Looking for advice/suggestions.

[Sheltie]

Heres my problem. I have a Vantague Vue. Wherever I site my station, unless it is on top of a tall pole, it does not get a good all-round "view" of the wind, it is always partly blocked from some direction. In any case, as I understand it, the VantageVue isn't really meant to be stuck on top of a tall pole and it also makes it nearly impossible to get at for repairs/battery replacement etc. The missus is absolutely adamant she doesn't want it attched to the house (our house is timber framed and timber clad - a lot of houses are up here because of the weather conditions, the houses are built similar to those in Norway). At the moment I am compensating for lack of height by using the offset function in WD but thats not ideal and not always accurate.

So what would be the best solution to my wind problem? Because the Vue is an all-in-one it doesn't accept extra instruments such as another anemometer. Obviously I could invest in aVP with it's seperate sensors but why fork out that much when the Vue is perfectly good and has worked well in the conditions up here. It's only just over 1 year old.

A seperate anemometer perhaps that would work in tandem with the Vue via WD? Is that possible and what do people recommend. I'm looking for ideas. I think I've considered most options but its always good to get someone elses input as I may have missed a potentially simple solution!

Be grateful for ideas.

Bob

[Axelvold]

How far away is spot for getting a good "view" of the wind?

Could you post some pictures?

[Sheltie]

My house lies on a slope so the best place for a pole would be upslope which is well within transmission range. However, even then the pole would need to be at least 7-8m so that the anemometer would be above my roof and be able to "view" the wind all-around and unobstructed. Wherever the station is sited at low level it is obstructed from the wind either by my own house or others nearby.

[Weather Display]

you could get a Vortex anenometer, and use that with WD
(via a serial port or 1 wire)

[Sheltie]

Did consider that but its wired, needs to be wireless as I'm limited as to where I can have the computer with WD. Thanks for the suggestion though.

[Budgie]

I thought the Vue was able to take a remote anemometer sensor using the VP2's anemometer transmitter?
I'll have a look but I'm sure it can. That would then replace the Vue's anemometer and leave the rest of the sensors to be be placed where you want.

Edit:
See pages 8 & 9 of the Vue Console Manual, it tells you how to set it up with the console. 
Here's the online version if you don't have one: http://www.vantagevue.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/07395-261_IM_06351.pdf

[Sheltie]

Thanks Martin, had a look at that. Bit pricey though. The transmitter unite is £246! And then I'd have to buy an anemometer as well. I have been reading up on the Davis website and they no reason at all why the ISS should not be pole mounted. They reckon it's been wind tunnel tested to over 150mph!

[broadstairs]

I think your separate anemometer is the best solution. There are many swings and roundabouts with all-in-one stations like the Vue. If you pole mount it at that sort of height your rainfall measurement is likely to be affected as rain buckets are meant to be closer to the ground than 7-8m! Sadly Davis stuff is expensive especially outside of the USA which is one reason why I try to keep my VP1 going as long as I can.

Stuart

[Budgie]

If you can find a way to mount it then there's an VP2 ISS on Ebay at the moment for £100 and the seller normally has the anemometers on there for about £50.

If you're really lucky, like me  , you can get the ISS for a few pounds as no one else bid on it. 

I'd keep an eye on their auctions and see what comes up.   

[Sheltie]

OK so if I got another one can the console handle two ISS?

The link is to a transmitter board kit - I could use that how?

[Budgie]

The VP2 transmitter board is the ISS for the VP2 station and works in the same way as the anemometer transmitter. In fact they are the same PCB.
The Vue won't handle two ISS transmitters, so you have one set as the ISS (your original ISS with the rain,temp & hum sensors) and the other ( the VP2 board) you set as "WIND", as described in the Console Manual.
That was the Vue console know only to accept wind data from that transmitter.
You may have to check the transmitter settings on both to make sure they are different otherwise the VP2 transmitter maybe mistaken for the ISS. 

[Sheltie]

Ref Stuart above, actually I was a bit generous with the height! It's actually more like 4-5m I would need for it to get a clear view. Martin the cheap transmitter is a good idea however I still need to buy an anemometer as well which cost about £150 new! I just don't have a lot of money to chuck around. I need a solution thats cheap and I need it fairly soon as I don't want the current situation continuing for much longer - a lot of people use my website!

[Budgie]

and the seller normally has the anemometers on there for about £50.

 

[Sheltie]

OK not at the moment they don't but I'll keep an eye on it.