Topic: Your opinion?

[DonMichUP]

Good day everyone. A nice lady turned me on to this forum, and from I can see I like it! I will be looking at some of the reference links posted. Thanks WG  .

I'm interested in purchasing a PWS. But after countless of hours of browsing, I'm stuck, and need some advice please.

I need something highly accurate, the most "bang for the buck", and reliable. Maybe this is a "Ford VS Chevy" area here  . But I've read that Davis is a good brand, but their customer support is poor and some owners think that the price is too high. And it also seems that one needs to buy a lot of 'extras' with Davis. Oregon Scientific customers have some complaints; one model's anemometer bearings freezing up, another model's solar not holding a charge, and parts on back order. I've read that Lacrosse has poor support. I haven't checked out too many other brands due to cost. Btw, I've also read that the anemometer cups on PWS's compromise a size between large and small used by the NWS, so just how accurate are the readings?

First and foremost I need a PWS for my own use. It has to be wireless, have a decent range, and like I said, accurate and reliable. Solar powered is attractive. I am leaning towards Ambient Weather's Virtual Weather Station software. I'd like to have my PWS posted for community observations. In time, I'd like to host my local weather on a personal website, but that's at an unknown point in time. I'll need something that can read very low ambient and wind chill temps, as I've known it to get as low as -34 degrees in my region.

So... any pros, cons, and recommendations?? What I really need is some feedback on accuracy and dependability. If I can get the basics and then build upon a system... i.e., add solar power later, etc... that may be ok. I'm lost in a whirlwind of confusion  .
Don

[Anthony]

First I don't own a Davis. I own an OS WMR-968 and have been pleased with the station. The station in 6+ years old. Yes I have had to replace a few things, anemometer & outdoor temp/himid sensor and the humidity side of the sensor is out again. But as long as I have spare parts to keep it going, I will stick with this station.

But if I were going to replace it and had the money. I would deffinately get the Davis. I have heard many good things about the Davis stations as is evident by the posts hear on this forum. And I have never heard one bad word about their customer support.

[Zephirus]

I have been pretty happy Davis support. 

[Sigdigit]

Happy with Davis support here as well.  Especially happy with the product.  Excellent wireless product, strong signal.  If you go to Ambient Weather.com, you can see a comparison table of all the different stations.  You will notice that Davis sensors have a comparatively low error margin.

[d_l]

I've been very happy with Davis support.  I bricked a serial logger and Envoy with a firmware upgrade.  I called them for tech support at 5:00 PM their time on a Friday.  After we determined that the parts were indeed dead, they cross-shipped replacements and I had them by Wednesday.

They have always answered my email questions too.

[justin470]

I currently have a Davis station that I have been using for almost a year without a single problem.

They have great customer service and support.

I would recommend their products to anyone.

Justin

[tomcj2]

Don,

but their customer support is poor

The support from Davis is excellent.  I cannot think I have ever read a post that has complained about it.  ( Oregon Scientific is a different matter)

And it also seems that one needs to buy a lot of 'extras' with Davis.

Davis offers more extras than most, if not all other manufactures.  They are not mandatory, but simply options to expand your system.  The only common, recurring complaint is about having to buy a data logger to hook it up to your computer, and I do not think even that is a valid complaint as some folks only want a stand alone system.

If you decide on a Davis I would suggest that you spend the additional money up front to get a unit with a fan aspirated radiation shield, UV sensor, and Radiation Sensor if you think you will want them in the future; the add-ons are quite a bit more expensive.

Phone Davis and ask for their recommendations
Then try phoning Oregon Scientific.  If you are able get through to a real person at OS you will quickly learn the difference between the two.

I cannot write about the other, more expensive stations, as they were out of my budget limits and I did not even research them.  I have had my Davis for 19 months and have been very pleased with it.  They replaced the console because it was not keeping time, and I am in the process of calibrating the rain gauge because I recently discovered that it is reading 25% low ( I bought a CoCoRaHS 4" rain gauge and joined them 2 months ago. I enjoy doing it).  The data from rest of the functions is "bang on".

I spent a long time looking for the best price and although I found a supplier a few dollars cheaper I bought from Ambient because of their service and return policy.

I'd like to host my local weather on a personal website, but that's at an unknown point in time

Do not hesitate, do it today!  You can buy a name for less than $10, and I use E-RICE.net as a web host at $10 a year.

You may find , as i have, that this is a great hobby, but be prepared to spend more time and money.  A camera will be a "must buy" within a few months.  I am even considering a BOLTEK Lightning Detector even though we only get a couple of thunder storms a year.

Welcome to this forum, and enjoy your new hobby.

[WeatherBeacon]

First, welcome to a great weather forum!

If you have the money, get a Davis. It may cost more than other stations, but as the saying goes, "you get what you pay for." Of course, there are many members who are very happy with their Oregon Scientific stations.

Also, Davis's support is excellent and from what I've heard over the years, unbeatable. I'm not sure where you read that their support is poor, but whatever that source was, I'd start doubting its reliability.

Best advice: do your research, read the weather forums, ask questions. Make sure you're comfortable with your purchase decisions before you purchase so you aren't disappointed soon thereafter.

Go to Davis's website and request a catalog. That will give you a clearer understanding of all the options available for the Vantage Pro2. Keep in mind that the MSRP listed in the catalog will be higher than what you'd pay from distributors.

Might as well clear this up right away---the Davis Vantage Pro2 doesn't come with computer software to upload and display your weather data on a computer. To upload the Vantage Pro data to a computer you must also buy Davis's "WeatherLink". WeatherLink often confuses people but it's simple: WeatherLink is both the datalogger (hardware) and software...it comes as a package, not separately. Once you have the WeatherLink datalogger, you may then also use other weather software (Virtual Weather Station, Weather Display, etc.). Regardless which weather software you end up purchasing, you must buy the Davis WeatherLink to upload the Vantage Pro data to a computer.

Good luck!

Regards,

Kevin...

[WeatherBeacon]

This was posted by OffRoadJosh just recently.

   http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=2970.0

[ocala]

I'll second everyone else here.
Davis has a great product with great customer support.

[Sigdigit]

Don, the verdict is in. You must buy a Davis.  If you don't, men from Davis will find you.  Then I don't even want to think what will happen.  

[vcbmoore]

Just one more endorsement for Davis.

I've had a Pro2 with FARS, Solar and USB for almost 5 years.  Nothing has gone wrong.  I've changed all the batteries twice  - the most recent last week.  I should probably upgrade the firmware someday.

Last week I purchased another identical Pro 2 to donate to a local school.  I had it running with WeatherLink and uploading to WU using serial.  Then I did something stupid, I tried to use the USB port.  My computer locked up.  No matter what I tried, I could not get the data logger back to serial.  I called Davis yesterday morning and talked to Tom in technical support.  After about 30 minutes, we decided the data logger was fubared.  He shipped a new one yesterday via 2 day UPS.  It'll will be here tomorrow.  How good it that?