View Full Version : Weather Station Recommendations ?


waco
30th October 2009, 13:40
I don't suppose anyone else here is interested in the weather ? I am thinking about buying a wireless weather station and am looking for some recomendations regarding what to buy.
Cheers all



HEATHROW DIRECTOR
30th October 2009, 15:19
I believe those manufactured by Davis have a very good name. I purchased an IRO Pro a few months ago. It cost well over £200 but similar items are now available for half that price, or less. The forecasting "facility" appears to be based purely on the barometric tendency so it's a waste of time. We've had lovely clear sunny days when the weather station has been showing tipping rain.... and torrential wind and rain when it has shown a "sunshine" symbol. Also, be warned that unless you can mount the anemometer head absolutely in the clear you might as well not bother. Mine is on a 25 ft pole but when the trees are bent horizontal it says "3.4 kts" and when the trees are still, but slight eddies build up around the garden it says 10 kts!!

What we had prior to this was a simple thermometer system which read indoor and outdoor temperatures which was perfectly adequate.

Oh yes.... the wireless link system messes up our burglar alarm!!!

waco
30th October 2009, 17:16
Thanks HR, you might be able to help with another question. I was also thinking of buying a base station scanner, any thoughts on what to go for? What about setting an aerial up ?
Cheers!

merlinxx
30th October 2009, 20:56
Check the PWS inputs on Welcome to Weather Underground : Weather Underground (http://www.wunderground.com) and interrogate the stns themselves, most have web sites. Global coverage there. Also the wunderground folks can give assist if you rqst. Good luck:ok:

Skyfan
31st October 2009, 20:25
I'd say it depends what you expect of the kit. I've got an Oregon Scientific for about £100. Does the job perfectly well for a 'snapshot'. Change the batteries more often than you strictly need to for best results.

Tracking using data from Manc airport shows it's as accurate as I need - moment to moment accuracy is irrelevent in most cases anyway, with the exception of windspeed. For that sort of money you can get something that follows the trends pretty well.

The Davis kit is expensive for a reason - it records about as accurately as you'll get for consumer kit. As said already, it would need to be sited well to make use oif it's ability - not a straightforward job in some cases. If you want to max it you'll need to be pretty handy with software also.

Handheld units are quite an interesting option (if your into weather more generally). Take one into a typical British thunderstorm and you can get some surprising results. :eek:

Cornish Jack
1st November 2009, 13:46
I have an Oregon Scientific setup with wi-fi feed to the 'pooter. The sensors (wind direction/speed, Baro, Ext temp, Humidity, and rainfall are solar powered and the indications on-screen are pretty complex and colourful!!
Accuracy??... just as good as the awful Met Office offerings on the Beeb:mad: in other words, irrelevant. The displayed values certainly indicate RELATIVE variations but are not necessarily specifically accurate.
This particular unit was a present from a friend for whom I worked part-time and was retail priced at £300.00. They can be obtained for less but I would not recommend them (or any of the clones) as a definitive source of weather forecasts - but, neither would I recommend the Met Office!!
Fascinating to look at though!!:8

Gibon2
9th November 2009, 22:20
Cornish Jack, may I ask how you set up your wifi feed to the computer? That is what I want to do, but none of the weather stations I've looked at (including those from Oregon Scientific) seem to offer a simple way of doing this.

Gulf4uk
10th November 2009, 11:01
lot of info on here

isleofwightweather.co.uk e-commerce (http://www.isleofwightweather.co.uk/uk2shop.htm)