Topic: Davis VP2 - Buyers Remorse???

[rockgeek]

Insert the standard newbie disclaimer here - but I think the VP2 is a pretty worthy chunk of technology.  YET, why is it as an engineer (and someone that works in the computer world) do I feel that Davis is A) .5 & $.10 - ing us to death  and B) afraid.

Let me explain.  The basis is there.  The technology and reliability (from a reputation stand point) is there.  Yet, you HAVE to buy their software to get the dongle to connect to the computer.  You are really limited to devices yo9u can hook up to their receiver.  I think they could easily change their methods, hold on to and build revenue and make it easier for people to get creative.

Let me explain further.  I bought a wired unit.  I'd like to attach say another temp sensor or two inside.  You really cant.  That is plain silly.  Make the communication channel a bus and you could add anything that talks on the bus.

I have some buyers remorse.  Someone bolseter me up - b/c on the surface I think this thing is Durned cool.  But as an engineer I'm feeling a bit lacking and constrained.

Rock Geek

[kray1000]

Yet, you HAVE to buy their software to get the dongle to connect to the computer. 

Think of it as having to buy the dongle (and getting the software for free) to connect the VP to the computer.  Of course, Davis could just include that in the cost of the VP, since many of us will wind up buying it anyway.  But if you replace a VP with another, why should you have to get a new dongle if your old dongle is still dangling?

And there are probably VP owners who don't want to connect the VP to a computer, but they both live in Antarctica where the Internet hasn't been invented yet.

Let me explain further.  I bought a wired unit.  I'd like to attach say another temp sensor or two inside.  You really cant.  That is plain silly.  Make the communication channel a bus and you could add anything that talks on the bus.

But what if it's a short bus?

So you want to attach additional temperature sensors to a wired station?  You'd have wires running all over the place.

I have some buyers remorse.  Someone bolseter me up - b/c on the surface I think this thing is Durned cool.  But as an engineer I'm feeling a bit lacking and constrained.

Sounds like you should have gone wireless... which, as an engineer, I'm sure you recognize as being way Durned cooler than wired. 

Enjoy A) your new VP2, and B) not having sellers remorse.

[Curly]

I've had the same thoughts at first when I bought mine.
My reason for buying a Davis was for a hobby. Like any other hobby, you usually start off with the basics and go from there. Hobbies can get expensive. This is one of them.

The data logger and software package sounds like a rip off but really isn't that bad. If all I wanted was to get the weather on the computer, I think I would be getting ripped off more if I had to buy the data logger that would be useless, unless I bought additional software. What kind of a deal is that?  From a marketing standpoint, the package is the best option.

Adding another temp sensor is no problem with the wireless. Other sensors can be added also. I'm not sure about the wired version. It just depends on what you have and what you can do with it. The Davis is marketed as a weather station, not an indoor thermometer.

If the weather station had a bus, would the deisgn, developement and engineering spike the cost, or could it be done for free?  I don't think cheap sensors would meet Davis's standards and it would end up being too costly.

I'm not sure what Davis would be afraid of. (B)

What weather station has all those features that you require and is as accurate and dependable as a Davis?  How is it priced?

You have a good product that will last a long time, but it does have limitations like eveything else in this world.

It's been about two years since I bought my station, along with two other options ($$$), and I don't regret it at all. Spending the money was hard to do at the time but well worth it today.

[SLOweather]

Everything in life is a trade-off, rockgeek, and weather stations are no exception. Davis makes just about the best consumer or "pro-sumer" grade weather stations around, and they have 4 ways of buying their flagship station: wired or wireless, with solar and UV sensors or without.

I would bet that they sell less than 25% as many WeatherLinks as they do weather stations. If they sell the hardware device, they pretty much have to include a program to access it right out of the box. And it's obvious that they don't put a lot of effort into making the software state-of-the-art. WeatherLink s/w hasn't changed much in years. As kray1000 said, you get it for free with the logger. Based on the forums to which I belong and the sites I've visited, I'd also bet that less than 10% of the WeatherLink purchasers use the software on-line. Most people that buy the logger want more than it has to offer.

I'll be one of the first to admit that Davis equipment is priced higher than their competition. However, that increase seems to supply a superior product, and supports a superior tech support program. Do a search, or hang around this and other forums and you will see what I mean. When I call Davis tech, I always get a US-based tech live on the phone right away. In the rare event that I need a part, it's in stock, and I have it in a few days. And those techs have been able to answer some really obscure questions on my part, like, "What algorithm does the VP2 use to calculate evapotranspiration?"

You are correct, though. The wired unit is limited compared to the wireless one, and most places that sell Davis don't clearly make that clear. But making a longer internal bus for a couple of inside temp sensors is not cost effective for Davis for the fraction of a percent of the people that would use it. One-wire or another bus might have been a better solution for you. Or, a wireless VP2 and additional sensors. Or, the best of both worlds, get Weather Display, and run your VP2 AND one-wire and have lots of sensors.

My Davis VP2 mantra:

Wired: cheaper to buy, harder to install, easier to maintain, more interference proof, more limited in sensors
Wireless: more expensive to buy, easier to install, harder to maintain, more interference prone, more sensors 

Based on the above, I have a wired VP2 Plus.

[ANPweather]

And there are probably VP owners who don't want to connect the VP to a computer, but they both live in Antarctica where the Internet hasn't been invented yet.

I just had to post this  :
http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/weather/SBweather/sbweather.html

If that link isn't working here's one cached by Google:
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:NpMhH5MotAMJ:www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/weather/SBweather/sbweather.html+weather+display+antarctica&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a

[kray1000]

And there are probably VP owners who don't want to connect the VP to a computer, but they both live in Antarctica where the Internet hasn't been invented yet.

I just had to post this  :
http://www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/weather/SBweather/sbweather.html

If that link isn't working here's one cached by Google:
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:NpMhH5MotAMJ:www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/weather/SBweather/sbweather.html+weather+display+antarctica&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a

First link doesn't work for me either.

Having already seen this site or one like it, I should have known better than to write that.

So I'll retract that statement and write this one:
And there are probably VP owners who don't want to connect the VP to a computer, even if both of them live where electricity isn't available yet.

[rockgeek]

hehe, you guys are great.  I like the comments and should have found this site long ago.  Anyhoo..  As for why I went wired, yes cheaper and am not afraid of running wires.  Actauly it was half the fun.  I thought about this more last nite after I wrote this and figured out my solution.  Let the VP do the outside weather monitoring and use my computer to do every thing else.  I just thought  'how hard would that have been...'  NOT.

I cant have all that much Buyers remorse.  Last thing I look at at nite and first thing in the morning.  AS IF knowing the current weather is that important 

Rockus Geekus

[ncpilot]

What's all this talk about a weather station bus?

Wouldn't it be a bit cumbersome?



And... they have little blue pills if your dongle is dangling...

I feel honored to be in that "10% or less" that use Weatherlink for my web page......

[ocala]

I'm part of that %10 too.

[saratogaWX]

I'm part of the 10% that use all 3 (Weather-Display, WeatherLink and VWS) 

But.. WeatherLink is because I like the NOAA.txt reports best and it just keeps chugg'n along -- it was the first software I'd used with the station starting in 2004.

[rockgeek]

little blue pills huh.   hmm.  Not familiar with that problem (yet)   


My wife and I are now arguing over the acuracy of ALL.. and I mean all temperature measuring devices in my house as they all have different values.  I have started recording them at different times during the day to see what the dif is.

[weatherforyou]

Just because the thermostat in the hallway says it's 72 degrees doesn't mean the whole house is 72 degrees.  I've rotated thermometers between different rooms in my house.  All showed the same temperature differences of up to +/- four degrees as I moved them from room to room... a lot more during certain seasons when the sun angle changes, if the fireplace is on or if we've been watching too much of the LCD TV.    Then there's the second story which has it's own separate HVAC unit.  Kids' rooms are too hot, our room is too cold... 

Only way I've found to have consistent temperature in every room is to have each room's vent on a thermostat that controls a damper.  I've done that at small radio stations where the equipment rooms were putting out a lot of heat (needing more AC) but were shared with offices.  Yet two dedicated HVAC units weren't practical.  If the equipment rooms were comfortable the offices were freezing.  Make the offices comfortable and the equipment rooms are about ready to have racks of equipment with melted parts.  Automatic dampers made everyone happy. 

[capeweather]

remember, if you take the blue pill and experience severe weather for more than 4 hours you should call your doctor  ...now imagine doing that at 3 o'clock in the morning and having to explain why you are calling him....could never understand that disclaimer...geez 

[SLOweather]

remember, if you take the blue pill and experience severe weather for more than 4 hours you should call your doctor  ...now imagine doing that at 3 o'clock in the morning and having to explain why you are calling him....could never understand that disclaimer...geez 

At my age, all I wanna do at 3 AM is sleep some more. (There's a entire Jeff Foxworthy riff on that "problem" that's just hilarious.)

[weatherforyou]

remember, if you take the blue pill and experience severe weather for more than 4 hours you should call your doctor

And here I thought you were going to say call your meteorologist.   

[ncpilot]

remember, if you take the blue pill and experience severe weather for more than 4 hours you should call your doctor

And here I thought you were going to say call your meteorologist.   

That would be a hard call........

[Thedentaltourist]

I too have buyers remorse. I bought a US cabled version and the anemometer doesn't work properly so I contacted Davis who it appears don't honour their maunfacturers guarantee. Here's the reply from Ira Pfeffer

I am sorry, but we cannot replace anything over-seas. You will need to go back to place of purchase and have them replace the Anemometer.
Also any USA models purchased for use outside of the USA is illegal.
Contact place of purchase they need to replace the Anemometer.




 

[windy]

check that you have seated the anenometer correctly, i.e far enough down the spindle (and too far)

what country are you in and where did you purchase it from and then why are you contacting a US supplier if you did not purchase from there?

[Thedentaltourist]

check that you have seated the anenometer correctly, i.e far enough down the spindle (and too far)

what country are you in and where did you purchase it from and then why are you contacting a US supplier if you did not purchase from there?

Yeah I took the cups off several times and tried to reseat them but it just wouldn't spin freely in fact it felt like there was a point in the rotation that was stiffer than the rest.

I'm in the UK. Davis weather stations cost rather more here. The cabled vantage pro2 I bought retails at 450 uk pounds here and cost me 340 US dollars via Ebay. Basically the only difference between the different versions is the AC/DC transformer and it's very easy to get an adaptor from UK to US. The wireless version is a different kettle of fish evidently as the frequency used for the US version is an illegal one in the UK which is why I opted for a cabled version which is probably what my friend Ira was getting excited about. I had heard that Davis were very good about replacing defective parts but I got is some idiot accusing me of breaking the law and offering little in the way of help.

I had already contacted the guy who I bought it from and he is now dealing with Davis but quite why I couldn't deal directly is still a mystery to me. 

[windy]

but if you had purchased from the UK you would(should) have goten very good back up service

[WeatherBeacon]

... as the frequency used for the US version is an illegal one in the UK which is why I opted for a cabled version which is probably what my friend Ira was getting excited about. I had heard that Davis were very good about replacing defective parts but I got is some idiot accusing me of breaking the law and offering little in the way of help.

I had already contacted the guy who I bought it from and he is now dealing with Davis but quite why I couldn't deal directly is still a mystery to me. 

Perhaps Davis's hands are tied because of the "legal issues" they mentioned. If it is illegal to use the US product outside the US, then Davis probably has some legal constraints imposed on them, too.

There are many laws affecting us of which we aren't even aware (especially in the areas of electronics, computers, and technology). Every time I give final exams to my students (university) and they ask me to email their grades to them, I have to reply that it is illegal for me to do so. Then they ask over the phone, and I have to give the same answer. Then they say, "What if I give you my permission?" Nope ... still can't do it, and don't ask me to again, because I won't risk losing my job (or possibly going to prison) just because you want to know your grades a couple days early. So in the past few years I've resorted to handing them a letter as they turn in their final exams that explains that law (they rarely read it and email me anyway) .

Kevin...

[Thedentaltourist]

but if you had purchased from the UK you would(should) have goten very good back up service

I think you miss the point windy. I wouldn't be able to afford the weather station at UK prices. Even with the import duty and tax this weather station is about half the cost that I would pay in the UK. Doesn't make financial sense. My local Davis agent is probably a 4 hour drive from here so it's no less convenient to post to the US or Essex. If Davis had a policy of not dealing directly with any customers I could understand it but to just say we don't deal with overseas customers is in the least discriminatory after all there are other people on the earth other than people from the USA

[windy]

this is not a new discussion, and your not the first person to take this line.....
note that when comparing prices, did you take into account VAT and import duties as well?

[Thedentaltourist]

this is not a new discussion, and your not the first person to take this line.....
note that when comparing prices, did you take into account VAT and import duties as well?

Well I am new here. I guess I'm not the first to say that Davis provides a crap after sales service and that the prices in the UK are unbelievably high. I did indeed take account of import duty and VAT and it's still far far cheaper than the UK

[windy]

actualy there is very few reports of people saying the after sales service is bad
note that if you had purchased localy,then you would not be complaining about bad after sales service (but sure that costs you more)