[TowerTalk] weather station on tower?

[Patrick Greenlee]

I too have the wireless Davis unit with all the options mentioned by 
Larry below.  All options except bird spikes and funnel filter as my 
unit is about 10 years old predating those improvements.  I am very 
satisfied with its function and never heard it on any radio.  I will be 
relocating it to a tower or other elevated location (favoring a tower) 
as a couple of my cows once ate the interconnecting wiring between the 
anemometer and main unit.  This during a brief period when the 
surrounding protective electric fence was powered down.

I expect to mount an arm at least 3 ft long horizontal from the tower on 
which to mount the Davis to get a more accurate wind direction and speed 
with less turbulence interference from the tower.  As the tower in 
question is a tilt over with hinge 8 ft above ground I can tilt the 
tower to service the Davis as if it were an antenna.  Birds like to 
perch on the rim of the rain gauge funnel and their deposits tend to 
plug the funnel.  Thanks for  the info Larrry re the bird spike and 
filter upgrade.  I will look into those upgrades re their 
retrofitability and separate purchase availability.

Patrick        NJ5G

On 9/1/2015 12:25 AM, Larry McDavid wrote:
> I've had a Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 wireless weather station for 
> 5 years and it has been flawless. I have two receiving console display 
> units and have never had any RFI susceptibility or emission problems 
> with this system. However, the sensor suite transmits on 902 - 928 MHz 
> in Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum mode, not at 430 MHz as stated 
> below.
>
> Since the system uses FHSS RF mode, you are unlikely to *ever* detect 
> it on any ham receiver.
>
> The sensor suite is powered by a solar cell which charges a super 
> capacitor for overnight operation. If several days without sunshine 
> are encountered, the unit includes a Li primary cell as battery 
> backup. My system includes a 24-hour fan-aspirated radiation shield 
> powered by its own solar panel and NiCd cells.
>
> These systems do require at least annual maintenance so they should be 
> accessible for service. In particular, the tipping-bucket rain gage 
> needs its conical collector and the buckets cleaned as they accumulate 
> dust and dirt. There is a recent version of the collector funnel that 
> has a better filter at the bottom and has bird-repellent spikes. Since 
> my aspiration fan runs 24/7, the plastic louvers that make up the 
> radiation shield also need cleaning once a year.
>
> I had a previous wired Davis system for 25 years so I now have some 30 
> years of accumulated weather data stored on the connected computer. I 
> never had any RF problems with either of these Davis Instruments 
> systems; both performed flawlessly!
>
> Now, granted, some will say we don't have "weather" here in Los 
> Angeles (I live near Disneyland). Historically, though, we do get 
> *some* rain and often have wind with gusts to 70 MPH where I live. 
> I've seen relative humidity values as low as 5 % during a "Santa Ana 
> Wind."
>
> Larry W6FUB
>
>
> On 8/31/2015 9:45 PM, Bill Parry wrote:
>> I have a La Crosse that is mounted on the tower (wireless) and have 
>> had no
>> RF problems.  Works just fine.
>>
>> Bill W5VX
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf 
>> Of Lew
>> Sayre
>> Sent: Monday, August 31, 2015 10:58 PM
>> To: Ken
>> Cc: Towertalk Reflector
>> Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] weather station on tower?
>>
>> I've had the Davis Vantage Pro II wireless for the past 3 years. Very
>> reliable and rf quiet. It Tx around 430Mz but I've never heard it or
>> recognized it on hf or vhf..
> ...
>