Weather Station Selection Guide - proposal...

[W3DRM]

These past few days have been full of all kinds of questions regarding "What Wx Station Should I Buy?" and miscellaneous other kinds of questions that have essentially been very similar. To me, this spells out a huge need for this forum to provide some kind of a sticky-note that outlines what thought process everyone needs to go through to make a more educated decision for the type of wx stations they want or need. There is a wealth of knowledge on this forum and I think we can do a great service to the newbies (and oldie's too) by putting something like this together.

I'm game to be the point person to roll-up the questions and to do the formatting of them in a special thread that can be created (once we're all done with building the questions and outline) and then placed as a sticky-note on the forum.

There are many different brands that our members have so that can be a source of information for both questions and answers for each major brand. We could have a thread that kicks everything off and lets the viewer discover what kind of station they want based on features and general usage parameters. I'm just thinking out loud here and am open to suggestions on how best to do this. I'm thinking like a decision-tree that walks through a series of questions with your answers determining what the next question would be in the sequence.

A similar kind of thread could be created for wx software.

Maybe I'm all wet on this thought. Fire away and give me your feedback. If the general opinion is to forget it, then it's forgotten...

[d_l]

Perhaps a sticky thread of questions a new person should answer when they ask about what station to get.  That way we wouldn't always have to be asking new people the same questions over and over again.

Questions like their proposed budget, whether they want to connect to a computer, whether they want to post data to a web site or WU, etc. are common.  Some people do their home work and list answers to these, but others don't know the the right questions to answer when they start off considering a weather station.

[SlowModem]

I guess budget is the biggest consideration.  also, is the person allowed to place sensors where they need to be?  Don't forget to include the sensor placement guide:
 
http://home.comcast.net/~dshelms/CWOP_Guide.pdf

battery power or solar power or both?

FARS or not?  12 -hour or 24-hour?

update rate?  (i.e. davis = every second or two vs. LaCrosse = 120 seconds)

serial/usb/IP?

Wired or wireless?  Repeater needed?  Remote anemometer transmitter?

one-piece or seperate sensors?


That is some of the things I can come up with off the top of my head.  I'm sure others will contribute.

[SlowModem]

When it gets to dataloggers, please ensure that these links (if not the pictures) are included:

http://www.davisnet.com/productpics/hires/weather/vp2/Software/06510%20WeatherLink%20USB%20&%20Serial/06510USB_04.jpg


AND

http://www.davisnet.com/productpics/hires/weather/vp2/Software/06510%20WeatherLink%20USB%20&%20Serial/06510USB_03.jpg

[W3DRM]

Great start guys! 

I tend to agree that we should probably have something with a list of questions, some of which have already been submitted. I would think we should also have a Glossary of terms and definitions with pictures, etc.

Pricing will always be a major gating factor in deciding whether to purchase a specific unit or not. However, if we can provide enough information on any unit, regardless of price, that will make the decision easier. Such as, do I go with Solar/UV now or later and we provide information on what the current pricing is to do it up-front and what it would cost to upgrade at a later time, if it is even possible to do so like with the Davis 24-hour FARS option that is only available on initial purchase. Those kind of gotchas that aren't obvious, especially to someone new and trying to make decisions.

The confusing facts regarding Davis WeatherLink and their data logger being in the same package and not separable also cause all kinds of issues for someone just starting out.

I could go on as you all know all too well. But, I want your inputs as to what you think, if anything, should go in a thread designed to help everyone make a decision on whether they really want to get into the hobby and if so, then provide them with a basic listing of the wx stations that are currently available along with the pros and cons of each. This latter section would be done after we get the initial establishment of the "What Wx Station Should I Buy?".

Good inputs so far - keep 'em coming!!!

[d_l]

People considering weather stations should be made aware that they require periodic preventative and failure maintenance.  This ranges from simple cleaning of rain cones of bird droppings or pine needles to replacing batteries, FARS fans, or even entire anemometers.  They aren't a buy once, set up and forget device. So besides a readily accessible mounting site, they require occasional re-investments of capital for repairs.

[Sigdigit]

/I remember seeing a nice chart at Ambientweather.com listing all the sensor specs/accuracy/error of various stations.  Could incorporate that data.

[xykotik]

Are you planning a flat-text post, or some hyperlinks to other threads that cover the specific "answer" they are seeking, kind of like a FAQ?

The confusing facts regarding Davis WeatherLink and their data logger being in the same package and not separable also cause all kinds of issues for someone just starting out.

I agree, it's confusing and needs to be addressed in a *note.  But the simplest way to explain it may be...

"To connect a Davis Vantage-Vue or Vantage-Pro console to your computer or internet, you will need to purchase a separate data logger, which come in several flavors (USB, Serial, IP-direct).  Davis includes their own "WeatherLink" software with the purchase of these loggers, but you can use many other solutions (Cumulus, WeatherDisplay, etc.) if you prefer."

People considering weather stations should be made aware that they require periodic preventative and failure maintenance.  This ranges from simple cleaning of rain cones of bird droppings or pine needles to replacing batteries, FARS fans, or even entire anemometers.  They aren't a buy once, set up and forget device. So besides a readily accessible mounting site, they require occasional re-investments of capital for repairs.

Amen brother!  That was the ultimate deciding factor when choosing between the Acu-Rite 5-n-1 (integrated sensors) and the LaCrosse 2813 (wireless modules) for my father-in-law who can't climb ladders to clean tippers.

[DanS]

/I remember seeing a nice chart at Ambientweather.com listing all the sensor specs/accuracy/error of various stations.  Could incorporate that data.

Maybe this one?   http://ambientweather.wikispaces.com/Weather+Station+Comparison+Guide  I've had this bookmarked for some time and refer to it occasionally. It needs to be updated though with the addition of AcurRite's line.

[Sigdigit]

Yep, that be the chart.  They've updated it and added photos since I bought my station.