Topic: NEWBIE-Looking for Info

[alienxp]

Hello All, I just signed up for the forums and wanted to say Hello to all.I am a weather Nut, like you all and currently use/own a WEATHERMAX Home weather Station, which records Wind speed/ Direction, Temperature- high lows inside outside, barometer-high lows,windchill and could also display rainfall and humidity with optional sensor's. it is a a WIRED System and I got it from MAXIMUM weather Instruments in New bedford Mass.They do not make these models anymore, but the do make very handsome Round Brass type instruments. I am sure some of you have heard of this company, but for those who have not, here is a link to their webpage:
http://www.maximum-inc.com/

I have owned this weather station since 1995 and have had No problems with it, but am thinking on buying a new station in the future and from everything I have researched .. appears that the DAVIS vantage pro2 would be a good choice.I like their setup and also like the ability to be able to use the software to upload the info to my computer, and possible build my own web page with Live weather Data from it.
 
A few things I wanted to know was this:
I read through some of these forums and see other user's stating that with the Wireless vantage pro2 and similiar stations/models, that the temperature sensor may not be accurate due to radiation of the day and location of the sensor itself, if it was near a rooftop or in direct sunlight etc....my question is this, cant the temperature sensor be placed elsewhere or does it need to be placed where all the other sensors are located, including the sensors for the wind speed/direction?
My other question is this:
I see in the pictures of the wireless Davis vantage pro2 that attached to the wind speed/direction unit there is a cable and wanted to know where does this get plugged into? does it go into the back of the dirsplay unit or a junction box that relays the info to the display?
one last question : how many different ways or is there only one way does the Wireless vantage pro2 upload the data to my PC? do I need additional parts to do this? I wanted to be able to do this so I can use a software and uplaod my info like on these webpages: http://www.davisnet.com/weather/cool/world.asp

this site is really nice the way it is setup and the info udates every few seconds with live data. the man that set it up is only a few towns away from me, but I do not know him personally. have a look and see his great results here: http://www.johnsweather.com/

thanks all for any help/suggestions you may have, and of the various Wireless vantage pro2 models: 6152/6153/6162/6163, which would be a Good Choice?....Thank, Alienxp

[talbert1952]

Welcome.

In my opinion the wireless Davis VP2 is a good choice. It is prosumer grade and reasonably priced.

The temperature/humidity sensor is an integral part of the ISS and is not intended to be mounted separately.

Any temperature sensor placed in the sun will be affected by solar radiation. How much is determined by the design of the solar radiation shield. The Davis passive and fan aspirated radiation shields work quite well. The rule of thumb for selecting the fan aspirated shield is lots of hot sunny days with winds less than 2 mph. There are lots of hot windless days here so I went with the 6153 with 24 hr FARS.

The anemometer cable plugs into the SIM (sensor interface module) which is the little white box on the front of the ISS with a solar cell on it. The included anemometer cable is 40' long but it can be extended several hundred feet without seriously affecting the maximum speed reading. There is also a remote anemometer transmitter which allows mounting the anemometer separately from the ISS.

You need Weatherlink to connect your console to a computer. The Weatherlink package includes the Weatherlink software and a hardware data logger which contains the computer interface. There are 2 versions serial and USB. Some people have had problems with the USB version.

You can use Weatherlink to update your website but it is pretty basic. A third party package called Weather Display seems to have everything in it including the kitchen sink if you want to get really fancy.

If you think you will ever want the solar and UV sensors buy them with the station. They are much more expensive to add later.

I am pretty sure John is using VWS and AJAX to update his site. If you search the forum for AJAX you should find several threads about how to do this.

[alienxp]

hello and thanks for the reply....I have decided to hold off on buying any new weather equipment for now, since money is the issue..but I have learned that I can get a weather logger-data logger from maximum for my weathermax unit, and also it comes with weatherview 32 version 7 software. i have seen screenshots of the weatherview 32 and it is not as good as others out there, but will work. I also learned I could build my own weather site and add other images etc to it, basically like some of you have already done.

one question I wanted to also ask is if anyone knows of any other software that would upload the data and is compatable with a WEATHERMAX, please let me know, by replying back here or sending me a private message.I also posted similiar question about this in the "SOFTWARE-OTHER" Section of the forums, incase someone misses this thread. thanks all, alienxp

here is a picture of the Weathermax unit I own:

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/6950/weathermaxpictures009fm1.jpg

http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/353/weathermaxpictures004nv0.jpg

[xmas111]

Chris,

     Looks like Weather Display supports the Weathermax.

    http://www.weather-display.com/supported.php

[anvana]

Welcome Chris....

Yes, Weather Display is a good software choice. The program is reasonably priced, feature-rich, and support is phenomenal. (Check out the Weather Display Support Forum for support issues)

[alienxp]

Hello all, thanks for the replies and help. I have the weatherview 32 software, which I got with the weather logger for my Weathermax station, and I also download Weather Display Software (30 Days free trial of it), got them both to work and be recognized with the Weathermax Station..and for past few days have been tinkering around with the software and what I can do with it and all the setting's. I was even able to make my own wunderground web site, although it is not that great, it is just a small accomplisment for me, knowing that it is working. I am just Basic Beginner at all this stuff, so I am going slow and trying to learn, like you all did at one time before you got to where you are now.

My next big accomplishment will be to make my own live web page, with data uploaded from the weathermax in real time/near real time , basically I am hoping to get a site configured almost like www.Johnsweather.com, as I think that his site is Amazing and with everything he has into it, I know it is Accurate Data I am viewing when visiting the page.

now I am off to go learn about FTP,HTML and all that techno stuff..have a good evening all and thanks for help and suggestions.