Great information but you guys seem to be giving me conflicting answers. I'm leaning towards getting the Davis Vantage Pro 2. I see they are about $425. My question is.....What else do I need to buy in order to broadcast it's information to WeatherUnderground?
There are some 3rd party options (as mentioned in my previous post), like the TpLink. TPLink is
a brand of router that can run the Meteobridge software (made by another 3rd party). Meteobridge + a TP Link router is a standalone solution to uploading data without a PC.
AmbientWeather and others sell this unit (a TPLink with Meteobridge included) as a non-Davis way to upload data. Either an official WeatherlinkUSB cable or one of the Homebrew clone WeatherlinkUSB cables (like the Belfryboy clone) is STILL required to get the data from the station to the TPLINK. This cable might be included in some "TP Link"/Vantage Pro packages. You can also run Meteobridge software in YOUR OWN router, without having to buy a TPLink Router, assuming its comparable with the software, but you still require a cable to connect to the station. The license for Meteobridge is something like $75 too.
A pretty good writeup of the TPLink+MB setup is here
MeteoBridge Weather Station Bridge Product Review
The WeatherlinkIP is the standalone uploading hardware made by Davis themselves. Its essentially their version of what the TpLink+Meteobridge is doing. WeatherlinkIP through ScientificSales is only $194, while AmbientWeather wants $209 for their TP+MB box and you need to spend an additional amount for either the Davis WLUSB cord or the Belfryboy cord (an additional approx $100).
There are a couple advantages to the TpLink solution. One is that you can update Weatherunderground "faster". The WeatherlinkNetwork.com (Davis's site) gets updated every 60 seconds I believe, when using the WLIP. This data then gets pushed up to WeatherUnderground at 15min intervals. Davis says this is so that they dont overload the WU servers. The TPLink option enables you to set your own update interval I believe, so you can view whats called "Rapid Fire" updates on the WU site. Rapid fire updates are essentially 'Real time" data from your station. ie: you can watch the wind direction swing around and wind speed changes etc.
The WeatherlinkUSB also allows realtime (RapidFire) data to be shown on WU too. But only when my PC is running.
The question is, "Whats RapidFire" data worth to you? To me, it was cool at first, but once the newness wears off, how often do you find yourself staring at your phone watching intently at the wind speed and direction??? A 15min WU update interval (or 60sec interval for the WeatherlinkNetwork site) would be fine. Even with the long 15min interval, you still get the information on wind gust, speed and direction pushed up to the WU site for that 15min period.
The second advantage is you can use TL+ Meteobridge software with stations other than Davis, so if you had multiple stations of different brands you can run them through MB.
Thats a pretty rambling couple paragraphs!! . As I said it can get pretty confusing when choosing upload options for Davis stations. The
WeatherlinkIp might not be the most user configurable option, but it might be the best option for someone looking for a plug and play, factory option to get their data online without a pc running all the time .
The other thing is what options do you want? Unless you really need it, the Barebones version @$425 will likely do everything you want (Wind direction and speed, Temp (inside and out), Rain, Humidity (in/out), Sunrise/Sunset). You can always add the solar options later if you want. There are a ton of optional sensors for the Davis models, like Leaf Wetness, Solar Radiation and UV + others. The solar options alone will add almost $400 to the cost. Not required unless you want to see that particular data.
Getting online with a Davis requires the base station + one of these options. Either the TPLink+MB+Cable (3rd party standalone), the WeatherlinkIP("Factory" standalone) or the WeatherlinkUSB(requires PC to run for entire time you wish to have data online in real time )
