Wireless Home Weather Station -- $300.00 or less??

[Mike Parker]

Hello all - first post here and it has to do with a wireless home weather station. Is there an accurate one out there on the market that I can buy for a b-day present for my dad that is under or around $300.00?? I am hoping some of you have bought the Oregon 968 or the Lacrosse 2310/15 and can give me some feedback on the accuracy. Obviously if there is another brand or model that is in the price range I would appreciate your input on them as well.

Mike Parker

 

[B Ozanne]

You can pick up the Davis Vantage Pro on Ebay from a company called Provantage for around $400. I have had excellent experience with them. Its a little above your budget but Davis makes great weather stations.

 

[Tyler Allison]

I own the 986..works fine for hobby folks like myself. My next weather station will be a Davis system as they are made better and more accurate..but they cost more of course.

I'd buy from Ambient weather even if they are a couple bucks higher than everyone else. The software you get from them is amazing.

WMR986

http://www.ambientweather.com/wmorscwiprwe.html

$260 + free software

 

[George Flickinger]

I've had bad luck with wireless Oregon equipment. Both moisture sensor and wind speed indicator failed the first year....GF

 

[Darren Addy]

Just a note of caution. The Davis page says that

Original Vantage Pro stations and compatible products are being discontinued but are still available for purchase for a limited time. Vantage Pro2 uses radio technology that is not compatible with original Vantage Pro. If you need accessories, replacement parts, or compatible products for your original Vantage Pro station, you should buy now as those products will be phased out.

http://www.davisnet.com/weather/products/vantage.asp

On their Vantage2 page they say:

And don't worry--even though original Vantage Pro is being phased out, we'll continue to provide technical support and replacement parts for your existing station, as needed.

It appears that if you don't need the WIRELESS capability, there is a cabled version of the Vantage Pro 2 for $339 available here:
http://www.ambientweather.com/61dacavaprow1.html

Darren Addy
Kearney, NE

 

[bvassmer]

Best Buy has a Wx Station they sell for like 199$ (or about 187$ if it is on sale).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1062198170407

I use it on my car, and have another for a home station. It is mostly accurate, and not a bad system, considering the price.

I wish I could get something nicer, but alas, money is always an issue.

 

[Darren Addy]

Originally posted by bvassmer
Best Buy has a Wx Station they sell for like 199$ (or about 187$ if it is on sale).

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?sk...d=1062198170407

Unless I'm missing something, you can get this same model (with sensors) from La Crosse for $174.

 

[bvassmer]

yep looks to be the same thing... luckly I work @ best buy and got it got much MUCH cheaper then that :wink:

OT, sort of... I got my best buy to put a weather station on top of the store, so we could monitor the weather.... Luckly the manager of the store is all about storms and weather.

 

[Stuart Robinson]

A lot has to do with how often the wind gust updates
The la cross is about once per 60 seconds "
The 928 is about 15 seconds
The Davis is every 2.5 seconds

The Davis also records rain fall dowb to 0.2mm while the 928 is just 1mm.

The Davis has better acuracy over all.

 

[bvassmer]

Originally posted by Stuart Robinson
A lot has to do with how often the wind gust updates
The la cross is about once per 60 seconds \"
The 928 is about 15 seconds
The Davis is every 2.5 seconds

I noticed this when I bought the unit, but i couldnt pass up the price. I tested it last night while driving home from work/school and saw that when @ highway speeds (60mph+) the unit updates almost every 5 seconds, but when slower speeds occur, it does take that long (or seems like longer). I figure it this way in my situation... The higher speeds are what I am looking for in a tstorm... and if it updates that often when the speeds are that high, I wont complain :wink:

But for a stationary unit the other options are much better, and the extra $$ should be spent for them. Just wish I could