Thank you all for the good advice! I hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving!
On Friday, November 27, 2020 at 10:48:05 AM UTC-6 Dan'l B wrote: > I have bought two Davis VP2 units on Craigslist, sight unseen, and both > are still running after 5 and 8 years, with the odd replacement of solar > ISS panels and regular battery changes. Both run in humid, windy, coastal > salt water environments. Davis service is impeccable, and they have a setup > where they will send you a re-habbed unit to help get you back up and then > you return your unit needing repair. > > Davis console: I use Meteobridge NANO SD cards in both (which are indeed > pricey) but they have many advantages: > no need to have the console near your computer as they operate on wi-fi; a > very versatile built-in system of generating charts and reports; built-in > support for nearly any weather network you can imagine. > > Downsides: Cost. If there are power flutters they can lose the > internet/wi-fi connection. This latter has two solutions, both are needed: > a DHCP address reservation for the MAC address of the MB, AND, set your > wi-fi to use a fixed channel; the wi-fi implementation is known to be > slightly less stable otherwise. > > Disclaimer: If you are not absent from your station location as I am, much > of the rest won’t apply. > > Both units operate alone six months of the year in. Maine and Florida. The > MB NANO can be reached remotely via the internet, as can your router and > local weewx computer if you’re OK with implementing that. > > Because mine operate remotely, the most solid setup I have is VP2—>NANO > SD—>Saratoga Templates on the server. > > Adding WeeWx on a server in the VP2 locations is great as it gets you such > good skins and features of which I am very fond. But I have had to settle > on simple versions of NUC for stability, rather than RPi. > > Needless to say, UPS on the cable modem and router, any network switches, > and the Davis Console (and fresh batteries in the latter). > > > > > On 27 Nov, 2020, at 09:41, Greg Troxel <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Roger Lewis <[email protected]> writes: > > > >> I'm a very new user. So new, I haven't even downloaded WeeWx yet > (planning > >> to though, and use the simulator at first). However, my son and I are > >> trying to put together a personal weather station, with the intent of > >> eventually creating an amateur radio Automatic Packet Reporting System > >> (APRS) that broadcasts our weather data. Both my son and I are licensed > >> amateurs, my son is interested in meteorology, and he has already been > >> through some SkyWarn training. I'm pretty comfortable in Linux, and > done > >> embedded and desktop programming in the past. But first, we need to > specify > >> the hardware. > >> > >> We are looking at a Davis Vantage Vue 6110, which is only the Vantage > Vue > >> integrated sensor suite (ISS), and no wireless console. Along with the > >> 6110, we are looking at the WeatherLink Live 6100. > > > > As Vince alluded to, there are several big issues you should consider: > > > > From a privacy point of view, are you ok with a setup that requires > > your devices to talk to the cloud? (Even if you choose to publish > > some data.) > > > > From a functionality point of view, are you ok with a setup that will > > not work without the cloud? Some devices (not necessarily weather) > > have stopped working when the manufacturer shuts down their cloud. > > > > You will at times lose utility power or Internet, and you will almost > > certainly have trouble that takes more than 5 minutes to fix with your > > weewx computer. Many people want their equipment to continue > > recording data to have later, even if it can't be reported in real > > time. The Davis Serial and USB loggers do this; I have experienced > > several power outages with no loss of historical data*. And a > > several-day weewx computer outage due to memory card issues, also with > > no loss of data. With Weatherlink Live, my impresssion is there is no > > data logger and no backfill of the database when the weewx host comes > > up. > > > > * But make sure your computer has a battery-backed TOD clock; I did > > have trouble with that once. > > > > Being a ham, I'd expect that you want to be able to continue > > functioning during Internet certainly and also power outages, perhaps > > via UPS/batteries and generator, solar, etc. With the USB logger, you > > can do this. With Weatherlink Live, I'm not so sure. Beware that > > many people don't care about this and the "no internet, no > > functionality" defect of much equipment is not disclosed like it > > should be. > > > >> The other alternative would be to get the Vantage Vue 6250 (ISS and > >> console), then add a WeatherLink 6510 USB. This seems to be a more > stable > >> config, but $80 more than the 6110 and 6510 USB. And we really don't > need > >> the console. > > > > In my view the ability to operate without the cloud, have stored data > > during outages, and enable you to have a "if I supply power to weewx > > computer, TNX and 2m transmitter my data will still be sent over APRS" > > is worth the $80. > > > >> Any thoughts? Any suggestions? Are we on the right track? > > > > You are on the right track. Also consider the Vantage Pro 2 instead of > > the Vue. $200 more, but it seems from anecdotes to be more reliable. I > > got a Vantage Pro around 2000, had to replace the rain tipping bucket > > sensor at some point, and later after the ISS stopped working, I got a > > Vantage Pro2 in perhaps 2012. The Pro2 has had no issues since then - > > just had to replace the ISS battery once, maybe twice. So I am getting > > 10 years out of them, at least (Massachusetts), and I think my > > experience is typical. There are a lot of cheap stations that fail far > > faster; some have a reputation for lasting about a year. So when you > > consider price, read about typical reliablity and convert prices into > > $/year. > > > > (You can also get the 2+ with UV and Solar Radiation, or an > > fan-aspirated temp sensor, and a heated rain gauge, even more > > expensive.) > > > > You said you don't need the console. But with 3 D cells, it will keep > > working and tell you the outside temp/dewpoint etc. while there is no > > power. And it's easy to look at - but keep in mind that you need to put > > it close to the weewx computer, and you'll want backup power for the > > computer/TNC/radio. > > > > Greg > > > > -- > > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "weewx-user" group. > > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send > an email to [email protected]. > > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/rmiim9qeuan.fsf%40s1.lexort.com > . > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "weewx-user" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/weewx-user/228b3daa-9598-47b3-bd77-9aa0ecff42a4n%40googlegroups.com.
