time down to monthly equalize and worst of rainy season.

Someday, I'll get ambitious and link my weather data with my PV data.

 

[Rob-D]

Rob

Haven't been to Oahu North Shore since 2006. Couldn't believe how crowded and traffic. When did you live there

I'm about 20 miles north of Hilo, not as much good wind as north Kona. There are 2 major windmill sites on island, Hawi and South Point. My wind generator is on a 30 ft pole. Might have worked better if I'd place it in the middle of the field, lower on the property, but that adds a cabling issue.

Yes, I have 4.5kw of PV and quite happy with it. Over the last 3 years I run my diesel genset less than 500 hours. about 72 hours this year but still some rainy season to come. At some point, I'd likely add some more PV and cut genset time down to monthly equalize and worst of rainy season.

Someday, I'll get ambitious and link my weather data with my PV data.

I lived there in the late 60's, went back in the early 90's and was shocked. Can't imagine what it's like now! How's the crowding on the big Island? That's probably where I'd go if I moved back but despite the cold and snow here I have 16 acres and a lot of freedom. I do miss the Islands though, to bad they got so crowded. I here Maui is getting bad too. What a beautiful place it was!
Panel prices are dropping and a company has just developed a see though panel, so solar will only get better and cheaper. It's the way to go in my view. I'll put up a couple of mill for heating when the wind picks up in the winter here but even in my northern climate solar is still the answer.

Rob

 

[Sackett2]

Dad and I are about to purchase a Vantage Pro 2 because of all of you; but have some questions.
Looking at Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 & Vantage Vue Weather Stations - Low Price Quote it is overwhelming with what unit to choose.
Leaning to the cheapest, a cabled unit; what are the pros and cons of this?
Also, another unit has the solar panel, but winter sunlight is scarce at my parents house.
What about the software; do you like it?
and the weatherlink IP; why would I need that, it is expensive.
Also is Virtual Weather Station program

Dad likes the basics of weather monitoring, rainfall, wind speed and high and low temps, and loves being able to see the past data in graphs on the computer.
what do we get???


Appreciate a speedy response, dad is biting the it to get it ordered.

 

[sodamo]

Dad and I are about to purchase a Vantage Pro 2 because of all of you; but have some questions.
Looking at Davis Instruments Vantage Pro 2 & Vantage Vue Weather Stations - Low Price Quote it is overwhelming with what unit to choose.
Leaning to the cheapest, a cabled unit; what are the pros and cons of this?
Also, another unit has the solar panel, but winter sunlight is scarce at my parents house.
What about the software; do you like it?
and the weatherlink IP; why would I need that, it is expensive.
Also is Virtual Weather Station program

Dad likes the basics of weather monitoring, rainfall, wind speed and high and low temps, and loves being able to see the past data in graphs on the computer.
what do we get???

Appreciate a speedy response, dad is biting the it to get it ordered.

I bought my Davis Instruments 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 with Standard Radiation Shield from Ambient.

My understanding with the cabled version, the console only connects via cable, not acceptable for me as my unit is located away from house and no way to run a direct cable. Surely didn't want to bury a cable to avoid the mower. With wireless, I could place console in livingroom, bedroom or anywhere, even sit by the pool and play with it.:laughing:

As for the solar, you just might have to watch the battery level, but my understanding is they have quite good usage. I never plugged the console into AC until I added the IP, battery was great.

Personally, I don't use the software as much as i should. Originally bought the Mac version, less features. I didn't upgrade to IP until later due to cost. Might have been cheaper in long run to have gone IP in beginning. You only need the IP if you want to put your data on the net. Since upgrading, I hardly ever look at my console, just look at the iphone app.

Best of luck. Your Dad will be happy with the Davis unit

 

[Sackett2]

would like to understand how the base program operates; decent graphing and things of that matter. wold he base program without the ip version do this stuff?