Topic: Using Meteobridge with Davis Vantage Pro2

[ngiovas]

I currently have an Accurite 5 in 1 weather station and am using a Meteobridge hub to collect and transmit data.  I have decided to upgrade my station to a Davis Vantage Pro2.  I would like to continue using my Meteobridge hub with the new station, but I am not clear on what I need to make it work.

It sounds like I need a USB data connector (clone available).  If I buy this device, do I then connect it to the USB hub and then have the meteobridge hub on the same USB hub (similar to how my Accurite connected)?  Is there anything else I would need?  Do the clone USB connectors work the same as the Davis unit?

I would consider Meteobridge pro, but since I am considering spending around $1000 to upgrade my station, I would prefer not to spend another $450 on a data solution.

Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated.

Nick

[Mattk]

You could use a Meteobridge NANO and do away with the USB loggers and hub stuff all together?

[txweather.org]

Yes, The USB data logger will work with your current setup and will be your cheaper solution. I would recommend you to go that route if you would like to save some money.

Buy the USB Data logger and connected to the usb hub and the usb hub should be connected to your meteobridge.

Similar to this:

[ngiovas]

Thanks for the replies.  the Nano does look like the ideal solution, but it looks like it would cost me $275 vs $65 for the clone data logger.  I'm not sure that I can justify the price difference, although, I wonder if it would be a bit more stable and easier to update?  How do you update the nano?  Can you do it remotely from a PC?  I do like the clean install.  The idea of not needing to use a second plug and not having 2 external boxes attached to the console.

Is there any functional difference between the two solutions?  Also, with regards to the Nano SD, it looks like I can insert an SD card into a standard Nano.  Is that correct?  No need to consider the SD if I can insert my own card, correct?

[txweather.org]

Thanks for the replies.  the Nano does look like the ideal solution, but it looks like it would cost me $275 vs $65 for the clone data logger.  I'm not sure that I can justify the price difference, although, I wonder if it would be a bit more stable and easier to update?  How do you update the nano?  Can you do it remotely from a PC?  I do like the clean install.  The idea of not needing to use a second plug and not having 2 external boxes attached to the console.

Is there any functional difference between the two solutions?  Also, with regards to the Nano SD, it looks like I can insert an SD card into a standard Nano.  Is that correct?  No need to consider the SD if I can insert my own card, correct?

All your questions can be answered here: https://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Home

If you can afford it I would do the Nano SD.
Yes this is basically a Meteobridge like the one you have but better with more options and a better form factor. No cables, etc...
It will work just like your meteobridge as far as accessing it etc... The Nano and Nano SD are wifi.

The difference between the Nano and the Nano SD is that the Nano SD takes a microSD card and has a bit more features like graphs, history, etc....

[ngiovas]

I may have to just go for the upgrade to the Nano.  Based on the link you sent, it looks like I can just buy the Nano and upgrade it to the Nano SD using my own SD card.  That would save me around $60.

I haven't really messed with my Meteobridge Hub in a couple of years.  It looks like this will give me some improved functionality including the template for the dashboard.

[txweather.org]

Not sure about that. The nano to my understanding does not have the slot for the SD card. You could buy the nano SD without the SD card.

[ngiovas]

Not sure about that. The nano to my understanding does not have the slot for the SD card. You could buy the nano SD without the SD card.

Based on the link you sent me, the Nano and Nano SD are in fact the same hardware:

https://www.meteobridge.com/wiki/index.php/Meteobridge_NANO_SD

From a hardware perspective the NANO SD is simply a NANO with a microSD card inserted. The microSD card slot is hidden between the two PCBs and fully operational on all NANOs out there. That means every NANO can be upgraded to a NANO SD. As a result the NANO SD is mainly operated like a NANO, it can do all a NANO can plus some extra. There is not much difference when you look onto the base operations. This data sheet summarizes the main specs.

I also found some references to people converting their Nano to the Nano SD by inserting the memory card and updating the firmware. 

[lightmaster]

Nano and NanoSD are literally the exact same thing, just SD has a industrial micro SD card already installed, whereas Nano requires you to buy a micro SD card to upgrade to NanoSD

I used a Belfryboy usb cable clone prior to my NanoSD, and I highly recommend it. He's quick about getting them shipped (considering it's from UK) and they are actually better than the Davis USB cables. The official Davis USB cable is USB 1.1 and you have to have a USB dock hooked to your TP-Link MB, whereas the Belfryboy clone is USB 2.0 and does not require a USB hub at all. The MB will still complain in the station tab about it, but it does function perfectly without the hub.

While technically you could update over the network with the MB, I would very highly caution against it since you could have a dropped package or lose connection and then risk bricking your console. Plug the USB cable into a computer to update your console directly. Firmware updates are very few and very far between, so you may not ever even need to anyway after an initial check for updates. Remember, the VP2 is a very old product, so most bugs have long since been fixed and I can't think of any I've seen or heard about yet.

[txweather.org]

Thanks both for the clarification, I was a bit confused about the nano and nano sd hardware, I thought they were both different.

[lightmaster]

Both identical, only difference is one has a card in the micro SD slot and one just has an empty microSD card slot. Now there is a little difference between the red strap and black strap Nanos, but the practical difference is negligible. IIRC, the red strap has a new WiFi chip in it with a higher range mode, but that mode is off by default because the console has a hard time powering it without modifying the power adapter, and it creates more heat, thereby increasing the indoor temp even more. So if you set a black strap and red strap Nano next to each other, there should be no noticable difference between them as far as function and performance.

[Bushman]

Be aware that the recommended/supported SD cards are not cheap.

[Mattk]

Correct on the SD cards. Specific industrial SLC cards make & model are a MUST otherwise Nano FW will reject anything that is not on the supported list. 

[lightmaster]

The whole nano upgrade isn't cheap, but yes, industrial SD cards are quite expensive per GB. Mouser send to be the cheapest seller I could find of the 2GB swissbit card. My understanding is these cards are designed to with in a much wider temperature range and survive a lot more writes than standard SD cards can.

[ngiovas]

With the price of the industrial card, it seems that just getting the Nano SD from the beginning may make sense.  By the time I buy the card and pay for shipping, the price difference is very little.

One last question (hopefully ), Is it worth paying a bit more to buy the Nano from Ambient to get access to the Ambient network?  Have any of you done this?  Do you get lifetime access, or do I need to pay for a subscription?

At the end of the day, if I am paying $1000 for a weather station that is accurate as possible, I might as well make the rest of the system just as reliable.

[txweather.org]

To me is worth it. The ambient dashboard is very nice and I really like having access.

[lightmaster]

With the price of the industrial card, it seems that just getting the Nano SD from the beginning may make sense.  By the time I buy the card and pay for shipping, the price difference is very little.

One last question (hopefully ), Is it worth paying a bit more to buy the Nano from Ambient to get access to the Ambient network?  Have any of you done this?  Do you get lifetime access, or do I need to pay for a subscription?

At the end of the day, if I am paying $1000 for a weather station that is accurate as possible, I might as well make the rest of the system just as reliable.

Yes it is worth it. If you don't (like me  ) you have to pay $150 or so if you ever want to upload to them. If bought by them, it's a one time purchase, no subscription needed to upload data to their site.