Author Topic: Where to start?  (Read 8535 times)

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Offline ViperSBT

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Where to start?
« on: March 12, 2012, 01:38:00 PM »
So, where do I begin?  I live in a little town in southwest Tennessee.  Back in 2007 I was in a building that was demolished by a tornado in the Feb. 5th outbreak.  Since then I have been much more interested in weather..  :lol:

I am a big fan of Weather Underground and have been wanting to put together a weather station to be able to report and participate on some level.  When it comes to computers and networking, I'm good to go.  However, I see there are lots of choices in weather equipment and recognized that I need some assistance.

I like to do things right the first time, and am patient enough that doing things over time is not an issue.  I don't have a wad of cash to go and spend on a complete system, so would like to do something that I can piece together over time.  I am also hoping that this route will allow me to end up with a higher quality system in the long run.

So, what should I do?  Where do I start?  Whatever I do, I want to be able to feed my data to a service (preferably Weather Underground) or services.  My area is very prone for Thunderstorms and Tornadoes.

Online Garth Bock

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2012, 02:41:05 PM »
The big question is what do you want to monitor and how much do you want to spend. If you want to save a few bucks and trade off on some features then look at the Oregon Scientific units. The WMR 968 is wireless and very flexible in mounting each sensor. If you want a nice affordable one piece station then the Davis Vantage Vue would be a good fit. It is highly accurate but is not as expandable as its older sibling the Davis Vantage Pro 2. The Davis stations update more often (2.5 sec) than any other station and are highly accurate. You can shave a few bucks off the Pro 2 by getting the cabled version. One thing you will need that you have to order with the Davis station is the DataLogger. Other stations have a serial port built in but some do not save the data internally meaning the PC has to be on 24/7 to record data. The Davis units store data in the DataLogger incase the PC is down. If you decided on a Davis station there is a lower cost alternative to the DataLogger. There are several places you can get a good deal on a weather station such as Ambient (www.ambientweather.com), Provantage (www.provantage.com), Archer Trading post (www.archertradingpost.com) and a few others. Next thing to think of after you get a station is software. Cumulus is free/donationware (www.sandysoft.com) or you can try of the variety of software (WeatherLink, Weather Display, Virtual Weather Station, Weatherview 32) in demo mode before you buy. Down the road you can look at a Boltek Lightning detector which will show lightning up to 300 miles away. Check out each station and ask alot of questions here. We all have opinions here that can help. Many here have already invented the wheel (for some it was made of stone.... :lol: :lol: :lol:) and we can help.

Offline ViperSBT

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2012, 03:07:43 PM »
So, what is more important, the station or the equipment going outdoors?  Are wireless systems as reliable and accurate as the cabled versions?

Also, I guess I don't know what all "can" be monitored... I would like to be able to monitor and report as much as possible, as long as it is feasible...

Offline SlowModem

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2012, 04:07:01 PM »
Welcome from another Tennesseean from the eastern side.  I know y'all have more weather out there on the west side, because a company in Jackson, TN made the storm shelter I had installed here and it is very strong.

As for weather stations, you can spend as much as you want to on one.  The usual stations measure temperature, humidity, wind direction and speed, and rainfall.  Some stations will read additional temp/rh sensors.   Some stations allow for sunlight, uv, soil moisture, and other things.  You just have to look through them and compromise between your wants and your budget.  I really think you'll spend a whole lot more if you buy a station piece by piece.

I think most prefer wireless because of lightning protection and versatility of sensor placement.  Some stations transmit 100 to 300 ft and some transmit up to 100 ft and some even have repeaters.

There is tons of software out there, some of it even free.  You have to find software that will work with the type of station you select.  Some stations come with software.  Over time I have ended up with three different types of stations.  I chose to use the same software on all three types to make comparison more accurate.

I know I didn't give you much specifitity, but that should point you in the right direction.  Please feel free to ask as many questions as you can think of, becasue we're never short of opinions around here!

Good luck and enjoy!   :)
Greg Whitehead
Ten Mile, TN USA

Online Garth Bock

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2012, 04:49:59 PM »
Ok let's look at what can be monitored. Wind speed, wind direction, temperature, humidity, rainfall. There are many stations that can do these basic parameters. Oregon Scientific, Davis Vantage Vue, and others are affordable if the basic are all you want. Solar, UV, leaf wetness, soil temperature. This is a more specialized station and is in the higher category (i.e. cost) which would be the Davis Vantage Pro 2+ and above. (Additional sensors can be added over time.) Decide what you want to measure out of the box and can afford and what you want to measure in the future. Make sure the station can be added on to or face the fact you will be stuck with what it has and then start all over when you want to upgrade.

Siting of your station is important. If you can place the Temp/Humidity over grass then by all means. If the station allows you to split it up, putting the rain bucket in easy reach for maintenance is good with a separate anemometer up for good wind reception is even better.

Wireless versus wired. Slow Modem makes a good point (always) in that it is good for lightning protection. Wired stations can bring the forces of nature directly to you in your home. However, there are some installations where wireless is not allowed. Oh and almost every station that uses wireless are on their own protocal which should not be confused with WiFi. I think that Slow made one typo (say it isn't so  :shock:)....he said that some stations transmit 100 to 300 and some up to 100...I think he meant that some can go up to 1000 ft. The Davis units go up to 1000 ft (less when you put walls and metal buildings and such between the station and its receiver).

Read through this and the many more when everyone else puts in their ideas and then decide..What you want to measure at start vs cost and do you want to be able to upgrade or add on later. We are here to help you spend all your money pick out your first station and get it online.

Offline smorris

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2012, 05:50:04 PM »
Hi Viper, and welcome to the WXforum. I had your questions when I started last fall. Lots of good advice and info here and on other forums. My needs were a little unique in that I use a Mac, but found what I needed. I started thinking I'd get one of the cheap $100 units, then decided on the Vantage Vue. Once I started looking at siting guidelines, I decided on the Vantage Pro, then with 24 hr FARS, then added a solar sensor after the fact. So be sure what you want to do when you decide.

Here are two comparison charts for many models of weather station (that's the outdoor part per your question above, plus a monitor of inside your house.) If you want to hook your weather station up to a computer that's when you'll need software and something to connect the station to the computer.

http://www.weathershack.com/weather-station-comparison-chart.html

http://ambientweather.wikispaces.com/Weather+Station+Comparison+Guide

Have fun!
Steve
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Offline SlowModem

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2012, 07:41:36 PM »
Slow Modem makes a good point (always) in that it is good for lightning protection.

Aw shucks!   8-)

Quote
I think that Slow made one typo (say it isn't so  :shock:)....he said that some stations transmit 100 to 300 and some up to 100...I think he meant that some can go up to 1000 ft.

Yep.  Exactly right!   #-o  (stoopid work computer!)   :oops:

Quote
We are here to help you spend all your money pick out your first station and get it online.

hehehe   :-$

Oops.  Almost forgot.  Here's a link to everything you ever wanted to know about sensor placement and  then some (it might help you decide if you want separate sensors are a all-in-one unit:

http://www.comptus.com/PDF/CWOP_Guide.pdf
« Last Edit: March 12, 2012, 07:50:30 PM by Slow Modem »
Greg Whitehead
Ten Mile, TN USA

Offline Skywatch

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #7 on: March 12, 2012, 10:39:08 PM »
The WMR 968 is wireless and very flexible in mounting each sensor.
I think the WMR968 is discontinued unless you cheak Ebay.


 I have a WMR200 which seems really accurate. I have my WMR200 running next to my Vantage Pro2 and both seem to agree with each other, except for humidity which is nothing an offset can't fix. The rainfall seems to agree with the VP2 even though the OS reports in 0.04 increments. Other sensors can be added to the WMR200 and UV can also be added. If the budget permits go with a Davis. Super accuracy and reliability. Garth and Slow pretty much summed it up.
I live in an apartment and for the moment am not a home weather watcher.

I am a storm chaser.

Offline astrodanco

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2012, 04:07:35 PM »
A few weeks ago I installed a wireless Davis Vantage Pro 2+ with the 24hr fan aspirated radiation shield.  I have the console on my nightstand, but I'm using a separate wireless Envoy, USB datalogger and MeteoHub 3 to send the weather data to eight different weather networks.  This was a breeze to install and configure.  I'm glad I did it.

Offline Farmtalk

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2012, 12:46:05 PM »
I have a Weatherwise 1090, it is easy to install, measures temperature inside and out, humidity inside and out, precipitation, hourly precipitation, wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure and pressure trends. I got it for about $125 off ebay, and though I havent yet, I hear they are fairly easy to get on a good site, including wundergorund :grin:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=ws-1090&clk_rvr_id=342299078847&adpos=1t1&MT_ID=69&crlp=10645873043_2416792&tt_encode=raw&keyword=ws-1090&geo_id=9992&adgroup_id=3062567843
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Offline VaJim

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #10 on: May 15, 2012, 05:33:05 PM »

Offline moehoward4

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #11 on: May 15, 2012, 05:42:27 PM »
Check this site out...   www.archertradingpost.com/atp...    Good prices, good service   
« Last Edit: May 15, 2012, 05:44:59 PM by moehoward4 »
3 Davis set-ups...which one ya wanna talk about? And I got ALL my manuals....

Offline Skywatch

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2012, 02:52:15 PM »
Check this site out...   www.archertradingpost.com/atp...    Good prices, good service   
I agree.
I live in an apartment and for the moment am not a home weather watcher.

I am a storm chaser.

Offline cospringswx

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2012, 06:33:20 PM »
Check this site out...   www.archertradingpost.com/atp...    Good prices, good service   
I agree.


Absolutely without a doubt.




Ryan 

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Offline d_l

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #14 on: May 19, 2012, 09:58:16 AM »
Consider also this site: http://www.rainmanweather.com/.  ArcherTradingPost has excellent prices and has unique replacement parts, but his shipping costs to my area are very expensive.  I've attempted to purchase from him several times because of his low listed prices, but once the shipping costs were factored in the purchases went to RainmanWeather.  If you blindly purchase on listed prices alone, you may end up paying too much in total cost..
--Dave--

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Offline ctccbc

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #15 on: May 19, 2012, 10:40:28 AM »
I've been extremely happy with my Acurite 01035 that I've had since November. Prior to that, I had an Oregon Scientific WMR200. Solid system as well, but I like the Acurite better.

Offline KMDCATON5

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Re: Where to start?
« Reply #16 on: June 02, 2012, 04:16:00 PM »
I cannot speak highly enough of my Davis Vantage Vue wireless station. The wireless reception is fabulous. The accuracy is among the best of all of the stations I compared. I used  a Vantage Pro (original) in the past. Since I don't really care much about UV or the external sensors, the Vue is the one for me. I also recommend Davis since their customer service has also been great.

Check out the link below. It is hard to beat the Vantage Vue for the price.

http://ambientweather.wikispaces.com/Weather+Station+Comparison+Guide

Good Luck if you have not already made your selection. Ambient weather is probably the best place to get it also.

Tom