davis anemometers (weather stations)

[defed]

i've been looking for an inexpensive anemometer for awhile...i've read some poor things about the cheaper brands such lacrosse and oregon, and only good things about davis.  the 'better' lacrosse units are close to $200, and i see a davis 6250 (vantage vue) for $299.

http://www.weatherbuffs.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=D-VUE

seems like it may be worth the extra cash for the davis brand.  has anyone used this unit?  it appears that some davis weather stations use the same sensor suite and/or base units (interchangeable sensor w/ different base units and vice versa).  it's all a bit confusing w/ so many similar, yet different, weather stations.  i don't really care about temp and rainfall, so if anyone knew of this system but stripped down (just with solar transmitter, anemometer, vane, base unit), maybe it would be a bit cheaper.

thanks for any info.
Dave

[harley1782000]

I do not own this one.  I had bought a inexpensive one in around 50 to 70 bucks.  Junk.  Next time it will be for one that is more pricey.  They are better built.  I would spend the extra money.

Jim

[tanner0441]

Hi

I have a Watson look alike, same as the Zephyr in your list, it has been running for over 12 months with no problems, apart from a spider that made a home in the rain gauge. It cost me about £65 UK from the dreaded EBay. I use it with Cumulus free download software, it is better than Easy Weather that the thing came with.

Brian.

[dlenox]

Dave,

My PowerDashboard software that I made uses the bare Davis anemometer, I use an analog to digital converter to interface it directly to a computer.  The advantage with this is that I can log wind speed and direction along with turbine data points (rpm, power, etc).  If you use it 'stand alone' then you need to get the base unit which is what the Vantage package actually is.

They are very well made and durable, plus replacement parts are also available for them world wide.

Dan Lenox

[defed]

thanks for the replies.

i was looking at the bare anemometers, but they all appear to be wired.  it would be easier with the wireless setup.  the next area of confusion is PC interfacing.  while at this point, it is not critical, maybe in the future.  it seems that i would need another piece of hardware, a data logger, to hook the console to a pc, not sure if there is any other way, unless you can bypass the console with a PC....but maybe not with a wireless sensor unit.

[phelpspower]

I purchased an inexpensive weather station  just before Christmas last year and so far have been happy with it. its a "proweather station" by tycon. Wireless and datalogging.

[phelpspower]

http://www.wlanparts.com/product/TP1080WC/ProWeatherStation%C3%A2.html

[defed]

the more i read, the further from a decision i get.  the davis vantage vue has an integrated sensor suite, which means the anemometer is close to the ground or the temp/rain sensor is 40' in the air.  i don't really care about anything but wind, but for close to $300, i would want more than the anemometer.

some of the other brands mentioned don't have really great update intervals.  davis has 2.5 secs, the others are anywhere from 8 to 48 seconds.

phelpspower:  the proweather says 48 second update interval, is this accurate?

[dlenox]

Dave,

All the weather stations that I've seen do *not* give accurate instantaneous values.  They are typically  averaged across a 60 second time period.

Interfacing directly to the Davis anemometer is not terribly difficult, essentially there are two outputs from it.  One is a reed switch that is used for the wind speed, and a potentiometer that is used for the wind direction.

I think that in the wind turbine world there is a need to give users an accurate instantaneous logging capability for wind speed/direction, our needs are somewhat atypical.

By purchasing a $50 over the counter DataQ A/D (analog to digital) controller you can easily interface the anemometer directly to your computer.  For a total investment of about $170 ($120 for the bare Davis anemometer, $50 for the DataQ) is an investment that most people should be able to justify pretty easily.  The hang-up is that most people don't have the capability to write software...

I already have all the code already comopleted in my PowerDashboard software, so it should be relatively easy to pull together this package and release it.  I've been contemplating putting out a *freeware* version of wind speed/direction software to help people perform logging/monitoring using the Davis/DataQ package.

If you go this route let me know and it would not take me a day or two to pull the software together, package it and you can beta test it!  BTW: it is software that runs on Windows, not Linux.

Dan Lenox

[defed]

thanks Dan, i wouldn't mind trying this, but it would be a heck of a lot easier to have a wireless system so i don't have to mess w/ getting a cable into the house.

i recall seeing some info about your powerdashboard on the boards, did you have pics of the adapter etc?  i'll have to give it a search.

[dlenox]

Dave,

Here is a link to the DataQ product http://www.dataq.com/products/startkit/di148.htm

they also made another but recently marked it as obsolete... http://www.dataq.com/products/obsolete/di148usp.htm

I am working on integrating LabJack A/D devices, but they are a bit more money.

Dan

[independent]

I installed a Davis weather station type thing for my parents several years ago. It's performed really well. They regularly get 70+km/h winds there. It's an older type that you run sensing cables into the house. It was a relatively big job to run them to a convenient location.

[nekit]

I've got the Davis Vantage Pro 2 wireless system.  The anemometer can be mounted separately the main sensors.  The sensors are mounted about 1000' feet from the council and the wireless works great.  Top quality unit.  I have it stream real time on the internet through my router too.  It is a fairly pricey unit, but I enjoy the weather data.  If you can talk yourself into spending the $ you won't be sorry.

[defed]

i don't have a problem buying the vantage pro2, EXCEPT, that it seems that you have to buy another board/software to interface it w/ a PC.  i think i'm not interested in the vantage vue anymore because of the integrated sensors...i don't want to install that whole thing 30' up.

i like Dan's idea, except that it is wired.  if i could get the davis anemometer wirelessly into the house, then interfaced w/ the PC, that would be the best, but don't think it's possible.  davis does have a wireless transmitter for the anemometer, but that would still only get me to their console...and would cost almost as much as just getting the VP2.

[dlenox]

Dave,

It could potentially be done using PicAxe microprocessor talking to a ZigBee wireless xmitter/rcvr.

But with that you are looking at about $125, plus you would have to make the board for the PicAxe to interface to the Davis, and write the code for the PicAxe.

Doing this is getting it pretty close to the cost of the Vantage Pro type of system, so unless you like tinkering then it is not very cost effective - but it *could* be done!

Dan Lenox

[Simen]

If he can live with a wired sensor, a PicAxe based anemometer with an easter-egg rotor would cost next to nothing, and it can be permanently connected to a pc for logging. Other sensors would also be easy to add, such as temp, rpm from windmill, voltage etc...

But yes, add an ZigBee, or xBee (xBee starter kits are available for around $83 (2x xBee and one picaxe)), and one gets wireless fun...

[defed]

if i can figure out a good way to get it into the house, wired isn't as big a deal.  i need to have a way in eventually anyway if i ever get my turbine up and running.

while i've always been interested in learning about electronics, i don't have the expertise to make and program the stuff.

[eduardomonzon]

I used once the http://www.aprsworld.com/wind2/
They worked fine

[GaryGary]

Hi,
I bought a Davis Vantage Pro station with the sun sensor about a year ago.

This was after having a cheap station that failed.

I have to say that the Davis has been a disappointment.  It has had a couple of failures, and has just not been the reliable product that I expected.
Maybe this is just my unit -- A lot of people seem to like them, and they are used in some professional applications.

Gary

[Tritium]

When I worked for my Local small Telco/ISP I installed and maintained 7 Davis stations. At best they are a high end consumer grade product, not a professional grade product as they state. I do now run a Vantage Pro 2 solar powered wireless with the usb data logger ($500 price tag). The anemometer is prone to failure about every year to two years in dusty environments. I have had to replace several temp/humidity sensor packages and lots of parts (computer interfaces and the main display units of wired stations) due to lightning strikes. The rain gauge is very susceptible to bird dropping and spider web blockage I highly recommend on any wired station where the wire enters the house that you install lightning protection available from Davis now. It is a major issue with Davis as far as I am concerned that their base unit does not include a computer interface as a basic feature. Weather Stick is a professional station used by many television station weather networks in this area but has a price tag to match ($1000 plus).

Thurmond

[dlenox]

Dave,

My only experiences has been with the actual Davis anemometer units, not the base/controller units.  The anemometers are very well built and have been performing for me for years now.  I can't remark on any of the backend electronics, but the anemometers are good quality...

Dan

[motoman465]

Saw this one on Wal-Mart.com and the reviews seem pretty decent.  Not a pro unit, but good enough to get an idea.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Wireless-Wind-Weather-Station/13032456#ShortReviewTitleBar

[defed]

ended up buying a davis 7911 anemometer.  it is basically the same as the 6410 that comes w/ their vp2 station, but cheaper.  i found it for $89 shipped.  it comes w/ a rj11 (4 wire) connector.  to hook it to a digital bike speedometer, i needed to get to the 2 wires from the anemometer.  i didn't want to cut the connector off in case i ever need it, so i got a phone jack coupler and a 4 conductor phone cord.  cut one end off the phone cord and stripped back the wires.  the anemometer uses the 2 outside wires, yellow and black, and i connected these to the 2 leads of the bike speedo (also cut from its own sensor).  plug the davis into one side of the coupler and the new speedo cable into the other side, and it worked fine.

took it in the truck to try to calibrate it w/...you just change the diameter of the 'bike tire' in the speedo setup.  i think i have it close, but will probably take it to work and try to match it up w/ the vp2 that they have.  should be a little more accurate that way.

i am going to try to split this output when Dan gets his wind software ready for me.  i would like to send the anemometer output to the computer to work w/ Dan's software, but would also like the reading on the speedo at the tower.  not sure if it will work right, altho i don't see why it wouldn't.