Weather Stations
- Thread starter Pilatus
- Start date
Dave Applesquasher
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
I have one from Maplins. Connects to my PC which then keeps all the records.
Well it did til some pillock wiped the hard drive.
Had it for 2-3 years now and apart from cleaning spiders out of the rain gauge and replacing batteries it has been 100%.
I now publish it to the tinternet so I can retrieve the results should I lose them again, I can also see the results no matter where i am just by checking on my smartphone.
Make is branded as Watson and I run it with Cumulus software which is free. They are regularly on offer at £60 ish but are worth the money at full price IMO.
Well it did til some pillock wiped the hard drive.
Had it for 2-3 years now and apart from cleaning spiders out of the rain gauge and replacing batteries it has been 100%.
I now publish it to the tinternet so I can retrieve the results should I lose them again, I can also see the results no matter where i am just by checking on my smartphone.
Make is branded as Watson and I run it with Cumulus software which is free. They are regularly on offer at £60 ish but are worth the money at full price IMO.
Stoxs
Member
- Location
- Andover , Hampshire
All depneds what you are expecting form the weather station
Rain gauge
wind direction/speed
indoor outdoor temps
humidity
linked to Pc/ phone
you can spend anything from £20 to £2000 on a weather station.
i only have a cheap weather eye unit, no rain gauge only does temp and humidity it is fine for a general idea but thats about it cost aorund £20
I will get a weather station that has rain gauge wind speed direction and temps but would be going for a £500 mark set up, wireless gauges and pc connection.
the one Applesquasher has sounds a good starting buy.
Rain gauge
wind direction/speed
indoor outdoor temps
humidity
linked to Pc/ phone
you can spend anything from £20 to £2000 on a weather station.
i only have a cheap weather eye unit, no rain gauge only does temp and humidity it is fine for a general idea but thats about it cost aorund £20
I will get a weather station that has rain gauge wind speed direction and temps but would be going for a £500 mark set up, wireless gauges and pc connection.
the one Applesquasher has sounds a good starting buy.
Dave Applesquasher
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
Mine measures indoor humidity and temp
Outdoor temp, humidity, pressure, rain, wind direction and speed.
The software tells you trends up or down of everything, ie temp falling x degrees per hour etc.
Rain rate/hour, peaks, totals, daily, monthly yearly totals, graphs for everything you can think of, dewpoints, windruns, etc etc.
I can't think what else you might want a weather station to tell you.
I dare say the £500 versions are super accurate but when does 0.1 degrees C actually matter?
I have mine permanently connected to an old notebook, set to reset itself in the event of a power failure. It is permanently updated to the internet.
Even have an app on my phone that tells me what it is doing, or go on any pc in the world and look it up.
You don't have to do that, you can plug it in once a week and download the data if you want.
It is a good start and after 3 years I don't feel I need one that costs 10 times as much.
Each to their own
Outdoor temp, humidity, pressure, rain, wind direction and speed.
The software tells you trends up or down of everything, ie temp falling x degrees per hour etc.
Rain rate/hour, peaks, totals, daily, monthly yearly totals, graphs for everything you can think of, dewpoints, windruns, etc etc.
I can't think what else you might want a weather station to tell you.
I dare say the £500 versions are super accurate but when does 0.1 degrees C actually matter?
I have mine permanently connected to an old notebook, set to reset itself in the event of a power failure. It is permanently updated to the internet.
Even have an app on my phone that tells me what it is doing, or go on any pc in the world and look it up.
You don't have to do that, you can plug it in once a week and download the data if you want.
It is a good start and after 3 years I don't feel I need one that costs 10 times as much.
Each to their own
Dave Applesquasher
Member
- Location
- Cheshire
Oh yeah, AAA rechargeables in it last about a year.
Stoxs
Member
- Location
- Andover , Hampshire
Mine measures indoor humidity and temp
Outdoor temp, humidity, pressure, rain, wind direction and speed.
The software tells you trends up or down of everything, ie temp falling x degrees per hour etc.
Rain rate/hour, peaks, totals, daily, monthly yearly totals, graphs for everything you can think of, dewpoints, windruns, etc etc.
I can't think what else you might want a weather station to tell you.
I dare say the £500 versions are super accurate but when does 0.1 degrees C actually matter?
I have mine permanently connected to an old notebook, set to reset itself in the event of a power failure. It is permanently updated to the internet.
Even have an app on my phone that tells me what it is doing, or go on any pc in the world and look it up.
You don't have to do that, you can plug it in once a week and download the data if you want.
It is a good start and after 3 years I don't feel I need one that costs 10 times as much.
Each to their own
wow that sounds a bargain at £30
might have to have a look at them.
Glad it is a good piece of kit for you.
wobs
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
keep clear of the expensive ones to begin with,start simple and develop your system as your knowledge grows regards reading them.
they ain't a magic box that tell you what will happen.
simply an atmospheric instrument which you have to learn to operate and understand.
they ain't a magic box that tell you what will happen.
simply an atmospheric instrument which you have to learn to operate and understand.
wobs
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
regards the rain guages,your better off with the old fashioned meto type that you manually empty by hand.electronic ones are prone to erratic recordings due to insect (earwig,spider) invasion.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ETI-808-145...VAD6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362354468&sr=8-2
http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-wireless-weather-forecaster-223254
great cheap way to start regards all things weather.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/ETI-808-145...VAD6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1362354468&sr=8-2
http://www.maplin.co.uk/usb-wireless-weather-forecaster-223254
great cheap way to start regards all things weather.
wobs
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
dont use the software provided it's not much cop.
use this free one instead http://sandaysoft.com/products/cumulus
use this free one instead http://sandaysoft.com/products/cumulus
Stoxs
Member
- Location
- Andover , Hampshire
the Maplin one is on promotion at that price until 19th March ,
that dont look a bad unit. I guess this is what Applesquasher has?
that dont look a bad unit. I guess this is what Applesquasher has?
Paddington
Member
- Location
- Soggy Shropshire
Just bought a Davis Vantage Vue this year, not cheap, but hopefully more reliable and accurate than the Technoline WS-2350 which it replaced.
- Location
- Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
+1 for the Maplin, I've got one, very handy piece of kit!
Robigus
Member
Skyview are local to us and are very helpful. They stock a good range of products.
http://www.skyview.co.uk/dept1/acatalog/Skyview_Home.html
http://www.skyview.co.uk/dept1/acatalog/Skyview_Home.html
Simon Keeling
Member
I'm testing a couple of cheap wireless stations at the moment. I'll let you know how I get on.
Basically the technology for these things has advanced rapidly in the last 5-years, and now even the cheaper units perform really well. I'm pitvhing these against my official gear, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Simon
Basically the technology for these things has advanced rapidly in the last 5-years, and now even the cheaper units perform really well. I'm pitvhing these against my official gear, so I'll let you know how it goes.
Simon
- Location
- Darlington
I`ve given up on my Watson one, had 2 rain gauges, the direction arrow has siezed, then the wind speed cups, the batteries are supposed to last a year needed changing every 2 month, as above, the rain gauge was very erratic,up to 6metre`s of rain a day a few times,spiders,ect plus it must be mounted on something apsolutely solid.
wobs
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
dearest isn't always best.the rain gauges are a waste of time,use a manual one instead.nothing wrong with the cheapo's from Maplins.
wobs
Member
- Location
- Northumberland
First off sorry for all the questions..... With the maplin ones how easy to use are they? Do the outdoor and indoor parts need a direct line of sight? Is it easy to get the info onto the computer into a spreadsheet? How long will the batteries last? Does it actually give you a forecast or is it more just what's happened?