WhichWS-1080/WMR968/WS-2811 station (non-davis) is best?

[dxh]

Ok. I have my software picked out, which is why I am here.

What I am struggling with is which 'hardware' to get.

Since I am a beginner, I am looking at buying something in the 'cheaper than davis' range, hehe.

So it seems its down to the:

1) Ambient WS-1080/PWS-1000/WS-2080/variants
2) Oregon Scientific WMR968
3) La Crosse Technology WS-2811


As a Ham, I plan on using this CWOP and APRS in addition to probably whatever else seems like fun such as weatherunderground etc.

I also like the idea of being able to get extra displays so I can have one in the hamshack connected up to a computer and feeding my APRS radio, and the other inside the house on the wall for the family.

I realize that none of these are Davis quality, but what is the current opinion on which sensor system in that ~200 price range these all fill into are the best?

Is there one of them with a little modification is easier to make the most accurate?

Is there one of these I should stay away from for some reason?

Is there one I didn't think of?

Just looking for any information to help decide between them.

[steve]

Cumulus doesn't work with the La Crosse 28xx stations, only the 23xx models, but I can't recommend La Crosse anyway. I don't actually own one, but from the programming point of view they are a pain, and have caused me no end of problems (not that the Fine Offset (WS-1080 etc) are completely fault free). La Crosse owners may disagree with me...

I used to have an Oregon WMR968, it was my first station and I was quite pleased with it. Not very accurate, I found, and it has no logger, so you have to have your PC running all the time. Bear in mind that it's discontinued.

The Fine Offset models are built to a price, and have a number of idiosyncrasies, and there's a lot of code already in Cumulus to try to work around the problems. But they're not bad at all for the price, and if you look on them as a 'project' and are prepared to put in a bit of effort to improve them (e.g. better solar shield) they can be a great introduction to the hobby.

[wd40]

I have the WS-2080 which according to the guy at Ambient, has less trouble than the touch screen version.

These units are subject to sudden rain spikes but Steve has used Cumulus to battle the problem. I've not had a problem since.

These are not perfect but they do work well especially with Cumulus.

Make sure to read the installation instructions especially for W7 and review the information David has put on Wiki. These will answer a lot of questions and give some good advice.

Randy

[AllyCat]

Hi,

Yes, IMHO Steve's summary of the Fine Offsets is spot on.

You might like to see if the 3080/3081 is becoming available in your market as the addition of solar data in the comms channel could give more scope for "tinkering".

Cheers, Alan.