Author Topic: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List  (Read 25268 times)

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Online Garth Bock

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Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« on: September 11, 2009, 01:06:21 PM »
I know there is an old topic but it is over 120 days old. I thought since the Vue was out now and we have all seen what Davis has designed we could talk and maybe pass on some ideas to refresh the VPro 2 . Ideas that were thrown out in the old posting were:

1. Less expensive sensors
2. Ability to add more sensors than VPro2
3. Touch screen console
4. Mini console as an add-on
5. Color console
6. PCI card as an option instead of the logger and Envoy or Console
7. Add 5-7 day weather like on an Ambient\Bushnell WeatherFX
8. LED lights for the console to remove heat problem

Any other ideas ?

One thing that is not feasible is extending radio range because of ISS power and licensing problems. Unless we would want that option.

Offline d_l

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2009, 03:06:32 PM »
I think I can see possible problems with your wish list:

1. -
2.  Constrained by frequency range limits?  Limited to just 8 stations if the backward compatibility with VP2 is to be maintained.
3. -
4. The VV console is effectively an add-on, mini-console now.
5. -
6. A PCI card would place indoor environmental sensors (temp, hum, and bar) within or adjacent to the relative oven-like conditions of a PC.
7. -
8. The VP2 console already uses LED lighting.  They generate all that heat!!!  The sensors are really sensitive.

Garth, I'm not trying to rain on your ideas though.



--Dave--

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Offline mackbig

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2009, 04:21:26 PM »
Adding to point 1, less expensive and smaller.  Bushman has posted several times about this.
When I get my Davis, I will need to shell out over $600 more just to get the same sensor coverage as my OS.

The small part.  Those sensor are huge and ugly.  How would you mount that probe one nicely (visually appealing) in a pool or a spa.  They dont seem to have any indoor sensor options or at least anything you could safely place within your house without eliciting a get that thing out of my house response from the wife....  I know indoor is not weather per se, but I like monitoring the three levels of my house.

When I do get my davis, might just keep the OS for indoor stuff. at $20-30 a sensor, plus I have about 5 spare still in the box from Radio Shack Canada's demise... Run the OS on VWS and maybe try WD for the Davis....

Andrew


I know there is an old topic but it is over 120 days old. I thought since the Vue was out now and we have all seen what Davis has designed we could talk and maybe pass on some ideas to refresh the VPro 2 . Ideas that were thrown out in the old posting were:

1. Less expensive sensors
Any other ideas ?




Andrew - Davis VP2+ 6163, serial weatherlink, wireless anemometer, running Weather Display.  Boltek PCI Stormtracker, Astrogenic Nexstorm, Strikestar - UNI, CWOP CW8618, GrLevel3, (Station 2 OS WMR968, VWS 13.01p09), Windows 7-64

Offline NDSWeather

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2009, 06:42:01 PM »
Data Logger Built-in (A Com Port) Not a USB Port or Both Ports.

NDS Weather
« Last Edit: September 13, 2009, 12:48:12 PM by bcavnaugh »
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Offline Sigdigit

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2009, 08:48:31 AM »
Quote
When I do get my davis, might just keep the OS for indoor stuff. at $20-30 a sensor, plus I have about 5 spare still in the box from Radio Shack Canada's demise
I still use my Radio Shack remote sensors to monitor the three levels in my house too, including the garage.  It's good to know when it gets so cold in the garage you have to move the beer out before it freezes, or that the dehumidifier in the basement is still doing it's thing!  I'm sure not going to shell out for the extra Davis sensors.  I think I paid about 20 bucks for each extra Radio Shack sensor.

As far as Davis improvements, they really need to respond more to their Weatherlink deficiencies and bring the software up to current standards.

Rain bucket - design it to repel birds.  I know there is a lot on the forum about home remedies, but it's wide spread problem that should be addressed with product design.

Get rid of the wires all together! (at least between console and computer).  Make it WiFi out of the box with the OPTION of running a cable for those who choose not to or cannot use WiFi.

I like all the console suggestions (making it a color touch screen), but I'm thinking that really might run the price up, given there is a limited market for these products (us nuts) unlike portable GPS systems which everyone who drives might buy.

Otherwise it's a damn fine product that has been very reliable and I love the transmission range, which blows the competition away.

Offline d_l

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2009, 09:27:06 AM »
I got to thinking about how the VP2-VV radio systems could have a lot more sensors, still be backwards compatible with the RF frequencies, and possibly lower the individual sensor prices.

If Davis came up with a auxiliary station that re-transmitted sensor information on the VP2 SS frequencies to the console, but received the sensor information on other non-SS frequencies, I think they could lower the cost of the individual sensors.  Now this axillary station wouldn't be cheap as it would have to have the brains to multiplex the data from many cheaper sensors which would have shorter ranges (say 300 feet) and then re-broadcast it to the console.  These sensors would be designed for indoor use only so the shorter range wouldn't be a limitation. Readings from these sensors would only be updated at longer intervals. 

Clearly the Davis serial communication protocol would have to be expanded for this idea to work, but I don't know if it has enough flexibility to handle these new sensor scheme.  Chances are that a expansion/revision of this magnitude wouldn't be backwards compatible with the existing VP2s and probably couldn't be incorporated in firmware upgrades. So the new VP3 could use old VP2 transmitters, but the new aux station couldn't be used with existing VP2 consoles/envoys.
--Dave--

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Offline ryan hothersall

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #6 on: September 12, 2009, 07:12:59 PM »
Not really a wish for a new station, I would like to see Davis make an IP camera that is easy as the weatherlinkIP to setup and is also weatherproof so it can be put outside where the station is.

I have a IP camera, but it is an indoor one and is quite complicated to setup and not being able to put it outside where my station is, means I will have to put it in the window inside. Problem is that there are too many reflections in the window.

What prompted me to write this is that I see many others have a camera set up and thought I would try setting one up too.

Offline Sigdigit

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #7 on: September 12, 2009, 07:35:05 PM »
Ryan, what kind of camera did you get?  I taped black paper to the front of my cam (Panasonic IP pet cam) and made a little hole for the lens aperture which blocks most reflections since I have it pressed to the window.  Also, this cam is viewable from any computer I log onto anywhere there is internet access, including my cell phone.  All without leaving a computer on.  Mine was about 75 USD.  Wifi version is a few bucks more.  You can see mine at wunderground.com, log onto PWS KNJWASHI3.

Offline ryan hothersall

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #8 on: September 12, 2009, 07:45:17 PM »
Sigdigit, mine is a no name chinese one. Bought it second hand from a friend of dad's who got it in china. He had to set it up for me and reload the firmware as it was in chinese!.

I might look for a proper outdoor one if I can't get this one setup to how I want it.


Offline Sigdigit

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #9 on: September 12, 2009, 07:48:18 PM »
wow, and I thought the Panasonic directions were a little lacking!  One thing I noticed is once you go for an outdoor cam, the price goes up dramatically.  Think I'll keep mine pressed up against the window!

Offline mackbig

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #10 on: September 12, 2009, 11:02:57 PM »
Ryan,
black tape is a good idea, but if you can build a small enclosure to prevent back lighting that will help as well... as its the light from the inside that typically makes a reflection.  Check out my web cam setup  "web cam west" (half way down the station pic's page)

http://www.mackweather.com/station2.php

The inside of the white box is painted black.  Eliminated all reflection once I did this.  The only time I can see my cam in the image is when the sun is setting for a few minutes

Andrew

Ryan, what kind of camera did you get?  I taped black paper to the front of my cam (Panasonic IP pet cam) and made a little hole for the lens aperture which blocks most reflections since I have it pressed to the window.  Also, this cam is viewable from any computer I log onto anywhere there is internet access, including my cell phone.  All without leaving a computer on.  Mine was about 75 USD.  Wifi version is a few bucks more.  You can see mine at wunderground.com, log onto PWS KNJWASHI3.

Andrew - Davis VP2+ 6163, serial weatherlink, wireless anemometer, running Weather Display.  Boltek PCI Stormtracker, Astrogenic Nexstorm, Strikestar - UNI, CWOP CW8618, GrLevel3, (Station 2 OS WMR968, VWS 13.01p09), Windows 7-64

Offline Arthurhh

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #11 on: September 13, 2009, 04:49:31 AM »
Sigdigit, mine is a no name chinese one. Bought it second hand from a friend of dad's who got it in china. He had to set it up for me and reload the firmware as it was in chinese!.

I might look for a proper outdoor one if I can't get this one setup to how I want it.



I have one of these, Vilar and Emmenit are the brand names and I have mine in an external enclosure which works well except at night.

http://twl.dyndns.info/index.php?file=kop5.php for images of my two PTZ and the mounting

Offline ryan hothersall

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #12 on: September 13, 2009, 07:15:38 AM »
Arthurhh, what do you to to protect the power and network cables from the weather?

Offline Arthurhh

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #13 on: September 13, 2009, 09:37:53 AM »
Arthurhh, what do you to to protect the power and network cables from the weather?

POE (power Over Ethernet) the Ethernet cable is continuous from the patch in my office to the camera and is exterior grade cat 5e so only one cable

http://twl.dyndns.info/?file=kop34.php

Offline Ray Proudfoot

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #14 on: September 13, 2009, 10:44:50 AM »
One thing I wish Davis would change is the Solar Radiation Sensor. I, like many of you, live in an urban area without clear horizons so housing the sensor on the ISS would only record a fraction of the actual sunshine. For that reason I've never considered one.

However, if it could be attached to the anemometer and the information fed via that cable to either the console direct or via the anemometer transmitter it would become far more popular I think.

Maintenance would need to be minimal or zero of course. This is an accessory that could be introduced for current models - it doesn't need a new model.

Rainfall and temperatures are two key elements of weather but sunshine is just as important. Unfortunately very few of the PWSs on WU appear to have a solar radiation sensor for the reason I cited.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2009, 10:48:29 AM by Ray Proudfoot »

Online johnd

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #15 on: September 13, 2009, 01:14:06 PM »
It is feasible already Ray albeit with a couple of small workarounds.

You can extend the solar sensor cable with standard Davis extension cable (provided, as ever, that you take care to weatherproof any cable joints) and it could then be run alongside the anemometer cable. (I guess what you're suggesting is that they should use a single multi-core cable to handle both anemometer and solar (and UV?) data, which would be somewhat neater but with the same end result.)

Then you also need to fashion a suitable mounting bracket for the solar sensor - I always reckon that it's simpler to attach the existing solar/UV sensors mounting shelf to a secondary bracket - you've only got to make fixing points for two small bolts that way - but either way it's not a huge engineering challenge.

The suggestion that I've made previously (both to Davis and IIRC here in an earlier VP3 wishlist somewhere) is that the console firmware should be modified to recognise a new Wind/Solar/UV station type. The idea is that this would work exactly as per the existing Wind station type but would allow the solar and UV sensors to be plugged into a 6332 Anemometer Tx (which already has the necessary sockets of course) and data from all 3 sensors to be transmitted to the console on one channel and picked up by the new WSU station type. I don't know the intricacies of the console firmware design, but I'm guessing that if they can do it for wind then it might not be too difficult to do the same trick with solar and/or UV also.
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Offline Ray Proudfoot

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #16 on: September 13, 2009, 02:47:35 PM »
It is feasible already Ray albeit with a couple of small workarounds.

You can extend the solar sensor cable with standard Davis extension cable (provided, as ever, that you take care to weatherproof any cable joints) and it could then be run alongside the anemometer cable. (I guess what you're suggesting is that they should use a single multi-core cable to handle both anemometer and solar (and UV?) data, which would be somewhat neater but with the same end result.)
Thanks John. A single cable would be ideal but a separate one wouldn't be a big problem. My main issue with the current sensor is its maintenance. The manual refers to regular cleaning of the sensor. Given that it would be mounted on the anemometer pole attached to my chimney makes that difficult. The sensor by design needs to be exposed but that makes it likely it will get dirty. It needs some kind of self-cleaning glass cover. Didn't Pilkington design that some time ago?

Quote from: johnd
The suggestion that I've made previously (both to Davis and IIRC here in an earlier VP3 wishlist somewhere) is that the console firmware should be modified to recognise a new Wind/Solar/UV station type. The idea is that this would work exactly as per the existing Wind station type but would allow the solar and UV sensors to be plugged into a 6332 Anemometer Tx (which already has the necessary sockets of course) and data from all 3 sensors to be transmitted to the console on one channel and picked up by the new WSU station type. I don't know the intricacies of the console firmware design, but I'm guessing that if they can do it for wind then it might not be too difficult to do the same trick with solar and/or UV also.

It sounds like you're saying the current Anemometer transmitter can't accept a solar sensor input. How strange when the connections are there. Maybe it's disabled for all but wind. That makes it a non-starter for me because I wouldn't want to run the solar cable to the ISS in the back garden.

Offline WeatherGoose

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #17 on: September 14, 2009, 12:16:01 AM »
Data Logger Built-in (A Com Port) Not a USB Port or Both Ports.

NDS Weather

AMEN TO THAT!

This $100.00+ price tag for a $15.00 dongle is really pushing the limits of fair trade!  Who would buy a VP2 and NOT want to hook it up to a computer?  The data logger should be included with all VP2s, or built in! :roll:

« Last Edit: September 14, 2009, 02:23:43 AM by WeatherGoose »


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Online johnd

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #18 on: September 14, 2009, 02:55:08 AM »
It sounds like you're saying the current Anemometer transmitter can't accept a solar sensor input. How strange when the connections are there.

There's a simple explanation: Exactly the same circuit board is used in the 6332 as in the ISS, presumably because it's more cost-effective to use an existing design even if it is overspecified rather than create a custom board design. And the 6332 board is fully functional in the sesne that you can attach solar, UV etc sensors to it as well as wind and that it will transmit this data.

However, the limitation is that a VP2 console can only recognise one ISS channel at a time. So if the 6332 were transmitting on say channel #2 and you were to set channel #2 on the console to ISS data type then all sensors attached to the 6332 would be seen. But of course the original ISS wouldn't then be seen (because only one ISS at a time can be recognised). The only ISS parameter that's an exception to this and that the console is currently programmed to be able to receive on a second channel is wind, which is why I suggested that maybe (?) a firmware update might allow the console also to recognise a wind/solar/UV station type, as well as an ISS.

Re cleaning the solar sensor: I'm sure it's desirable to give it a clean at least occasionally but I know that a lot of users don't seem to bother, without major consequences. I think that as long as it's sited somewhere that's not too dusty or polluting and sees a reasonable amount of rain then it will go for quite some time (ie years) without the readings suffering too significantly.
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Sorry, but I don't usually have time to help with individual issues by email unless you are a Prodata customer. Please post your issue in the relevant forum section here & I will comment there if I have anything useful to add.

Offline Aardvark

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #19 on: September 14, 2009, 07:06:01 AM »
backward compatible with extra sensors of the VP2. so one doesn't have to go out and buy new sensors.
Software that allows one to view all 8 stations data
A datalogger capable of storing data for all 8 stations
The ability to rename sensors in the data

Lightining detector

Offline wxtech

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #20 on: September 14, 2009, 08:06:54 AM »
Design in a better clock.  An internal GPS would locate the station and provide accurate time.
My VP2 loses about a minute per month.
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Offline tomcj2

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #21 on: September 14, 2009, 08:31:55 AM »
Design in a better clock.  An internal GPS would locate the station and provide accurate time.
My VP2 loses about a minute per month.

I agree fully.  My VP also lost a lot of time, until I installed VPLive.  No problems now.

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Offline WeatherGoose

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #22 on: September 14, 2009, 11:11:28 AM »
Design in a better clock.  An internal GPS would locate the station and provide accurate time.
My VP2 loses about a minute per month.

My weather software re-sets the console clock if it ever gets off, so I haven't noticed.  :)

Didn't realize it was so bad!  That should be fixed!


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Online Garth Bock

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #23 on: September 14, 2009, 11:24:37 AM »
Got some good conversation going on here so I thought I would update the list:

1. Less expensive sensors
2. Ability to add more sensors than VPro2
    Higher precision = higher price so that has to be accepted
    Limiting the number of sensor to 8 to maintain compatibility with VPro2 is a consideration but lets think outside the     compatability box. VPro 1 is not transmitter compatible with VPro2 so why not throw out the compatibility thought.

3. Touch screen console
    Everything is going touch screen...why not the console. Get rid of the buttons for a bigger screen area.

4. Mini console as an add-on
    I was referring to an older model (Weather Wizard ???) that had a mini console but a Vue console would be cool

5. Color console
    A color OLED screen would not add that much to the cost. There are ways to have color.

6. PCI card as an option instead of the logger and Envoy or Console
    Scratch this one....big oopps on my part since I don't use my Envoy to measure indoor temp.

7. Add 5-7 day weather like on an Ambient\Bushnell WeatherFX - This would be cool.

8. LED lights for the console to remove heat problem
    Not having a console...I missed this one and misunderstood the heat problem.

Suggestions so far:
9. Console or Envoy with built in data logger with a serial port only (like an O/S)
    Point here is that serial ports are going away so a Serial-USB adapter would be necessary

10. Davis IP camera
11. WiFi console so there are no wires ( N would be best )
12. Option to mount the UV\Solar sensor higher up away from the ISS with ability to plug them into the anemometer TX
13. Better time clock\GPS
14. Lightning option
15. Ability to rename sensor in the data
16. Redesigned rain bucket to discourage birds







Offline ncpilot

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Re: Vantage Pro 3 - Wish List
« Reply #24 on: September 14, 2009, 11:34:06 AM »
Data Logger Built-in (A Com Port) Not a USB Port or Both Ports.

NDS Weather

AMEN TO THAT!

This $100.00+ price tag for a $15.00 dongle is really pushing the limits of fair trade!  Who would buy a VP2 and NOT want to hook it up to a computer?  The data logger should be included with all VP2s, or built in! :roll:

And when your computer is down, or crashes--you lose all weather data until the computer is back up... the logger is not just a $15 "dongle"--it stores weather data, and if the logging interval is long enough, it will hold data for weeks to months...
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