Weather Software > What Weather Software should I use/buy?

Data Use?

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WindsorDave:
We have had a Vantage Pro 2 operating for a year now and are quite happy with it.  As a next step we're considering connecting it to a PC.

I've looked at "piconut's" poll regarding software and given what little I know about this stuff, that is a big help in deciding what software to acquire. 

It looks like a data logger is required and which one should be simple enough to decide upon.

My question is; how expensive is it in terms of recurring costs to make available my weather station's data available remotely? How much data does one of these things use if it updates, say, every 15 minutes?

In our case I do not think this is a practical goal.  We travel part of the year and the internet access goes with us leaving the Vantage Pro 2 sitting by itself in the back yard.

Still it would be good to hook it up to a PC in order to present the information in a easy to digest fashion even if it's not available "online".

Suggestions?

Thanks,

Dave

Bushman:
There are really only two choices for the logger - the Davis unit for ~125 US or Bellfryboy's clone for about 70.  If you use the latter you will need to get some weather software (Davis comes with Weatherlink). 

As for data use, I post every hour and a days is about 8 kb.  Not much at all.  A bigger concern is when you are away.  The 15 minute archive interval  will fill your logger  quickly.

Archive Storage Capacity (the amount of time before the archive is completely filled):
1 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 hours
5 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 days
10 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 days
15 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 days
30 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 days
60 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 days
120 Minute Archive Interval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 days

An option other than a PC is to use a Meteobridge.   Although I have to say I am not sure if when disconnected whether it would allow the logger to fill.  When running it is  fully automatic and even  allows a tunnel back into it.

PaulMy:
Hi Dave,
--- Quote ---My question is; how expensive is it in terms of recurring costs to make available my weather station's data available remotely? How much data does one of these things use if it updates, say, every 15 minutes?
--- End quote ---

I have my VP2 set at 10 minute interval so have about 17 days before it starts to over-write on the logger.

The ongoing cost after you have your hardware would be:
1. To upload to Weather Underground, CWOP, PWS, WOW, etc. it would be nothing ($0.00) beyond what you would pay for your internet service to provide continuous service, if you get free/donation ware software like Cumulus.  A donation to the developer is encouraged but not demanded.
2. To also upload to your website it would be the above plus the annual cost of a domain name - less than $20, and the cost for your webserver provider - i.e. GoDaddy and less than $100 annual depending on which plan you select.
3. There are options and alternatives such as paid software and other things you might wish to add and use - i.e. webcam, lightning detection, ...

Not an expensive hobby beyond what you invest in the equipment you decide upon.  The expensive part is the amount of your time you might end up using to enjoy your station :?
 
Paul
 
 
 

WindsorDave:
Thanks, guys, for taking the time to respond.  All helpful information.

So am I correct in thinking that if it takes 8kb per day for 24 uploads (1 per hour) that a 15 minute interval would be 4X24X30X8=23,040 kb or roughly 23 mb per month?  Even on my 8 gb /month data plan that's negligible.

I assume one has to register for an account, even a free one, if one of the weather networks like Weather Underground is used.  Given that, is there an expectation that one's personal weather station remains up 24X7 to the extent practical? 

The non-recurring cost appears modest enough so the hitch for us remains the Vantage Pro's access to the internet whenever we leave home base. 

As for logger capacity - I assume that if the logger were connected to a computer via USB or wireless, that as long as the PC stayed up it could be configured to accept Vantage Pro data indefinitely limited only by the PC's storage capacity.  That is with the understanding that it could not be accessed remotely if no internet connection were available.

Thanks again,

Dave

Bushman:
WU expects you to be online pretty much 24/7

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