I use the WeatherLinkIP? data logger for three reasons.
- I do not want to have the console next to my iMac. I need the console to be more centrally located in the house.
- It saves me from using a USB port, which are in high demand. I am already using every USB port on my iMac plus all the ports in a USB hub.
- It does not require a driver and once you have the IP address set, you never mess with it again.
The main advantage of the IP data logger is that it allows you to put your console anywhere you have an ethernet port to access your network.
The IP logger has two primary disadvantages:
- It is more expensive.
- It requires an ethernet port.
Note that although the IP logger requires access to an ethernet port, that port does not have to be directly in the router. It can be anywhere. My house has wired ethernet ports in several locations and this worked out perfectly for me. I am currently investigating a suggestion from Herb to see if I can use the port in an Airport Express as the access point to my router for the IP data logger. I will report on that when I get it figured out.
The only other advantage of using the IP data logger is that it allows you to automatically upload weather data to the Davis weatherlink.com network, even if your computer is turned off. However, according to our fearless leader, Stu, you shouldn't use that feature, thereby negating its value:
"For the greatest reliability it is suggested you turn off the upload to weatherlink.com via the loggers' configuration web page and turn the upload option off in WeatherCat. The reason for this is when uploading to weatherlink.com, the logger may lock-up if it can't resolve the weatherlink.com domain name and communications to WeatherCat will be lost." (WeatherCat Manual, p.61)
I do not consider the loss of this feature to be of any significance as the WeatherLink Network contains only minimal data and has a very feature-poor display, reminding me of the good old days when everything for Windows for Work Groups was ported from DOS.