Hi all, after a little research I figured this was the place to come to answer some questions I have/may have in the future. First, I think it would be a little rude to continue without telling you a little bit about me.
My name is Lee, I am a 35 year old Business Coninuity Manager for a large Global Bank. My main interests are, Shooting, Cars, Aviation, Amatuer Radio and to some extent, the weather. I wont mislead you, my main passion is shooting and is one of the reasons, along with my interest in Aviation and the weather that I have on order a Vantage Pro 2.
To my untrained eye, it would see in the last few years we have seen a change in the typical pattern of weather, I have always taken a keen interest in local weather events and have toyed with the idea of buying a weather station. As is the norm with me I always jump in at the deep end, so, instead of spening
You need the Anemometer as high as possible to get best wind readings…Mine is raised above chimney level on a standard TV Mast. The combined ISS (with rainfall bucket and Temp etc) is in a clear area on an adjacent lawn mounted on a cut down scafolding pole at 4ft height.
Software. Although the Vantage pro comes with a console, to use it with a PC and store the data longterm you need a data logger (the general advice is to get the serial data logger) for connection to the PC. The Davis data logger comes with its own proprietary software called WeatherLink, but it is extremely basic and this is where WeatherDisplay becomes the best option.
Yes a very good choice of wx stn. 8) 8)
Get to know how the forum works and use the Search function/FAQs etc…there is a wealth of info buried in the archived database.
There are some very knowledgeable folk here on the forum who are always willing to help. Brian (Windy) is the writer of the WD prog and gives fantastic support to all.
Couple of return questions for you. It would seem I have the near pefect oppurtunity to set this up properly.
The 4 foot poll you mention I have in my Garden, its what I mounted by vertical antenna on, it is about 4 foot in height and sit in the middle of a lawn surrounded by tree’s and fencing.
The Anemometer can probably go on a poll that sits on the side of my house, i guess its height will be about 4 foot above the pitch of the roof. Its a normal 2 story house. My question is how I connect this equipment back to the base station. I am assuming the ISS, rainfall bucket and temp are the bits with wireless, what about the Anemometer. How does that get back to the base station? The run from where it could possibly mount is about 10 - 15 M
Welcome to the forum. It looks like others have answered your questions…or pointed you at useful reading.
You’ll find quite a few Radio Amateurs here, including me!
Loads of stuff, but you’ve made a good start so take it slowly and methodically. Getting your station sited in the best possible way is the most important thing to do, unless you like climbing ladders to tweak things! Most urban stations are at best a compromise on where they’re located, but if you understand that you have some limitations due to siting you’ll be OK. After siting, most other things can be done from the warmth (or cool) of your shack so it’s not as big a problem if you have to re-work something!
Your Anemometer is connected to the ISS via wire, about 30 - 40 feet come with it IIRC… They also make a wireless transmitter that can be used in the place of wire…
If you have the wireless VP2 then the ISS talks to the console by radio. The anemometer connects to the ISS by cable, unless you buy a seperate anemometer transmitter (not cheap!). That might cause you some cable routing problems!
Interesting. Well if it uses wire is something you can make up? What connection does is use? Cos I do have a run of wire comming from the mast it would clamp too back to the 4 foot pole that the ISS will be on? Or is that too simple?
The Wireless transmitter is also an option, but at
I would use the cable that comes with the anemometer (extra is available quite cheaply(?) as an extra from Davis/retailer), but it is nothing really special.
Unfortunately, to transfer the data onto a PC you can only do it via the Davis datalogger…more expense…
Yes, there are other wx radar sources available…I think that the most up to date runs with a time lag of 5 mins (Computer processing etc)and has quite good resolution down to 1km depending on distance from radar…but in the end for the UK it is sourced via the UK Met O radars and comes at further expense again. See my website for a link to Meteox 15min wx radar, which is free.
You can extend the cable a fair way…perhaps to 500 ft so should be OK unless you have a huge garden! I can’t remember if it’s 4 or 6 way cable, but it’s RJ-11 connectors. You’ll also need a waterproof coupler (or a waterproof housing for a standard coupler to join the cables.
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Regarding the data logger I will probably not go for that at this point. I will just have the data showing on a web site whislt my PC is on for now, and no saved data. Unless of course I get hooked
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You need the data logger to get the data into your PC
Also, and this may be the wrong thread to ask, is there any software/service that allows you to track rainfall/storms in more detail and regularity than the TV weather service?
This is Britain You don’t get stuff like that for free like they do over the pond and because it costs significant amounts of money for such data from the Met Office there isn’t the market for that kind of software like there is in the US.
You can get a lightning detector like the Boltek which will give you a range & bearing from your location. It can also be linked into other detectors to give better accuracy (with the right software).
Or there’s the 1-wire lightning detector that only counts the cloud to ground strikes and gives their intencity. This is much cheaper and will work through Weather Display.
If you’ve ordered from the US then you’ll be getting a US version. Apart from needing a new power adaptor for 230 volts, the frequency they operate on is illegal in the UK. The US version uses 900 (ish) Mhz but the UK version uses 433MHz.
If it were that easy then I would have a Davis as well.
I would make sure which version you are getting but Davis don’t supply the EU or UK versions to any US based traders. The cable version should be fine to use in the UK as there are no radio frequency problems, if that’s another option.
Yes. Without the data logger you’ll just be able to look at the console display.
I see that there are 3 versions, EU UK US, I assume thats just the plug?
That might be a big problem. UK/EU models work at 868MHz. The US model works at 916MHz, so in the mobile phone band. Even if you don’t interfere with mobiles and have OFCOM, Vodafone and O2 chasing you, you might find your station suffers from cellphones and doesn’t work properly.
