Do you need the WeatherLink?

[profzarkov]

Hello
Newby question here
Contemplating setting up a new weather station.
If I go down the Davis route - do I need to add in the Weather link widget in order to plug the console into a PC?
Steve

[steve]

If I go down the Davis route - do I need to add in the Weather link widget in order to plug the console into a PC?

Yes; the standard basic station has no data logger or PC connectivity; Weatherlink gives you both.

[TNETWeather]

For reliable connections, I would HIGHLY recommend the Serial Port version over the USB version.

You will need to have a computer with a serial port which is getting less and less, but the Serial port is much more reliable that USB or even USB to Serial.

[daj]

For reliable connections, I would HIGHLY recommend the Serial Port version over the USB version.

You will need to have a computer with a serial port which is getting less and less, but the Serial port is much more reliable that USB or even USB to Serial.

Out of interest, why is that? As you say Serial ports are almost a thing of the past on PCs. Is it simply that the Weatherlink software used is old and not updated. I am amazed that USB is not more reliable -- it is not like it is new technology!

[gemini06720]

For reliable connections, I would HIGHLY recommend the Serial Port version over the USB version.

Indeed, the WeatherLink Serial has been my most reliable connection between my Vantage Envoy (or my Vantage Pro2) and my computer.

As I have indicated before, having the 3 WeatherLink dataloggers in use, I have to admit that once properly setup, the WeatherLink USB with the conversion to Serial can be quite reliable. The WeatherLinkIP is also also quite reliable. But the most reliable is the WeatherLink Serial.

[adam5]

Keep in mind I'm no computer/software engineer. This is just from my own experiences:

Out of interest, why is that? As you say Serial ports are almost a thing of the past on PCs. Is it simply that the Weatherlink software used is old and not updated. I am amazed that USB is not more reliable -- it is not like it is new technology!

Don't know for sure, but I can also add that I've had the best luck with the serial logger both in terms of reliabilty and speed, although there are many folks over on the Davis forums that will swear by the USB version. The WeatherLink IP (TCP/IP) is just much slower than the other two...perhaps due to having to convert between the serial data stream to TCP/IP, going through a router and the extra layers of protocols, as well as continuously upload to the WeatherLink site???

In any event, I don't think it has to do with the WeatherLink software, as the software can handle any connection to a datalogger be it serial, USB, or TCP/IP. I think it has to do more with the core design of the datalogger being originally designed around serial communications. A serial port connection is perfectly suited to handle asynchronous, relatively low speed data streams in and out of a computer, exactly what these loggers do. The protocol is simple and has been around forever.

Now why is the USB version apparently less reliable? Again I'm not sure. You are right, it's not like USB is new. Any device designed around native USB support should perform as reliable as and faster than serial. From what I have gathered from the Davis forums, most problems that folks have had with the USB logger seem to stem from faulty USB ports on their machines, or interference from the Davis console powerpack (which has been modified by the way). Davis has also done some work on the USB driver to help improve things. But again, I think it all goes back to the core design of these loggers.

With that said, in all liklihood the USB version would work for you just fine. But if you wanted to be absolutely sure of solid communications, go with serial.

-Brian

[tomcatuk]

I'll throw my two pence worth in here and after initial problems with setting up the vue (my fault) which I bought just before xmas I must say it has been running fine with the USB (apart from the one time time the data logger fell out, but fixed that and it's already been discusssed elsewhere) I have no serial connection like most modern computer's and the USB works just fine.

[RayProudfoot]

I'll add my support for the USB version too. Since my station went operational last April I've not had a single issue regarding lost connectivity.

As someone else mentioned you will struggle to find any motherboards with serial ports these days so USB seems a perfectly safe way to go. It's time to stop bashing USB unless there is recent hard evidence to support it.

[adam5]

As someone else mentioned you will struggle to find any motherboards with serial ports these days so USB seems a perfectly safe way to go. It's time to stop bashing USB unless there is recent hard evidence to support it.

Not USB bashing...as clearly USB is the default standard these days and many folks will swear by the USB logger. Per the Davis forums, it seems that problems people had/have with the USB logger were/are specific to the Davis hardware...and not to USB itself. What I meant to suggest was...if serial is an option (i.e. one has an available serial port), given a few problems reported by some to seriously consider going serial if one wanted to be absolutely sure. But USB most certainly is a good option.

However I must add that while finding computers these days with serial ports is getting hard, adding a serial port to a computer is generally a simple matter of adding a $25 card to an open slot. That is of course unless you have one of the small form factor machines.

-Brian

[beteljuice]

... adding a serial port to a computer is generally a simple matter of adding a $25 card to an open slot ...

And there is always the possibility that you only need a 'header' because there is one and it hasn't been cabled out