Hi Guys, 

 

My beloved wife purchased me a Vantage Vue for my Birthday and I have a question or 2. 

 

Should I put it on the pole above the chimney on top of the house?

If so, how is this likely to affect readings for rain and temp when being so high?

Or should I invest in a Tripod?

How steady are they in wind?

Doesn't this mean I'll lose the true wind readings as it'll end up blocked by nearby buildings?

Any thoughts about this and other ideas welcome

 

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Having run a Vantage pro for many years, I can say that there is a clear trade off of rain accuracy Vs wind accuracy if you keep it all together.

Personally, I think you would get much more realistic wind readings if you attach to the chimney stack via a TV aerial pole for maximum possible height. Temp readings may be influenced on sunny calm days by the roof tiles, and rainfall is likely to only collect about 80% of a ground level gauge. The best scenario is if you can separate the anemometer and wind vane section and have that at rooftop level with the other instruments nearer the ground. If you did this you might need to invest in some extra cabling to reach the anemometer assembly up on the chimney.

Hope this helps! They are a great piece of kit, enjoy.

The Vue is designed to be installed at a lower level, a pole about 10 feet would probably be the best compromise for temperature which should be about 4 feet and wind which should be 33 feet.

In a good open location the wind readings won't suffer too much.
A roof apex will give exaggerated wind readings unless well above it.

The chimney might be OK provided you can easily access it for minor maintenance.
It could need a new battery once a year and the rain gauge will tend to block with tree debris and bird poop.
In the summer spiders might be an issue.

For future options, it is possible to run a separate wind gauge from a second Vue or wind only unit - I actually did this for a while with an ebay VP2 for wind, which was cheap as the other sensors had failed!
The console can work with feeds from two sources.

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Thanks for the responses, currently in Hospital with my Son so haven't had time to respond untill now.

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Good evening. I've recently purchased a vantage vue and have it mounted above my shed on a pole at approximately 3 metres high. I am a little concerned about heat rising from the bitumen roof but i considered it a good compromise between wind and temperature. Did you also receive the weather link software? I been playing about with it an really impressed with the numerous variables it measures. I'd also like to publish data online but haven't got that far yet. Be interested to hear the experience of others on the website issue...

Your best option for getting data online is Wunderground.
You don't need webspace or FTP or other complications.
Their current page layout is pretty good, and it seems to cope quite well with computers only being on for part of the day if that's preferred.
This is all done for you once wunderground upload is set up:
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=INORTHYO13

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Thanks for that. Looks simple and does exactly what i want.

After finally finding the time to Install it i find its the biggest pile of crap going. The console freezes every 20 to 30 minutes and has to have the power restarted for it to work for another 20 to 30 minutes.  It doesn't matter if I use the adaptor, batteries, both, different electric socket, surge protector or a different room. It's the same outcome. To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The place of purchase (well known on here) has been informed. I expected much better quality from a Davis given the purchase price!

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That is a surprise.  I have not experienced any problems in several years. Not as accurate readings in sunshine as VP2, today for instance, Vp2 max. 13.8c, Vantage Vue 14.6c, both at 14:01 and the problem with the anemometer being integral but a hell of a lot less expensive. 

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Don't panic, it will be the driver.
Mine runs for months on end without stalling but it did the same at first.
The one from the disc is not very good. Right Click/save:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/24428212/CP210x_VCP_Win_XP_S2K3_Vista_7.exe

You might also find a couple of ferrite chokes on the USB help.
You might have one or two of these on old camera cables - if not like this or try maplins/ebay.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Willful-10-Pack-Diameter-Ferrite-diameter/dp/B01E5ALVBC

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The driver on what exactly?  It's the Davis Console that's freezing. The disc I have is from the data logger that was purchased separately. I used ferrites before on my old La Crosse and they made no difference.

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I thought you were having problems with the computer connection and logger.
If the console is freezing with nothing connected I guess it needs sending back.

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Davis products are way over priced being made of electronics that are now as cheap as chips yet they continue to charge for items like it was the 1980,s!

The design of the Vantage Vue is rubbish also with all instruments bundled together, the MetO has standard heights for instruments for a reason and the design makes a mockery of these standards, it doesn't matter how accurate the instrument is if the siting is wrong, exposure and location is everything when recording the elements.

I have the German built Nexus Weather Station, recommended years ago by four and at £150 is far cheaper, OK it doesn't have the easier IT link up but all the instruments come separate with their own wireless connection to the main consul. I am on my second station, however, the consul on the first station still works fine after 7 years but the rain gauge packed up on the old one. I now have two consuls about the house reading the same set of instruments all of which are sited correctly and a the right height!

Andy

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I must admit to feeling the same about having a device that has all the elements jumbled together. Also the underside of the unit is black and thus surely attracts sunlight and thus added heat near the sensor. Right now its recording 16c although it has just frozen.

 

My La Crosse was pretty good, just had issues with picking up phantom wind readings. Would probably still be working if the kids hadn't knocked it off the wall.

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