Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Help Me Pick A Weather Station

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #31
    Looks like my second 1-wire weather station has failed so am going to upgrade to a Davis Vantage Pro II.

    I assume you need the Weatherlink data logger and I see you have to choice of serial or USB. I'm always a bit hesitant with USB dropping out so has anyone had experience of the USB version? Is is better to keep with serial?

    Also how long do the batteries last in the Wireless version (Weather station end)?
    Jon

    Comment


      #32
      I just installed a Vantage Pro after my previous station's wind sensor died. You are correct. You will need the data logger to allow the weather station to communicate with a computer. You don't have to use Davis software, though. My station is connected to VWS.

      I opted for the serial connection because I want to have the weather station console some distance from the computer. I was afraid the limit on the USB cable length would be too much of a constraint.

      I don't know how long the battery lasts. Haven't had mine long enough for it to run down, but I'm hoping it will be many years.
      Mike____________________________________________________________ __________________
      HS3 Pro Edition 3.0.0.548, NUC i3

      HW: Stargate | NX8e | CAV6.6 | Squeezebox | PCS | WGL 800RF | RFXCOM | Vantage Pro | Green-Eye | Edgeport/8 | Way2Call | Ecobee3 | EtherRain | Ubiquiti

      Comment


        #33
        Thanks Mike.

        Good advise...I'll go for the serial option.
        Jon

        Comment


          #34
          I procrastinated a bit late spring knowing I needed to replace my 1-wire weather station and have been looking at the Davis Vantage Pro. Its more of an issue to climb up there. I would prefer a wired serial setup versus a wireless.

          Looking at pricing here for the "wired" setup between about $235 and $275. Now that we are in October and snow is around the corner I'd like to get this done a bit sooner.

          The pricing is all over the place; not haggling its around $500. I did find a couple of dealers willing to get rid of old stock (wired) for around $250 USD.

          MSRP is $595 USD and truely I'm guessing that's way a bit inflated. Wholesale it would be closer to $300; but not sure what it is.

          I was able to haggle with this company and earlier in the year did get a good price; then decided to wait.

          http://www.archertradingpost.com/atp...&products_id=3

          http://www.archertradingpost.com/atp...products_id=38

          If we can get maybe a "group" buy of sorts going then maybe we can get a price of less than $300 USD for the Vantage Pro II wired with all of the bells and whistles.

          I just wrote to the owner of the "archer trading post" to see what kind of discount he would offer for a group buy of the Davis Vantage Pro II 6152C (cabled version). I told him the group purchase would be as one package to my house and I would take care of shipping from here. Lets see what he saids.

          ProVantage corp gets list or above on Ebay for direct purchases.
          Last edited by Pete; October 2, 2011, 07:18 AM.
          - Pete

          Auto mator
          Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
          Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
          HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

          HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
          HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

          X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

          Comment


            #35
            I've had the wireless Vantage Pro 2 running now flawlessly for two years. Aside from having to clean the rain bucket twice, has been maintenance free. I have the base unit on the other side of the house. With the "X" indicator showing when data is received wirelessly, I never fail to get data every 4 seconds.
            Mike

            Comment


              #36
              So what makes the Davis the "best" station? It certainly has a premium price. Is it build quality? ...it's ability to withstand weather? ...materials used in construction? What do people think?

              Comment


                #37
                I'm not sure on the "best" station. Yes, the Davis Weather instruments has a premium price. I've heard a lifespan of 5 years or more without maintainance. I have two 1-wire AAG weather stations that I have swapped out every 3-4 years (now a bit over 12 years of use). I've taken them apart and never see anything really detoriating.

                I know that the Vantage Pro comes in two flavors; wired and wireless. Its the most documented system. The new Wireless Vantage Vue is their newer self contained system. I've haven't seen any methodologies of interfacing to this one. It is cheaper though that the Vantage Pro.

                I personally would prefer wired. Thing here is its difficult to get on the roof where my current weather station is at. I have considered moving it to the other side of the house and using some sort of mast mounted on a tripod mount of some sort.

                IE: the Vantage view weather system MSRP is $395 and I think its only a "wireless" system. The Vantage Pro2 weather station has an MSRP of $595.

                My guess though is the wholesale on the Vantage Pro2 wired system is closer to $300.

                I currently utilize a Dallas 1-wire rain bucket. I actually moved it from the roof to the deck; just to be able to keep it clean. Its also been fine for the last 10 years or so. In addition to the 1-wire rain bucket I have a variety of other 1-wire sensors outside (lightning, light, temp and humidity). I would prefer to continue using the rest of the sensors plus utilize a Vantage Pro II instead of the AAG weather instrument.

                On the other end of the spectrum there is the attached link. These are much cheaper and I've written to this person. These I could probably get for $100 or less. Its wireless only and I device has a USB port for getting data. Someone would have to write a Homeseer interface to it. Ideally too some sort of solar powering would be better than using three batteries or some sort of HW mode to it.

                http://www.proweatherstation.com/Products/products.htm
                Last edited by Pete; October 2, 2011, 09:29 AM.
                - Pete

                Auto mator
                Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                Comment


                  #38
                  Originally posted by Pete View Post
                  ...On the other end of the spectrum there is the attached link. These are much cheaper and I've written to this person. These I could probably get for $100 or less. Its wireless only and I device has a USB port for getting data. Someone would have to write a Homeseer interface to it. Ideally too some sort of solar powering would be better than using three batteries or some sort of HW mode to it.

                  http://www.proweatherstation.com/Products/products.htm

                  Comment


                    #39
                    Adam,

                    Do you think its better to just connect this device to a separate computer; utilize the included software and just send it over to HS rather than reverse engineer the USB com?

                    I think the Davis instrument outputs via RS-232.

                    My thoughts would be to standardize on a reasonably priced weather station (less than $100) for Homeseer users and to have an "official" plugin for it. I would if the power supply and cable could be extended say 50 feet or so such that the transmitter / battery combo would be inside or at a place that could be easier to change batteries?

                    We could also maybe go to the MFG and ask for some details relating to the USB HID com links?
                    - Pete

                    Auto mator
                    Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                    Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                    HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                    HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                    HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                    X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by Pete View Post
                      Adam,

                      Do you think its better to just connect this device to a separate computer; utilize the included software and just send it over to HS rather than reverse engineer the USB com?

                      I think the Davis instrument outputs via RS-232.
                      The included software I found terrible (Easyweather), IIRC it was consuming far far more RAM/CPU than I would expect it to for what it was doing...it was nowhere near as powerful as Cumulus. I'm running Cumulus on the HS PC at the minute without a problem, its just I would prefer to do everything in HS (ie plugin/script) and not have external apps running - I know some would disagree with me over that one but thats what I was aiming for.

                      I did look at the Davis and it looks very nice, not sure I could really justify it as I can barely interpret the data as it is, I should really start to try and understand what the weather is doing and publish the data..

                      Comment


                        #41
                        Personally too I would prefer not to run a separate program to get the data into HS.

                        Just noticed that they do have a model now using solar power.

                        I would if the company Fine Offset would offer up some information on the data interpretation?

                        http://www.foshk.com/upload/doc/2011061137470861.pdf

                        I wrote to them this morning regarding said topic.

                        This guy appears to have written an interface in BSD. He does write about some inaccuracies (mentioned above).

                        http://www.lemis.com/grog/index.php

                        This application is written and can be utilized on a Sheeva plug (amoung other devices)

                        http://wiki.meteohub.de/Hardware_Overview

                        I kind of like the idea of a small device like a sheevaplug hooked up to the weather station just sending data over to Homeseer via the network. So this really would be a separate device; connected to HS via the network and then a specific plugin which would get the data from the MeteoHub and create a custom display based on the data.
                        Attached Files
                        Last edited by Pete; October 2, 2011, 11:37 AM.
                        - Pete

                        Auto mator
                        Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                        Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                        HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                        HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                        HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                        X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                        Comment


                          #42
                          I've just found another site with a bit more info (http://www.jim-easterbrook.me.uk/weather/mm/ and http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=5912), there is a couple of more word documents with the correct USB calls to make - as I say I can get the data out of it but it makes no sense/its in an odd format albeit with the info I have found just its perhaps to be expected and does need further decoding.

                          I'm going to do some more checking on the solar panel as I am not sure there really needs to be much if any additional components, although it does not need much in the way of power (think i've replaced the stock batteries once) it could be a bit annoying if it was mounted on the roof.

                          As I say price wise its probably ideal as a first time station, not one that could stand up to too much in the way of severe weather though...

                          Comment


                            #43
                            I guess I'm just looking for a low cost alternative that could be utilized with Homeseer as you are saying Adam; for the first time Weather watcher/Homeseer user.

                            There are some folks that would rather just pull their weather from the internet and others that would prefer to get data at their home. I think more folks would get sub $100 USD weather station with an interface to HS should it be available than say the folks that would purchase a Davis weather instrument if there was a plugin or easy method to get the data into Homeseer.
                            Last edited by Pete; October 2, 2011, 01:11 PM.
                            - Pete

                            Auto mator
                            Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                            Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                            HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                            HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                            HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                            X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                            Comment


                              #44
                              I did get an email response from the aforementioned Davis dealer. He said is is flexible on his pricing should we get a "group purchase" together.

                              My interest is in the cabled Davis Vantage Pro II as specified here:

                              http://www.davisnet.com/weather/prod...sp?pnum=06152C

                              Archer trading current price is $329 USD.

                              http://www.archertradingpost.com/atp...&products_id=3

                              I would personally see if I could get us a deal at less than $300; for those willing to participate. Probably going to get one of these and for playing around the low cost model weather station.

                              I'll start a list here ==>

                              Davis Vantage Pro II model # 6152C

                              - Pete (current one purchase price is $329 USD)

                              I'll do the same for the other mentioned weather station. Guessing maybe around $50-75 - USD for that one in a group purchase.

                              FOSHK dot com - model number WA2080 solar powered weather station

                              - Pete
                              Last edited by Pete; October 2, 2011, 02:53 PM.
                              - Pete

                              Auto mator
                              Homeseer 3 Pro - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e 64 bit Intel Haswell CPU 16Gb
                              Homeseer Zee2 (Lite) - 3.0.0.548 (Linux) - Ubuntu 18.04/W7e - CherryTrail x5-Z8350 BeeLink 4Gb BT3 Pro
                              HS4 Lite - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenovo Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram

                              HS4 Pro - V4.1.18.1 - Ubuntu 22.04 / Lenova Tiny M900 / 32Gb Ram
                              HSTouch on Intel tabletop tablets (Jogglers) - Asus AIO - Windows 11

                              X10, UPB, Zigbee, ZWave and Wifi MQTT automation-Tasmota-Espurna. OmniPro 2, Russound zoned audio, Alexa, Cheaper RFID, W800 and Home Assistant

                              Comment


                                #45
                                As I mentioned the http://www.ambientweather.com/amws2080.html that I have is the Fine Offset just rebranded and I am using Cumulus. Both have worked flawlessly for the last 6 months. It looks like the price has gone up by $20 or $30 though on that station since I bought it though.

                                Since I have to buy new wind cups and wind vane thanks to the tree that fell on my current station http://board.homeseer.com/showthread.php?t=150169 I might be interested in the upgrade to Davis, but it still seems a little steep. I wouldn't mind getting more frequent (accurate) wind data, but other than that I'm not sure.

                                Ambient Weather isn't showing pricing on the Davis stations on their website any more. You have to enter your email address to get it (I haven't seem them do that before) so I wonder what, if any, deals you might find over there.

                                I personally don't mind using Cumulus because it generates a LOT of extra useful information and statistics that you can use. It will output all this extra calculated data (as well as the raw data of course), records, etc. to a standard XML file in realtime that you could write a simple script to parse and get into HS. I started the parsing script to get it into my SQL server but not finished it. Life seems to keep getting in the way of my fun HA projects.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X