Topic: Which Station

[richardmhowell]

Hello Everyone,

I am pretty new around here, been interested in Computers for a long time now and the weather has always been facinating to me but i didnt know anything about the possibility of having your own home weather station.

I hope that you don't mind me asking a few questions?

The station i have been looking at is the WS-1080 i have heard some good things and some bat things about it, lots of people here seem to have Davis stations but i am not sure i want to spend that much money on something i am not sure i will get into if that makes sense.

Would the WS-1080 be a good starting station, i was hoping to run it into a computer on my local network and capture the data in Weather Display as this is supposed to be the cream of the crop when it comes to software?

I was planning on mounting the station on the roof of my shed (see below) their is a yeak at the front of the shed where i was going to screw some brackets onto which will hold it in place.

My next question is where does the display need to be in order for it to 'talk' to the station? Does it have to be in line of sight, this is where the entrance to the house is which is the rear

Their is a small area inside the house where i was planning installing the computer along with a small webcam, if the display would work here. you can make out the distance from the first picture as i was inside the house when i took that so the garden is not that large.

My office is at the front of the house and if i wanted to mount the station at the back i don't think that the radio would reach that far, although without actually testing it i wouldn't know, but if someone has any idea or suggestions around this it would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for rambling

Many Thanks
Richard

[Skywatch]

Well the WS1080 is a great starting station. Davis is the best choice is budget permitts it. You don't have to spend alot to find a great product.

Davis stations
Better solar shielding of sensors.
Faster wind updates.
More onscreen data analysis
Pro2 is capable of expanding sensors.
Made in the U.S.A!

WS1080
PC interface is included
Pole is included which otherwise they can be hard to come up with.   
Touch screens are easier to work with
Wind is more sensitive
Probably don't need as many tools to assemble.

Hope this helps Good luck and welcome to WXforum!

[DanS]

Hi Richard and welcome to the forum! Yes, the ws-1080 appears to be a reliable station in the lower budget bracket. The members on here that run them seem to be happy with them.
With regard to the shed for a mount location, I'd only use a mast there and put the wind sensor portion alone on it. The temp/humidity sensor needs to be away from those shingles or anything that can absorb and radiate heat, including pavement. concrete, etc. The NWS has a 'recommended sensor siting' guidelines that helps explain things that can alter your readings.    http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/coop/standard.htm   . As far as the range coverage goes you can find the best location to mount the temp/humid sensor and temporarily located there, up and running. Go inside the house and try your console in the areas you would like it to see if it stays connected.

The 'weather shield' that comes supplied for the temp/humid sensor is designed to be mounted out of the rain, like under the eave of your house. For the best and most accurate readings this isn't ideal. You will need to either build your own or buy a real radiation shield to be able to mount the sensor out in the open where it's supposed to be. Lots of us on here have made these ourselves and they are available on the net to buy also    http://www.amazon.com/Ambient-Weather-SRS100LX-Temperature-Radiation/dp/B003EB3GE4  

Good luck and hollar if you need a hand.

[richardmhowell]

Hello,

I just wanted to get a station that wasn't going to be overly expensive but not overly cheap and nasty either to try it all out and see if what i was trying to achive was what i wanted. I just don't see the point in shelling out £400 for a station and in 3 months figuring out that maybe i don't want to do this.

Thanks for the advice so far, i am clueless when it comes to this so any advice is welcome 

Kindest
Rich

[DanS]

Rich, here are some other comparable stations that are in this price range. You can Google them to see what they are and have to meet your needs. Hope it helps with your decision. Fine Offset Electronics: WH-1080, WH-1081 (also known as Watson W-8681, WX-2008, National Geographic 265 NE, Elecsa 6975/ 6976, Ambient Weather WS-1080/WS-1090/WS-2080, Tycon TP1080WC, Zephyr) Just be sure to watch for computer interface capability as some may not have this option.

[SlowModem]

Welcome and good luck with your station.

It looks like your biggest problem is going to be accurate wind readings, with all the trees and houses and stuff.  If you can get a long enough pole to get the anemometer up, it would help a lot.

As Dan said, a solar shield for the temp sensor would help a lot, too.  I'm not familiar with that exact model, but most sensor shields from the factory are not that great.  The SRS100LX is $44.99 on Amazon and $39.95 on Ambient.  Shipping may be different.

Here's another guide that tells you everything you every wanted to know about sensor placement (and then some):

http://www.comptus.com/PDF/CWOP_Guide.pdf

[richardmhowell]

Hello,

I see that the Houses in the Area will be the biggest problem that i will face when setting my station up, however i cant prevent this unlesss i put the Wind Gauge on the roof of the house, as the roof has no flat points this again would be hard and finding something to fix it to would be difficult.

I could consruct a post in the garden which is of optimal height but would such a structure require permission of the planning board, i know a fence over 6ft in height needs to get such a permission.

My next problem is trying to find somewhere in the UK that sells the 1080 for me to purchase, i have had a look at the Davis unit which looks fantastic but right now i don't think that i am in a position to purchase one purly becuase i have 0 experiance in this.

Richard

[ukwoody]

Hi richard and welcome along.

Firstly for most of us, postioning the weather station is about compromise. It is very hard to get perfect placement, without reducing wind reading, or under measuring rain etc. so my advice would be to get the best postitions you can, use software to offset the readings a bit, and get used to it! You should though still be able to get fairly reasonable results!  so read the guides then use trial and error a bit until you're happy.  beleive me you're not alone.

Now as regards your choice of station, the wh1080 (and its many other names and designations)has been superceded by the wh1090.  The 80 was well thought of, I assume the 90 will be the same.  DO NOT go for the fancier 3080/3081 with solar. It really isn't that great and many people (myself included) report numerous issues with it.  If you speak to Martin, at Signatrol ltd it is £61.80 plus vat.  I actually bought my 3080 from them, and it has now gone back for a refund, but they have been simply superb and very helpful, and I can strongly reccomend them for their customer service. Tel 01684 299 399.

Although signatrol seem to promote Cumulous, you can certainly use Weather Display with it, it is a very comprehensive program, though do bear in mind you have to pay for it ( a reasonable one off lifetime payment that includes all future upgrades).  It does come with Easyweather - ditch it!

Hope this helps
regards
Woody

[richardmhowell]

Hello Woody,

Thanks for the contact, i will give him a call tomorrow, should i ask about the 1090? Their were lots of model numbers flying around and i wasn't sure if that was the one you were talking about.

I will give Martin a call tomorrow and see what he can do for me, i am glad to see someone here that isn't promoting a Davis unit, i can see that many members find them the cream of the crop but new members and people who are just getting into this don't really want to shell out all that money with the possibility of maybe not liking it in the end.

One question i would really like to try and get an answer on is how far will the Data Logger reach? Can i have the Cumulous machine upstairs with the Station out the back or is this too far with too many walls?

Thanks again
Richard

[ukwoody]

Hi Richard,

I should have made it clearer, sorry, the 1090 (which replaces the 1080) is £61.80+vat from signatrol. Go for that rather then the more expensive 3080(£99).

My sensor suite is approx 70ft along the garden then a very thick extrnal wall, then a stud partiton wall, then about 4 ft inside that room is the consol. It generally receives well. 1 word of warning, if the cable is the same as the 3080 that I had, the supplied cable is a short MALE to MALE USB lead and I had to get a longer lead off ebay for about £3.00

The Davis is indeed in a league of their own, but as noted it is a heck of a gamble at that cost. That siad I think you'll be finding it a rather fascinating hobby,LOL
let me know if I can help anymore.

Woody

[Stetson1]

I've got my console upstairs in my office, it has to go through a couple of walls and about 40ft to the sensor. Never had any issue, even when it was 70ft away.

Todd

Hello Woody,

Thanks for the contact, i will give him a call tomorrow, should i ask about the 1090? Their were lots of model numbers flying around and i wasn't sure if that was the one you were talking about.

I will give Martin a call tomorrow and see what he can do for me, i am glad to see someone here that isn't promoting a Davis unit, i can see that many members find them the cream of the crop but new members and people who are just getting into this don't really want to shell out all that money with the possibility of maybe not liking it in the end.

One question i would really like to try and get an answer on is how far will the Data Logger reach? Can i have the Cumulous machine upstairs with the Station out the back or is this too far with too many walls?

Thanks again
Richard

[richardmhowell]

Todd,

What station is that?

Richard

[ukwoody]

Richard he uses a Zephry, which appears to be another Fine Offset Clone.  (F.O> are the chinese manufacturers of the stations, which are rebadged under various guises, including the WS, range(walters and Stanton) WH- used by several resellers, and goodness knows how many more brands.)
Woody

[richardmhowell]

Been thinking how i am going to mount my station what do you think of this idea?

[Stetson1]

Zephyr/WH1080/who know clone. You can separate the anemometer from the T/H sensor if you need to. I used 25ft of 4 wire line and a coupler to get 40ft away with no issues.

Todd

[richardmhowell]

I have another question i am almost ready to buy my station.

I am thinking of using the Washing Line Pole at the end of the garden and getting 5ft of mole to mount the wind sensor onto and then using 1 ft of the 5ft pole to secure the 'add-on' to the washing line pole giving me a added 4ft of height.

I have had a look around for something that may be sutible, i see some people use Tripods with 10ft extension but i don't have anything like that (in the uk)

At a guess i would think that the Washing line pole is around 6ft long so the extra 4ft will give me 10ft of total height.

My question is what king of tubing should i use to extend the overall height, will the tubunt be ok in the wind, will it bend?

here is my location, i am just trying to make good of a bad situation



Lastly here is an image showing the height of the wshing line pole in its current form (the horizontal line is the top)

[mackbig]

Richard,

I cant see your pix (firewall issues), but here is what I did.


Its just some conduit (or fence pole, cant recall exactly).  The three "clips" are lag bolted to the 4 by 4.  Makes it easy to pull down for maintenance.  I rear mounted to hide the bolts/clips last spring, and I have actually moved it since these picks, replaced the 4 by 4 (was rotted out at bottom), and now its side mounted till I shorten the post in the spring.

Andrew

I have another question i am almost ready to buy my station.

I am thinking of using the Washing Line Pole at the end of the garden and getting 5ft of mole to mount the wind sensor onto and then using 1 ft of the 5ft pole to secure the 'add-on' to the washing line pole giving me a added 4ft of height.

I have had a look around for something that may be sutible, i see some people use Tripods with 10ft extension but i don't have anything like that (in the uk)

[richardmhowell]

That is kind of what i want to do, the WH1090 comes with 565mm of it's own pole which is around 23" if i secure this to the existing pole and see how i get on, can always extend it later if the readings are not very good.

What do you think?

[mackbig]

Richard,
Is 23 inches going to get you above that cedar hedge at the back of you property (I saw the pic, sent it to my blackberry)

Another option is a gable mount, on the back of your little shed.  I know the UK is the king of satellite tv, their must be some funky mounts available.

Do you have a prevailing wind direction in your area?

Andrew

That is kind of what i want to do, the WH1090 comes with 565mm of it's own pole which is around 23" if i secure this to the existing pole and see how i get on, can always extend it later if the readings are not very good.

What do you think?

[richardmhowell]

The gable mount was my first option but i was told earlier in this thread that due to the ashfelt it would cause bad temp readings, so wanted to move it away from the roof.

I would need to measure just how high 23inches is going to get me but the pole that is already their is close.

Rich.

[DanS]

Rich, that's one of the things that's nice about that type of station. The sensors are separable and you can have the temp/humidity sensor where it needs to be and still get the wind sensor higher. Something like this ...

[richardmhowell]

In order to set that up would i need to 're-wire' the sensors or are they wireless?

I like your idea, i could then just get some braces and bolt it to the shed.

[DanS]

From what I've been seeing with that system, it appears the rain and wind sensors are cabled to the temp/humid sensor and then wireless from there to the console inside. You would just mount the wind sensor differently than the manual shows it, maybe with a short extension cable if needed.

[richardmhowell]

And this is for the WH1090?

I have found the perfect soloution if this is the case

[DanS]

Page 10 of the users manual shows this is the case   http://site.ambientweatherstore.com/Manuals/ws1080.pdf

(ws1080 and ws1090 are the same setup just different freqs)