Is a Davis Vantage Vue a good move?

[JohnF]

Hi
I have had a Watson W-8681 Solar for a few years and the transmitter has packed up yet again. To be honest, I think its c**p. So would replacing it with a Davis Vantage Vue be a good move? I see them for about £270.00 so are they worth the extra money over the Watson?
TIA
John

[steve]

Note that a Vue at that price doesn't include the Weatherlink module, which adds significantly to the price, and is required if you want to connect the Vue to a PC.

[JohnF]

Thanks Steve
I would only want to record the transmissions from the sensors as data on the PC, not put it onto the internet. Can't the 'basic' unit do just that?
Thanks
John

[steve]

No, you can't connect it to a PC at all without additional hardware. John Dann is currently doing the package for £385 including standard delivery - http://shop.weatherstations.co.uk/6250u ... -393-p.asp

[JohnF]

OK I see that now Steve
Thank you.
John

[tomcatuk]

I've had one running since late 2009 and started it running officially 1st Jan 2010 and its been great, would have liked the 'bigger' one but far to expensive for me and this has been on a pole down the bottom of the garden and all I have had to do is change the battery and give it a clear out of sediment in the rain trap (sorry for the non technical terms)

[JohnF]

Hi tomcatuk
I just bit the bullet and ordered the Vantage Vue with Datalogger from Datashop. May be here on Monday.
Cheers all
John

[tomcatuk]

Hi John nice one.... when I bought mine I spent a few weeks playing with it and getting Cumulus set-up and making sure it was all working then started it 'officially' on the 1st Jan and has been working trouble free ever since only thing I've had to do to it was change the battery a few times and clean out the rain gauge and clear out the odd cobweb...
Good luck with it...

[robynfali]

I was just gonna ask same thing, is it a good move to buy one of these

So apart from the above link, is there anything else I need to worry about, going to mount it on roof.

[tomcatuk]

I was just gonna ask same thing, is it a good move to buy one of these

So apart from the above link, is there anything else I need to worry about, going to mount it on roof.

I have my on a pole mounted on brick shed down the bottom of the garden, if I need to I get the ladder out and climb up there so is pretty easy, so access is a factor.

[robynfali]

I don't have that option it has to be on the roof, but climbing a ladder doesn't bother me, I just want to know that I won't have to climb those ladders every 5 minutes lol

Software wise is there anything I need to know, presume it's just a matter of selecting the right station in Cumulus and bobs your uncle sort of thing?

[JohnF]

My Vantage Vue arrived yesterday and is working away very well. Very well designed except for the datalogger connection to the console. I found that the plug came out of the socket too easily and I lost connection to the software. Not realising that is what had happened I suspected software problems and spent ages trying to track it down until I found the culprit. Now I have packed over the datalogger and the battery cover keeps it in place.
John

[tomcatuk]

My Vantage Vue arrived yesterday and is working away very well. Very well designed except for the datalogger connection to the console. I found that the plug came out of the socket too easily and I lost connection to the software. Not realising that is what had happened I suspected software problems and spent ages trying to track it down until I found the culprit. Now I have packed over the datalogger and the battery cover keeps it in place.
John

That same thing happened to me so I used a small piece of polystyrene to hold it in place and its been fine, I also found that the usb lead that connects to the computer also had a habit of coming apart as I have mine mounted on a wall with the lead hanging down so just put some electrical tape round it to hold them together just in case...

Glad its all working for you, don't forget once you set it all up with Cumulus and you decide on the units you are going to use ie wind, pressure, temp, rainfall you won't be able to change them, well you will but it will screw up the totals..

[JohnF]

Cheers Steve
I think Davis should add a clip or clamp on the data logger fixing to hold it in place. It seems to be the one weak kink in the whole system.
John

[robynfali]

Glad I followed this thread, convinced about buying one now