Moving to Davis VP2 - WL USB or IP?

[NFLD.Republic]

Hi Folks,

I'm fed up with my Oregon Scientific WMR200 (anemometer is getting slower, rain gauge decided to quite) and moving to a Davis Vantage Pro 2.

My question is should I order the USB or IP version of Weather Link? Davis said since I was using a third party software (Cumulus) I should use USB. Reading the forums here it seems that USB is a sure path to frustration.

What is the recommendation: USB or IP?

[BigOkie]

Hi Folks,

I'm fed up with my Oregon Scientific WMR200 (anemometer is getting slower, rain gauge decided to quite) and moving to a Davis Vantage Pro 2.

My question is should I order the USB or IP version of Weather Link? Davis said since I was using a third party software (Cumulus) I should use USB. Reading the forums here it seems that USB is a sure path to frustration.

What is the recommendation: USB or IP?

It's a sure path to frustration ONLY IF YOU DON"T FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. This used to be the case, but the newer USB drivers have alleviated the situation. I have a USB logger and it works fine. The only thing to remember is to not set it up in USB Express mode if you intend on using other software than Weatherlink. And even if you do just intend on Weatherlink, it's still a good idea to not set it up in USB Express as WL will work with both USB Express and Serial emulation.

The IP logger is more expensive also.

[andrew_sinclair]

Hello NFLD.Republic,

As I understand it The IP Logger and the USB Logger have different functionality:

Davis call the product family "WeatherLink for Windows", although that said there is a Mac version but I'll assume you are a Windows user. There are the following different types:

General Purpose data, Part #: 06510USB is the USB version
General Purpose data, Part #: 06510SER is the Serial version
and
WeatherLink IP, Part #: 0655

The Serial and USB versions connects the Vantage console to a PC and then the PC is connected to the internet e.g. via DSL modem. All products have a data logger (a device which attaches to the rear of the Vantage console and stores a certain amount of readings from the Vantage console). The IP logger will "post data directly to the internet without the need of a PC" So you plug the Vantage console directly into a DSL modem.

Thus the first decision is do you wish to connect direct to internet without the use of a PC? If so then the IP logger is the direction to take. If, however, you intend to use Cumulus software this means that you cannot use the IP logger as there is no PC on which to run Cumulus so you must chose the General Purpose version either Serial or USB.

Next is the decision between a Serial or USB versions. There are various different threads related to the pros and cons of these two different products in the forum.

I would suggest this page to begin with :

http://wiki.sandaysoft.com/a/FAQ#How_do ... Cumulus.3F

Hope this helps

Regards

Andrew

[prodata]

Hello NFLD.Republic,
Thus I believe you intention to use Cumulus software means that you cannot use the IP logger as there is no PC on which to run Cumulus.

I haven't run this configuration myself, but I don't believe this is correct. Other software can talk to the IP logger across a LAN in addition (should you choose to do so) to uploading to weatherlink.com and I'm pretty sure that this includes Cumulus. There are some detailed pros and cons of USB (or serial) vs IP versions, but both can usually talk to local software equally well.

The main con of the IP logger is its extra cost (you're effectively paying upfront for indefinite - potentially many years - free use of the weatherlink.com service, which isn't included with the USB logger. The main pro of the IP logger (in addition to the uploads to wl.com) is that you can pass the data across a cabled LAN, should you have one and therefore there's quite a lot of flexibility in where VP2 console and PC can be located.

[andrew_sinclair]

Hello John,

I hadn't thought of that, I am sure you are correct and I am wrong. So an IP Logger could be used to upload direct to weatherlink.com and also connected to a PC which would could be used to run Cumulus?

Sorry, if I have misled the discussion, not intentional I hadn't considered a configuration where someone would want to upload to weather link.com and also use Cumulus. So another way of looking at the IP version is (in the case where the user decides not to upload data to weatherlink.com) as a LAN connection as opposed to a USB or Serial versions. Makes sense...

Andrew

[steve]

Cumulus can connect to a Weatherlink IP just as it can to a serial or USB logger, as far as Cumulus is concerned there is no difference other than the way the connection is established (and the Davis DLL handles that).

If you have a WLIP uploading to weatherlink.com, you have to configure Cumulus to disconnect once a minute for a few seconds to allow the WLIP to do the upload, as the WLIP can't be connected to weatherlink.com and Cumulus at the same time.