Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

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Tornado Tim
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Made it nice and Tidy... you can see where I have put the cables.
I have pancaked the lawn back to where it was so it nearly looks invisible hehe :lol: :D
Went to mitre10 today and got some sellys roof and gutter because I found all clear is acid not good for wire. [-X
and got the nice cable clips you can see in the pic.
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What should mount the solar sensor on? I am mounting East of the anemometer or right from that other pic on Page 2..
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by David »

Hi Tim, can you get the weather graph next to the latest readings on your site to cover the last 12hours, like the Grey Lynn site http://www.greylynnweather.net/Prime.gif?
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Done.... anything else I should optimize, I think I might change the colour of the WD Screen
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

looking good there Tim! :)
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Arrggg the windows updates shut the whole server down, sorry about that.
Got the solar sensor today and I will mount it on Sunday.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Installed and working with WD.
Thanks Graeme for your help with configuring WD.
Here is a Pic of the solar sensor installed.
Now I have to say the station is now complete YAY!!!! =D>
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by Tornado Tim on Sun 15/02/2009 13:01, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by carrot »

Congrats _b
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by NZ Thunderstorm Soc »

Good luck wth your readings, Tim, also nice to have your daily weather report up on the Weather Blogs :smile:

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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Ah now it's picking up the solar readings accurately now with WD.
Thanks Graeme and Brian.
I May need to fine tune it bit more but it is picking up conditions accurately.
Thanks Carrot and NZTStormSoc for your comments.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

I think you have done a great job of your web site data , using WD well :)
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by TokWW »

Yes the installation looks good, and you have a good attention to detail. Your website looks great too, and the solar readings certainly indicate partly or mostly cloudy conditions these past two days.

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Tornado Tim
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Hah yea, I went on the roof once again and cable tied all the wire down before the cyclone hits or the East of it anyway.
Thanks for your comments everyone.
I think most of the teething issues are sorted or even all of them.
I seem to keep on adding things to the site, next will be getting the solar graph on there...
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

I have found the the wind direction is wrong... after this CB rolled throug
I think the contacts might be damp and causing it go to default north even though it is south.
But I would like to know the possible causes of it...
Can any one suggest how I could fix this this problem...?
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by ricky »

Looks like you sorted it out... I think short circuit of the wind direction wires will read N, and resistance from leakage or whatever will pull the direction more towards N..
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Man that is awesome it fixed itself!!! :lol: :D
Thanks Ricky I thought I made it water proof, very strange!
Out I go im going to seal everything with roof and gutter now...
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

OK I have made my Icons available now. Click on this link to download them.
http://web.me.com/gunnimacman/Downloads ... _Icons.zip
The Most used icons are in High Res PNG Format. Unzip the ZIP file to a folder called myicons within the wdisplay program folder and then go to weather display and click on "input daily weather" then click on the "select main screen icon" tab. Then double click on the icon that you want to replace then a window will come up where you placed the icon and then click on the icon then click "OK" thats 1 done and repeat for how many you want to replace.
Brian, Please feel free if you want to add these to weather display if you wish.

If you come across a icon that is not in High Res and want it in High Res I can gladly make you it.
My photoshop skills came in use when making these lol. :lol: :mrgreen:
Sorry for the icons taking this long to get out, but I was busy.

The download is 11 MB hence High Res Icons:

If you want see 1 icon of collection check out my avatar...
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Manukau heads obs »

thanks Tim,they look great!
I will include them with the WD install so that people can replace the default ones in WD
and post a thread about them on WD forum and acknowledging that you are the author
hows that sound?

thanks again :)
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

I have added a help section to my site now and History section as well to go back in time.
I added a help section due to my Uncle ( who lives on the verge of Matangi-Tamahere) wondered what all the dials meant, lol! :lol:
I have made the site nice and polished now, so all minor stuff has been sorted, so now I can start to enjoy it...
Website: http://web.me.com/gunnimacman/Waikato_W ... ather.html
I have another uncle in Fielding who has a Vantage pro2 station, He wants it to be hooked up to the internet so I should go and see him and get it sorted. He gets insane winds where he is a few earthquakes as well.
It would be very cool to see him on here as well... ( he likes the weather too) ;P
Please tell me what you think of it, I would love your comments on what you may want added.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Rob »

I am a newbe thinking of purchasing a Davis weather station and have carefully read the postings here and noted in particular Kim’s comments on 4 January regarding approved frequencies in NZ and Tgsnoopy’s comments (http://www.weatherforum.org.nz/phpBB3/v ... 367#p66295) of the same date.

I followed Kim’s link and it appears that 921 to 929 MHz is unrestricted for short range devices. The US models operating on frequencies of 902 to 928 MHz can have up to 8 IDs to allow non interference from other devices. I presume, therefore, that the US model could be set to be legal to use here in NZ.

I contacted several US web retailers and asked whether or not they could supply any of the “Overseas models” of the Davis Wireless Vantage Pro 2 having a 240v power supply and operating at 868.0 to 868.6 MHz. All said no but I thought this reply from Weather Buffs in California the most interesting:

“No.
We only have the USA versions at 902-928mhz and 110v. You'll need to pay at least double or triple in NZ for the EU/AU/NZ model you seek. Davis will not give us access to 868mhz nor 240v units so as to keep prices very, very high (and profits high) for the dealers in NZ.
Sorry.
Antonio Amadeo
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California, USA”

Interestingly the Davis web site in NZ says this under its Repairs FAQ:

“What if I didn't purchase my weather station from you?

We are happy for you to send your weather station in for repair regardless of whether you bought it from us or not. Refer to the terms and conditions above for further information on initial inspection costs and our required RMA Form etc.

However please be aware that wireless weather stations not purchased from us may have the wrong frequency setup for New Zealand. Such stations will not be returned until made compliant at your expense. It is important to note that some stations can not be made compliant.”

I am not into radio so would appreciate any comments about frequencies. I know I could buy a cabled version from the US and not have any issues or spend $1490 NZ purchasing the Wireless model locally. However, as the deal for the wireless model with Weather Buff (US$575 including freight approximately $930NZ) or Scientific Sales (US $591) do represent a saving of around $500 I cannot afford to disregard the US import alternative.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Rob wrote:I am a newbe thinking of purchasing a Davis weather station and have carefully read the postings here and noted in particular Kim’s comments on 4 January regarding approved frequencies in NZ and Tgsnoopy’s comments (http://www.weatherforum.org.nz/phpBB3/v ... 367#p66295) of the same date.

I followed Kim’s link and it appears that 921 to 929 MHz is unrestricted for short range devices. The US models operating on frequencies of 902 to 928 MHz can have up to 8 IDs to allow non interference from other devices. I presume, therefore, that the US model could be set to be legal to use here in NZ.
Sorry, I had to retract that comment earlier and thought I had in the forums. I've now edited the original to read:
tgsnoopy wrote:It's always risky importing equipment from overseas. But at a pinch, if it operates around 433 MHz it should be ok. Any other frequencies give me a PM off the public list and I'll see where you stand. These comments only apply to weather stations!

Edit:

Re 922 MHz, I assumed that the fact certain models were marketed here they would comply with NZ's 922 MHz band. In fact the NZ version has special firmware reducing the band used here.

The 922 MHz Spread Spectrum band in NZ is from 921 to 929 MHz, but the US band is 902MHz to 928 MHz. Operation of American equipment in NZ between 902 and 920 MHz will cause interference to Vodafone GSM mobiles, not something they will put up with.

Sorry if anyone has been caught out by this.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

No.
We only have the USA versions at 902-928mhz and 110v. You'll need to pay at least double or triple in NZ for the EU/AU/NZ model you seek. Davis will not give us access to 868mhz nor 240v units so as to keep prices very, very high (and profits high) for the dealers in NZ.
Sorry.
Antonio Amadeo
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California, USA”
I am not surprised about that, thats why i brought the US version as the prices are insane here.
Yes the wireless is very short range, so really it should be allowed under RSM.
If you want a power supply use the 110v supply provided when u get it, and use a step down transformer.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by tgsnoopy »

Be very careful buying a step down transformer.

Some illegal auto transformers have been being sold on Trade Me that are very dangerous.

An auto transformer provides no isolation from the mains and the 110V transformers may not have sufficent insulation between that power and you.

I'd still recommend buying a new plugpack.

Feel free to e-mail me for a price, I'll happily pass one on at cost.
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Shepherds Valley WX »

Hi Guys,

I too am really keen to get a VP2, although I am happy to get the cabled version plus datalogger to avoid any frequency issues in NZ. Are there any known problems importing a cabled version from the USA and then using the required plugpack to convert 240VAC to 110? I realis ehtere would be no local support, but am happy to take the risk on that.

Appreciate anyones advise/thoughts on this approach... :-)
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Tornado Tim »

Cabled is good, however if you are thinking about expanding the stations capabilities you will be limited.
You will not be able to run if you go cabled:
The soil Temperature station, which has leaf wetness etc.
Temperature station
Wireless tethering of the anemometer

Beware of where you want to put the station on and how much cable you need to feed into the house.
I have been told that the batteries will be drained quicker from the console if you dont have it plugged into AC.

On the other thing you brought up, I had no probs at all with Scientific Sales US, they ship the items via UPS U.S which you can track where the thing is located at, then once it is in NZ it will be delivered from Flyways which deal with UPS packages.
I had no issues with Scientific Sales and buying it from the US was a breeze!
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Re: Davis 6152 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station

Unread post by Rob »

I think Tornado's advice is sound.

I've searched many US sites and the standard price is around US$400. Once you add freight (varies between US$194 USP down to US$63 DHL) you are looking at between US$462 through to US$591. Using a credit card and current exchange rates plus transaction charges you can get it for around NZ$725 to NZ$890.

The question then is who to purchase from and Tornado has made his recommendation.

As to the question of wireless frequencies Vodaphone have 903.6 to 913.6 reserved for non-interference. But the power is less than 8mW and it only has a range of up to 300m. If you are like me and live in the country (my nearest street is 350m away and nearest neighbours likewise) I can't see how you will interfere with anyone.

As for power for the console the US model has a 5.0 VDC 900 mA regulated power supply, no doubt running at 110V or whatever it is in the US. So all you would need is a regulated 240 V 5VDC regulated power supply if you don't want to use batteries which, it is claimed, last upo to 9 months.

Rob
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