Cumulus Support

I'm thinking about replacing my ageing Fine Offset station and have been looking at the WMR200.

I like the look of it and the fact that the sensors are modular, makes the positioning of the bits easier.

However, the few reviews in Amazon are not that complimentary.

Are there any users in here that could share their experiences and help me with my decision making process ?

TIA

Graeme

I do not have a 200, I do have a WMR100 - Flaky wireless connection is my main complaint. Connection between the console and the sensors drops and sometimes it takes significant effort to reestablish the connection.

grwkak wrote:I do not have a 200, I do have a WMR100 - Flaky wireless connection is my main complaint. Connection between the console and the sensors drops and sometimes it takes significant effort to reestablish the connection.

Thanks for the feedback grwkak, that was one of the recurring themes of the reviews I have read

I too do not have a WMR200, but I do have a WMR88, and would highly recommend it.
The sensors again are all independant and can thus be placed in the ideal locations, and I have had no problems at all with flaky signals (which I have experienced on other OS hardware).
It is also considerably cheaper.

The only real downside is the lack of a datalogger, so I keep a laptop switched on 24/7 to download the data.
(Do not get the WMR89 as noted in a thread below).

Martin

Graeme,

One of the most important aspects of a weather station is the quality of the radiation shield. The less expensive stations do compromise on the quality of the plastic they use. This could result in less accurate temp recording. That's one of the strengths of the Davis kit. They are more expensive but the quality of the material is higher and the wireless signal is extremely robust.

Thanks Martin and Ray for the valuable feedback.

Martin: The WMR88 is not an option for me unfortunately, as I do not want to leave my PC on 24/7.
(At least, I don't think I want to )

Ray: In in ideal world I would plump for the Davis but finances somewhat restrict the budget.
I note also, that having shelled out several hundred pounds for the kit, you then have to spend another £100 or so to download the data unless as above the PC is left on.
Nice website btw

Cheers

Graeme

Hi Graeme,

The price of the WRM200 on Amazon UK is £240 with customer rating of 2/5. The most useful review warned of the inaccurate temperature recording with "The only real fault, and a design fault at that, with the sensor package is the temperature module. In sunny conditions the temperature does not truly reflect air temperature, and can be several degrees celsius above what it should be."

For that reason alone I could not recommend it. The whole point of keeping weather records is to try at least to make them meaningful otherwise you just get frustrated. I fully accept not everyone wants to or is prepared to pay the relatively high price for Davis. But if you think of it as an investment that will probably last over 10 years then it could well work out cheaper in the long run than a cheaper station that might only last 5-6.

ProData (where I bought my kit from) is offering a deal on the Vue with Data Logger for £399. That's 50% more than the WRM200 but would last infinitely longer. http://www.weatherstations.co.uk/vue_intro.htm

I keep a Samsung NC10 netbook running continuously as it uses very little power. The screen is off until the lid is opened so it's probably only using 30w.

The alternative is to go with another Fine Offset variant if you're reasonably happy with it. This one on Amazon seems to get decent reviews. But just be aware of its limitations which I guess you already know. http://www.amazon.co.uk/WATSON-W-8681-W ... 9792286802

Thanks for the compliment on my website. I have rudimentary HTML knowledge and have only tweaked the design and colours as well as adding a few popular links. I know my limits.

Thanks again Ray for your most welcome advice.

Whilst most of what you have said I was aware of, it is good to have to have my feelings endorsed - there is not much positive written about it.
After I had posted the original question, I trawled the forum for opinions on the WMR200 and came across one which basically said it was a POS !

I am very much leaning towards the Davis and have approximately 3 months worth of decision making and to compose my letter to that bloke in Lapland.
Whatever, it seems it will not be a WMR200.

Regards

Graeme

I have been using a WMR200 for over a year. No complaint with the hardware which I recommend, although I have no experience with other systems, this being my first. However, the software supplied with the hardware did NOT work at all. I downloaded software off Oregon's website which left a lot to be desired. The support from Oregon has been ZERO, I even resorted to phoning them in USA from South Africa. Finally I was recommended to use Cumulus. This software is great, I recommend you use it.

Hi Graeme,

Once you have eliminated the stations that would be an unwise investment then what remains should be on your short list. I suspect you have already decided that will be quite a short list.

Keep us posted on how things go.

Like so many others frequent dropouts with the wireless. Distance only being 20 feet

Thanks again for the further feedback - seems the wireless, as expected, is bit crap !

Graeme