Topic: Fall is coming, I'd better get the new station ordered

[DaleReid]

I had been hoping to keep my RainWise LR station on the air, but after the last problem early this summer, I've not been able to get it working again.  Sad, but with all the various ones I have, none seem to have a working base.  I have 5 Mark III consoles and an IP-100 feeding WeeWX but I guess it is time.

I've held out for a revision of Davis's Vantage Pro for a more readable screen but alas, I fear it will never come.

That being said, I am thinking of the 6152 wireless with the solar/uv option.

I really don't trust nor want the tipping spoon gizmo, and have a few well calibrated tipping buckets from RM Young and High Sierra and Texas Electronics which I trust a lot more than a tipping spoon from all the comments here. 

Question 1:  Can I still plug  in a 0.01" tipping of any sort  into the Vantage 2 ISS instead of using the AeroVane with the spoon?

Question 2:  I also have a 'spare' RM Young Wind Monitor 5103 on the tower that I can use.  I have an older, no longer available I believe, Davis box that would take a Young input and then convert it to something that you can plug into an ISS in place of the vane that Davis has.  I can do that from the ground, while to use a new Davis Wind Sensor, I'd have to find someone to climb my tower to put it  up.  I hope to do that, but since I want to have wind information right away, would use the Young to feed the ISS.  Does anyone know if the current Davis stations will still accept the converted Young, through the Davis 6336 adapter, and work, or is that option no longer in the firmware of the newly manufactured stations?

Thanks.  Dale

PS
Side question 3:

Is Rainwise now fully moved and has any contact with tech support?  I know of a few LR Mark III stations still operating, and I wonder if they have been in general abandoned by Rainwise as far as any support?  I have not tried Rainwise in a couple months, but since late winter none of the attempt through email or leaving a voice mail have been answered.  Thanks Dale

[miraculon]

Question 1:  Can I still plug  in a 0.01" tipping of any sort  into the Vantage 2 ISS instead of using the AeroVane with the spoon?

A: Yes, as long as the rain gauge gives a switch closure every 0.01" inch, anything will work. I have an 8" Novalynx interfaced to a Davis SIM and it works fine.

Question 2:  I also have a 'spare' RM Young Wind Monitor 5103 on the tower that I can use.  I have an older, no longer available I believe, Davis box that would take a Young input and then convert it to something that you can plug into an ISS in place of the vane that Davis has.  I can do that from the ground, while to use a new Davis Wind Sensor, I'd have to find someone to climb my tower to put it  up.  I hope to do that, but since I want to have wind information right away, would use the Young to feed the ISS.  Does anyone know if the current Davis stations will still accept the converted Young, through the Davis 6336 adapter, and work, or is that option no longer in the firmware of the newly manufactured stations?

A: I don't think that Davis has changed any of their SIM (e.g. 6332) boxes in a long time. The anemometer interface should still be the same as far a I know. The UAI/6336 translates the Young signals into "Davis-speak" and the anemometer transmitter doesn't know the difference.

Greg H.

[DaleReid]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

I take it that the SIM is station interface module or such, a davis thing, NOT a cell sim card!  Dale

[miraculon]

Thanks, that helps a lot.

I take it that the SIM is station interface module or such, a davis thing, NOT a cell sim card!  Dale

Yup. Sensor Interface Module. It is the label on the box covering the supercap.

Greg H.

[CW2274]

Is Rainwise now fully moved and has any contact with tech support?

I spoke to RW tech support only a few weeks ago, we actually chatted for quite a while. It was even closing time for him, he stated, "no problem". As far as your potential buy of a VP2 and nixing the tipper, I've been using my RW tipper for 6-7 years with my VP2 ISS and would never go back. Way too many benefits, zero drawback. 

[DaleReid]

Thanks for both the info on the tipper and also that RW has a tech person now who may be available for a call.  Thanks for both info pieces.

[Mattk]

....I really don't trust nor want the tipping spoon gizmo...

Having checked quite a few VP2 tipping spoons, there has not been one yet that is outside the stated specs. This is something the VP2 tipping buckets could not claim. The VP2 tipping spoon is a much more robust design than the tipping buckets but not something that is practical to calibrate yet have not found one that requires calibrating which is certainly an improvement over the buckets 

[Mattk]

As long as you have one (no longer available) the #6336 would still work with any VP2 ISS

[VaJim]

Hi Dale

My last contact with Rainwise via email was back in Jan 2022.  I still have a MKIII non-LR that is clicking along.  I too have the IP-100 and a couple of displays.  Most of the replaceable parts in the outside assembly have been replaced.  The rain bucket and solar panel are original.  When it finally dies I'm not sure what I'll do.  My last conversation with Rainwise indicated they would work with me on a replacement.  I've been with Rainwise since 1998 and traveled to Bar Harbor to pick up my first unit.

Jim

[schwab]

We have three Davis VP2 stations. 

The station at our residence in Florida is https://www.leisure-gardens.com

Our new next door neighbor there is an electrical engineer from Michigan who installed a WeatherFlow/Tempest Station.

https://tinyurl.com/yj558wnc

I think the Weatherflow/Tempest Station may represent a new generation of personal weather station worth considering vs the Davis VP2.

The Weatherflow/Tempest Station is less expensive, easy to install, lower maintenance, accurate and does NOT rely on the 'difficult to calibrate' VP2 tipping spoon for rain collection...and my neighbor verified this given his experience.

Here's another wxforum user's opinion"

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=43112.0

[davidmc36]

But if you cannot separate the T/H and Wind components................

As long as See-Saw rain gauge is still available, I will continue to use them. No trouble calibrating.

[CW2274]

The Weatherflow/Tempest Station is less expensive, easy to install, lower maintenance, accurate..

Here's another wxforum user's opinion"

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=43112.0

And I still completely stand by my reply #2 in that thread.

[GHammer]

Our new next door neighbor there is an electrical engineer from Michigan who installed a WeatherFlow/Tempest Station.

I think the Weatherflow/Tempest Station may represent a new generation of personal weather station worth considering vs the Davis VP2.

The Weatherflow/Tempest Station is less expensive, easy to install, lower maintenance, accurate and does NOT rely on the 'difficult to calibrate' VP2 tipping spoon for rain collection...and my neighbor verified this given his experience.

First, an electronic engineer doesn't mean he is an expert on weather stations. He can make a guess by the available info, much the same as I can.

There's only one of your statements I'd agree with. The Tempest is less expensive. And should be.
I had one for a very short time. Lousy rain and wind measurements, luckily, that took my attention away from the poor temperature reporting. The fact that they want to massage your data and give you 'corrected' values sometime the next day had it packed off to someone who thought it would be fun to have a weather station. I understand that they too have passed it off on some unsuspecting soul.

I really don't understand calibrating the Davis rain gauge. So, while it may or may not be a demanding task, again, I have no idea why you'd want/need to. I've had my VP2 for only a few years now but have had zero issues with any of its measurements. Zero.

Now, I would like a lightning sensor, but given that an accurate one is several hundred dollars, I'll rely on other methods. Of course, if I were still in Texas or Florida, I'd likely have one regardless.