New member and Weather Station Owner - Need a little Help!

[Geechee]

Thanks for the add, first of all!  Need help/direction...

My wife gave me a Davis Vantage Vue for my birthday and unfortunately got the PC version of the WeatherLink data logger which I need to return. Since I started to read up on the Mac OSX options, I see that WeatherCat is the optimal Mac software. 

Here's my question- I don't really know what the data logger does and if I really need one to set my system up?  I'll be running with the turtles for a while until I can read up and get smarter on this stuff. I would like to be able to eventually share my weather data to the Web (and be able to remotely see what it's like outside my house when I'm out of town), so looking for some smart folks here to steer me in the right direction.  I'm just outside of Brevard, NC.  What parts do I need to get besides WeatherCat?  Thanks! Gill

[Blicj11]

First, welcome to the Forum! You are correct, WeatherCat is the optimal Mac Software for your Davis weather station.

Regarding your data logger question, the data logger is required only if you want to transmit your data from your console to your computer. You will need to do this if you want to use WeatherCat and eventually upload your data to the Internet. The data logger plugs into the back of the weather console and connects to your Mac.

There is no difference in the actual data logger itself between the PC and Mac models. The difference is only in the software interface for uploading weather to the Davis WeatherLink network. If your data logger is one with a USB connection, you don't need any additional hardware to connect it to your Mac. Davis also sells an IP Data Logger, which you might find helpful if you want to plug your data logger into an Ethernet connection on your home wireless network. But if you just want to keep your Vue console next to your Mac and plug it directly into the Mac, the USB data logger is the one you want.

I don't own a Vue (I have a Davis Vantage Pro2 Plus) so someone else who does needs to chime in here. I think that you need to have the Mac WeatherLink software in order to setup your Vue for the first time. After that you can use WeatherCat. I may be incorrect about that but I remember something about this in one of the forum threads.

Don't worry, there are lots of users smarter than me on this forum and one of them will give you the correct information on the WeatherLink software.

Again, welcome to WeatherCat!

[Randall75]

Hi Geechee
 And welcome to WeatherCat
 I do believe Blicj nailed everything on the the head
The only thing you will need to do is download the Davis driver for mac
You can get it @ Silacon Labs : http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/Pages/USBtoUARTBridgeVCPDrivers.aspx


Good luck


cheers


 

[Steve]

Welcome, Gill!

@Blicj11 has you covered for the most part. I'm not sure about needing the WeatherLink software to set up the Vue, though. I was thinking that it is only needed if using the Envoy, but as John noted, someone with a Vue will chime in with a definitive answer.

One thing to keep in mind in selecting a data logger. Are you using a desktop Mac, or a laptop? WeatherCat (and all weather software) work best if your computer is connected to the data logger, running, and awake all the time. This isn't always handy with a laptop. Most of us using a USB data logger are using desktop or mini Macs, and allow the screen to sleep, but have the computer set to never sleep.

If this doesn't work with your plans, then the extra cost for a WeatherLink IP data logger might be a better fit. It doesn't connect directly to your computer, but uses wifi as the link between the WL IP and your laptop. You'll still need it running all the time (I think?), but it can be moved about.

We're here to help, and again, welcome to our community,
Steve

[Blicj11]

There is a wonderful collection of stuff to know about WeatherCat and weather stations on the Wiki. http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Main_Page

Specifically, read the piece about data loggers. It's a wee bit hard to find, so here is a direct link. http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/A_comparison_of_the_Davis_USB_and_IP_data_loggers_for_the_Vantage-2/Vue_line_of_weather_stations

[elagache]

Dear Gill, Blick, Randall, Steve, and WeatherCat welcome wagon,

First things first, welcome Gill to the WeatherCat forum!

My wife gave me a Davis Vantage Vue for my birthday and unfortunately got the PC version of the WeatherLink data logger which I need to return. Since I started to read up on the Mac OSX options, I see that WeatherCat is the optimal Mac software.

These days exchanging a product is relatively easy.  So if you can exchange the data logger for the Mac version, it is probably worth the hassle.  It is unlikely that you will ever need the WeatherLink for Mac software.  But should the need arise, it is handy to have the software on your hard drive.  Adding all the WeatherLink configuration capability to WeatherCat is on the to-do list, but it is rarely used so it isn't a pressing addition to WeatherCat.

I just double-checked the Vantage Vue console manual (which you can read online here:)

http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/07395-261_IM_06351.pdf

Looking over the table of contents, the Vue console appears to have all the configuration capability of the Vantage Pro-2 console.  As such, you shouldn't ever need to use software to configure your station.  Still, occasionally it can be more convenient to set station parameters with your computer instead of going through the console screens.

I would like to be able to eventually share my weather data to the Web (and be able to remotely see what it's like outside my house when I'm out of town), so looking for some smart folks here to steer me in the right direction.  I'm just outside of Brevard, NC. 

Getting your weather conditions accessible on the Internet is extremely easy using WeatherCat and a number of the online data upload services like Weather Underground:

http://www.wunderground.com/

WeatherBug:

http://www.weatherbug.com/

and over 5 other Internet services.  Using these services is free and uploading data to them is as simple as registering with the service, entering a code from the website into WeatherCat, and pressing the start button.  Once you start such a service they provide a ready made webpage with the weather conditions from your station.  Here is the Weather Underground page for my station:

http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KCAORIND10

In addition, you can create a custom website for your weather.  However, take your time, this is a whole other topic and is, as you might expect, considerably more complex. . .

Welcome once more to WeatherCat and if you have any additional questions don't hesitate to ask!

Cheers, Edouard 

[Bull Winkus]

Ya! Welcome, Gill! Looks like they've covered it, until you ask us a question.

 

[Geechee]

Wow - I'm overwhelmed with the responses! Thanks to all. I'll use time over Thanksgiving to read all the links and give her a go. I'll let you know how it works out!  Thanks, Gill