Author Topic: Davis Vantage Connect  (Read 9985 times)

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Offline Gulfcoast

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Davis Vantage Connect
« on: July 14, 2011, 08:42:17 PM »
Has anyone tried out the new Davis Vantage Connect cellular connection?

In a remote location where there's no phone line and no internet connection (but a cell tower in range) this might be a good way to send weather data.

The unit is not cheap at all, plus an additional monthly cell bill is required.

Is there any cheaper way?  :-)

Offline Bushman

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #1 on: July 14, 2011, 08:46:12 PM »
Cell modem and pay-as-you-go plan?
Need low cost IP monitoring?  http://wirelesstag.net/wta.aspx?link=NisJxz6FhUa4V67/cwCRWA or PM me for 50% off Wirelesstags!!

Offline kray1000

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #2 on: July 14, 2011, 09:25:51 PM »
Has anyone tried out the new Davis Vantage Connect cellular connection?

...

The unit is not cheap at all, plus an additional monthly cell bill is required.

According to the Davis web site, the Vantage Connect is not yet available, nor is there a price listed.  Have you been told how much this will cost?

Offline Gulfcoast

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #3 on: July 14, 2011, 10:22:02 PM »
I found it on a couple of the Davis dealer websites.
« Last Edit: July 14, 2011, 11:12:24 PM by Gulfcoast »

Offline johnd

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #4 on: July 15, 2011, 02:26:22 AM »
I had heard that the Retrofit Connect product (6626) was now available (in the US) but that the main Connect product (6620) was still undergoing final testing and tuning. But I've seen no independent confirmation of this.
« Last Edit: July 15, 2011, 02:29:39 AM by johnd »
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Flag

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #5 on: July 15, 2011, 05:48:51 AM »
.... In a remote location where there's no phone line and no internet connection (but a cell tower in range) this might be a good way to send weather data.

The unit is not cheap at all, plus an additional monthly cell bill is required.

Is there any cheaper way?  :-)

If there's a cell tower in range then check if there is wireless broadband, much cheaper option and more timely than other options.

The other unknown with the Vantage Connect is what exactly is the communication means? To be sold globally will it meet each and every mobile providor or will it be satellite?

Offline d_l

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #6 on: July 15, 2011, 09:55:32 AM »
According to the Davis web site, the Vantage Connect is not yet available, nor is there a price listed.  Have you been told how much this will cost?

Provantage is listing it for about $568.
--Dave--

Wireless VP2 w/ solar, 24hr FARS, Heater, (Envoy-WLIP)*3-Meteohub, plus custom VP2 @ 26', WL 6.0.4, WU & W4U=KNVRENO37 NetcamXL

People always talk about the weather, but they never do anything about it.  Not me.  I'm gonna measure it.  https://www.tceweather.com

Offline johnd

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #7 on: July 15, 2011, 10:14:26 AM »
To be sold globally will it meet each and every mobile providor or will it be satellite?

It is cellular, not satellite. Isn't the cellular hardware pretty much universal nowadays? (Or at least the modem is multi-mode and just uses whichever mode is needed for compatibility with the local network/operator.)

The bit that isn't fully clear yet is how the cellular plans will be managed across different networks/countries. Difficult to see just one operator per country being authorised, but it's going to get messy if every network operator can be used. (I guess that may well be down to the local Davis distributor to organise.)
« Last Edit: July 15, 2011, 10:41:22 AM by johnd »
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Flag

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #8 on: July 15, 2011, 05:32:44 PM »
To be sold globally will it meet each and every mobile providor or will it be satellite?

It is cellular, not satellite. Isn't the cellular hardware pretty much universal nowadays? (Or at least the modem is multi-mode and just uses whichever mode is needed for compatibility with the local network/operator.)

The bit that isn't fully clear yet is how the cellular plans will be managed across different networks/countries. Difficult to see just one operator per country being authorised, but it's going to get messy if every network operator can be used. (I guess that may well be down to the local Davis distributor to organise.)

Yes ist certainly could get messy with multiple providors in multiple countries and still all a bit vague on this one, no sure about world compatibility with regard mobile networks? It would sound like it would have to be wireless mobile broadband account and as far as Purchasing an annual service plan it is not clear if this is from a providor or Davis? Any clues on this one?

It does appear that a WeatherLink account is at least one thing that is required? Assume then the interface will be same as WLIP?

Offline Flag

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #9 on: July 15, 2011, 07:50:51 PM »
So if the Annual Service plan for Vantage connect is provided by Davis does this imply there is no additional need for a network providor plan?

Davis plan part #'s 6632 (5 min), 6634 (15 min) & 6636 (60 mins) appear to be a US only plans?

They can not be available yet as there appears nothing on weatherlink.com to support or allow then to be registered?
« Last Edit: July 15, 2011, 07:55:04 PM by Flag »

Offline johnd

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #10 on: July 16, 2011, 03:05:40 AM »
My understanding (which could be wrong, or at least inexact, given that we've yet to see an evaluation example of the product) is that the Connect product will upload exclusively to the wl.com network, at least in the short-to-medium term.

Personally I think this may be a bit short-sighted. Certainly, there will be quite a chunk of users who will be content to use the simplest possible way of getting their data online from remote locations and the wl.com approach will be fine for them, especially if Davis manage to expand the wl.com features to include eg charting historical data (which shouldn't really be a big deal with the data in SQL databases, provided there's enough server horsepower available).

But then there will be other users who will want more control or to do things more cheaply - I'm guessing that Davis see the Connect plans as providing a significant income stream for the future, hence pricing by frequency of upload, which isn't really justified by differences in the amount of data transferred.

As for 'Purchasing an annual service plan', no sorry no further definitive pointers on this at present. I was guessing that Davis were going to negotiate contracts with various networks and take payment themselves but then obviously passing on the payment for data transfer to the networks. But even within one country this could get tricky. I really don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if sorting out how best to approach this conundrum isn't part of the reason for the present delay.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Flag

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #11 on: July 16, 2011, 04:24:11 AM »
Would certainly be a good thing if WLIP was also able to talk to other specific servers. Even if this required a Davis type server software package many would certainly be interested so they could have direct control over their own data.

Offline d_l

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #12 on: July 16, 2011, 10:10:17 AM »
Personally I think this may be a bit short-sighted. Certainly, there will be quite a chunk of users who will be content to use the simplest possible way of getting their data online from remote locations and the wl.com approach will be fine for them, especially if Davis manage to expand the wl.com features to include eg charting historical data (which shouldn't really be a big deal with the data in SQL databases, provided there's enough server horsepower available).

I would think that the provided Weatherlink software would be enough to download and handle the charting of historical data for a VC account just as it does for a WLIP account.  People might not like the DOS look of the WL output, but it still does a decent job of charting and database handling of the data from a single station.
--Dave--

Wireless VP2 w/ solar, 24hr FARS, Heater, (Envoy-WLIP)*3-Meteohub, plus custom VP2 @ 26', WL 6.0.4, WU & W4U=KNVRENO37 NetcamXL

People always talk about the weather, but they never do anything about it.  Not me.  I'm gonna measure it.  https://www.tceweather.com

Offline d_l

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #13 on: July 16, 2011, 10:18:00 AM »
Would certainly be a good thing if WLIP was also able to talk to other specific servers. Even if this required a Davis type server software package many would certainly be interested so they could have direct control over their own data.

With the limited, single thread capabilities of the WLIP, this could open quite a can of worms for Davis support. I guess if the WLIP was sending its data to an in-house server such as a university might operate for multiple weather stations, then this might be feasible.  There would certainly be fewer stations in such a situation reporting to the server than the total load Davis is handling.
--Dave--

Wireless VP2 w/ solar, 24hr FARS, Heater, (Envoy-WLIP)*3-Meteohub, plus custom VP2 @ 26', WL 6.0.4, WU & W4U=KNVRENO37 NetcamXL

People always talk about the weather, but they never do anything about it.  Not me.  I'm gonna measure it.  https://www.tceweather.com

Offline johnd

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #14 on: July 16, 2011, 11:00:36 AM »
I would think that the provided Weatherlink software would be enough to download and handle the charting of historical data for a VC account just as it does for a WLIP account.  People might not like the DOS look of the WL output, but it still does a decent job of charting and database handling of the data from a single station.

Don't disagree with this but it's perception vs reality. I'm concerned that some potential Connect users might be put off the product when they discover that they have less control over the data handling than they might prefer, even though in practice the WL tools will do a perfectly adequate job.
Prodata Weather Systems
Prodata's FAQ/support site for Davis stations
Includes many details on 6313 Weatherlink console.
UK Davis Premier Dealer - All Davis stations, accessories and spares
Cambridge UK

Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Flag

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Re: Davis Vantage Connect
« Reply #15 on: July 16, 2011, 07:01:14 PM »
Would certainly be a good thing if WLIP was also able to talk to other specific servers. Even if this required a Davis type server software package many would certainly be interested so they could have direct control over their own data.

With the limited, single thread capabilities of the WLIP, this could open quite a can of worms for Davis support. I guess if the WLIP was sending its data to an in-house server such as a university might operate for multiple weather stations, then this might be feasible.  There would certainly be fewer stations in such a situation reporting to the server than the total load Davis is handling.

Yep in house server capability is probably more of a requirement for organisations which require direct control and ownership over the system and have multiple stations. The cost of the software would probably limit the one station user to staying with WLIP. As with any software the cost of support is generally directly related to the cost and complexities of the software but a cost many organisations would pay for direct control over what is sometimes very sensitive and highly relied upon data.  

 

anything