WMR88

[Flying Eye]

Hi all,

I was wondering, is the wind vane any good with these stations, or does it tend to flap about rather aimlessly like some others often appear to do?

Also how much is due south wind speed affected by having the anemometer inverted and slightly shielded by the pole? I understand from a manual I was reading that it needs to face north which would mean it's south side must be obscured a bit from the south by the mounting pole. I guess I'm asking if it's slight or really easy to notice this potential issue in the results.

Any other obvious "gotchas" I might like to know about before considering further or perhaps even making a purchase?

[6719jason]

Hi,

I wonder if the following video may help?

http://www.weeleyweather.co.uk/video/Wi ... rision.wmv

[Flying Eye]

Hi,

I wonder if the following video may help? http://www.weeleyweather.co.uk/video/Wi ... rision.wmv

Hehe, you know it does!

It's looking very decisive about direction and it's also a good video as it shows that the south side issue seems like it must be pretty minimal, if it's there at all. Thanks ever so much, very good of you indeed! Seems a lot different to my experiences to date of the more rounded tail type.

Only thing left to consider now came out of today's research, and it is about 433Mhz, I've done some reading up and it seems it's getting crowded enough that in some places it might actually be starting to become almost useless. Now I must stress that it's a lot worse in the USA than here, but I can see here in the UK catching up pretty quick to be honest. 433 looks absolutely set to drown in it's own success.

I can imagine 866mhz getting more popular as time passes due to that too. Some folks are already in there exploring and for exactly those reasons.

With all that in mind I'm really starting to be wondering about serial by now. But that's probably more for the longer term. Tricky isn't it? I'm pretty sure OS don't have an 866 or serial option sadly.

It's ironic but it seems the rise in popularity in wireless thermometers is the main cause!

[6719jason]

Oh your welcome!

I hope to create more video's as and when required. They will feature as part of my big final review of the WMR88 Weather Station.

Do you have any 433mHz devices in and around your home? Its a common frequency now for many Energy Monitors and such like.

I have a Electricity Monitor Running on the 433mHz Frequency and so far cannot report any issues with communication with the WMR88?

[Flying Eye]

I'll look forward to more video info, it's very handy when you want to find out about something that not many people have. I'm not sure why more don't have this station, as it's a pretty good proposition on paper. Maybe it's too new?

I don't have any 433 in my home, but if I go for this station it's about a £150 or so investment, OK maybe less with some shopping around. However it could only take a very few neighbours to add another £10 device to perhaps wreck the whole thing! Those devices are as you say very common these days and growing pretty quick in popularity too. It's a bit of a lottery, ending up holding a £150 losing lottery ticket really is something to think pretty hard about.

I have an 866 thermometer device and I got to say that has already out performed my last station 100:1 in the same location. OK, my last station was defective, but what if interference really does become an issue as fast as it seems it could? I've seen reports of OS stations having radio issues too. Not as many as the other makers, but it seems the frequency is a bit prone.

It's a minor nightmare in the offing this is! We are talking garage doors, remote light switches, kids' robot kits, all of that and quite a lot more, and that's hardly rare stuff these days.

[AllyCat]

Hi Ian,

Yes, interference is a risk with any of the "License Exempt" frequencies, but that's the penalty for not having to buy (and comply with) a radio communications license.

However, the risk should be fairly small because these particular ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) bands are intended for low power and low duty cycle applications. So any interference shouldn't spread over a large radius and shouldn't last long. I don't know specifically about other weather stations (or smart meters) but the FO only transmits for 0.1% of the time and systems like wireless doorbells and light switches are unlikely to block the system for long.

There are actually about 6 frequency bands available (in the UK), 27/40 MHz are generally used for remote control toys, etc., 434/868 MHz for these "low usage" applications, 900/1800MHz for Mobile/Cordless phones and baby monitors, etc.. The 2.4/5 GHz (WiFi) bands (also used by Davis stations and analogue "Video Senders") employ more advanced "frequency hopping" techniques to avoid interference, but may well become the first to become saturated.

Cheers, Alan.

[Flying Eye]

Hi Ian,

Yes, interference is a risk with any of the "License Exempt" frequencies, but that's the penalty for not having to buy (and comply with) a radio communications license.

However, the risk should be fairly small because these particular ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) bands are intended for low power and low duty cycle applications. So any interference shouldn't spread over a large radius and shouldn't last long. I don't know specifically about other weather stations (or smart meters) but the FO only transmits for 0.1% of the time and systems like wireless doorbells and light switches are unlikely to block the system for long.

There are actually about 6 frequency bands available (in the UK), 27/40 MHz are generally used for remote control toys, etc., 434/868 MHz for these "low usage" applications, 900/1800MHz for Mobile/Cordless phones and baby monitors, etc.. The 2.4/5 GHz (WiFi) bands (also used by Davis stations and analogue "Video Senders") employ more advanced "frequency hopping" techniques to avoid interference, but may well become the first to become saturated.

Cheers, Alan.

Hehe, yes exactly, and of course let us for a moment suppose that everyone did buy into the non exempt at whatever the price was, it would just happen there too eventually. Not enough frequencies is just not enough frequencies at any ticket price.

That said, the writing on the wall simply says we probably just need a better way to go about some of this stuff. For our use, I could see wires to most things, inside and out, but maybe use a very close low power, highly directional radio link for bridging the gap twixt indoors and out. Not only could that help reduce radiated interference, it could also be more resistant to it, you just don't have to go drilling holes in your dwelling, which is a bit stone age for this century. All stuff to think about really.

[Flying Eye]

Jason,

I was wondering, are you (with any luck) using W7 64bit for this station?

Also did it come with a "normal" UK mains plug/wall wart?

I've just spent the last (and a seemingly longer than normal) 20 minutes on the phone with Amazon, and it took that long for them to understand the model number - they thought it was a kindle!

I then realised we were never going to find out about the UK mains plug. Poor audio quality and a not quite English speaker on other end seemed to stack the odds of finding out too high for me this time. They need quieter offices, at least that much was clear.

[6719jason]

Jason,

I was wondering, are you (with any luck) using W7 64bit for this station?

Also did it come with a "normal" UK mains plug/wall wart?

I've just spent the last (and a seemingly longer than normal) 20 minutes on the phone with Amazon, and it took that long for them to understand the model number - they thought it was a kindle!

I then realised we were never going to find out about the UK mains plug. Poor audio quality and a not quite English speaker on other end seemed to stack the odds of finding out too high for me this time. They need quieter offices, at least that much was clear.

Video Review on the way!

[Flying Eye]

Video Review on the way!

You've got a new video camera haven't you!

More seriously, thanks very much indeed, yes and or no would most definitely have been sufficient. You're a champ sir!

[6719jason]

LOL I wish!

Here we go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkl0yNekGeg

All further video's will be uploaded my Youtube Channel.

[Flying Eye]

LOL I wish!

Here we go http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pkl0yNekGeg

All further video's will be uploaded my Youtube Channel.

Well, it was a long shot about the new camera!

Thanks for the video, and it's good news you're using youtube as it works better for me than most other places.

Well, I've done the evil deed now and pulled the trigger on the Amazon offer. I'll be able to ask new questions about setting it up tomorrow!
<Only joshing!>

Thanks very much once again Jason!

I hope Amazon are playing a straight game on these; one reviewer mentioned a euro plug, and another two said vista was a problem, hence my concern over Win7 64Bit. I'll find out for myself soon enough. I'm going to see if it all behaves first, and only then grab a UV add on.

I would have got it from Oregon Scientific themselves and had the UV thrown in, but their web site said my email address is invalid so I could not register with them, so no point trying to spend the asking price there sadly. The email address is perfectly valid, Oregon Scientific used it to send me a PDF manual a few days ago, as the one on their web site was corrupt. That web site of theirs may be holding them (and us) back a bit I think.

[6719jason]

Your more than welcome!

During testing I used it on my Win7 64Bit System as well as Windows XP SP3 & Vista SP2 32 Bit all with no issues what so ever.

Mine was straight from Oregon Scientific themselves so all original supplied parts etc but I would imagine that you will be supplied with a UK Adapter as shown in my video.

Hope the video was useful if all a bit rushed.

Jason

[Flying Eye]

Your more than welcome!

During testing I used it on my Win7 64Bit System as well as Windows XP SP3 & Vista SP2 32 Bit all with no issues what so ever.

Mine was straight from Oregon Scientific themselves so all original supplied parts etc but I would imagine that you will be supplied with a UK Adapter as shown in my video.

Hope the video was useful if all a bit rushed.

Jason

The video was fine, and I'm sure it will come in handy tomorrow.

Did you use the UK or the German based clock sync? I guess Germany could actually be nearer for you over there in the east. I'm not sure where the UK one is exactly, I had an idea it was based in Rugby, but not I'm fully certain. I noticed the switch for it in the manual so it should be easy enough either way.

[mcrossley]

The UK radio is now in Cumbria.