@dalecoy
> The question that was asked was: "Do you know of anything else that is competitive with this?"
Dale has a good point. So let's build a little decision matrix to help us decide which method is "better". Of course, "better" is based on a particular set of usage criteria, e.g. cost vs reliability etc.
Here's a first stab at it [edit: with some updates]. Let me know if I left off any important usage parameter or information:
"Homebrew Serial Solutions" for VP2/VUE
AUTHOR/SOLUTION | Wireless? | Self-powered? | Reliable? | EasyToImplement? | Cost |
(Davis)WL/Envoy | yes | no | yes | yes | ~$235 ("school" solution) |
DeKay*,USB2COM | no | yes | yes | no, need expertise | ~$15 (connects to 20-pin socket) |
AF4EX,XBee | yes | yes | yes[so far] | no, need expertise | <$100 (connects to 20-pin socket) |
SpartanWX, RS-232 | yes | partly | Probably | yes | ~$80(needs WeatherLink/serial) |
johnd, WiFi-to-Serial | yes | no | Probably | yes | ~$100(needs WeatherLink/serial) |
d_l,MAX233 | no | yes | Yes | no, need expertise | ~$20 (connects to 20-pin socket) |
* H/T to DeKay for figuring out how to use the 20-pin console socket for us frugal Davis WX fans!
http://madscientistlabs.blogspot.com/Notes:
1. SpartanWX proposed using a SparkFun XBee RS-232 dongle with WeatherLink. No soldering and should work fine, but somebody needs to build it and prove that it works.
2. WiFi (proposed by johnd) cost is fuzzy, because I don't know if it needs WeatherLink, or not.3. AF4EX cost is also a bit fuzzy, because you might have to buy PC board and header strips, wire, solder etc, if you don't have them laying around like I did. My actual cost was around $60 because (being a ham) I have lots of parts in my junk box.
4. d_l,MAX233. Needs some way to plug into Davis 20-pin connector, so not easy unless you have construction skills
5. Reliable='probably' means it hasn't been tried yet (AFAIK), but should work because it uses industry-standard components, or includes other solutions that have been shown to work.
6. [26Mar11]SLOweather has verified that d_I's idea works, using a A232DBH3V
So far, DeKay's original idea, using an FTDI chip, is the cheapest and is reliable[depending on your hardware skills]. But it's wired, not wireless. For most of you, if you already have WeatherLink, SpartanWX's idea seems unbeatable, followed closely by johnd's Wifi idea.
For those who don't need all the features of WeatherLink, then I think the DeKay wired or AF4EX XBee interfaces are optimal, provided you have the necessary constructing skills (until "somebody" comes up with a ready-made dongle).