Author Topic: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????  (Read 3041 times)

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Offline jas340

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Is this station any good?? It is brand new in the box. It was manufactured in 2008 but never installed. How hard/expensive would it be to put this "on the air" as only the main unit is for sale. No cables. Thanks

Offline jas340

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2017, 05:15:45 PM »
I just bought it for $300.00 US  :grin: or   #-o  ?

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2017, 07:31:00 PM »
That's even better yet, 25% off.

Quite a deal, if it is either new in box or pretty well cared for.

You can get a cable from Camp Scientific which won't be dirt cheap but at least have all the power, ground, and data wires to hook up.

Please let us know if you decide to sell it! :-)

Only partially kidding, these seem to be rare, so there may be only a few folks here who can help you with the intricacies.  From what I understand they are pretty well made (Vaisala quality) and have seen rough service on yachts etc.

Do you have a good setup to interface to see the output stream from the RS-232?  Something like ttermpro or such?  That or a data logger that you can program but not as easy to see output stream and tweak it.  The other possibility is a RM Young translator that you can program to get the data stream parsed and then save the data to where you want it and then send it to a PC running Weather Display.  I don't think Brian has interfaced a Vaisala, but check his list since it may have been added in the last few months or so.

If you get it up and running, please put together a report on it especially if there were any tricky parts you ran into that others might stumble or could benefit from your report.


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Offline jas340

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2017, 08:20:29 PM »
If you look at my recent posts you will see I have been lusting after a professional Weather Station. $3800.00 for a top of the line Lufft!!!!....not happening. I went on ebay and a guy was asking $950.00CAD OBO for a NIB WXT510. On a lark I gave him an offer of $150. We went back and forth. I wanted to pay $300.00 US max so I did the conversion to CAD and that was my final offer. I did not expect it to be accepted!!! I got my Christmas present!!!

I know that WD does support this model. As far as getting it on the air???? I am a plug and play kind of guy. I will need to do a lot of research first.

My interest in weather was rekindled thanks to WU coming apart at the seems and my need to get my own wx website. Fun? Yes. But I have been investing a lot of money in this hobby the last month or so.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2017, 08:50:47 PM »
Congratulations on the persistence in back and forth negotiations.

If WD does accept this model (and some have different output strings, but Brian usually works with serious users to get his interface driver working, he was very helpful with some Texas Wx Instruments station variations I had), then you are almost there.  Really.

If you are plug and play, then you might call Campbell Scientific to see if they still have the cable to attach to this unit to get the interface working, at least.  I know these professional units come with university and NASA budget prices.  I needed a simple plug for the bottom of a Met One 34B wind head and it was list something like $80!  I finally found one on the end of a 100' cable on eBay for about $50 which was what the cable without the plug would have cost locally. 

Nonetheless, if you haven't done so, please check out Jachym's Meteotemplate program which is extremely professional in appearance, to my eye, and again very very configurable.  His stuff is free to use, but he depends upon donations to keep the lights on.  It is at a very high level polished state right now, and Weather Display will send data to your SQL seamlessly.

The trick may be to get the RS-232 output from the station to a DB-9, then a serial to USB cable to get it into your computer.

I've been a fan of WD for years and while there are some tricks in getting it set up, there are now some relative step by step setups to follow to make sure the sometimes not-intuitive check boxes on several pages are correctly set.  That being said my system has been plugging away for years. 

You can let WD put up a web page of it's own making and partially your design, or do further and add something like the Saratoga php stuff which I do not use but I understand is well supported and has a lot of assistance from very enthusiastic users.

I hope I'm not telling you baby steps and you think me the idiot.  I was intimidated but powered through and now all is on automatic and I can just sit back and watch the web displayed stuff, or scroll through the raw data on my computer if I'm so inclined.

If you haven't seen what the WD stuff looks like, peer at my modest offering at

http://ECWx.info

and for the same data with tweaks added per Jachym's genius and professional quality programming, look to

http://ECWX.info/t/index.php

Not having participated with WU and hearing some negative things about it over time haven't changed I'm not sure what crashes you allude to, but I like to have my data under my control going to my site, and I think there are a lot of hobbyists out there who feel the same.

Have fun.  Get the gizmo fired up on your bench with a computer interfaced to the DB9 port through a usb connector and read the incoming stream and then switch over to letting WD start doing its work.  Then set up the database on your own server. I rent space and all from GoDaddy, but there are lots who will also offer their opinion.  My traffic is very light with a few other hobbyists in the area, a few hams, and the astronomy group using it, but I never exceed the minimal system I subscribe for service.  I think that most folks argue against trying to use a free service since it, and it was my experience, doesn't usually pan out well.

Dale

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Offline waiukuweather

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2017, 02:59:20 AM »
WD should work OK via a RS232 serial connection (not sure if that is standard?)

Offline droiddk

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2017, 08:44:31 AM »
Have fun. 
Dale

Dale, I want to salute you for your post! Not intended for me but I think its very informative and very giving!

Regards
Droiddk

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2017, 07:24:21 PM »
Droiddk:
I think this is a place where having others 'listen in' to conversations is expected and shares the learning.

thanks for the compliment and I can only say that I have learned far more from others here than I have had the chance to give any back.

Dale
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Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #8 on: December 23, 2017, 09:04:55 PM »
jas340:

Any luck with getting the station to work yet?

Just curious. Dale
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Offline jas340

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #9 on: December 23, 2017, 09:55:42 PM »
Dale, The WXT510 is my Christmas present. When i received it I opened the box. It is NIB. I told the wife to wrap it up. I plan on "messing" with it on Christmas day. I have a 50ft RS-232 cable and a Rs-232 to usb converter. Weather Display is compatible so I will use that software. I have a another cable and a Mean-Well 24VDC power supply for the heater. I bought a 8 pin M-12 cable on ebay but they sent a 5 pin by mistake. I sent it back so plan B will be in effect.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #10 on: December 23, 2017, 10:58:09 PM »
Thanks for the update.  We will all be as giddy as schoolchildren waiting to hear how the post-Christmas days go.

Enjoy.  Dale
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Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2018, 11:59:55 PM »
Any update on the Vaisala?   Installed?  Working?  Fun?

How and where did you mount it?  Did you use RS-232  or SDI-12? 

Fill us in with details, please.
Thx Dale
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Offline jas340

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2018, 12:22:02 AM »
I have not gotten the Vaisala to communicate with Weather Display. I first tried a RS-232 to usb and it did not work. Next I bought a RS-485 to usb, no good. I just got a sdi-12 to usb converter on Friday. I am not sure how to connect it.

Offline waiukuweather

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #13 on: January 14, 2018, 03:38:09 AM »
normally it would be a R232 connection
and then the driver for that would show up as a com port number in windows device manager , ports
and then you would select that in the software
maybe there is mode or dip switch you need to set on the actual weather station to send data via RS232
maybe google for some information ?

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #14 on: January 14, 2018, 08:30:41 AM »
Have you looked inside the WXT to see how the output cable is configured?  I think it is ordered a certain way, but the 'default' as nearly as I can figure, is the SDI-12, which while OK, is a wee bit limited as compared to the RS-232, and the external power.

What did you choose as a power supply for it?

Were you able to hook up the configuration cable to the tiny 4 pin plug and run the configuration software and monitor the values coming out of the unit?

I assume the kit came with the USB to 4 pin plug, but maybe not.

And the software is available for download from Vaisala if you didn't get a disk with it to do the config. setup.



https://my.vaisala.net/en/services/technicalsupport/downloads/Pages/Software.aspx

I hope I'm not insulting you by mentioning all these things, just running through the info you gave us so far.

Let us know what is the status so this rig can get on the air!
Dale
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Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #15 on: January 14, 2018, 08:38:34 AM »
I forgot that for some reason, this link has a setup page for their situation (and I'm not sure who they are or what location, with what looks like a database entry for their setup.

In it is a number that is identical to others I've seen for the software, and works with the latest WXT config stuff offered at Vaisala.
It begins with a K7G1 or some such.
http://www.ing.iac.es:8081/confluence/display/COMPUTING/Configuring+the+WXT520+Vaisala+Weather+Station

Again, I hope I'm not irritating you by listing this so on the slim chance you didn't get all these things in your purchase you can fiddle with it.

If you ran the USB driver setup from the Vaisala link unzip, then plugged the config cable in, then let the USB driver software discover the right comm port (default was 1, I had to look and mine was 4), then run the config software and tweak the settings in there to see the WXT, and then look around (I cannot remember all the little spots to change) but the default for the tiny plug on the end of the USB is RS232, 19200 baud, and it powers the WXT without need to have power going to it with the permanent cable going to the termination block inside, you should be able to see  the temp, humidity, direction and speed along with barometer outputs onto the monitor screen.

If that's not doing it, let us know what you have gotten set up so far, short of the RS232 output.
Dale
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Offline jas340

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #16 on: January 14, 2018, 06:06:05 PM »
Dale, Thank you for all the info. I appreciate any and all help with this unit. It is an definitely an "exotic" weather station.  I could of had a vantage pro2 by now with what I've spent!!! Unfortunately my WXT510 did not come with the configuration cable/software. Life would have been a lot easier if it did. I had hoped the default communication would have been RS-232. Let me digest the info you have provided and I will update soon.

Offline DaleReid

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Re: Should I buy a brand new Vaisala WXT510 for $400 from estate sale????
« Reply #17 on: January 14, 2018, 07:14:30 PM »
OK, you can personal message me for any other details or help that I 'may' be able to give you.  I like the idea of archiving info that is exchanged, but now we are into the minutea of it all.

Feel free.

I also could have you (carefully) take the three big screws out of the bottom, then take a good pix of the terminal strip and where the various wires and their colors coming off it, and I might (no promises) be able to tell and guide you to make it an RS 232 if it isn't already.  Then it is simply a few tries of different bauds to see if you can finally talk to it.  Even without the configuration cable you can still set it up that way, but more difficult.

Let me know, always glad to help if I can.  Dale
 
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