Topic: Latest & Greatest Hardware

[BeagleIL]

Let me first say that I've been a big fan of Davis Instruments fro quite a long time. My Vantage Vue has been mounted up at the peak of my house for 8+ years. I've replaced the ISS battery several times. In fact that has become a yearly thing as I send my son up on the roof to put Christmas lights  each fall. I've also refurbished the main board once as the cap was failing. Right now I'm once again not getting any signal to the console. It comes and goes on its own. Sometime the data starts streaming to the console in the middle of the night. Other times in the middle of the day. Never for very long and certainly not consistently at all.

So I think it is time for a replacement. I supposed I could just replace the ISS and go from there. Or another choice would be to consider an update and go with a new Vantage Pro. And lastly, I could delve into a competitor. I'm seriously considering the latter as when I look at Davis products, they've been building the same basic line of personal weather stations for what seems like decades. I think about how much change has occurred across the entire electronics industry. Just look at the advances made to a standard smartphone in the past 10 years. Don't get me wrong - I understand the economy of scale and that the big manufacturers sell a crap load more cell phones than a PWS company sell stations. So not much demand for "new" or "replacement" hardware.

Which manufacturer do you think has made the biggest strides in their hardware? And do you think they have quality software to support their platform?

Any thoughts on whether or not we could expect a "new" PWS design from Davis, built with new technology?

I just don't want to buy a new Corvette and have it come with the engine from a Chevette...

[mixer]

The Davis VP2 console is certainly old and I suppose they'll update it to be competitive.  But, Davis does make reliable top end prducts.  It took me two phone calls to two of the leading PWS companies and without hesitation they told me that the average life of their PWS was 3-5 years.  Davis was greater by almost 2X.  Of course it depends on the harshness of your climate.  Other factors would be parts and service.  Finally, you can purchase 2+ Ambient WX 5000's (USD) for the price of 1 VP2 fully loaded. In my mind the feature set is similar, but with notable exceptions......sort of like comparing something  that is A to A+.

I'm  also struggling with the purchase options.

[Mandrake]

Its a difficult question for sure.

But which company has made the most progress?
I would have to say that Fine Offset/Ecowitt (manufacturers of most of Ambient Weather stations) has made the most progress from low end weather stations and is steadily eating into the Davis territory in terms of quality equipment and build.
They are not at the level of Davis for engineering build yet but the technical capability is there and in some cases has passed Davis in my opinion.
When you add the price differential in my mind you really need to be keen on Davis!
There are no issues on the Ecowitt/AW front with spare parts or modular design and the software integration is excellent and getting better every year.
My view is that Ecowitt/AW is very much on the ascension in this space!

[weather34]

“  just don't want to buy a new Corvette and have it come with the engine from a Chevette...”

ha but the corvette (Davis) can be fitted with a big block and big tyres when ever you want and when the funds permit and still out perform that sparkling brand new small block,small tyre hyundai...brian..

[Mandrake]

Yep, but you'd still buy the Hyundai if it was more comfortable, went round corners, offered better comfort and economy and got to the speed limit in a fast enough time all whilst leaving you with enough change to buy a spare Hyundai for the wife and some!

My point is no one disputes how solid a Davis is. They however have barely innovated over the last 10 years and have relied on their name and quality whilst staring into the future. They have totally failed to notice the competition closing on their heels in pretty much most aspects of their products. There is not much now that Ecowitt/Fine Offset stations can provide that Davis do any better. Some might argue that some of the Ecowitt sensors now provide superior sensors in some areas. The presentation of the Ecowitt products is better and the software evolving fast.

I am not dissing Davis as I would have liked to have afforded the kit but on reflection I am now pleased that I didn't because I am not sure if Davis will survive far into the future if they don't pick up their game and compete more.

[weather34]

all that matters your happy with what you have and if your finances dont or didn’t warrant the higher price of davis then it is what it is. your points dont add up , your viewpoint on market share i dont get that one at all and neither do i see any hard founded evidence that is the case , question is does it really matter... davis market share is somewhat broader than this forum or amazon type ratings and their history of durability and making high quality weather stations at a reasonable high affordable cost for those that want something trustworthy.

i set up my neighbors ecowitt she bought end of last year for her and it doesn’t take much to work out the build quality is very different and the price reflects that she paid less than 250$ after import tax her two gripes but justified based on what she paid in comparison to what I did 4 years ago $579 almost for Davis VP2.

gripe 1. she often observes bizarre wind direction readings that don't correlate with actual conditions.i observed this  myself when installing it physically the wind vane is far to loosely designed it swings around like a yoyo and doesn’t calm down until the wind speed drops we live on the coastline dead calm days are few and far between , i plan to add some DIY weight to try stabilize it or stiffen it.

gripe2 . uv sensor is reading at times 3 to 4pts too high noticeably high on partly cloudy days due to cloud reflections.a common anomaly when using a light sensor and trying to formulate a UV reading.

thats it apart from those two observations she is happy and serves her needs and budget , she is not an enthusiast just a curious observer and the property is her summer house so not a case just popping round there and the security guy is a miserable sod.

next time im there ill grab the model number and perhaps you can shed some light on those anomalies, im not familiar with modelling numbers of these but i think its known as tri wing if i recall reading on here somewhere.

ps id still fit a big block,big tyres on a chevvy than buy two small blocks , with small tyres because id get from A to B quicker with a cylinder of nitrous oxide in the passenger seat 😳.. dont take my comments to heart id just plop bait out there sometimes..

[Mandrake]

Understand your point of view, but be aware what you are comparing is the base - starting point for Ecowitt/Ambient Weather.
The stations with the Bi/Tri-Wing all in one are the starter point and the price reflects that. Yes there are compromises and consequently the data is less reliable, just as the Vantage Vue from Davis is not so good as a VP with its sensor choices.

If you want higher quality sensors then you can purchase separate anemometers and rain gauges etc to allow for optimum location. I will concede that the UV sensors are a weak spot and this has been discussed with Ecowitt and it is expected that they will address this in the near future with a stand a lone genuine UV sensor rather than one based on Lux. The options are wide and growing all the time. This type of setup is what I would feel is fairer to compare.

[PaulMy]

because I am not sure if Davis will survive far into the future if they don't pick up their game and compete more.

I will not deride other brands, and most people will rate their choices and preferences based on their own priorities. 
Fine Offset has made some strides of recent and they are totally visible, and they needed to be made...
Davis has made several changes over the years and some of the changes are not visible, but changes made in technology and usefulness to the users.  The changes are not as drastic as FO or others, because they didn't need to be, but ongoing changes never the less without much obsolescence to existing products in the field!


One thing I've observed from the Weatherlink.com map is the huge numbers of stations across the world, and now the AirLink stations as well. I am amazed how many are in my area and expect a smaller percentage of them being hobbyist.  I know many of these have come on with Weatherlink Live, so likely new users.  Looking at the Ecowitt.net map, there is a handful of stations being a fraction of the Davis, and from their location expect them to be mostly hobbyist.  Of the stations nearby on both Davis and Ecowitt maps I'd say about a 4 or 5 to one ratio in favour of Davis. 
The Ecowitt stations are pretty well all new in the past couple of years but I would hazard to guess that nearly as many Davis stations have been added to the Davis map over the same time.


Enjoy,
Paul

[ConligWX]

My personal choice would be a vPro2 (with or without UV/Solar and FARs) and instead of the Davis Console, use the new WLL (WeatherLink Live logger).  plus an Airlink to complete the  package!  that's if funds allow of course.

[TraderGary]

I put my current system together Aug, 2020. You can see my system in my signature below. I'm more than pleased with my choices.

I highly recommend the Davis WLL 6100 to communicate with the outside wireless VP2 Weather Station.

On my PC I keep a window running the weatherlink.com bulletin browser app. Its data is updated once a minute.

I absolutely love the WeatherLink Android app running on my Pixel phone. Since my phone is always in my shirt pocket I have instant access to my "LIVE" VP2 data. Rain data is updated every 10 seconds. Wind data is updated every 2.5 seconds. I like being able to instantly see wind strength and direction on my Android app at literally the same time I see and hear it outside.

The Meteobridge Pro gets its data from the Davis WLL 6100. I like having my Meteobridge Pro feeding the fastest data possible to all the sites I'm connected with. For example my Weather Underground feed supports WU's rapid-fire 5 second updates. You can click on all the sites I feed in my signature below.