[UK-CONTEST] OT W-8681-MKII Wireless Weather Station from W&S

[Don Field]

I bought the Watson one when RSGB did an offer. Like Colin, I am far from
convinced of its accuracy, etc. but it gives some basic info.

I recall discussing with John G3WGV (not sure if John is on this reflector)
who flies light aircraft and therefore has an interest in good wx info. He
has installed, at his home, a "proper" wx station, which means his results
are comparable with data put out by the Met office. But the kit is much
more pricey and has to be installed according to the correct guidelines
(height above ground, etc). Anything else effectively qualifies as an
interesting "toy" I suspect.

Don G3XTT

On 17 December 2011 11:48, Colin Wilson <colin at sheffield-live.co.uk> wrote:

> I have a Watson WX Station W-8681 which originally cost me around £75 I
> think, I have had it now for about 4 years but the wx here  cost me a
> little
> more recently as the actual TX on the mast got damaged in vy heavy rain and
> lightening storm and ceased to work. I replaced it for about £25 I think it
> was and all working just fine again. I am not convinced that the wind speed
> indicator is 100% accurate though as many is the time I can see the flags
> on
> the mast going hell for leather yet the meter showing a mere couple of
> knots! (I am a sailor so I know what a couple of knots feels like!)
> Anyway it does the job I need it for mostly so not overly concerned.
>
> Vy 73
>
> Colin CT7ACG/G3VCQ
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: David Ferrington, M0XDF
> Sent: Saturday, December 17, 2011 10:32 AM
> To: John Lemay
> Cc: uk-contest at contesting.com
> Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] OT W-8681-MKII Wireless Weather Station from W&S
>
> I'm afraid not, only 3 replies, but 1 said magic, one said ok after you've
> ensured it's watertight, and the other hasn't had very good experiences
> with
> that and a similar model - but making it watertight may have helped there.
>
> Seems they work ok for 12 - 18 months and then start playing up - refunds
> should be possible, even outside of the guarantee (the Sale of Goods Act
> says retailers must replace or repair FOC within a reasonable period of
> use,
> and 18 months is not a reasonable period of use for something like this -
> I'd say 5 years was min.)
>
> Looks like the supplied software is rubbish and the consensus is to use
> some
> free s/w called Cumulas.
>
> So I think it's a case of give it a try to see - these units are pretty low
> down on the scale of cost - I looked at some that were £1000+, thats way
> out
> of my league.
>
> I think I might buy the one from Nevada, they supply a solar panel and
> rechargeables for the sensor, along with a touch screen control -
> http://tinyurl.com/c5xyqm6
>
> 73 de M0XDF
>
>
> On 16 Dec 2011, at 19:02, John Lemay wrote:
>
> > Did you get enough replies to form a conclusion ?
>
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