Topic: Mounting Vantage Pro 2

[LIWeather]

I am going to mount my weather station on a 2nd story wood deck. I was going to use the railings as far away from the house as possible to prevent any anomalies with wind and/or rain readings. The instructions indicate the wind vane and main ISS station should be on opposite sides of the post. Unfortunately, that will not be possible for this set up.

I may be looking at it too literally but does it really matter if the vane and ISS are not on opposite sides of 1 post?  I would try to mount the rain gauge above the railing to prevent as much splashing as possible.

Here are the 2 places I was looking to mount. Again, this is a temp set-up as I will be moving by the end of the year. Both locations are below the roof line if you couldnt tell. The 1st photo shows the railings approx. 10-15 feet away from the house. The 2nd photo shows the stair railing which is lower and somewhat between the 2 houses (approx. 7-9 feet from the back of the house). What do you recommend is a better spot? The install would likely look like the instruction manual's example on page 20 (flat surface install). If someone can tell me how to add images or point me in the right direction, I have suggested locations that I am looking for advice with.

[mmorris]

Well you probably payed a lot of money for this unit so you can either do it right the first time and be happy or you can do it the easy way and not get the accurate reading that the stations is designed to give you. I wasn't happy with my first install and ended up redoing and moving these thing around is part of the fun. So the anemometer need to be above the highest point of the house and the iss need to be 5 feet above the ground over a grassy area and not block by the house when it rains from that direction. So enjoy your weather station no matter what you decide accurate or inaccurate after all you payed for it       

[LIWeather]

I firmly agree. I would need to do a bit of work to get a mast on the chimney in order to get the anemometer above the roof line. Since we are moving by the fall time, I didnt want to engage in putting up more masts (already have 1 up for the scanners) just to pull them down in a few months. I figured using the deck would be the best bet for quick and easy install.

My thought for the station was on the stair rail (have picture but need help posting it) as it would not be unobstructed by the house. The area would sit about 8 feet or so above the ground (good for the ISS based on mmorris' suggestion) and not blocked by structures. I am a little concerned about the wind being channeled between the 2 houses and boosting the wind readings a bit.

[JOE]

A lot of us are forced to put our equipment in less than desireable locations.

Read the guidelines and do the best you can with the limitations you have, recognizing the fact that your data might be effected somewhat by it's location.

[LIWeather]

Well, I mounted the weather station in the best place I saw fit. I have encountered 2 problems.... 1) the arm is not facing north 2) when attempted to recalibrate the vane, I was unable to remove the allen bolt on the inside of the vane. I don't know if it is stripped or not but I tried using the supplied allen wrench along with a few others and was unable to remove the bolt in order to recalibrate the direction.

Is the supplied allen wrench used for all of those small bolts on the weather station? Also, what are my options to remove this bolt? I'm afraid to do much because those pieces are fairly fragile and I don't want to mess anything up.

[mmorris]

Page 25 in the console manual will tell you how to cal with out removing or screwing up allen screws   

Well, I mounted the weather station in the best place I saw fit. I have encountered 2 problems.... 1) the arm is not facing north 2) when attempted to recalibrate the vane, I was unable to remove the allen bolt on the inside of the vane. I don't know if it is stripped or not but I tried using the supplied allen wrench along with a few others and was unable to remove the bolt in order to recalibrate the direction.

Is the supplied allen wrench used for all of those small bolts on the weather station? Also, what are my options to remove this bolt? I'm afraid to do much because those pieces are fairly fragile and I don't want to mess anything up.

[tomcj2]

You can calibrate the wind direction from the console.

[LIWeather]

I forgot about the console manual  thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Now to the next question... following the manual, it uses south (180 degrees) as the example. So I sighted the vane pointing to the south. My reading was 98 degrees. It says subtract that from 180 which is 82. Here is where I get lost; than it says add the amount of the offset to the wind direction reading. Does that mean it goes back to 180? I find this part very confusing and could use a little help.

[mmorris]

 Even tho I new where the cal in the manual was I can't help you on the particular as my weather vain is mounted on a pole and I used a compass to adjust mine. Hopefully someone else has done the console cal. method.

I forgot about the console manual  thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Now to the next question... following the manual, it uses south (180 degrees) as the example. So I sighted the vane pointing to the south. My reading was 98 degrees. It says subtract that from 180 which is 82. Here is where I get lost; than it says add the amount of the offset to the wind direction reading. Does that mean it goes back to 180? I find this part very confusing and could use a little help.

[tomcj2]

If the wind vane is pointing South keep pressing the arrows until the console reads 180.

[LIWeather]

Doing that with 1 person is quite hard unless I'm missing something. I just don't understand the calculations and how they are suggesting you properly calibrate. It is not written in the easiest way. What I tried to do was set up my console in front of my webcam and remote desktop into my pc to see what the reading was when i pointed the vane south. I captured the reading and followed the directions but don't get what the last # should look like.

[LIWeather]

If the wind vane is pointing South keep pressing the arrows until the console reads 180.

Ok, so I thought I had this figured out and it appears that I do not. The wind was dead calm last night so I pointed the vane south and ran inside to adjust the console to 180 degree's as suggested. Well it is still not set correctly. I am frustrated at the fact that I just don't comprehend what # i'm supposed to be at.

When pointed south, the display read 98 degrees. The manual says to subtract the 98 from 180 which gives you 82. Than it says to add the amount of the offset (I would presume this is 82?) to the wind direction reading (so 82 + 98= 180?). Is this correct? What # do I enter into the calibration setting?

Sorry if I'm making this more than it is but I asked a few others (non-weather savvy) and they were scratching their heads as well. Any help?

[mmorris]

Doesn't it say to subtract if the number is less then 180 don't know if this is right but if your reading are still the same try and set the offset to 72 and I hope this doesn't really screw thing up for you hope you still have your original offset number.

[mmorris]

Doesn't it say to subtract if the number is less then 180 don't know if this is right but if your reading are still the same try and set the offset to 72 and I hope this doesn't really screw thing up for you hope you still have your original offset number.

The instruction also say to add the 72 to the 180 so maybe the  offset should be 252

[LIWeather]

I am so perplexed over this you have no idea...lol I feel like an idiot b/c I cant figure this out.

It does say to subtract if less than 180 which I did. Thats how I got the 82 degrees. I just don't know what to enter as the offset.

To spell this out even more, I depressed "2nd" and than held "Alarm/Set" to get to the calibration screen. I entered the 82 into the degree's section. After exiting the calibration settings, I went back and saw the offset was a whacky #. What the heck am I missing here??????

I tried adding the offset # to 180 and that didnt work either.

[mmorris]

You may have to call Davis support and have them walk you through this. Then you could teach us all something the instruction are confusing. And It hard to see what going on as I'm not going to touch my console to see what I'm missing as mine is dead on from adjusting it the easy way by turning it on the pipe to get the arm to point north.. Sorry I couldn't be of any help.
 

I am so perplexed over this you have no idea...lol I feel like an idiot b/c I cant figure this out.

It does say to subtract if less than 180 which I did. Thats how I got the 82 degrees. I just don't know what to enter as the offset.

To spell this out even more, I depressed "2nd" and than held "Alarm/Set" to get to the calibration screen. I entered the 82 into the degree's section. After exiting the calibration settings, I went back and saw the offset was a whacky #. What the heck am I missing here??????

I tried adding the offset # to 180 and that didnt work either.

[LIWeather]

Believe me, I appreciate the attempt. I am thinking the same thing. I'm hoping someone who is savvy is able to help me interpret the instructions 

Looking at it again it seems that after all the mathematical mumbo jumbo is complete, they all add up to 180... so I don't get how that changes the offset. What you would think is the simple way is to hold the vane south and enter 180 in the calibration screen but that didnt work. Uuuugh 

[racenet]

Sorry, but just have to say it. I'd just point it north like it's supposed to be and  done with it.

For what reason are you not able to point it north as required?




Bob

[LIWeather]

That is the obvious thing to do but the available locations do not allow for it. I would have major obstructions if it were re-arranged to point north as I would have to re-locate the arm.

Don't be sorry. I feel bad that I am asking so many damn questions. I want to kick my own self in the a$%...

[racenet]

Major obstructions such as?

My logic of thinking here is, if you can't face it north because of an obstruction, you won't get valid wind readings pointing it south either. Is it being mounted on a south facing wall or something?



Bob

[LIWeather]

The house would be the obstruction. Its currently facing ESE I believe and is fastened to a deck railing post. For the most part, the anemometer is not really obstructed. I am limited to my mounting area's and this happens to be the best shot for me to get good readings.

My other problem is I dont have a compass so I'm going off Google Earth and marking a few landmarks that point due south.

Feel free to PM to stop cluttering the thread. Sorry gang.

[tomcj2]

Put in any number, and keep going  until it reads the direction that it is pointed to.  It is only the end result that counts.

[LIWeather]

I started doing that. Thankfully the wind has been calm giving me enough time to set it south and run inside to see what it was reading. When the reading wasn't 180, i entered 180. Than today, it went all haywire again.

I repeated this a short while ago and it seems to have worked ::fingers crossed::

[prvrt]

A piece of tape on the vane to hold it in the correct position you want until you have it set should help.

[LIWeather]

Boy, that could have saved me a ton of time...lol where were you yesterday? Over analysis will always get you. The wind stayed calm enough for me to point it south and set it to 180 so I'm hoping I figured this out.

Thanks to all for your help and patience. I'm disappointed that I cant figure it out and want this thing to work.