W-8681 MK2 or W-8681 Solar

[George106]

Hello guys,

I am new to this forum and would like to purchase reliable weather station for use here in the UK. I have been looking at W-8681 MK2 but also at W-8681 solar version. Be honest I would like solar version if possible but I read about issues with solar UV / lux sensors and don't want to go this way.

However I found spare solar transmitter for 30quid which could be hooked up with w-8681 MK2 and I am not sure if the display itself is capable receive additional signal form the transmitter or would I end up with the solar charging without any info from UV/Lux sensors? I know displays varies from each other and W-8681 Solar version may be more advanced than W8681 MK2?

Thanks in advance for any replays
George

[steve]

You can't add a solar sensor to a console which wasn't intended to be used with a solar sensor; they have a different firmware which doesn't know how to handle solar data.

[George106]

Thanks Steve,

if you were in my position, which version of W-8681 would you recommend? I would like to get solar one but also want reliable option rather than climbing the mast and "tweaking" solar sensor.

Thanks
George

[steve]

I wouldn't associate the word 'reliable' with any Fine Offset station, but they are very cheap and pretty reasonable for the price. Recent models have the 'USB hang' problem that some people experience. But by all accounts, the models with the solar sensors seem to be less reliable than those without.

[AllyCat]

Hi George,

Yes, Steve's advice is spot-on. The most important factor when purchasing any FO station is to buy from a seller who will give good after-sales service (because you may well need it, particularly for the Solar versions).

IMHO the FO Solar charging is pointless, the additional cost would be far better spent on a pair of non-rechargeable Lithium AA cells, which will probably outlast the station! There are various threads on this topic, including one very recently updated.

For solar data, you need to ask what the data is intended for (its relevance to weather forecasting is particularly unclear). Solar data can be for UV, IR (heat) or visible spectrums, or just "sunshine". UV is (potentially) relevant to skin damage (but the FO measurement is probably worthless), IR is relevant to solar water heating, visible+IR to PV panel performance and "sunshine" is difficult to evaluate. It's not clear whether the FO "Lux" reading actually includes IR, nor what significance is the "diffuser" on its Lux sensor.

However, the (non-touchscreen) Solar Console is arguably an improvent on previous models and the external temperature sensor might be more accurate (but its resistance to direct solar heating is still apalling).

Cheers, Alan.

[George106]

Hi thanks for your reply, I have decided and bought non solar version yesterday ( W8681 MK2 ) as this one is currently for 66quid inc. delivery. I would take this one as entry level and would buy more sophisticated one in the future.

George

[JMB]

I wouldn't associate the word 'reliable' with any Fine Offset station, but they are very cheap and pretty reasonable for the price. Recent models have the 'USB hang' problem that some people experience. But by all accounts, the models with the solar sensors seem to be less reliable than those without.

I have just run out of patience with my Watson / Fine Offset W-8681-SOLAR

I have been trying since the weekend to get the display unit to receive the outside unit. I have tried every permutation of removing batteries, pushing resets etc etc. The red LED on the battery unit stays on permanently and no data is received.

I think the best solution will be to buy a more reliable unit. The weather station is just my personal interest, I don't feed any websites mainly because I have never been confident enough to mount it high up because of the problems that I have had with the Watson / Fine Offset W-8681-SOLAR.

Any suggestions for something at a moderate price in the UK?

MB