17 replies to this topic

[TomIOW]

Complete novice, so don't want anything ridiculously expensive, what sort of things would you guys recommend/use yourself? Just want something to put in the back garden and have the data on my computer. Thanks!

[wimblettben]

What exactly is exspensive for you?

£50?
£100?
over £100?

I have a Watson W-8681 Weather Station which cost around £100 and it does fine for the price.

[evil monkey]

http://www.wsplc.com...er_Station.html

I have this (link above), quite good for the price (approx £80) though the touch screen stopped being touch sensitive after about a year & the temp.sensor can read a little high in direct sunshine.

Basically you pay for quality- several hundred quid is entirely possible; though this station will connect to your PC I couldn't say whether the software would allow you to share your data...

Also you need to give careful thought to where you site your sensor array; the wind direction sensor needs to ideally above roof
height as otherwise it will be subject to ground turbulence.

Hope that's a help

[Hooverman]

Cheers Evil Monkey, Just answered what i was looking for.

I have a web domain just need this to be able to feed the data to. Xmas present hopefully, link being emailed to the missus now.

[TomIOW]

Thanks very much guys appreciate the info!!!

[Hooverman]

HI Guys,

went ahead and sent the missus the link and hey presto last weekend santa came early !!!!

A Watson W8681 Weather Station

Its all set up and sending to the web, please see my link on my signature, this is only the start. i hope to get something a little bit
more substantial but a lot of my friends have said it looks great.

What do you think?

[Verglas]

same here, W8681 from wsplc, results show below using 'cumulus' rather than the supplied s/w

the only problem I have had was the bearing on the wind vane but a replacement unit was readily available and wasn't expensive, the actual bearing would be pretty easy to replace anyway, just a push fit.
I have also put a bigger tail on it to stop flywheeling and balanced it up with an extra metal rod in the nose.
now due some new batteries I expect, as it's about 2yrs old

[geordiekev]

Your site is looking good hooverman, I got a budget watson wh1080 from maplins for abut £50 during an offer that was running and 12 months on with the same batteries it is still going.

I live in an old 1880 house with lots of thick walls and it was the only one I found where the signal penetrated 3 walls from the rear garden to the very front of the house where my pc sits. For a beginner on a small budget it is definitely worth a look.

[Hooverman]

Thanks GeordieKev

[lizmartin1981]

I was just coming on to do a similar post, I am upgrading my station and not sure what to get! The one I have atm can't hook up to the laptop which I really want so I can get a website sorted. I am looking at about £150 budget and would prefer wireless hook up to the pc. Would the W8681 be the best to get?

[katemart]

"Rain Gauge (Self-Emptying)"

LOL! And I thought all you guys had Stevenson's boxes in your gardens...

[Saintpeter]

Im looking for a station that shows dew point and wet bulb aswell as the main ones. Does the one mentioned above do this. I did check the link but didnt fond what i was lOokong for.

[TonyH]

Bought a couple of these just.

http://www.lidl.co.u...index_27035.htm

One for me and one for a Christmas present. The trial is going well it is accurate with rain, and tips each 0.3mm. Sends several times a minute so better at catching wind gusts than my WS2300. Main drawback is that the temperature sensor is housed with the wind gauge (which is best sited in the open) and so is affected by sunshine and rendered pretty useless for day time readings.
Another good point is that it can store rain history for up to 6 months, although it cannot be connected to a computer (that will suit Dad as he can't be bothered with all that!). Still an excellent purchase for £50.

Edited by TonyH, 18 December 2011 - 16:33 .

[Verglas]

just found the picture I took of the mod I did on my W8681 wind vane to stop it spinning so wildly in light breezes, I have since put a metal rod in the nose to balance it up
The material used was cut from food packaging, folded double, stuck to the tail with double-sided tape and a staple or two to hold it folded. Results are much more stable than the original was

Attached Thumbnails

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Edited by Verglas, 18 December 2011 - 17:25 .

[Mike Storm]

This I have recently installed on my chimney... very nice

http://www.vantagevue.com/

[TonyH]

The problem being that you compromise the temperature and rainfall for more accurate wind readings.

[mardatha]

I would like to get my husband something because he's bored -newly retired- can you still get barometers?

[Konstantinos]

I have 100 Euros = 84 British pounds. I want a weather station which I will see its information in my computer. So, I want only the external wireless equipment (which I will put outside of my house) and a cd to install it in windows or linux. What is your suggestion? Thank you.