El cheapo weather station.

[GTB_an_Owl]

noticed the "buy now" price seems to have gone up on ebay

mine flat lines now and then - but has been good considering
i have it running as a service on XP which i think has helped

glad i made the purchase cause i use it often enough to see what has been/is happening with the weather

geoff

[achong]

G'day,

I need to put the weather station quite a distance away, to be able to get readings for the temp and stuff during our frost season. I was wondering does anyone know how I can increase the range on either the reciever or the transmitter? Would something like a wireless repeater do the job. I have had a look through most of the pages on the forum but I can't seem to find anything on it.

Does anyone have any ideas? or know what frequency they tranasmit on?

Cheers
Chongy:)

[GTB_an_Owl]

you could hard wire it for some of the distance if that was possible

i think there was two frequencies mentioned on the box - can't remember which one was for Aus though

geoff

[achong]

Yer, the frequency is at 433 mhz, I am wondering if you can set a repeater to do the job? I am not too sure what type of thing you could use that would be at that frequency or be able to change or set to that frequency.

Any Ideas?

AC

[GTB_an_Owl]

how far do you have to go ?


geoff

[gts055]

I was well and truly dudded on the weather station i bought from LCH Trading on ebay. The windvane caused the rain gauge to give erroneous readings. This issue has been noted boy others too. LCH Trading stated they refund if you are not satisfied. So, i returned the unit and waited and sent emails and waited, and more emails querying the lack of a refund. Well, time passed and i think its 3 weeks and u can no longer raise a dispute via Ebay. LCH Trading claimed they had refunded, but nothing had appeared in my account. I specifically asked them to give me the details of the account they made the deposit into, and they just replied with vague non verifiable answers. I have made 40 transactions on Ebay, this LCH Trading deal is the first failure. Oh well, Ebay is a gamble :)
Mark

[acropolite]

FYI... over the past few days my weather station had stopped recording rainfall. This morning I whipped the cover of the rain gauge only to find that an enterprising arachnid had woven a web over the tipping bucket holding it firmly in place. A quick clean and all's well. :D

[astroron]

My station has worked reasonably well for most of the time I have had it.:)
It gets a little bound up with data, I just clear it and of it goes again;).
I was away for a couple of months and took it down, and have had no rain since I have been back so will have to wait to see if that part works.:P
All in all I am happy with mine:D
Ron

[GTB_an_Owl]

just came across this site

http://sandaysoft.com/products/cumulus

geoff

[xstream]

Nice find Geoff. :thumbsup:

Most of the programs to run with the Davis stations cost an arm and leg

[GTB_an_Owl]

funny enough John - i found it on the "Weather Display" forum :whistle:

someone was being naughty :) and mentioning the opposition
bit surprised the link wasn't deleted

geoff

[turbo_pascale]

Downloaded this new software, but does not appear to be able to connect in "direct" mode.... it just sat there "waiting for data".

Anyone else tried it? Looks promising.

Turbo

[GTB_an_Owl]

here you go Rob

http://www.gtbastrowise.com.au/weather/index.htm

it should work
as you can see it does on mine

geoff

[acropolite]

FWIW Altronics now have this weather station for $149.

[astroron]

Phil how long should the batteries last?
We had a dry day yesterday and the weather station said that we had 38mm?
Do you get spikes in your data?
I am using a WH1080/81 Weather Station.
Cheers
Ron

[GTB_an_Owl]

was it windy Ron ?
you might also look for spiders running about in it
birds landing on it can give false readings too

have you got yours up on the net yet ?

geoff

[astroron]

Hi Geoff, no it was a nice sunny day:)
everything is nice and clean and no birds:P
I have had a few spikes in the last couple of weeks in both wind (320kmh) and rain (200mm), then it goes back to working normal:shrug:
I am on the web at http://www.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=IQLDCAMB2
Still using the older version:( Steve is going to help me update in the near future:):)
Cheers :thumbsup:
Ron

[astroron]

I took the rain gauge tank apart today to find a spider had made a wonderful web across the axle that the bucket tilts on, so when it rained it stayed open all the time :PSo I cleaned it all up and reassembled it and it has had a great work out as it has been raining for a couple of hours now and everything is reading just fine:):):)
Ron

[acropolite]

I have the same problem, I'm going to have to spider proof the assembly somehow. I've had to clean mine at least 3 times over the past few weeks. It's amazing how little web it takes to render the tipping bucket immobile. Maybe some contact spray insecticide in and around the unit will help.:confuse3:

Regarding the spikes, I've noticed that the first read after a period shows a spike but once the software is closed and reopened (after first collecting all the current data) the erroneous results seem to disappear. I've also read somewhere that clearing the memory before the buffer is over 20% full also stops the spike readings.

[achong]

hey, I have the 1081 and the easy weather software, i am trying to upload it to the net, is there an easy way to do this? i am a n00b at this, i would just like to have it available everywhere thats all :)

Cheers
Alistair

[Gargoyle_Steve]

:ashamed::ashamed::ashamed::ashamed ::ashamed:

Yes Ron I deserve all the prompting, :poke: I've been very slow I know, sorry mate!

But since I've woken up at the ungodly hour of 4am I've been busy, preparing a demonstration file that will make it easier for Alex, etc, along the way to set up your new webpage once we get the latest WD software installed for you. I'll ring you later today. :thumbsup:

This file will also show other people how to use the Weather Display data within their own webpages.

What Weather Display does that makes it so easy to use online is not so much that it uploads data, but it creates a range of image files that have this data already loaded visually into these files, so all you have to do is pick and choose the files you want as part of your webpage. It does also generate a basic webpage for you with ALL of the image files, but it's a bit cumbersome and unsophisticated.

What I've done here is a simple remodelling of that basic webpage in such a way that is names and then displays each of these files for you, it's a visual catalogue of them all if you like (I hope I have included them all, I'll check sometime soon) so you can see what each image file looks like and what data it contains.

http://www.users.on.net/~darklord/Files-WeatherDisplay.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Edarklord/Files-WeatherDisplay.html)

I'm also working on a simple demo to show how to reuse them for your own benefit, let you know when it's done.

[astroron]

Good Morning Steve, I have been up since 05:30 I am going on a 9km bush walk in Walli Forest :)Hopefully back by this afternoon:P
Catch up soon:)
Ron:thumbsup:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

It's done.....

http://www.users.on.net/~darklord/StevesAstroWeather.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Edarklord/StevesAstroWeather.html)


-----------------------------------------------------------

9 kilometres Ron - did you say 9 kilometre's ?

Geez, there's a lot of life in the old dog yet! ;)


I can't imagine walking 9km's myself these days - not without ... well ... um, not without a car actually as backup!
:lol:

Have a great walk mate, talk to you later.

[astroron]

Hi Steve , survived the walk, just a few scratches to remind me of it:lol:another one next week;)
Weather Site looks great:thumbsup:, I look forward to getting it set up on the web page.
Cheers:thumbsup:
Ron

[achong]

Hey, I am using this Easy Weather software that comes with the WS1081, I am not sure that this is the best software to use. The .dat file is getting huge like 20mb plus, and a friend ofm ine has managed to help upload the current weather through a php script, but the problem is we have to use the 20mb file to upload constantly. Is there another program that allows us to view the historical graphs through another dat file? This is so that I can create a backup every say 10000 entries, so that the file i copy doesnt have to get too huge, but when i look at the graphs, it looks at all of the data? I am not sure how to do this, or if this can be done at all.

I am very new at this can anyone help?

TA
Chongy

[GTB_an_Owl]

hi Alistair

follow this link

http://sandaysoft.com/products/cumulus

you might also have a look for "weather display" on google

geoff

[achong]

Hey, I am having trouble with the rain gauge, I saw a post on here a while ago with someone having the same problem but I cant find it again. The rain gauge is telling me that I have only had 0.9 mm of rain in the past 24 hrs, and 0mm in the past hour, where as the elders website that is running a rain gauge in the town is at about 6.5mm in the past hour which is about right. Is there some form of fix for the rain gauge?

Alistair

[achong]

Thankyou very much for that Geoff, I will have a look into it and see what it can do for me.

Cheers
Alistair

[acropolite]

I find my rain gauge bucket is regularly stitched up by spiders. Remove the web and away it goes.

[NikGrey]

Hi Folks,

Been reading this forum for the last 2 hours - turns out I was reading the text version... very uninspiring but the content is great.

After registering 'like a good person' it all appears like a VB forum should which pleases me greatly :)

Anyway...

Last night I purchased one of these devices:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=300261551268

And await it's arrival, previous to this I had a version from Tandy - the Ventus which has the black display... Don't know what I was thinking when I bought it - I have to have it connected to a DC 'Wall Hog' in order to be able to read it! (Keep backlight on).

I found this forum during my quest to find out how to improve the screen contrast issue, should I have this common problem..

Great stuff guys - I didn't waste my time reading what I have so far and am probably going to make a page of my own displaying my own weather stats.. that's assuming I don't have to overcome problems when I first take receipt of the device and have to send it back. :)

I will keep you all updated with my progress.

It seems you are not fans of the 'Easy Weather' software, but I have V5 from the manufacturers website.. don't have a machine to connect to it yet.. but I was in the Scouts (Be Prepared).

I look forward to contributing to things here, if I can.

.. I am in Norwich (UK) BTW... very cold and snowing at the mo.. :)

[acropolite]

Welcome Nick, now you're here you may as well take up astronomy as well....

[GTB_an_Owl]

OK

where is Ron's page ?

geoff

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Well Geoff since I can't see anyone else on line that you could possibly have been talking to, I figure it was up to me to do something.


http://www.users.on.net/~darklord/RonsWeather.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Edarklord/RonsWeather.html)

(This is, of course, a mock up - I hope this will do for now).

;)

[GTB_an_Owl]

Nooooooooooo!

i want the REAL thing - get your finger out you blokes :lol:


geoff

[PeterM]

Hi all,
I know the free programme Cumulus (Sandaysoft) has been noted a few posts prior to this. I have found it very useful with the "el cheapo weatherstation" there have been many improvements and enhancements recently and they can be found at the sandaysoft home page under
Forum / Announcements News - you will find the Beta version 1.8.4 build 592 this is a huge improvement on prior versions. The guy who runs the site (Steve) is open to suggested improvements - I suggested Moon rise & Set times and within hours he had it on there.
PeterM

[GTB_an_Owl]

yep - hi Peter

i have swapped back to cumulus again - build 592
it's looking better all the time

if only i had time to play with it a bit more

geoff

[astroron]

[QUOTE=Gargoyle_Steve;388493]Well Geoff since I can't see anyone else on line that you could possibly have been talking to, I figure it was up to me to do something.


http://www.users.on.net/~darklord/RonsWeather.html (http://www.users.on.net/%7Edarklord/RonsWeather.html)

(This is, of course, a mock up - I hope this will do for now).

;)[/QUOTE

Thank Steve Great looking site, :thumbsup:
Now all we need is the Real Thing:P
Ron

[acropolite]

Is that Steve's sausage sizzler I see in the forground image.....:whistle:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Actually Phil if you're looking at what I think you're looking at, that's Ron's artificial grass mats for the 16" folded up in a pile.

I have, however, often been known to sizzle up some snags out at Ron's. More than willing to cook you up a feed of snags if you make it up again sometime.
:thumbsup:

[astroron]

I think my weather station control box:shrug: don't know what else to call it has gone on the blink:(
I tried to clear the Data as it kept reading the rain gauge every time I opened the view on the computer.
I removed the batteries and replaced them with a new set, but it makes no difference.
I now cannot set anything such as the date and time or any other setting:(
Anyone got any ideas:shrug:
Ron

[acropolite]

You might still have the unit in the "Clear" mode. To clear the buffer I press the memory disk twice then once the unit says "Clear" I press and hold the memory disk until the text returns to normal. It may be that yours is in the clear mode. If the unit says "Clear" at the lower right press the disk area beside and hold until it resets. Otherwise, take the batteries out and leave them out for 10 minutes then replace them and try again, I seem to remember that resets the unit to default, make sure you have the USB cable disconnected as well..

[astroron]

Thanks Phil I have done all that with no result:(
Ron

[GTB_an_Owl]

try disconnecting the leads and batteries on the send unit too Ron

geoff

[astroron]

Thanks Geoff, I will do that tomorrow.:thumbsup:
Ron

[astroron]

My Weather Station is now back in Action:)
Geoff I did as you suggested and now all is well:):):)
Thanks:thumbsup:
Ron

[PeterM]

Hey Ron,
Mark from Leyburn has had a similar thing happen his unit is caput last week. I assume by not being able to access/set date time etc you mean that the touch screen is no longer working? If so then yes it has gone the same as Mark's and no matter what we did it is stuffed. There are several references on other sites to touch screen failure, suppose not bad considering number of units out there, even my Oregon Scientific 928 suffered the same fate. Options would be return for warranty or buy a new one from Deals Direct (Online) at $129, at least you would have a spare set of gauges (wind, rain etc) that will wear out with time.
Good luck
PeterM

[PeterM]

Hey Ron,
That is great news indeed. Anyways for anyone looking at buying this unit with a warranty Deals Direct at $129 seem to be the cheapest.
PeterM

[ghce]

I have had my ws1081 for about 2 months and the buffer is now full, time for a reset how ever what happens to the rain fall indicator??? Reading the manual indicates that the base station display will reset to Zero and that the PC data base (I am using the Easy weather software) will continue with the total accumulation measured over the collected interval.
Is this what will happen? and will the new data after the reset add to the previous total in the .dat file?

Graeme

[acropolite]

Provided you have allowed easyweather to dowload your current data before resetting the buffer you won't lose any data.

[andygen21]

Has anyone had any communication problems to the remote unit with the WS1081? Even when they're 1 metre apart, I can't get the two units to communicate.. I'm thinking its DOA, but am I missing anything here?

Andrew

[mozzie]

can they work with macs or just pc
mozzie

[GTB_an_Owl]

Hi Andrew
i think there is a sequence to follow in the process

i think you put the batteries in the sender first and let it go through its startup
make sure the leads are in the right hole

then put the batteries in the console

geoff

[acropolite]

I also found that the wind direction sensor didn't work straight up, after a few turns it came to life.

[astroron]

My weather station is now semi comatose:(, the touch screen wont function and the rain, wind and outside gauges are not transmitting.:(:(
Steve was here yesterday and we had no luck in getting anything to work:sadeyes:
It looks like another unit is required.
I will see if I can get a replacement under warranty:help:

[andygen21]

Thanks Geoff,

what you stated is exactly what the manual said, and I've done that.

I first put the batteries in the remote sender that has the wind and rain sensors attached. When i first put in these batteries the remote sender LED lights up for a few seconds. After that, it flashes very occiasionally. Again, this seems to be the behaviour described in the manual.

Once this has been completed, I inserted the batteries into the controller unit. When I did this, there was an icon in the OUT section of the display which looks like a radio icon. However, that disappears after a minute or so. From this point on, I never receive any data either on the screen or through the computer interface for the outside sensors.

Any further thoughts, or should I be looking at returning it?

[acropolite]

That's about it, the only other thing to check is that you have the correct sensors plugged in to the correct ports on the sender.

[ghce]

I purchased 3 units initially and found that the first 2 that were installed failed after a week, symptoms were no transmited/ displayed data from the outside unit. When the outside sender unit was checked the batteries were flat (new batts had been installed) Cure was that I rang the supplier who reported that they had been having troubles with the units and replacement transmitters were available, in both cases the replacement transmitters cured the problems.

Graeme

[Helix]

Mine seems to have failed.

The touch screen is only responding in the humidity area now. I'm going to crack the case shortly and see if its a dry/loose joint.

Ordinarily it wouldnt be a major issue but the ONLY thing EasyWeather wont let you set from the pc is the date and time. Its also a pain because instead of firing up a computer to read the data I like to thumb through on the touchscreen.

[snowyskiesau]

I had a similar problem with mine - one of the display areas stopped working.
The LCD screen doesn't have any wires and is connected to the main board by what look like a piece of rubber. It's some sort of conductive plastic
I had to remove and clean this for it to work again. Took some fiddling to get it back in the right place.

[GTB_an_Owl]

STEVE !

how is Ron's web page coming ?

haven't heard anything for a while

geoff

[astroron]

My Weather station is DEAD:( First the Touch screen Froze:sadeyes: Then the sender unit packed up :( so until I can buy another weather station, things are in limbo:(

[GTB_an_Owl]

and with the latest price of them Ron - it might be time to look for another brand me thinks

geoff

[astroron]

You are right Geoff:D If they are only going to last six months one may as well pay a bit more and get a more reliable one:)
I really enjoyed having it while it worked:):) and will defintey get another one in the near future:thumbsup:

[Gargoyle_Steve]

Geoff I'd be dead happy to sort out a weather page for Ron but Alex is more the programmer, and he has been doing up a flash-looking one for Ron.

Ron if you want something else done page wise though in the meantime let me know, I can do something "basic but nice" overnight sometime when I'm you-know-where.
;)

[GTB_an_Owl]

so it's Alex i need to pester heh!

sorry Steve :lol:

geoff

[Gargoyle_Steve]

No worries Geoff mate, I've got broad shoulders - and I'm here to help Ron out any time I can.
;)

[turbo_pascale]

I downloaded the cumulus software again (latest version).
I still can't get the thing to talk to my station.

What settings do you guys use?? It just says "Downloading Data... Please wait" and does nothing. I have a new motherboard and a fresh install of Vista since the last time I tried. It's got to be something I'm doing wrong.

Any tips? As much as I liked the WeatherData software, this one looks neater (perhaps not as customisable). I paid for WeatherData, but I always felt it was a bit of a hog and hard to play with. Given enough time, I'm sure I could have tweaked it to death, but I'm not sure I can be bothered again!

Turbo

ps. just watching the task manager - although the progress bar is not moving, the memory usage is climbing all the time (16kb per second or so) It's up to 18900Kb now.... maybe it's just got a bloody lot of data to download and the progress bar is not working properly? Either that or a big memory leak!

[GTB_an_Owl]

tick in the fine offset / watson box

use datalogger
put the station model in box below (only needed to show on webpage)

latitude and longitude

initial download may take some time

geoff

[turbo_pascale]

Not working.
I went in to the Diags directory, and it finds the device, but is getting invalid readings and getting itself in a knot.

Might just give up and go back to WeatherDisplay. bummer.

Turbo

[GTB_an_Owl]

uninstall - delete the directory and start again Rob

probably a corrupt ini file

and make sure your measuring units are the same as the station

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

have a look on the forum and maybe start a help thread

geoff

[turbo_pascale]

I've deleted the ini file each time (in order to try different options).
I was pretty sure I had the measuring units the same.

I went to their support forum, and the guy who writes it looks like a very helpful guy. I'll get around to dumping out some of the Diag files for them to review.

Thanks.
Rob

[RB]

I setup my station a few days ago and it all seems to work beautifully.
Great for the kids to learn about the weather too, they love it.

Now to sit down and fiddle with the settings, I'm only using Easy Weather for now but I'd love to setup an ftp facility, just have to work out how, read through this thread and do a little research.

Thanks Phil/everyone.

:thumbsup:

[astroron]

The company I bought my station has at last agreed to replace my sender unit and have informed me it is in the post, so hopefully will have a weather station working again soon.:D
Then when all is well I hope to have the station on my web page
one day:P:lol::lol:

[DeanoNZL]

Hi All,
This is my humble effort at an online weather station.
LaCrosse WS-2308
Back-end is running Weather-Display, front-end is a PHP template from Saratoga-Weather. http://saratoga-weather.org/template/index.php
http://www.inyourtrolley.co.nz:81/wxindex.php
If anyone wants to set one up, I will be more than happy to assist!:)

[acropolite]

It's amazing how popular and long lived this thread has been.

Good to hear you have one RB.

Mine is still spider infested and garage mounted, I'll be getting it out at the weekend and spiderproofing, then putting the outdoor unit back up.

Good to hear yours is being replaced Ron.

As for setting up WD, it's not that difficult just requires some educated guesswork. If you want to host your WS site at home, without the need for FTP uploads there is some nice webserver software called Xerver, which, with minimal fiddling, can be put in to service together with a dynamic DNS name set in to your router.

[astroron]

Phil I am waiting in anticipation for my sender unit so I can get mine up and running again:) I found it a very interesting exercise watching the workings of the weather over a prelonged period.
Phil how do you plan to Spider proof your station?
Cheers:thumbsup:

[acropolite]

it's really only the rain gauge that's the problem, I'm hoping some fine mesh over all the openings will do the trick.

[Baddad]

Hey All, :)

A long shot, Some LCD screens don't like direct sun light. Wierd things happen. Warping and leaking segments result. Insects crawling inside not good either. Use Coopex dust around the device. It has a good residual effect.
Coopex dust is 2% active ingredient and 98% talcum powder. "Pesties"
apply it to around electrical gear to control insects. It has a repellant
action as well.

Not having much to do with these devices directly, that's all I can offer. If its not help at least you can apply the advice to other applications.:D

Cheers Marty

[astroron]

I decided to clean up and spider proof my weather station , when I found this little fellow hiding on the bottom of one side of the tilt cups in the rain gauge:)which could be a reason why you could get a false reading:(
another reason to cover up any holes that our wild friends can get into
After some effort he was put back close to where the weather station was standing.
some pic's of my effort to Spider and Frog proof my rain gauge:thumbsup:

[acropolite]

The ultimate symbiotic arrangement. Spider moves in sheltered position lots of space for a web, running water. Frog moves in, food layed on (spider/s) running water, amusement ride, shelter.

[astroron]

Well thought out Phil:rolleyes:, that option is no more :P

[pablito10]

Hi,
I have just bought a WS1081 weather station and I have the following problem: When I put my outdoor and indoor sensor together I have a difference of 1 degree in temperature and 5% in humidity. Is this normal?

Thank you very much,
Pablo

[RB]

Pablo I noticed a 1 deg difference between indoor and outdoor temps too but I didn't worry about it.

I'm very happy with the unit so far.

I plan to replace the 2 AA external batteries with a mains adapter to save me having to replace the outdoor batteries later.

:thumbsup:

[astroron]

Hi Pablo, It all depends on the environment,the tempreture should be cooler in the house if it is hot outside, also warmer in the house if it is cold outside:D
So no the house is a different environment than outside so should read accordingly:thumbsup:

[RB]

Ron I think Pablo means when he was testing the unit, he put both sensors together and they were reading a difference.

[pablito10]

RB is right, that´s what I´m refering to. I will follow your advise and I will not worry about this difference.

Thank you :)

[astroron]

Sorry Pablo, never thought anyone would take the touch screen outside :rolleyes: and didn't register what you meant by two sensors:sadeyes:
As Andrew said don't worry about it:)
I hope you get plenty of use out of it:thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

Sooooooo! RB
where is that web page ?

geoff

[RB]

Won't be for a while yet Geoff.
I'm working on my new website now, but I would like to add a local weather page to it down the track.
Just trying to get my head around basic html atm. :D

[GTB_an_Owl]

download "Cumulus" from http://sandaysoft.com RB

geoff

[RB]

Yep, I downloaded it last week Geoff but haven't looked at it yet.
Will give it a go soon.

:thumbsup:

[astroron]

My Weather Station is now up and working again:D
All I have to do is upgrade "Weather display"
I found that when I started up again my computer slowed down, so I cleared out the old Datfile and everything is running fine:):):)
I may one day still get my website up and running:P
Geoff do you still use weather display or something else?
Cheers :thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

i am using 'Cumulus' at the moment Ron

great little FREE program with easy webpage creation and upload to your website by ftp


http://sandaysoft.com/


geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

here's a basic example to look at

http://www.orara.net.au/weather/cumulus/index.htm

geoff

[astroron]

Thanks Geoff, would I have to remove Weather Display before downloading "Cumulus"?
Cheers

[GTB_an_Owl]

no need to remove "weather display" Ron

just don't start it up
start cumulus instead and do the station setup - then the internet setup when your ready

geoff

[kinetic]

Hi all,

I've just read through this entire thread, fantastic source of
experience and hints people.

I'm impressed by the programming and FTP results of people's
webpages and would like to do that for here too...one day!

One feature I don't think anyone has touched on yet in the thread
and I'm itching to know.....can you use the alarms and
limits/ period of updates etc to make an accurate RAIN ALARM
at the first sign of light rain?....or does it take a few mm of
rain (which would totally soak a scope or laptop) before an
alarm sounds?

Ken G ...how did the Velleman prototype go?..was it a success?

I ask this because the situation I see myself and most others
ideally heading towards would be:

One of these 1081 weatherstations
running in the background from the USB of the dome PC.
Me, operating the scope/imager and weatherstation via remote
desktop from inside the house (or quite possibly another city)...
and me retiring to bed while the scope takes shots for a few hours.
Rain alarm would wake me up with an earth shattering alarm! :)

regards,
Steve

[astroron]

Geoff,is Cumulus more reliable and less computer greedy?
Why did you stop using weather display
Cheers

[Bassnut]

I tried reading this whole huge thread, but fell asleep. You look at the weather radar on the net during the day to see if its worth opening up, you look at the sky just before you do to check for clouds and you go !. After that, the only thing that counts whist imaging, and only if your not in the obs, as Steve accutely alludes to, is the 1st drop or rain, to alarm or close automatically. Instant reporting of rain is the key, all else is superfluous, and thats not hard (a guide-loss alarm is handy to indicate cloud BTW, several Apps do that). Do any weather stations indicate one drop of rain, right now??, I dont think so.

[astroron]

I am not interested in the weather station for astronomical reasons, I am interested in the weather for my own pleasure:)

[GTB_an_Owl]

i liked the "look' of it better Ron - and it's free

doesn't have the bells and whistles like WD (yet anyway)
but it is a work in progress

there is a version 2 in the pipeline that will have a few enhancements i believe (like a database for records - that it doesn't have at the moment)

a little less hungry on the ftp side i think too

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

did you get changed over ok to Cumulus Ron ?

is anyone buying (or wanting to buy) these units recently ?

geoff

[h0ughy]

was thinking about it

[astroron]

Geoff I am now using Cumulus,but I cannot get Weather Underground to receive the data:(
In your PM you said to tick Serial, I use a USB port, does that make any difference.?
Should I use "fine offset" instead of Easyweather datfile?
Cheers :thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

Hi Ron

yes use "fine offset"
and do not use dat file
even though it is USB - tick serial

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

Dave

if you ever want one - PM me

geoff

[RB]

I'm happy to say that I've had my site up and running now for a month or so and am very happy with the setup.
Very easy to install and run.

It includes a skycam and upates every 15 min.

http://www.mangroveweather.com/

:)

[lacad01]

Andrew, that's very impressive. Looks like a pretty neat package :)

[GTB_an_Owl]

i got my new sky cam hooked up too RB

http://www.gtbastrowise.com.au/weather/cumulus/index.htm

geoff

[gmbfilter]

RB and GTB
Are you guys going to run your cams overnight?
Then I could check out the sky without going outside!

[GTB_an_Owl]

IDGIT!
it will be DARK - and you won't see anything anyway ! :lol:

i think RB turns his camera off at dark Geoff

mine is supposed to go 24/7, but i noticed it has been turning itself off
i am looking into that
it would have to be a very clear nite and a very bright star for my camera to pick anything up i think geoff

maybe the moon - but i am looking too far south west for that even i think

geoff

[RB]

Adam, thanks, glad you liked it.
It's a great package indeed and works perfectly.
I'm very glad I listened to the advice given here.

:)


Geoff that looks great, I really like how you've set up the skycam.


Geoff, the skycam gets switched off at sunset since it won't pickup any detail once it's dark, as Geoff said.
I do run the weather station uploads till late at night though, until the computer gets shut down for the night since I'm using the kids computer to run the software.

:thumbsup:

[Sharnbrook]

On and off for some time, I have been watching this thread, and wondering about getting one of these Weather Stations. From the recent posts, it seems as if the bugs have largely been ironed out. I see from eBay that they are going for about $85-100 + $25 postage, but the ones I'm looking at don't seem to mention a model number. Can anyone with a good working machine recommend a specific model/supplier, and the best software to go with it, please?

[GTB_an_Owl]

Mike

the model is the WS-1081

"Weather Display" is good - but you have to pay for it

i use "Cumulus" - does the job , no problem - easy to set up and upload to your website - constantly under development with new features - and new version in the pipeline - and FREE (well donation if you want)

geoff

[Sharnbrook]

Thanks Geoff for the feedback, I shall look out for one.

[GTB_an_Owl]

just noticed

new model available
WH-1091

new screen plus looks like improved wireless distance

$115 + $20 postage

might bring down the price of the WS-1081 being offered at the moment

geoff

[Kevnool]

Would any one be using the old thermor brand station as i cant find a manual on the net.
They must of went bust.

I,m trying to get the base to talk to the sensor.

Any help please.

Cheers Kev

[astroron]

My touch screen has been frozen for months:( but the Data is still going through to Cumulus and onto weather underground:)

[Astro78]

wonder what the world record (Guiness official) is for an astronomy post?

[GTB_an_Owl]

well - it is not really an astronomy post is it !

but - yes it has been going for a long while - and will probably go on a lot longer

funny how much the weather decides whether we do our astronomy, whether we like it or not.

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

Kev

i would try (having both units turned off to start) power up the transmitter unit - then the console

how far apart are they ?

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

try this site Kev

http://www.biosexactly.com

geoff

[mithrandir]

The new Terry Hills radar is online
http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR713.loop.shtml
Supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread.

[Kevnool]

Thx Geoff for the site i found the manual to operate the base unit.

I see that the Themor unit is now a Bios unit still works tho.

The distance between the base unit and the sensor is 6 mtrs max.

Thx again :thumbsup: Cheers Kev.

[GTB_an_Owl]

terry hills radar looks good Andrew

new 60k radius might be helpful

might have to start using it on my site rather than newcastle

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

glad i could help Kev

geoff

[jase]

Gee, what a thread! Plenty of great info, which I probably should have read some time ago having recently completed my weather station set up. I ended up down the Davis path. Top quality, but not cheap as this thread implies. Anyway, pic attached of the set up. Have to say the Davis Weatherlink software is quite comprehensive, but it isn't hard to read measurement variables and graph them.

Of interest to those who are looking to automate your observatory and are laughing at the price of the Boltwood cloud sensor, you maybe interested in this considerably cheaper alternative. - http://tienda.lunatico.es/epages/Store.sf/en_GB/?ViewObjectID=605253. I've purchased one. Quality product with good support provided by Lunatico from Spain. Software is great - http://www.aagware.eu. I've not looked back given it's saved my equipment a few times already.

Cheers

[Paol]

I had the same issue. The instruction book is wrong. To reset all rainfall data try the following : Press "SET", press "SET" again and again until the rainfall section is flashing. Press "+" to cycle through 24hr, week, month and stop when you see the figure for "Total". Hold "SET"for at least 2 seconds and all will be reset.

[craig2]

Fantasic thread guys!
I've always wanted to know who had these units and here you guys are talking about them. I was wondering how long have you had them and are they still working?

Cheers.:thumbsup:

[acropolite]

Mine's still going strong, I bought the first one, in fact I've not even had to replace the batteries in either unit, not bad since I created this thread on 21/3/2008.

[snowyskiesau]

Mine was working but has developed the problem where wind speed causes the rainfall total to increase.
The original one I bought was returned for this same problem.

[astroron]

When I came back off my Trip the touch screen worked for on day and now it is completely frozen in the date and resetting anything, but all the Data is still going through to the computer, Cumulus and Weather Underground:
Geoff(GTB) are you still using Cumulus,if so have you upgraded it?
Cheers Ron

[GTB_an_Owl]

yes Ron

still using cumulus - quite a few improvements now

I am using the latest 1.8.9 - build 910 version

this one lets you put in a manual observation - with pretty icons even

http://www.gtbastrowise.com.au/weather/cumulus/index.htm

geoff

[sheeny]

I've had mine for about 18 months or so.

The main console has a few problems (failure of the touch screen mainly) but the data keeps coming through to the PC fine.:thumbsup: Still going on original batteries too. Oh yeah... I've had a few problems with spiders setting up camp in the rain gauge. The buggers tie up the tippler... it must keep them awake on rainy nights!:lol:

I've only been running Cumulus since December. Its the go though!:thumbsup:

Al.

[astroron]

Before I went away I dis-connected all my computer and weather station connections,but did not take the batteries out of the sender unit,I was amazed when I got back I re connected everything and the sender unit downloaded all the information for the last four months:eyepop:
A great little unit for the price:) even though the touch screen is frozen:sadeyes:

[craig2]

Thanks for letting me know. All i have to do now is keep an open eye on EBay.

Cheers.

[mithrandir]

My WH-1091 should arrive tomorrow. $110 post free on e-bay ex Sydney.

[craig2]

I've got another question about these units. I see that they have a USB port on them so if they are wireless and you have a WIFI at home shouldn't they hook up to that or are they 2 different frequencies? I see this one is wireless
http://www.foshk.com/en/products/show.asp?id=59 but it uses a dongle

any insight would be great.

[rogerg]

They're wireless only in the sense that they connect to the outdoor unit wirelessly. To download information to the computer you need to use the USB port. That one you link to is quite different and from the picture appears to have Bluetooth or something to connect to the PC.

[acropolite]

There is more to wireless connectivity and Wi-Fi operation than simply the frequency.

[GTB_an_Owl]

heh Ron !

i found cambroon

http://www.wunderground.com/auto/wxmap/

geoff

[astroron]

Pretty Cool, Hay:cool::cool::cool::thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

the owl is there too !

and RB

how many more of you are there ?

geoff

[swannies1983]

Good read all. I'm in the process of considering what weather station to get. Seems as though this one is fairly popular, probably due to price.

I just have a few concers/questions:

1) Is the screen contrast a real issue? I spoke to a seller on ebay and he said that he as sold over 1000 of these units and only about 2-3 people have complained about the contrast/brightness level. Does anyone have a photo of the base control which demonstrates the contrast problem?

2) The base unit can store 4080 bits of data. Once the memory is full, it overwrites the oldest data. The amount of time it can record varies according to how often you sample. The minimum is 5 mins. So does this mean it records/logs one single data point i.e. temperature, wind etc every 5 mins? I guess this isn't very good for wind measurements. If 5 mins is chosen, how long does it take to fill up the memory? For example, could I leave the unit to collect all day and it won't overwrite any data?

3) What is the sampling rate when connected to a PC? Does it do well to pick up bursts of wind gusts?

EDIT: ebay seller just informed me that even when the unit is connected to a PC, the sampling rate is still only what you set it to on the base unit i.e. it still records data in every 5 minutes because the PC just reads the recorded data in the memory in base station. Is this correct??



I also came across the WH-1091 which uses the same weather station and software as the WH-1081 (WS-1081). The 1091 base unit LCD is smaller (5.6" vs 7"), orientated vertically and comes with a stylus stick. While the 1091 is a newer model, it is cheaper than the 1081.

Does anyone have the 1091 model? Are there any issues with the contrast?

[GTB_an_Owl]

Hi Swannies

all the answers are here

http://sandaysoft.com/forum/

geoff

[swannies1983]

Thanks for that Geoff. So basically if you want to see realistic changes in wind, such as wind gusts, then this unit isn't really going to be good enough as it records/transmits data every 48 secs. Or do I have my thinking wrong? Does the unit record data continuously and then transmit this data every 48 secs OR does it just send instantaneous wind, temperature data etc once every 48 secs?

[GrampianStars]

IMO a wireless weather station should transmit continuously
as does my Oregon :thumbsup:
every 2 secs i believe
Data storage is a separate beast
for those with a taste for number crunching
as to what avail I don't know ?
there is NO control on weather ;)

[GTB_an_Owl]

no - you will get wind gusts recorded Swannies - transmitted every 48 sec(if thats what the rate is)

actually, in Cumulus you can set what the period is for the transmit - well the record of it i think
we are not running a professional weather station here remember

if you want accuracy, you have to find the dollars for a Davis (or Oregon) unit
these Fine Offset units are a good first choice i reckon - you get to learn the ropes - and we can't all afford the top end stuff

i'm having a lot of fun with mine, and it's great to be able to see whats happening at home when i am away

geoff

[mithrandir]

As PM'd, for other people's info.

It has an average and a gust value. I haven't sat and watched it to see exactly how often the screen updates. Where it is located at the moment has too much wind shadow for proper readings. There are two lines on the graph - average and gust - and the gusts are up the 3 times the average.

[Spanrz]

Hi Guys.
Read this thread with great interest a while ago. Finally got my weather station, its from Jaycar.
It very simliar to the station you guys refer to (WH1080/1081)
It's a Digitech XC0348. Sticker on the back says it works on the 433 mhz (other frequencies are for other countries)

It also has the same quirks as some of you guys have had.

1.Tested the rain gauge, works, but display unit wont let me reset the amount.

2.It works, it reads the wireless perfect, however it just wont connect to the PC.
Both on XP and Vista systems, with different weather software (as you guys have tried) and still it won't recognize the USB feature.
Usually when you connect the USB, you get a "new device connected".
Nada, zip, zilch (both systems).

Have you guys figured anything on how and why the USB doesn't connect?
Hunch is the USB cable, but unsure if it's the Display unit that's causing it.

I have the latest EasyWeather software (6.1).

EDIT:
Just tried and found the Weather Display software worked after mucking around with the settings. Direct connection worked (??) as you guys have stated.
Weird, as the display doesn't show up on the PC, it's more the Software looks for the Weather unit, instead of the PC looking for the unit/unit lookng for the PC.

"Easy Weather" will not connect (still), assuming there is still a few bugs to work out. As Weather Display does..... So it's definately a "software" issue and who coded the software.

[GTB_an_Owl]

i would reinstall "easyweather" and try again

you need easyweather to be workable to change some settings on the console

geoff

[Spanrz]

What I thought was software, might not have been. I know I got a reading of some sort through Weather Display software.

However it had said "Data Quality" is green and "Data Received" is red.
All different configs, no good.
Tried a brand new USB cable, no good. Tried another computer, no good.

Starting to think the display is faulty(??).

Do you guys get the following:
1. Clicking sound (relay activated) when connecting the usb to the PC/Display? Mine does
2. Does Windows pop up "USB device connected", when fitting the USB cable? Mine doesn't.

Re-installed Easy Weather software, no good, same. (Not connected)

Might take the unit back tomorrow, if all else fails tonight.

[mithrandir]

Supposedly the Digitech XC0348 is a rebranded WS-1081



I have a WH-1091
1. Does click.
2. No pop-up. It might have done so the first time it was plugged in.

[Spanrz]

OK, the display unit was dodgy.
Unknown reason, but a new display connected the first instant. Windows popped up with the "USB Device Connected".
Jaycar swapped the display without a problem.

Happy days :D

[Kevnool]

Hi all does anyone know the conversion of the Barometric pressure fron Sea level.

Say if this Oregon Sceintific was saying 995 Hpa then you have to add a specific number to it to compensate for your altitude.

Does anyone know this amount per hunder feet.

Jeez i hope i,m on the right path here.

Cheers Kev.

[mithrandir]

I just looked up the pressure at the nearest BOM weather station (less than 20Km away), took the value from mine, and did the subtraction.

[Kevnool]

Yeah no worries about that but the chart ive seen somewhere and cant put my finger on it thx anyway.

Cheers Kev.

[mithrandir]

This looks to be close for heights up to about 1600m

pressure(millibars) = 1013.77*0.999879224^altitude(metres )

http://www.digitaldutch.com/atmoscalc/

for a better version.

[Robert9]

Hi all,

Been reading through your posts with much interest as wife has offered to buy me a weather station for my up-coming birthday. Note that most seem to have the WH1080/1081, and also note that many seem to have problems.

Currently listed on eBay is a new model, WH2081, with an improved display - an "Auto fluoro backlight". HAs anyone had any experience with this model?

Also available is a unit from Oz Plaza,"Pro Wireless Touch Screen Weather Station PC USB Pen 91"

which also boasts an "Improved screen" and touch sensitive.
I think the displays are about the same size - 7", but would be interested in any comments on these units please.

Interestingly, the price on these units has come down below the $100 mark. Probably a reflection on the improved Ozzie Dollar (and not before time!)

I see this has been an on-going discussion over a number of years. How much longer can it go?

Robert

[watcher05]

Yes, this thread has been going for quite sometime. I suppose people like you and I keep posting to it, it may keep going for several more years.

I just purchased the: "Pro Wireless Touch Screen Weather Station PC USB Pen 91"

Hopefully it works out well and take it from there. However, they seem to be nameless brands, although the previous company you mentioned does say the manufacter but you go to their site and doesn't list this product??? Hmmmm.

We'll see.

Cya ;)

[acropolite]

FWIW I started this thread back in March 2008, my weather station is still going strong, the only problems I've had have been caused by spiders building nests on the Outdoor unit.:D

[Robert9]

That's good to know Phil. My concern is mainly on the robustness of the outdoor unit. What model did you get? If its only spiders I need to worry about, that'll be fine. If the wind gets at it so the arms and legs fly off, then that's a big problem. I also have read that touch screens might not be all that crash hot. I have a little HP M130 organiser which has a touch screen. Its starting to give me problems now.
Watcher05, I'll be interested to hear your comments on it's build when your unit arrives.
Cheers,
Robert

PS Welcome to the group Watcher 05 - note this is your 1st post.

[snowyskiesau]

My unit still going or at least part of it is. Rainfall and wind speed stopped working but wind direction is still OK
Just recently, it stopped updating the readings for a short while and when it resumed, the minimum temperature was -500 degrees and the maximum 900 degrees. !

It could be batteries as it's been running on the same set for nearly 12 months.

[acropolite]

The WS1081 model. Mine initially didn't display wind direction, I removed the PCB under the vane and ran a magnet past the reed switches, seems they were a little reluctant to actuate initially; they haven't missed a beat since.

[Robert9]

I can't remember whether it was last summer or the one before when the temperature at home reached 48.7C. That was plenty hot enough. 900C, wow! :D
Does seem like mechanical problems can happen often, though Phil your W1081 unit seems like it was a good buy, so I'll probably opt. for the latest version, the W2081. Nevertheless, watcher05, when your unit arrives I would be interested in your assessment.

Thanks for all your your comments guys, much appreciated.
Robert

[watcher05]

Hi Rob/all,

I received the new unit today and have it setup in a temp position out the backyard.

All seems to be working but when I followed the instructions and keept referring to this dam icon 82283. It says this will display when connection between the transmitter and the LCD has been successful. Well, it did take me over an hour to work out that I was receiving the relative info without the icon, and all seems to be working as it should (although without this icon activated?????). Can anyone out there help me out with this??

Anyways, all else seems to be going okay. We are getting rain here on the north coast (Lismore) and rain is registering and all the other information is there as well (wind, pressure and direction etc).

Have connected it to "cumulus" and some of the info seems to be different to the LCD. Not sure............will play around with it all when I have a chance.

Overall it looks like a good unit, and will see/update in the coming weeks.

thanks Heaps _ Lyall :hi:

[Robert9]

Hi Lyall,

Glad to hear that your unit arrived safely and seems to be functioning OK. Sorry I can't help with the icon problem.
Do you have another rain-gauge against which you can check the rainfall recorded by the instrument? Also another barometer? These would make for interesting comparisons.
Structurally, do you find the instrument sturdy enough to survive the weather conditions it is supposed to be able to measure eg. wind velocities? Pictures I have seen suggest it might be a bit flimsy, but pictures and real life are usually very different things.

Cheers,
Robert

[mithrandir]

Look down this thread. There is an item for setting the relative pressure based on your altitude and the absolute pressure. My offset is about 14hpa.

[Robert9]

My unit has arrived from OzPlaza. Interestingly, the postage label said the sender was NEW AIM P/L ibn North Melbourne.
The "Pen 91" is a WH1091 unit. Specs. are different to as advertised. Rain sensitivity is 0.3mm, not 0.1mm and range is 100m not 150m.
I have one problem - no reading from the anenometer of wind-speed. Anyone had this problem?
Robert

[GTB_an_Owl]

make sure you have the plugs in the right way on the sender Robert

check the pins in holes on sender are not bent

geoff

[Robert9]

I think you're spot on Geoff. :thumbsup: The socket pins where the anenometer plugs into on the wind-direction sensor seem to be bent back. Just trying to work out how to get them back in alignment.

Robert :thanx:

[GTB_an_Owl]

they do bend backwards Robert

just make sure they are straight - not sideways or touching

geoff

[Robert9]

I've got to make a little tool to grab hold of 2 of them. One is bent sideways and the other bent right back into the socket. Oh for a bit of old fashioned Q.C.
Thanks again,
Robert

Breaking news! I did send a complaint back to OzPlaza last night and have just received a reply. I can send the unit back to them, post-paid by them and they will evaluate and replace or refund. Now that's service! :)

[Robert9]

Its working! All systems go.:thumbsup: Thanks for your advice Geoff! :thanx:

Robert :D

[GTB_an_Owl]

thats great Robert
they are a good unit for the money

don't forget to download and use Cumulus with it -especially if you want to put a web page on the net

geoff

[Robert9]

Geoff,

For a "grande finale" see: "Once in a while a ray of sunshine" in the "chat" forum.

Robert

[aaurora]

Hello! I have been reading with interest quite a few pages of this thread. Our old weather station, an Oregon Scientific, no longer works and we need to buy a new one.

I am interested in the 'ebay' units as mentioned in this thread but I am not sure which one to get. We basically want to use it for low level weather monitoring (not uploading data to the computer).

1081- older station but might be more reliable than touch screen as a lot of you have had problems
1091- touch screen sounds good but maybe not worth the hassle?
2081- newer model, might be the best buy and what I am leaning towards.

It would be handy to have a self emptying rain guage, do any of these models have this?

I welcome your opinions and I would love help deciding which one to buy.

Thank you :thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

all models were touch screen - newer ones have better backlighting i think

i would go the latest one myself

geoff

[astroron]

As far as I know they all have self emptying rain gauges, go for the newer model as it is upto date
cheers

[aaurora]

Thanks so much :) You are all so lovely and helpful, it is wonderful to find people like yourselves that are willing to help.

I will let you know how it goes.

[astroron]

I have the first two models, both have their problems, so go for the newest model as they may have fixed the problems in the first two models.
cheers

[Robert9]

I agree with Ron. I opted for the 1091 because the advertised rain sensitivity was 0.1mm as opposed to the 0.3mm for the 2081. However, the 1091 (and probably the 1081) also have a sensitivity of only 0.3mm. So there is no advantage in going for the earlier model.
The latest model seems to use push-buttons on the frame for access to the settings. Probably better than the touch-screen, although mine seems to be working fine.
Go with the later model. Must be some benefits.
Robert

[astroron]

My W1081has a frozen Touch screen but downloads the stuff to the computer alright, my 1091 the touch screen is ok but it continuously give warnings saying no signal and other warnings I have replaced both the base station and the sender unit on my 1091 and it still gives error readings :shrug:
I have gone back to the 1081 so I can download the data to the computer and forget about looking at the date on the touch screen as I can't set it
so I have bought the 1091 for nothing:mad2:

[Robert9]

I guess this is why we call them "El Cheapo" !

[PeterM]

Just wondering if anyone has a a spare wind gauge for the WS1080/81 as one of my 3 cups was wiped out in this weeks hail storm, I would be happy to pay, maybe you have a dead screen or don't need it anymore. Seems I have to buy the whole new unit (is that right or can you buy spares?) the cheapest new I have seen is $179 (any others selling cheaper you know of would be appreciated).


Thanks
PeterM.

[GTB_an_Owl]

hi Peter

spare parts are available i believe

from memory - someone in newzealand
and Maplins in england

check the forum out at sandaysoft

geoff

[astroron]

I have been in touch with Peter, I have a complete 1091 doing nothing as it is no better than the 1081 which I went back to as the 1091 kept giving me errors :rolleyes:
so as I said I bought the 1091 for nothing:mad2:
I will be sending him a replacement wind cup:thumbsup:

[PeterM]

Thanks Geoff and wow thank you Ron.
That is a really nice offer Ron, very much appreciated. Seems I have been lucky enough to have a screen that still works some 2 years after purchase. Just the outside bits succumbing to the weather in this case 2-3 inch hail stones.

PeterM.

[GTB_an_Owl]

Ron

try the 1091 plugged into a usb hub, instead of directly to the puter

geoff

[Robert9]

Peter,
If you still want a new unit, (good on you Ron for the spares) do a search on ebay.com.au for "wireless weather station". Units are available for ~$115 and with solar power for the outdoor-unit. - WA 2081 (No more climbing onto the roof to change the battery.) The WH2081 (battery powered) is $10 cheaper.
Incidentally, I do find with my WH1081 unit that, the rainfall measure varies, sometimes quite considerably, from what I measure in the "real" rain-gauge.
Has anyone else done comparisons with other conventional instruments?
Robert

[snowyskiesau]

I have a 1081 (I think) weather station that at the moment is gathering spiders rather than weather details. II still use Cumulus software to gather stats but mostly for temp/humidity etc.
Since new it's had a problem with rainfall measurement that the original I purchased had (it was exchanged without a problem). The wind speed seems to cause a rainfall reading.
Might be handy for spares.

Spiders and weatherstation have been relocated thanks to mental4astro :thumbsup:

[astroron]

Peter, did you get the Wind Vane in good condition Today:question:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[Analog6]

Are there any compatible with macs

[GTB_an_Owl]

the "easyweather" program that comes with it would probably work on a mac
but not "cumulus"

geoff

[PeterM]

Hi Ron,
Yup just arrived. Thanks so much. One of the cups had a crack in it but easily fixed with some araldite.
Have a great Christmas and will give you a call soon.

PeterM.

[mithrandir]

I find mine is extremely sensitive to being bumped. Beating the rug hung on a section of the pool fence with a couple of concreted posts between the rug and a WH1091 recorded about 50mm of rain in a couple of minutes. Various shocks now have it recording about 500mm more than the conventional gauge a meter or so away.

Taking the cover off and giving the insides a good spray of outdoor grade surface insecticide keeps the spiders away.

[acropolite]

Shocks will cause erroneous results, the sensors for wind direction and rain are reed switches, it doesn't take much to trigger them.

[Robert9]

Buffeting from the wind could give erroneously high readings, but the low readings I can't fathom. The little tip-tray is clean so its not tipping early. Just thinking that perhaps its not situated in a good poition. :shrug:

[kinetic]

I'm having trouble getting my WS (a 1081 touchscreen / solar panel clone)
to upload to my website using ftp.
I think my (free) webs dot com page does not support FTP..that comes
at an additional cost!:rolleyes:

I only want to see if I can do this then dress up a better auto-updating
webpage. Has anyone had any luck uploading data to a webs.com page?

Steve

[acropolite]

Steve, if you have a permanent dsl connection, it may be worth hosting your web page using Xerver (http://www.javascript.nu/xerver/) which is a free open source http and FTP server that runs on xp. Xerver is that simple a monkey could (almost) set it up.

I had my ws1081 page set up at home for a while using Xerver, I still use it occasionally for FTP use.

Coupled with a dynamic dns name it's a simple solution if you only want to serve low volumes of data.

[kinetic]

Thanks very much Phil for your suggestion.
I had a play with Xerver this arvo and it looks quite handy for
the job. I did manage to FTP to my ISP blog page btw. Only the webs dot
com sites give me FTP grief.

Steve

[acropolite]

Xerver is awesome for an open source package, so simple. The FTP component is great if you want to allow someone download access to a large file, e.g. an astro image for processing. The only downside is that you need to open up some ports in your router before your the http or FTP servers can be accessed, but that's not difficult.

[fg1972]

Hi everyone. I'm new here & just got myself a WA2081 from ebay for xmas.
I have installed it on my roof approx 7 days ago. I worked fine for the 1st couple of days, but then noticed the wind sensor was not spinning in very light winds which it did spin initially with even the slightest breeze. I have taken the unit down from the roof & noticed the wind sensor does not spin as free as it did originally & makes a slight grinding sound when it does spin.
I have taken the cap off the wind sensor, detached the pcb and trying to figure out how to pull off the top to expose the mechanism to see what's wrong. Does anyone know how to remove the top? Do you just pry it open?

[Robert9]

Can't you claim under guarantee, before you tamper with it? The unit is guaranteed for 1 year.

[fg1972]

Have already contacted the seller in regards to the problem, still waiting for a response probably due to the public holidays. I just thought I'd have a quick look to see if its easily fixed but will leave it alone as I don't want to damage the unit.

[astroron]

:hi:Peter, how is your repaired "Weather Station" standing up to this inclement Weather;):question:
Happy New Year to you
Cheers

[I.C.D]

G'Day All,
I have one of those weather station ,the problem I am having is that I could down load the info to my laptop but now I can't get a dam thing from it . I reinstall the program and still nothing .Any ideas what may be wrong
Ian C
:help:

[astroron]

Hi Ian, could you be more specific:question:
Is the laptop attached to the weather station by a USB cable :question:
Cheers

[I.C.D]

Ron,
yes I can get it to display all the info that is on the main display unit on to the laptop ,what I can't get is the data to display for the past from the records file
Ian.C

[GTB_an_Owl]

are you using (the supplied) easyweather or cumulus on the lappy Ian ?

geoff

[I.C.D]

Geoff,
Using the supplied CD that came with unit
Ian .C

[GTB_an_Owl]

download an use Cumulus instead Ian

geoff

[I.C.D]

Thanks Geoff just downloaded it and got it working thanks a lot,Got clear sky's here tonight with gusting wind will be wondering out now to have a peekeboo at the sky hope you have the same
Ian C
:thumbsup:

[I.C.D]

G'Day All,
I have Easyweather WH1081 weather station using Cumulus program ,the trouble is the rain reading is 641 mm so far this year and I am not living in far north Queensland .Can I fix it some how or do I have to reinstall the program again

Ian C

[GTB_an_Owl]

well Ian

if the data is not real important
the easiest way is to do a clean install

if you know the actual rainfall figures that should be - there are instructions on the cumulus forum to edit the rain figures

geoff

[I.C.D]

Thanks Geoff I will have a look :thanx:

[mr.sneezy]

I got myself one of the WH2081's after reading this thread. Works well thus far. USB and comms is OK.

I noticed if you install the rain sensor on the pole and the wind swings it about too much, the tipping bucket in the sensor rocks over and causes false readings. Mounting the rain sensor on something more solid stops that issue dead.

I'd like to be able to calibrate the temp sensors. Is there a calibration mode for these units ?

I see Cumulus data can be calibrated, but I'm not using this via PC.

PS. I think I'm only 0.5C high in temp, nearly not worth worrying about but...
Martin

[mr.sneezy]

A follow up question.
Whats the trick or methodology to getting the history data to synchronize to the hour (e.g. 30minute records, on the hour and half hours) ?

Also, can anyone recommend a forum that gets into the details of the Fine Offset units ?

Martin

[GTB_an_Owl]

hi Martin

all your questions can be answered here (more readily)
http://sandaysoft.com/forum/

geoff

[sheeny]

I think I've just killed my weather station...

The touch panel on the front of my WS1081 died some time ago, but everyhting still worked through the pc so I just lived with it. Today I got up on the roof and de-spidered my rain guage again and thought I'd change the batteries while I was there. Its been 2 years since I put the weather station up.

Now the remote sensors can't be contacted...:shrug:. It's probably about time I bought a new one, but does anyone know any tricks I could try to get it going again?

Al.

[Robert9]

Hi Al,
A couple of thoughts. First off, and apologies for asking, but did you insert hte batteries with correct polarity? I know, silly question, but I had to ask.
Second thought. Are the connections in the plugs and sockets of the connecting cables aligning OK?
If both of those are OK, its probably time toreach for your walllet. Maybe go for the latest model, the 2081 (I think)
Robert

[astroron]

Al It happened to me as well about a year or so ago and I bought the 1091 and left the 1081 for a while,took the Batteries out.
Then one day put them back in and it worked again ,but the touch screen failed again after a while so continued with the 1091.
Hint Try a powered Hub if you are not using one at the moment as I have found that it works much Better if you are using Cumulus :thumbsup:

[sheeny]

FYI I got another 1081 (WH1081 this time, the last was a WS1081... not sure if there's any difference but I didn't think there was).

I initially just changed the base station, and it all worked OK until exactly 12:00pm on the day of the solar CME that was upsetting China (:shrug:) and then nothing again... so today I changed the sender, and the world is a good and wholesome place again.:D

I left all my old instruments up there, but I now have a set of spares for when the plastic gets too brittle.

:)

Al.

[Robert9]

Hi all ye weather watchers.
Since installing my WH1091 last October I have just had to replace the batteries in the remote unit for the 2nd time. My understanding is that I should get 1 year from a set of batteries. My first set were Energisers and my second Duracell (alkaline of course). What experience have others had with battery life? :question:
Robert

[acropolite]

I have replaced my outdoor batteries (Energiser alkalines) once on my WH1081 (around 6 months ago), given that I started this thread in March 2008, that would give over 2 years from the outdoor batteries. At replacement, the outdoor unit was still running, I just elected to change the batteries as I was relocating the unit. The indoor batteries were changed at the same time, once again the unit was performing flawlessly. I should add that my indoor unit is permanently plugged in to a USB port on my PC, I haven't bothered to check to see what if any power the indoor unit receives when the PC is shut down, but it may be that it gets enough power from the USB on shutdown to not drain the batteries.

Just an added note, I covered any holes/gaps in the rainfall sensor with flywire mesh and have had no further problems from spiders.

[Robert9]

Thanks Phil,
Your experience is more like what I was expecting, and also in keeping with the specs. I think I'll lodge a warranty claim.
Good not to have creepy crawly problems.
Robert :thanx:

[Robert9]

And now OzPlaza tell me my warranty was only for 3 months! (Thought it was 12 months) I've had the unit for 5 months. :mad2: Guess I'll have to pull it apart and look for some leaky filter capacitor or maybe a short circuit. Suppose I could consider buying another, or keep up the supply of batteries or else find a solar power supply. :violin: Alternatively just cry. :sad:
Robert

[supernova1965]

Before you do anything drastic check this out

http://www.dtvforum.info/index.php?showtopic=84941

[Robert9]

Hi Warren,
Thanks for that link. Cettainly offers some hope. I followed through to the ACCC site http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/3863 which, on reading, suggests that since I purchased prior to 1 Jan 2011, I should look at earlier laws. I thinks its getting to the "too hard basket" stage for what is essentially a minimal loss.
Robert

[swannies1983]

Anyone have any "lost sensor contact" (Cumulus log) when it rains? I've tried new batteries and moving the base station closer but it doesn't seem to fix the problem. If I leave the batteries in, the signal gets restored when the rain stops.

Looking at the sandsoft site, it appears colder weather has a significant effect on battery performance and wireless signal. Also, the remote sensor doesn't appear to be all that waterproof, particularly the RJ11 sockets.

So just wondering if anyone experiences these "lost sensor contact" errors when it rains and what you did to fix the problem?

[allanhobbs]

Hi All

I just received a WA2081 for my birthday.
The manual is just about setting the unit up which can also more easily be done from the software. My issue is I want to know more about the unit technically, such as how many hours of data can be save in its memory. If you go away on holidays can it store all of the data and for how long?
Where can you find out more about the unit technically?

Cheers
Allan

[mithrandir]

Alan, it all depends on how often you have it record the data. At 30 mins it should go for more than a month. Search this thread for a post by astroron where he said something about not downloading for ages and all the data still being there.

[GTB_an_Owl]

Hi Allan

all that information and more can be found on the "Cumulus" forum

http://sandaysoft.com/forum/

look in the "fine offset/ easyweather" section

have fun with your new unit

geoff

[Robert9]

Hi,

Latest version of Cumulus, (v1.9.2 - November 4, 2011 - 4.17 MB) is available for download. http://sandaysoft.com/downloads

Robert

[snowyskiesau]

Now I'm settled in a new house, I think it's time for a new wearher station so everyone else can see how cold it gets down here.:)

I had one of the eBay wireless specials previously which worked fairly well, are these still the best value option?

[GTB_an_Owl]

best "cheapest" option Geoff

(unless you can afford a Davis Unit)

geoff

[brian nordstrom]

;) I like the , if its ok , its only the weather formations , here on planet earth , at 12 degrees south ,
Weather is like people , :thumbsup:
' Live in the area long enough , you will get to know them ' .
The darwin weather has 2 seasons . the WETand the DRY .
thats why those el/cheapo weather things dont sell well up here , fun to watch , :lol: not like a good homing bat . ? ......
Merry Christmas , to all who is here .
ho ,ho ho ....:)
Brian.

[snowyskiesau]

I notice the latest version is solar powered. Does any one have experience with that one?

I was also planning to put up a web cam (just to show off the view :) ) and was working on a solar panel to charge it and a weather station. Now if I can just find a cheap solar powered webcam ...

[mikerr]

Geoff, is this the sort of deal you are looking at?...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/OMNIPAD-PRO-R3-PROFESSIONAL-WIRELESS-WEATHER-STATION-w-Anemometer-Rain-Gauge-/250948078856?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item3a6dabcd08

I wouldn't mind getting into this myself. I just have a $20.00 Bunnings one at the moment.

Michael

[swannies1983]

Had mine for about 2 years and still working strong. The only thing I have had to do is put some silicon grease around the terminals as I was getting dropouts during the rain.

[snowyskiesau]

That's the one I was looking at although the manufacturer has a new mode (http://www.foshk.com/Weather_Professional/WH3081.htm)l that looks OK and is also sold on eBay.

[snowyskiesau]

Just a quick follow up. I just received a WH1081 that I bought on eBay for $112.
Tested tonight and works better than the last one I bought*. There's even an English manual and locally produced video on setting it up.
Now for the webcam...



* BTW, how is my old weatherstation going Alex? Every get it installed?

[kinetic]

Resurrecting this great thread,

I wanted to accurately record record rainfall SA is expected to get
this week according to the BOM.

I did a yearly service and oil change on my Wstation. It has worked
flawlessly all this time.
I cleaned all sensors, the solar panel and spider webs from the rain gauge.
Batteries in mine are rechargeable Alkalines, still holding over 1.5v each.
They must be at least 2 years old.
Some corrosion on the battery terminals.
In reply to Phil's post below I thought I would report on how a battery
change over went and some strange behaviour afterwards.

Changed external unit batteries and on first power up could not get
signal received in the LCD unit. Side by side on the workbench.
LED would not flash (send data) on the external TX.
Took batteries out, waited 10 seconds, put them back in.
TX LED stayed on for about 10 secs then went off and flashed about
every 30 secs.
Receiver unit showed its first rec'vd data after about 2 mins then refreshed the screen
with ext data.
External temp was not part of the data! WTF! Ext humidity yes, but no temp.
Took batteries out of the LCD unit, waited 30 secs, re-inserted them.
Same.
Cylcled through temp options on touchpad, lo and behold, Ext temp starts
working again.
All fine now.
A read of the basic WS manual PDF that Jaycar have on their site says
the whole TX--->RX binding takes a minute to start working properly so
you must be patient and not insert/take batteries out at the first hint
something might be amiss.

See here: Page 5
http://www.jaycar.com.au/products_uploaded/XC0348%20Instruction%20Manual.pdf

[sheeny]

I'm on my third WS. The touch screen failed in my original after a few years, so I replace with the same model but solar charging on the external station, then a little while ago either the TX or RX failed. No matter what I did I could not get comms back, so I bought my third which is running perfectly on a mix of the original and 2nd generation sensors and the new TX and internal receiver. So I have plenty of spares.;)

I'm currently running the 1st generation wind vane. The bearing has jammed a few times on mould or fungus or something, but is cleans up OK. The second gen wind vane had the bearing fail completely - jammed solid, and fell to bits with a split ball in it when I tried to free it. I've never seen such a small lightly loaded bearing element fail like that before!

Other than that, they are great units for the money. Just need to be aware that like any weather station, they need a bit of maintenance from time to time to stop the spiders from tying the rain tippler up so it doesn't keep them awake at night, etc.

Al.

[RB]

Great to see this thread back up again.
Al that's a shame about the units jamming up.
Like you said though, at least you have spares now and it is a good setup for the price.

Steve, yes I've found that it takes a while for the unit to connect after replacing the batteries.
Also just check that the connector to the sensor (RJ45 ?) has not corroded.

I'm still running my two original units (seperate locations) and they run flawlessly.
Basically only have to change the batteries (one is solar, so no need to change the cells on that one).
I just do basic maintenence on them too.
Love the internet setup, I run it with Cumulus software.

Very cool little units and last time I looked Jaycar had them on special again.

:)

[acropolite]

My original (as per the tread starter) is still running, I have one of the new solar charge models with lux meter etc to replace. FWIW The eBay seller I bought my latest from has spare parts as well.

re the spiders in the rain sensor, I covered the bottom openings with flywire, haven't had a problem since.

[RB]

Got a link to your eBay guy Phil?

[acropolite]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Wireless-Professional-Weather-Station-with-PC-Software-/111352624665?pt=AU_Gadgets&hash=item19ed223619

dealer http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/ce-technologies?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

[Dave47tuc]

Hi all,
Great thread and as I'm looking for a weather station this has been a wealth of information thanks to all posters.
My question is can you use your iPad to wirelessly hook up to your weather station? Are others doing this ?
I'm still not 100% sure which one to get but Phils links look good.
Cheers,
David.