Oregon Scientific "flatters" Davis with imitation.

[elagache]

Dear WeatherCat connoisseurs of weather station hardware,

In one of those endless catalogs sent around this time of year was a listing for something very new from Oregon Scientific.  The station is the WMR300A-P:

http://www.oregonscientific.com/us/en/Ultra-precision-Professional-Weather-Station-WMR300A-P

Take a look at a photo of it:



Remind you of any other manufacturer's station?

Not only that, but some of the accessories include:

• Wireless repeater (Extend transmission range)
• UV sensors (Measure UV index & UV dose)
• Solar radiation sensor (Measure solar radiation, THSW & evapotranspiration (ET)
• Aspirated fan (Enhance accuracy of temperature and humidity sensor)
• Soil/leaf sensor (Measure soil moisture/temperature & leaf wetness)

It appears that increasing competition in the market for low-end stations has encouraged Oregon Scientific to basically clone the Vantage Pro-2 line.  It will be interesting to see how this product is received and how Davis responds to the heads-on competition.

Cheers, Edouard 
   
   
   
   
   

[Blicj11]

Very interesting. The specifications for both brands are very similar, as is the non-discounted price point. This looks like a big jump for Oregon Scientific. It will be interesting to see how the quality shakes out over time.

Note: In the States, Costco is selling this for $530.

[Felix]

Note: In the States, Costco is selling this for $530.

And $500 on Amazon Prime. Thirteen 'reviews' as I write this.

OS will have to step up their customer support game if they expect to be successful in this segment of the market.

[elagache]

Dear Blick, Felix, and WeatherCat connoisseurs of weather station hardware,

Here is a link to the Amazon product page:

http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Scientific-Ultra-Precision-Professional-Temperature/dp/B00ESJ1INC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417556685&sr=8-1&keywords=Oregon+Scientific+WMR300A

The reviews are very interesting to read through.  The people who just bought it and clearly aren't very expert about weather stations are expressing the usual new buyer satisfaction.  However, the folks who got the station through Amazon's free product review program are showing reservations and they seem significant.

One reviewer said that Oregon Scientific doesn't provide information on the API for developers.  I wonder if that's true - Stu?

Cheers, Edouard 

[Blicj11]

The Amazon reviews are interesting. In the Q&A section for this product, one of the responses states that the purchaser took it back to Costco and bought a Davis elsewhere.

I see from the Oregon Scientific operating manual that the ISS uses a rechargeable AA battery. That will be a major pain in the rear end for most people. Also the manual is 13 pages covering both ISS and console, compared to 50 pages in my Vantage Pro2 console manual plus the  separate ISS manual.

Finally, there is apparently no customer support for this OS unit. That is not going to work at all for people who are moving up from the $100 weather monitoring units. Think I will stick with Davis for a while longer.

[elagache]

Dear Blick and WeatherCat "wouldn't you really rather own a Davis" types, . . . .

Think I will stick with Davis for a while longer.

Ditto!!

Even with all the troubles I'm having, at least Davis gives me all sort of options to extricate myself from my predicament!

Cheers, Edouard