Author Topic: POLL: What Station Are You Using  (Read 42862 times)

Administrator

  • Administrator
  • Strong Breeze
  • *****
  • Posts: 108
POLL: What Station Are You Using
« on: December 30, 2012, 10:00:47 PM »
As we come to the end of the year, we thought it'd be interesting to see what hardware people are running.

If you want to post more info, or you're planning to change hardware this year, please post in this thread.

Note: You need to be logged into the forum to see the poll

Thank you,
Your Friendly Admin.

Steve

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 1555
    • DW8454
    • KOHAVON11
    • Avon Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Wireless VP2 Plus w/24 hr FARS, Leaf & Soil Station, 2023 Mac mini M2 Pro, 32GB RAM, Mac OS 14, WeatherCat 3.2
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #1 on: December 31, 2012, 04:43:40 AM »
"Davis Vantage with extra sensors" was my choice. I'm using the Davis Wireless Vantage Pro2 w/24 hour FARS with added UV and solar (essentially a Vantage Pro2 Plus), wireless anemometer transmitter, and a Davis Leaf & Soil Station with 1 leaf wetness sensor, 3 soil temperature probes, and two soil moisture sensors. I may add 1 each additional soil sensor at some point.

Steve
Steve - Avon, Ohio, USA


CWOP: DW8454 - WU: KOHAVON11 - AWEKAS - CoCoRaHS
PWSweather - WeatherCloud - Twitter - Facebook

elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
Weather Envoy special? (Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using)
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2012, 10:34:14 PM »
Howdy Stu, Steve, and WeatherCat fans,  [cat]

I also "voted" Davis VP-2 with extra sensors.  I have a second temperature probe, solar radiation sensor, and a Weather Envoy connected to my MacBook Pro instead of connecting to the console.  Don't know if any of this matters, but . . . . . now ya' know!  ;D

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]

WCDev

  • WeatherCat Developer
  • Administrator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 2911
    • CW9739
    • ISCOTLAN25
    • Trixology
  • Station Details: Main Station: Vantage Pro-2, 24hr fars, solar, soil/leaf station, extra temp stations, no U.V. WeatherLink IP.
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #3 on: January 01, 2013, 04:34:38 PM »
Good point Edouard, I've added an Envoy option  [tup]

embayweather

  • Strong Breeze
  • ***
  • Posts: 187
    • DW3656
    • lENGLAND128
    • Lancastrian Imaging
  • Station Details: Oregon WM928, Intel Mac 2.5Ghz, I5 Quad core, Met Office spec manual instruments, Cat, WD, 1-wire, Labjack, Lightning Radar
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2013, 06:44:12 PM »
Not a good showing for the Oregon 928, I feel awfully alone now!!!!

Best wishes

Mike

Randall75

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 1332
  • CWOP-CW6734 WeatherUnderground-KOHNEWAR6
    • CW6734
    • KOHNEWAR6
    • Randy's Weather On The Hill
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus.iMac i5 OS High Sierra 10.13.6 8GB Ram, WeatherCat 3,Logitech 9000 Pro Web Cam
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2013, 09:32:04 PM »
Hi Mike
 Not everyone can afford a Davis
And my 2315 LaCrosse is no longer available
 [cheers1]

embayweather

  • Strong Breeze
  • ***
  • Posts: 187
    • DW3656
    • lENGLAND128
    • Lancastrian Imaging
  • Station Details: Oregon WM928, Intel Mac 2.5Ghz, I5 Quad core, Met Office spec manual instruments, Cat, WD, 1-wire, Labjack, Lightning Radar
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #6 on: January 07, 2013, 12:08:34 PM »
Thanks Randall, that does make me feel better. What will you get if yours croaks??

Best wishes

Mike

Randall75

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 1332
  • CWOP-CW6734 WeatherUnderground-KOHNEWAR6
    • CW6734
    • KOHNEWAR6
    • Randy's Weather On The Hill
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus.iMac i5 OS High Sierra 10.13.6 8GB Ram, WeatherCat 3,Logitech 9000 Pro Web Cam
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #7 on: January 07, 2013, 03:47:57 PM »
Hi Mike
 I will Probably go with a Davis Vantage Pro if I can get a good deal on one but for now I have 2 2315's I bought another 1 when they were clearing them out for $100 so I got a good deal there
 [cheers1]

WCDev

  • WeatherCat Developer
  • Administrator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 2911
    • CW9739
    • ISCOTLAN25
    • Trixology
  • Station Details: Main Station: Vantage Pro-2, 24hr fars, solar, soil/leaf station, extra temp stations, no U.V. WeatherLink IP.
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #8 on: January 07, 2013, 05:08:13 PM »
Hi Mike
 Not everyone can afford a Davis
And my 2315 LaCrosse is no longer available
 [cheers1]

You can get them here (updated case): http://www.weather-station-products.co.uk/lacrosse-weather-station

Randall75

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 1332
  • CWOP-CW6734 WeatherUnderground-KOHNEWAR6
    • CW6734
    • KOHNEWAR6
    • Randy's Weather On The Hill
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro 2 Plus.iMac i5 OS High Sierra 10.13.6 8GB Ram, WeatherCat 3,Logitech 9000 Pro Web Cam
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #9 on: January 07, 2013, 09:52:02 PM »
Hi Stu
 Thanks for the info but I don't think they ship to the USA
 I think my next one will be a VP
 [cheers1]

Doc

  • Strong Breeze
  • ***
  • Posts: 112
  • Fly by night Eccentric
    • N9CXI
    • kinnindia
    • N9CXI Eastwood Indianapolis Indiana WX station
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro2, Mac mini, 2gig Ram 25tb storage, 1 weather web cams.
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #10 on: January 07, 2013, 10:09:08 PM »
I'm running my original Davis wireless Vantage Pro 2 at my base and for WC.  I've been running the Monitor II and Wizard out in the Truck for my mobile installation, they are just about the right size inside the cab.  And I just added a new iPad Mini w/cellular to the mix. 

Doc
Take care and have fun!  Slainte Mah!

SeaflyP

  • Gentle Breeze
  • **
  • Posts: 15
    • Seafly Memories
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Vue Pro 2/USB Envoy/ iMac 27" i7 (2011)/MacOs 10.6
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #11 on: February 26, 2013, 02:56:45 PM »
So Davis Vantage is most popular but do they deserve it?  I got one at the end of 2007. About 19 months later the wind speed started getting an intermittent fault which sometimes was associated with loss of outside temperature and/or humidity signals.  To be fair, despite it being more than 12 months old, the UK agents agreed to repair the system without charge. However since then I have had to replace the anemometer/vane sensor (wind direction failed) and the temperature/humidity sensor (no signal).  Recently I've had problems with the temperature/humidity connector in the ISS (despite use of contact cleaner, tlc,  etc.) and problems with the barometer in the weather envoy (reported elsewhere). As a retired observational climate scientist I'm used to maintaining met instruments in the field and I know that they have a harsh life. However for home use the Davis instruments are not cheap to buy and replacement parts are expensive compared to other manufacturers. I'm wondering about switching to an Oregon WMR200 which would allow me to buy extra sensors, and to replace them as they failed, at less cost than keeping the basic Davis system operating....

Looking at the poll results, I'll probably get shot for this suggestion!
Peter

JosBaz

  • Strong Breeze
  • ***
  • Posts: 232
    • INBRSON2
    • Weatherstation Son en Breugel, The Netherlands
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro2 Wireless, WeatherCat on Mac OS X 10.13.6
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #12 on: February 26, 2013, 07:25:42 PM »
Hmm... I got my first Vantage Pro in 1992 and it lasted 12 years before the Humidity sensor failed. I sold it on the 2nd hand market and bought a Vantage Pro2 which has been working without any issues since.

Maybe you were just unlucky - or I have been very lucky.  :P

jace

  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 812
    • DW9675
    • ISuffolk62
    • Yoxford weather site.
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro2, with Mac USB Data Logger. 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook, with 8 GB 1033 MHz DDR3 Memory, running Mac OSX Version 10.10.1 (Yosimite).
Re: POLL: What Station Are You Using
« Reply #13 on: February 26, 2013, 08:41:29 PM »
Looking at the poll results, I'll probably get shot for this suggestion!
Peter

Naugh Peter, I don't think so, the WMR 200 was on my shortlist of stations to get, but unfortunately Mac software support was very poor, it's only recently that Stu has been able to bring it and other stations into the fold ..  For instance he has just finished development for a Watson WH 3080 which costs about ?90, for that money my Davis station has to work flawlessly for almost 8 years. 

JC


elagache

  • Global Moderator
  • Storm
  • *****
  • Posts: 6494
    • DW3835
    • KCAORIND10
    • Canebas Weather
  • Station Details: Davis Vantage Pro-2, Mac mini (2018), macOS 10.14.3, WeatherCat 3
Accepting Davis for what they are. (Re: Station Are You Using)
« Reply #14 on: February 27, 2013, 09:50:45 PM »
Hi Peter, JosBaz, JC, and WeatherCat fans,

So Davis Vantage is most popular but do they deserve it?

Probably the best way is to think of a Davis Station as a Cadillac with all the ups and downs associated with that car maker.  In the glory days of Detroit, Cadillac was the best in terms of everything America had to offer in cars.  As technology passed US makers, what was left behind was the durability and style.

Davis is clearly slow to innovate and has only a lukewarm interest in the consumer market (even if it is probably their largest market.)  I believe they see themselves as a maker of instruments for industry, government and academia.  It is the needs of those consumers that Davis caters to first.  It isn't a foolish move because  . . . . .  those folks can afford to spend more on weather instruments that an individual consumer.  For a small privately-held company, it is a very reasonable strategy for survival.

That leaves us end users very much out in the cold.  I'll be the first to admit, the reason I bought a Davis was that they had Mac compatibility and I really wanted that.  I didn't realize what sort of reputation they had. However, since buying it I have to admit I very much like the Davis features.  The flexibility that allows professional meteorologists to use them was also handy for me.   I really appreciate their durability.  Also, I'm sure some end-users buy them for the bragging rights of having a Davis station.

Are the worth the cost?  Probably not.  However, so far nobody had really come up with a station that is very tough, accurate, innovative, user-friendly, and yet, still priced to way undercut Davis.  The competitors to Davis are  . . . . . .  I'm sorry to report - cheap.  There are many low-end station manufacturers and they are locked in that destructive aspect of capitalism: price-wars.  I have no doubt there is a place for very inexpensive stations, but you get what you pay for.  For someone curious about weather, it is enough to get their feet wet.  However, for those who ultimately decided they are interested enough to keep up their stations - what happens when their station breaks?

Some folks will just replace cheap with cheap.  However, for the folks who realize the real investment is in the time to get your instruments set up correctly, putting up cheap instruments every few years will be a real drag.  So, I am convinced, that Davis a sizable fraction of their money in the consumer market on folks who are trading-up rather than first time purchases of high-end Davis products.  Until someone else starts making a station that really can shoulder a reputation for quality - where else can you turn for a quality weather station?

Cheers, Edouard  [cheers1]