OK, here's the first part. I have place holders for additional sections yet to be written.
---
Davis Weather Station Buying Guide
So, you’re thinking about buying a Davis Instruments Weather Station and you don’t know where to start.
Start here… 
Davis pricing:This might seem like a strange starting point. However, here’s why I put it first:
Davis has a Minimum Advertised Price (MAP) policy with its dealers. That means that the dealers cannot advertise a price lower than what Davis sets as the MAP price.
However, the dealers can sell at whatever price they want to. That’s why I put this subject first.
Most on-line Davis dealers will happily sell to you below MAP. The trick is in finding out what their lowest price really is. Some may want you to register or “create an account" on their site to see below MAP pricing. Others may just want you to send an email to a special address, which will then send you a link to their “secret” pricing. In almost all cases, they will be happy to tell you the price via an email, chat (if available) or phone call.
So, if you’ve done a little research and you think you can only afford a Vue because you’ve looked at catalog or web site pricing, you might really be able to afford a Vantage Pro 2 (VP2). Or, you might be able to get a VP2 Plus instead of a VP2.
StationsCurrently, Davis Instruments offers the Vantage Vue, Vantage Pro 2, and Vantage Pro 2 Plus weather stations. The basic weather station includes an outdoor unit, called the Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) which has the rain gauge, outdoor temperature and humidity sensors, and wine vane and anemometer. It also includes an indoor console which has the indoor temperature and humidity sensors, as well as the barometric pressure sensor and an LCD screen to display the data and buttons to control it and enter various settings.
Vantage VueThe Vue is an entry level station. Its communications is wireless between the ISS and the console (900 MHz spread spectrum, not WiFi). Like all Davis wireless stations, range is estimated to be 1,000’ line of sight (LOS). The ISS is an all-in-one unit which can’t be separated into individual sensors.
Station SitingLet’s break here for a word about sensor placement. Almost every weather station siting is a compromise between the perfect placement and the area you have to work with, as well as external considerations such as local/association rules, spousal concerns, surrounding terrain, etc. The weather station design itself may also impose its own compromises.
In a perfect site, the rain gauge would be close to ground level in an open area, the outdoor temperature and humidity 4-5’ above ground over grass in an open area and the wind vane/anemometer at 33’ above ground in an open area free of obstructions.
As you can see, unless you live on a ball field, or open range, placement will likely be made up of various compromises.
Maintenance may also influence your placement of the weather station sensors. Wireless stations will require occasional battery replacement, and every rain gauge needs to be cleaned sooner or later.
Now, back to the Vue.
Vue ISS photo here…
Being an all-in-one design, siting the Vue ISS means compromising the ideal placement of one or more of the sensors. Down low where the temperature and humidity want to be, and wind is less accurate. Up high, wind is happy, but the rain catch will be affected, temperature and humidity will likely be different than closer to the ground, and maintenance may be difficult.
With a couple of exceptions Vues are not expandable to other sensors. More on that later.
Vantage Pro 2The VP2 comes in either wired or wireless models, referring to the communications between the console and ISS.
Wired stations are cheaper to buy, harder to install (running the phone-style cable to the ISS), and easier to maintain (no battery in the ISS). Wired stations are not expandable, except for UV and Solar sensors. The wired station ships with 100’ of cable to connect to the console, which can be extended to 1000’.
Wireless stations are, conversely, more expensive, easier to install (no cable), but will require periodic ISS battery replacement. As stated before, the wireless transmission range is stated by Davis to be 1,000’ LOS. Many have had good results at longer distances. The range can also be increased with up to 4 Davis repeaters. More on repeaters later.
Wireless stations can add UV and solar sensors also, and their consoles can receive data from up to 7 other Davis wireless stations.
Vantage Pro 2 PlusThese wired or wireless stations are the same as described as above, except that they include the solar and UV sensors already mounted on the ISS. Solar and UV can be added to the VP2 ISS later, but will cost ~$100 more for both sensors and the Sensor Mounting Shelf than if you purchased the station with them installed.
Anemometer/Wind Vane mountingFor the Vantage Pro 2 and 2 Plus, the anemometer comes with 40 of cable for mounting the wind head away from the ISS. That distance can be extended to 240’ with some loss in maximum measured speed. At 240’, the max is stated by Davis to be 100 MPH.
Extra Wireless StationsWireless VP2 consoles can receive data from up to 7 more wireless stations besides the ISS.
Temperature only transmitter (probe on a cable, ideal for measuring water, soil, or air temperature)
Up to 6 per system
Temperature/Humidity transmitter (sensors in a radiation shield)
Up to 6 per system
Soil Moisture/Leaf Wetness/Temperature transmitter (probes on cables)
1 per system with 2 soil moisture, 2 leaf wetness and 4 temperature probe
OR
2 per system
1 with 4 soil moisture and 4 temperature probes
AND
1 with 2 leaf wetness and 2 temperature probes
Anemometer transmitter
1 per system, takes the place of the wired anemometer connection for remote mounting of the wind unit.
Notes:
A Pro 2 or 2 Plus console can only receive complete data from 1 ISS, whether it is a Pro 2 or Vue ISS. ISS Temperature only, or temperature/humidity data can be received as extras wireless station data on a console, but everthing else will be ignored.
Vue consoles can receive data from an anemometer transmitter. This replaces the data from the ISS anemometer and wind vane. It also requires a separate wind unit as the Vue one is integrated into the ISS and is not separable.
In place of the Vue ISS, Vue consoles can also receive and display data from a VP2 ISS which includes solar and UV. However, those sensors cannot be fitted to a Vus ISS.
Other than those two exceptions, Vues cannot be used with other wireless stations.
RepeatersTo extend the range between the console and some or all wireless stations, Davis sells 2 types of repeaters, Standard and Long Range. The standard repeater will extend the range up to another 1,000’. 4 long range repeaters with the right antennas could, in theory extend up to > 40,000. repeater system design can get fairly complicated and is beyond the scope of this post.
(sections still to write...)
Loggers (computer connections)
Software
Dealers
Tech Support
Maintenance
Repairs
