Should i buy a Davis Vantage Vue

[fiestaman]

Hi all, im new here and looking to get into home weather monitering. I have a windvane, rain guage & thermometer all manual, i dont record anything now so was hoping to get a weatherstation and log data to my laptop. I can afford up to a Vantage vue,roughly costing me E400 euro delivered to ireland incl data logger (i dont have to pay vat). So is the Vue a good buy or should i be looking at something else for that money? Are they accurate being all in one unit. I am 250mtr ASL and exposed so winds are always strong. Id be fairly particular about accuracy. Id have an option of mounting it 4-5mtrs high or 3mtrs. Which would be best, id like the lower option because id like to get true readings for temp but is there much difference in not having it up high for wind data? At 3mtrs it would be exposed from all sides, same as 4-5mtrs, exposed from all sides. Its hard to pick a unit theres so many but id like to get a good kit rather than cheap and get trouble. If anyone can share there view i be very gratefull.
Cheers

[steve]

If you have good exposure all round, you could consider applying a multiplier to the readings to compensate for the difference in height of the anemometer from the standard 10m. But note that it's a theoretical figure; the only way to actually measure the wind speed at the standard height is to have the anemometer at the standard height. Not many people can do that anyway!

See http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/Wind_measu ... mpensation

[fiestaman]

Thanks steve but id rather not have to do that if i spend €400.00. After 43 views on the topic your the only on that gave advice so i think il either buy a Maplin WH-1081(N96FY) there £49.99 on the maplin site at the moment or just buy the Vue and mount it at my high point which is actually 16feet (completley exposed all around) i measured thisevening. I dont know if there will be much difference in temp at 4feet and 16feet. I dont know if there will be much difference between 16feet and 33feet for wind speed either so il learn as i go along. I wouldnt be mounting the Maplin anemometer much higher than the 16feet anyway, maybe 20max. I know theres a big difference in the quaility of the stations but thats why i asked the question in the first place but obviously nobody has any info. Thanks

[Intheswamp]

Davis builds some quality stuff. I was impressed (still am) when I first opened up my VP2 and checked the build quality and even the plastic quality out. The Vue would be with you a long time with minimal maintenance. The only thing that you might regret one day is not buying the Vp2.

As for the height of the unit, I would be concerned with ease of cleaning out the rain gauge. Leaves can find their way into it and birds *will* use it for their personal outhouse. It will need cleaning at some point...some places more frequently than other places. Thus, you want to be able to lower it to a height where it's easy to work on...whether you're standing on the ground or on a stepladder. The important thing is to be able to keep a check on it regularly without much fuss so that you can clean any debris out *before* it gets stopped up....if it has bird poop in it and it starts raining it can (in a heavy rain) over fill and run over, and if you un-clog a semi-full bucket then the water is going to pour out of the gauge very fast and give you a bad "rain rate". Thus, you want to be able to look into the rain gauge easily to determine if it needs cleaning...before a problem arises. That is where the VP2 and it's wired anemometer that can be mounted high and the ISS low has an advantage. I believe, though, that you can add a remote anemometer and transmitter to the Vue...in case you might want to later.

I'd put the Vue up 3-4 meters high and where I can lower it easily and call it "good". It is very difficult to get a perfect installation...we do the best that we can with what we have to work with.

Best wishes,
Ed

[mermaidbeachweather]

Thanks steve but id rather not have to do that if i spend €400.00. After 43 views on the topic your the only on that gave advice so i think il either buy a Maplin WH-1081(N96FY) there £49.99 on the maplin site at the moment or just buy the Vue and mount it at my high point which is actually 16feet (completley exposed all around) i measured thisevening. I dont know if there will be much difference in temp at 4feet and 16feet. I dont know if there will be much difference between 16feet and 33feet for wind speed either so il learn as i go along. I wouldnt be mounting the Maplin anemometer much higher than the 16feet anyway, maybe 20max. I know theres a big difference in the quaility of the stations but thats why i asked the question in the first place but obviously nobody has any info. Thanks

Hi, I have had a Vantage Vue for over four years and have no problems, just the usual battery change after 18 months or so.
It is featured on my website at http://www.mermaidbeachweather.com I put plastic cable ties around the rain collector as birds had a habit of dropping seeds into the rain bucket.
You will always get help on this forum, and what Steve doesn't know is not worth knowing, he will help when he gets the time.
Good luck in your choice.

Cheers

Brian

[prodata]

I'd put the Vue up 3-4 meters high and where I can lower it easily and call it "good". It is very difficult to get a perfect installation...we do the best that we can with what we have to work with.
Ed

That's good advice. As to the detail of your other questions, there aren't hard and fast answers I'm afraid. Typically, wind speed at 10m will be about 25% higher than at 5m height, but it all depends on what's called the roughness of the ground around the site. A flat wide open area with no buildings, trees, bushes etc will have lower roughness and conversely a built-up area will have a higher roughness and so more of a dependence on height.

On temperature vs height, it depends on how windy it might be. With windy conditions the air gets mixed of course and so there will not be much variation with height. But eg on a calm night then there can be quite a strong gradient of temperature with height (eg sharp ground frost but no air frost).

And rainfall has some significant dependence on mounting height - the stronger wind at greater height tends to deflect a proportion of rain from falling into the gauge and so there's a tendency to under-record rainfall at greater height, es[pecially of course on windy days.

[AllyCat]

Hi,

It's not really very practical to compare systems which have a difference in price of 800%. One possibility is to consider purchasing two "Maplin's" (so only a 400% difference in price) to replace whichever sensor/modules probably will fail over the space of a few years. But on what has been said above, it's possible that the Maplin's batteries will last longer than that of a Davis' .

However, don't believe the Fine Offset/Maplin "promotional pictures" (i.e. all the sensors and transmitter mounted on the same little mast). The wind and rain sensors are fitted with 3 metre cables (and can be extended further if required) so take advantage of this: The rain gauge (like all tipping bucket types) must be mounted firmly (and preferebaly close to the ground) and the FO transmitter/temperature/humidity module (even inside its "sunscreen") MUST be located in a shady position (again preferably only a metre or two above the ground).

Cheers, Alan.

[uncle_bob]

Just to add regarding temps. Would you prefer to know the actual temp where you are located or 5 metres or so up in the air?
I actually like to know what the temp is at our level so mine can read a little higher than other stations where it's mount up in the air.

[fiestaman]

Thanks guys, nice bit of info there.

[fiestaman]

Just to add regarding temps. Would you prefer to know the actual temp where you are located or 5 metres or so up in the air?
I actually like to know what the temp is at our level so mine can read a little higher than other stations where it's mount up in the air.

I want to know the temp at our level and the wind at 5mtrs so thats why im not sur wheather to buy a Vue. Id really like a unit with seperate sensors but i dont know what type to buy as regards quaility for the money i have to spend. Id lile a unit that can log data and upload whenever i turn on my laptop. I want to be able to use cumulus and maybe connect to the internet down the line.

[fiestaman]

Thanks steve but id rather not have to do that if i spend €400.00. After 43 views on the topic your the only on that gave advice so i think il either buy a Maplin WH-1081(N96FY) there £49.99 on the maplin site at the moment or just buy the Vue and mount it at my high point which is actually 16feet (completley exposed all around) i measured thisevening. I dont know if there will be much difference in temp at 4feet and 16feet. I dont know if there will be much difference between 16feet and 33feet for wind speed either so il learn as i go along. I wouldnt be mounting the Maplin anemometer much higher than the 16feet anyway, maybe 20max. I know theres a big difference in the quaility of the stations but thats why i asked the question in the first place but obviously nobody has any info. Thanks

Hi, I have had a Vantage Vue for over four years and have no problems, just the usual battery change after 18 months or so.
It is featured on my website at http://www.mermaidbeachweather.com I put plastic cable ties around the rain collector as birds had a habit of dropping seeds into the rain bucket.
You will always get help on this forum, and what Steve doesn't know is not worth knowing, he will help when he gets the time.
Good luck in your choice.

Cheers

Brian

Hi brian, thank you. Where have you got your Vue mounted. How high up is it?

[Intheswamp]

I think in this level of weather stations you won't beat the value-for-the-dollar of the Davis equipment. I reviewed heavily different units before I purchased my station and something that I kept hearing from people was the quality of the build, the heftiness and apparent durability of the Davis units....be it the Vue, VP2, etc.,. My mistake was not going ahead and purchasing the VP2+ when I made my initial purchase.

It appears that you want the anemometer elevated to a height that isn't going to condone frequent access to it but you are aware of some of the issues involved with also having the temperature and humidity sensors elevated. If, per chance, you could hold off purchasing until you've stashed back another e135(?) to buy the VP2 the issue of having the anemometer up high and the rain and temperature sensors down low would be taken care of. But, none of us have an excess of patience, do we?

The Vue is a good unit with very good quality. There are thousands of owners that are very happy with it. It is as accurate as any other station in it's price range and probably moreso than some stations. What it will do is measure the weather conditions exactly at it's location...10 meters to the east or west or up or down or some other direction the weather conditions could very well be different (probably only slightly different, but...). With a split system such as the VP2 there's a bit more flexibility (along with more expandability for later). I'm not a salesman for Davis, but do want you to look hard at the options you have...it's cheaper now to "upgrade" than it will be at any other time.

If you haven't already browsed through this file you might want to check it out. It has some excellent guidelines for siting weather stations: http://weather.gladstonefamily.net/CWOP_Guide.pdf

Best wishes and whatever you do...have fun!!!
Ed

[RayProudfoot]

Fiestaman,

One thing you could consider is buying the Vue plus a 6332 Transmitter and 6410 Anemometer. This allows you to mount the anemometer totally separately from the temperature and rain gauge. It's quite a bit more expensive and you may not want to spend that much. The other option is to buy a VP2 with the anemometer and mount it high up with the ISS near ground level.

The Vue is cheaper than the VP2 but isn't as versatile. Just a thought.

If temps and rainfall are more important than wind speeds I would place the Vue around 4-5ft and use the compensation factor for wind speeds.

[fiestaman]

Fiestaman,

One thing you could consider is buying the Vue plus a 6332 Transmitter and 6410 Anemometer. This allows you to mount the anemometer totally separately from the temperature and rain gauge. It's quite a bit more expensive and you may not want to spend that much. The other option is to buy a VP2 with the anemometer and mount it high up with the ISS near ground level.

The Vue is cheaper than the VP2 but isn't as versatile. Just a thought.


If temps and rainfall are more important than wind speeds I would place the Vue around 4-5ft and use the compensation factor for wind speeds.

I thought about the wireless anemometer but for the cost id be better off buying a Vp2 but im not willing to spend that kind of money as im just starting out, its all new to me.
Is there a decent station within my price scale that is accurate and fairly reliable that has the sensors seperate & will log data until you connect to the lap top & transmits readings fairly frequently.

[RayProudfoot]

I thought about the wireless anemometer but for the cost id be better off buying a Vp2 but im not willing to spend that kind of money as im just starting out, its all new to me.
Is there a decent station within my price scale that is accurate and fairly reliable that has the sensors seperate & will log data until you connect to the lap top & transmits readings fairly frequently.

Unfortunately I don't think there is a product between the Fine Offset range and Davis. We could certainly do with one as the cost of Davis outside the US is very high. The closest is the Vue. I think temp and rainfall is more important than wind. If you agree then place the Vue around 4-5ft and compensate the wind factor.