Serial or USB

[G6GUH]

Hi All, I am about to order a Pro 2 ans having seen the problems that people have had with USB data loggers I am wondering if the serial one is the better option. I am using Windows 7 and have already had problems with drivers and serial to USB converters, I am using a converter with the FTID chipset and all seems to work ok. Whyat would you do ? As I am buying a new setup with the Davis datalogger I want to get it right the first time !

Regards Pete G6GUH

[prodata]

Serial logger + serial-to-USB adapter is the most bulletproof option, but relatively few users have any problems with the straight USB logger nowadays.

Serial logger does also give you the option of using a 40-50 ft cable if necessary of course whereas USB s best kept as short as possible, but maybe this isn't a relevant consideration?

[steve]

There are, or have been, two potential problems with USB loggers. They used to be seen as unreliable, with the connection dropping out. This seems to have been resolved; I'm not sure whether that was a hardware change or better drivers. The second problem that some people have is that they get it into 'USB express' mode and for some reason can't get it out again (required if you want to run Cumulus, for example). This is easily avoided by not getting it into USB mode in the first place.

So, while the serial logger is the simpler solution, if you don't actually have any serial ports, then I don't know of any reason why you shouldn't go for the USB version.

I'm sure others will have more information to chip in with.... (Edit: thought so )

[Touchtone]

Hopefully this will be useful for you when you get to setting up the Data Logger.
I am using the current version of the VP2 USB Data logger & when I first installed it I opted for the "USB express mode" thinking I would never need to change it. Well we all know what never means, so when I started to use Cumulus I had to change the situation, which was really very easy as all you need to do is select the Start Button in Windows, click on all Programs & scroll down till you find WeatherLink, left click & you will see CP210X USB to Serial Converter, click to run that & it should do the conversion.
When setting up WeatherLink go through the Walk Through under "Setup" section which will guide you to getting things setup correctly. When you get to Communication Ports select Serial & use Auto Detect to find an available serial port. When it has found one, check that the Baud rate is 19200, then click on the Test button & communication should be established. Then continue going through the setup until the end.

[Dave]

I haven't posted on this forum in a long time. I need to replace my aging VP equipment and was pondering the serial vs usb question myself. Amazing that this post was at the top of the list when I logged in to do some research on the topic. I remember when the usb data logger was first released there were some unstable connection issues. It seems like those have been resolved, so I think I'll make the move to a usb interface.

As usual, this group is amazing! Thanks

Dave