Trixology
Weather => Weather Hardware/Measurement => Topic started by: Hap on February 27, 2014, 11:51:06 PM
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I'm new to weather stations and would like a bit of feedback on the hardware I've initially selected.
- Davis Instruments 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station with Standard Radiation Shield
- Davis Instruments 6332 Vantage Pro2 Anemometer Transmitter Kit
- 2 x Davis Instruments 7717 Mounting Pole Kit (One for Anemometer on roof, one for the base station)
- Davis Instruments 6316 Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue Wireless Weather Envoy
- Davis Instruments 6520 WeatherLink for Vantage Pro2 for Mac OS X
The Mac mini I want to connect the Weather station to is a headless 2012 mini running OS X server on a UPS. That's why I thought I should get the Envoy to connect to the Mac instead of wasting a console in a room I can't see it (dedicated wiring closet). The console would be in a more accessible area, but there are no computers there.
The weather station would be located about 30' from the house and the signal would have to pass thru the outside brick wall and at least three interior walls before getting to to the Envoy - would this be a problem from a signal strength perspective? The Anemometer would be a little further away, but the signal would only have to pass through the roof and one interior wall to get to the Envoy.
Suggestions? Criticisms?
Thanks,
David
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Dear David and WeatherCat welcoming committee,
First things first, welcome to the WeatherCat forum!! (http://www.canebas.org/Weather/LWC_forum/Custom_emoticons/welcome_smiley.gif)
On to your question. First, you might want to consult some online resources that are intended to help you set up your station. We have 5 such guides then listed on the WeatherCat Wiki:
http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Station_Setup (http://wiki.trixology.com/index.php/Station_Setup)
Another resource that you might find helpful is your collection of WeatherCat user station installations:
http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=969.0 (http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?topic=969.0)
It would help us a great deal if you could post some photos of where you plan to install your station. If you think it would be helpful, you might try digging up some satellite photos of your region to help us see if there are any obstructions that could effect your data collection.
As to your specific questions:
I'm new to weather stations and would like a bit of feedback on the hardware I've initially selected.
- Davis Instruments 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station with Standard Radiation Shield
- Davis Instruments 6332 Vantage Pro2 Anemometer Transmitter Kit
- 2 x Davis Instruments 7717 Mounting Pole Kit (One for Anemometer on roof, one for the base station)
- Davis Instruments 6316 Vantage Pro2 and Vantage Vue Wireless Weather Envoy
- Davis Instruments 6520 WeatherLink for Vantage Pro2 for Mac OS X
This is a very reasonable package assuming there are no problems in locating these items. The one potential worry is your selection of the standard radiation shield. If your Integrated Sensor Suite (abbreviated ISS) is exposed to a lot of sunshine it will make your temperature readings off. I got around this problem using a second temperature sensor and using a deck as a very large radiation shield. However, this ultimately was more cost and work.
You may not be aware of the amount of discounting that can be found on Davis products. There are a number of discounters who others on the forum will probably point you to, but a good first check is Archer Trading Post:
http://www.archertradingpost.com/ (http://www.archertradingpost.com/)
You might discover that you can obtain the Davis station with the Fan Aspirated Radiation Shield for about the price you were planning to spend anyway. If you can afford that extra expense, it will greatly simplify your installation and give you the piece of mind of a very accurate temperature reading.
The Mac mini I want to connect the Weather station to is a headless 2012 mini running OS X server on a UPS. That's why I thought I should get the Envoy to connect to the Mac instead of wasting a console in a room I can't see it (dedicated wiring closet). The console would be in a more accessible area, but there are no computers there.
This is a very reasonable arrangement. Myself and a number of other WeatherCat users have a console and Envoy or second console for the data feed.
The weather station would be located about 30' from the house and the signal would have to pass thru the outside brick wall and at least three interior walls before getting to to the Envoy - would this be a problem from a signal strength perspective? The Anemometer would be a little further away, but the signal would only have to pass through the roof and one interior wall to get to the Envoy.
I would not expect you to have any problems getting a signal from Davis equipment under those circumstances. Our house was built before the days of sheet-rock and has plaster over a very stout steel mesh. Even so, I can pick up signals from my Davis instruments even going through 3 such walls of metal mesh.
Better still, Davis has a very nice diagnostic mode, so if you are concerned, you can run some tests and make sure that data is coming to your devices reliably before completing installation.
Hope that is enough food for thought for you to get started. If you have any additional questions or comments, by all means ask! We are a friendly bunch of weather enthusiasts and love to help newcomers put together an weather station installation that they can be rightly proud of!
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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Hi David
And Welcome to the forum
As Edouard mentioned check around on the internet for pricing
Also check scentificsales.com they will match any price you find on the net and if you go to there site and ask for the internet pricing they will email you the price they can give you that is what i done and saved hundreds
good luck sounds like you are on the right track for the station your wanting
cheers
[cheers1]
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Hi David and welcome to the WeatherCat forum.
There are a number of discounters who others on the forum will probably point you to
Edouard and Randall have offered excellent suggestions. One other website to check for Davis products is RainmanWeather.com. I've had really good luck with pricing there.
Note that you can buy WeatherLink with either a USB data logger, if your console will be close to your Mac, or an IP data logger if you want to connect to your Mac through an ethernet port on your home network.
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Welcome to the WeatherCat forum, David!
The other guys have hit the three low-cost options for shopping. Davis doesn't allow advertising of best cost, which is why you have to email them for their best price offers. It is worth the effort, as you will probably save a few hundred dollars on your list of components.
Instead of the expensive Davis tripod and mast, go to your local Radio Shack and get their 5 foot tripod and 5 or 10 foot mast. It will save you some money, and is of good quality. You plan on mounting the ISS on a tripod? Is this for portability, or is it also going on a roof. Note that there is some maintenance needed on the ISS, so good access is nice to have. Optimal location for the ISS is about 5 feet above ground level.
Your mileage may vary on the signal strength for your Envoy location. Modern houses with extensive wiring (and ins some cases metal studs) may interfere with the signal. Only through trial and error will you know for sure.
The Envoy works fine as you plan to use it, but note that you will need to install and run WeatherLink for Mac to set up the Envoy's elevation, barometer, and maybe a couple of other settings. An option is to use the similarly priced Vue Console. But be sure what, if any, other sensors you plan to add in the future, as the Vue Console is not as flexible as the VP2 Console. I ended up buying a second VP2 Console for here on my desk, while the original is in the kitchen, as I have a soil station in the garden.
Another option instead of the Envoy is the Weatherlink IP, which you can attach to your network router and access via wifi for your min or any other Mac on the network. More costly, but might be an option if the Envoy isn't able to maintain a good signal at your desired location. I'm not sure of the WLIP's flexibility with additional sensors.
24 Hour FARS is a nice feature if you are in a location with heat and humidity in the summer and still air. The fan keeps the air circulating past the sensors to give a more accurate reading.
Solar and/or UV sensors are more expensive to add on after the fact, so if you think you will want them some day and can spend the extra up front, it will save you some money.
And you've already found the best Mac weather software available, so no need to offer suggestions there! :)
As you can see, we enjoy spending other people's money. ;) We have a very active user community here, and the developer is an active participant. Many members have developed templates for web pages, AppleScripts, iOS apps, and more.
Welcome aboard,
Steve
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All, thanks for the welcome and suggestions. I checked out some of your suggestions for pricing and it made a pretty significant difference.
I assume that WeatherLink IP could replace both the Envoy and Weatherlink for Mac? The entire house is wired for gigabit, so that wouldn't be an issue finding somewhere to plug in.
As far as location goes, the weather station would be mounted in the corner of a chain link fence about thirty feet from the house on a mounting pole in the corner. Easily accessible
The anemometer would be roof mounted on a pole attached to the side of the roof, the peak of the roof is a good 35ft AGL.
I'm located on a rise entering a valley, so there are no obstructions very close except for the house itself.
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I assume that WeatherLink IP could replace both the Envoy and Weatherlink for Mac?
That is correct. Before deciding to go this route, make sure with Stu (the developer) that WeatherCat can obtain all the same data from a WLIP as it can from the VP2 Console or Weather Envoy in case you decide to add additional temp stations, soil station, etc. at a later time. The WLIP manual is available here: http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/weather/spec_sheets/6555_spec_WeatherLinkIP.pdf
With all that wide open area, you might consider putting the anemometer on a stand-alone pole somewhere in the lawn, making occasional access easier. Look through our station show-off thread to see some options members here have used.
If roof mounted, you want to be sure that the anemometer is far enough away from the roof to avoid eddies created by air blowing over your house.
(http://www.morrisgarage.com/skitch/WindOverCliff.gif_577%C3%97250_pixels-20140301-132650.jpg)
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If I put the anemometer on a pole in the yard, is there any reason to separate it from the sensor suite? Just put it all on the same pole at that point? That would save the cost of the anemometer transmitter.
Wind is generally from the West (left in the picture).
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Hi David and WeatherCat station installation experts,
Ya' see, . . . we are a friendly bunch!! [bounce]
Ya' see, I told I assume that WeatherLink IP could replace both the Envoy and Weatherlink for Mac? The entire house is wired for gigabit, so that wouldn't be an issue finding somewhere to plug in.
That is correct so long as indeed you have an ethernet jack reasonably close to where you intended to put the Vantage Pro-2 console.
If I put the anemometer on a pole in the yard, is there any reason to separate it from the sensor suite? Just put it all on the same pole at that point? That would save the cost of the anemometer transmitter.
Yes indeed you can use one pole if that is more convenient. That is a common installation system and Davis has some illustrations of that scheme on their website. The installation instructions specifically include how to use a pipe for both components.
Hope that allows you to progress a little further!
Cheers, Edouard [cheers1]
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If I put the anemometer on a pole in the yard, is there any reason to separate it from the sensor suite? Just put it all on the same pole at that point? That would save the cost of the anemometer transmitter.
Wind is generally from the West (left in the picture).
I bet you would get some eddying with S to SW winds. I do with south winds due to the roof and W winds due to spruce trees. I hear it blowing a gale, and only read 30-40 MPH.
Here's my separated setup:
(http://smorris.smugmug.com/Weather/Setup/i-D7JzzXq/0/X2/DSC0045-X2.jpg)
Randall's anemometer on top of a pole (comes with 40' cable):
(http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=969.0;attach=1151;image)
Or Charlie's everything together:
(http://athena.trixology.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=969.0;attach=1237;image)