Home Weather Station

kenmc

it came! will play with it over the weekend and see how it goes.

jdee99

alfalad wrote: »

Your assuming I can write an app! It was more a case of most units or even computer programes seem to be quiet dated looking. Something that looked a bit more user friendly and could be easily hooked to a computer and therefore wifi I would have thought would be jumped at by station makers. The Oregon Scentific look quite good and if they were to make a version that would report to your own hand held device that would be excellent.

I am running a Davis Vantage Vue with Weather Display software on a iMac with Lion OSX. Cant write apps but the data is published on the internet through a web page (see www.carrowhawny.com) so I can get it on iPad etc.

Data is transmitted wireless to my iMac and then ftp'd to website etc.

JD

Wild Bill

jdee99 wrote: »

I am running a Davis Vantage Vue with Weather Display software on a iMac with Lion OSX. Cant write apps but the data is published on the internet through a web page (see www.carrowhawny.com) so I can get it on iPad etc.

Data is transmitted wireless to my iMac and then ftp'd to website etc.

JD

Cool! I have a "Vantage PRO 2" - how the heck do I get it on the internet???

(It beams stuff up from outside to a desktop unit and can be loaded automatically to the PC)

eastmayo

got my davis vantage vue back 2day,was gone for repair the last month,the iss was causing hassle for me of and on since i got it back in jan.when ever there was strong winds and rain low battery would come up on console,kept changing battery until it stoped,it was letting dampness in,so they sent me a new iss today:D,they have put some glue over the sencers beside the battery,hope it keeps going this time;)

kenmc

Up and running with temp and pressure anyway. Not much data at the moment, will try add at least the rain gauge over the weekend. Not sure where to mount the wind gauges yet. Just grabbed a free website : http://goatstownweather.atwebpages.com/

Wild Bill

kenmc wrote: »

Up and running with temp and pressure anyway. Not much data at the moment, will try add at least the rain gauge over the weekend. Not sure where to mount the wind gauges yet. Just grabbed a free website : http://goatstownweather.atwebpages.com/

Your wind-guage must be 10m above ground level - and what's this about seagulls in Goatstown?

How do you "grab a website"??

I hate being technologically challenged.

It's worse than having a vertically challenged anemometer.

kenmc

seagulls are stock photo, hate it, didnt have time to change the layout from that which cumulus provides.

the wind gauge can go anywhere I can put it! but the accuracy will be way off.

and to grab a website, go to any if the free hosting providers and sign up, and claim a site name. cumulus can do the rest for you in terms of uploading the data, else teach yourself how to write a webpage

talkabout

Decent value

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-touchscreen-wireless-weather-forecaster-228825?ordercode=N96GY&C=Email-Newsletter&U=11P13-2-N96GY&T=1054674&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=N96GY&utm_campaign=11P13-2

Pangea

talkabout wrote: »

Decent value

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-touchscreen-wireless-weather-forecaster-228825?ordercode=N96GY&C=Email-Newsletter&U=11P13-2-N96GY&T=1054674&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=N96GY&utm_campaign=11P13-2

Thats the one you have isn't it?
I notice there is a weather thermometer on it and a wind gauge, since the wind gauge is meant to be high and the thermometer is meant to be around 1.2metres, doesn't having them at one height mean less accuracy?

talkabout

Yeah, i have that one, its a grand job considering the money. I have mine mounted on a pole off the shed, you can mount the sensors at different heights but i mounted mine at about 3m. I got it on line from maplins last November but they also have a store in Derry.

kenmc

Feck, I paid 69.99 gbp online last week, it's down a tenner . arse

gbee

Pangea wrote: »

doesn't having them at one height mean less accuracy?

For this instrument, one is not going to get accuracy and for ongoing maintenance, easy accessibility is paramount.

I've mine staggered on a pole with the wind sensors at 4m approx and rain and temp about 1.5m and yes, there is a degree of stability and it could follow on that making them higher still might, just might improve things more, but they are not accurate or robust enough in and of themselves for ambitious mounting.

If you were talking Davis or better, I'd agree with you completely.

jdee99

Wild Bill wrote: »

Cool! I have a "Vantage PRO 2" - how the heck do I get it on the internet???

(It beams stuff up from outside to a desktop unit and can be loaded automatically to the PC)

Hi - I did the website by using a program called Weather Display h**p://www.weather-display.com and using free php scripts (all the instructions are included with the scripts and how to set up the software) from here [url]h**p://saratoga-weather.org/scripts.php[/url]

I hasten to add I know nothing about building websites but mine (www.carrowhawny.com) was all done using the above websites.

JD

Reckless Abandonment

talkabout wrote: »

Yeah, i have that one, its a grand job considering the money. I have mine mounted on a pole off the shed, you can mount the sensors at different heights but i mounted mine at about 3m. I got it on line from maplins last November but they also have a store in Derry.

Hey Talkabout, got that weather station the other day love it, but find it loses connection with the external instruments ever so often , have you had any problems with your's or am I missing something in the settings, Thanks

talkabout

Reckless Abandonment wrote: »

Hey Talkabout, got that weather station the other day love it, but find it loses connection with the external instruments ever so often , have you had any problems with your's or am I missing something in the settings, Thanks

Never really had a problem with losing the signal. It has happened a few times and i changed the batteries and no problems since, thats not to say that it never happens but once in a blue moon. I find the reading very accurate considering the cost of the station, i compare my readings to NRA stations about three miles away.

gbee

For best signal one really needs line of sight with the minimum of obstacles between them.

Copper pipes and cylinders will disrupt the signal, maybe even completely. Thick walls will also reduce and eventually totally block the signal. I have my receiver high on the wall to facilitate continuous signal reception.

[My own signal comes 30ft from the sensor through the garden shed, through the kitchen and through the tool room with water pipes so I guess I'm pushing it a bit and I do suffer a few outages]


On one hand the sensor unit needs to be placed lower to the ground, this is however, a poor position for guaranteed continuous reception.

As noted already, I too have replaced the batteries twice already and my unit is just over a year old. I don't know if this is saying anything about the unit's power consumption, its claims or the actual batteries.

rilz

Went into Winemark earlier in week for some xmas drink and when buying wine, bacardi, Vodka and Whiskey they had a free weather station on offer on filling out a questionaire.
Looking forward to getting it now.:D

tylercollins

Would this one be worth buying?

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-wireless-weather-forecaster-223254

gbee

My WS is just about 15 months old and I've been routinely getting read errors.

I've replaced the batteries four times now in the sensor unit that should have lasted two years.

I've replaced the batteries in the base unit twice that should have lasted three years.

Now this bit. My old batteries were replaced @ 1.47v whereas 1.3v would be considered flat. I'm using the partially discharged batteries in torches and getting brilliant light.

Lumi

gbee wrote: »

My WS is just about 15 months old and I've been routinely getting read errors.

I've replaced the batteries four times now in the sensor unit that should have lasted two years.

I've replaced the batteries in the base unit twice that should have lasted three years.

Now this bit. My old batteries were replaced @ 1.47v whereas 1.3v would be considered flat. I'm using the partially discharged batteries in torches and getting brilliant light.

I had the same station for almost three years before upgrading and only replaced the batteries once so it sounds like you have a fault somewhere in the unit

I suggest that you register and post details of your problem here
http://sandaysoft.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=13&sid=9a03517afc7c9757718775125e2be810 as they have a large number of Fine Offset/Maplin Weather Station owners using the forum and they are exceptionally helpful and have vast amount of experience with regards to the problems you can encounter with them

Good luck.

gbee

Lumi wrote: »

Good luck.

Thanks, I'd forgotten about this forum, got a new password now.

Lumi

gbee wrote: »

My WS is just about 15 months old and I've been routinely getting read errors.

Just a thought but re the read errors you might try disconnecting & reconnecting the USB cable.

Wild Bill

Lumi wrote: »

Just a thought but re the read errors you might try disconnecting & reconnecting the USB cable.

Don't get actual errors but every so often (once every few days) the station stops broadcasting and the old disconnecting & reconnecting the USB cable trick works wonders

gbee

Note: Cumulus Software: I had to delete all records as an error kept happening and inaccurate readings were being recorded by Cumulus.

I noticed a lot of zero reading and a constant 8°C which could not be correct, however, I was experiencing a no weather event and other figures more or less supported my own reading ~ but they still could not be perfectly constant.

Not sure what happened but I changed some of the all time records in Cumulus as many are affected by my CB radio DXing, then I had to clear the data from my station with Easy Weather and thereafter Cumulus was just giving Error and logginga constant stream of data as old v new values ~ I could not find a way to make it stop.

So I deleted the whole thing and started again from scratch.

PPS, as I deleted the log files, Steve at Sanysoft is unable to shed any light on this.

My WS will stop reporting rain once the memory is full on the console. So a routine has developed whereby I close Cumulus, run Easy Weather, log the memory and clear it physically, shut down and restart Cumulus.

During Christmas I altered the high lows in Cumulus and that was fine. After my next routine Cumulus was giving a constant looping data erro, value not matching, but whilst it seemed to be working otherwise, it was in fact not reporting the data form the console, just looping the error reports.

gbee

I have to replace batteries at frequent intervals.

My rain collector stops because it digs a trench and catches itself.
It also stops reporting if the memory is physically full on the Control Panel Unit.

My temperature reads too high as the temperature rises, it reads too low as the temperature reduces.

My pressure sensor seems to lose sensitivity the higher the pressure, during the recent 1035 record high pressure I was stuck at low readings. I also suspect the software errors as my above post to be responsible but since fixed I've not had the very high pressure to test.

Not saying anything, just a report.

Wild Bill

You need a Vantage Pro

gbee

Wild Bill wrote: »

You need a Vantage Pro

I'm a good ad for one, aren't I? Maybe they could give me a discount?

nephster

Just in case anyone is thinking of getting the WH3080 - don't. It's plagued with problems. That 114 euro above is ex VAT and ex delivery, so I ended up ordering though Amazon.de from a German company (125 all in IIRC). However, the first unit failed after two weeks - wouldn't receive certain of the readings, and had to be sent back at a cost of €30.
The second unit is receiving measurements fine, but whenever it receives the radio time from Frankfurt it jumps forward eight hours from what it should be - it should be set at the German time minus one, but I have to set it at minus nine to show GMT. Sigh.
If you look at the boards for the Cumulus software you can see many other problems which the prior models, the WH1081 and 91, don't suffer in the same amount.

ednwireland

posted in bargain alerts

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056591428

£49.99

http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-wireless-weather-forecaster-223254?ordercode=N96FY&C=Email-Newsletter&U=12P4-3-N96FY&T=746802&utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_content=N96FY&utm_campaign=12P4-3

irishgeo

anyone got a good entry level one?

i missed out on the maplin cheap one.