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Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sat 25 Jun 2011 1:07 am
by hswaters
I have ordered a Davis vantage vue. After reading some posts here I think I did not examine the data connection details as much as I should have. I guess I sort of assumed that I could connect a usb cable to the station and cumulus would begin to collect data. Now it sounds like I have to purchase software from Davis to get any weather data to my pc. Would someone who has a Davis vantage vue please tell me the bare minimum I need to get any data from the weather station to my pc? Is the USB cable just a standard USB cable? Is there some programmers forum someplace that will tell me what to do to query the Davis from a visual basic program? Can I establish a connection with the weather station using hyperterminal?
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sat 25 Jun 2011 10:38 am
by steve
You need to buy a 'Weatherlink' package, which is a combination of PC interface, data logger, and software. I'm not aware of any programmers forum as such, but I believe programming aspects do get discussed from time to time on wxforum. If you look on the Davis web site, you'll find information that you'll need, to be able to write your own software.
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sat 25 Jun 2011 1:30 pm
by hswaters
steve wrote:You need to buy a 'Weatherlink' package, which is a combination of PC interface, data logger, and software. I'm not aware of any programmers forum as such, but I believe programming aspects do get discussed from time to time on wxforum. If you look on the Davis web site, you'll find information that you'll need, to be able to write your own software.
Thanks for the reply. Since I posted this I did find the SDK on the Davis site. I am a little disappointed in myself for not noticing that I would need the 'Weatherlink' package. This sort of makes it feel incomplete.
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sun 26 Jun 2011 1:47 am
by gemini06720
I have tried to trace the old messages, but, unfortunately, I could not find the appropriate search string...
With that said/written, a while back, both here in the Cumulus forums and in the
Weather-Watch Forums there were discussions about a small (and inexpensive) chip that could
partially replace the very expensive Davis Instruments
WeatherLink datalogger adapter. The only negative aspect of this chip was that it did not have RAM memory - thus it could/would not store any data from the console (the weather station receiving unit) - meaning a computer had to be continually connected to the chip to continually download the data from the console.
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sun 26 Jun 2011 2:13 am
by gemini06720
Opps...
I have found a couple of links...
One in the Cumulus Forums:
Homebuilt Serial Interface for Davis stations
And this one:
Davis Weatherlink Software Not Required
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sun 26 Jun 2011 2:46 am
by hswaters
That seems to be the whole story, at least I think. I will have to purchase the materials tomorrow I guess. Thanks for your help. I spent a great deal of the day getting my webcam setup. Now I just have to find a good window to point it out of.
Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sun 26 Jun 2011 5:53 am
by gemini06720
hswaters wrote:...Now I just have to find a good window to point it out of.
How about the windows with the best view...

Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Tue 28 Jun 2011 1:25 pm
by tomcatuk
hswaters wrote:gemini06720 wrote:Opps...
I spent a great deal of the day getting my webcam setup. Now I just have to find a good window to point it out of.
Ha Ha Ha excellent......

Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Sun 13 Nov 2011 5:49 pm
by DeKay
gemini06720 wrote:The only negative aspect of this chip was that it did not have RAM memory - thus it could/would not store any data from the console (the weather station receiving unit) - meaning a computer had to be continually connected to the chip to continually download the data from the console.
That used to be true. It isn't anymore. You can now
build your own datalogger as well.

Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Tue 15 Nov 2011 2:54 am
by gemini06720
Thank you for the follow-up and the link.
Oh, I searched and searched the Google maps for 'Somwerin' but could not find the community anywhere in Canada ... or for that matter, nowhere in North America...

Re: Getting a Davis vantage vue - what else do I need?
Posted: Tue 15 Nov 2011 8:11 am
by iceberg