Weather station

spud17

I'm looking for a basic weather station.

Budget is up to £100, requirements are max/min temperature and rainfall.

It doesn't have to have loads of features.

The ability to connect to a pc to download stored data would also be welcome.

From looking around MSE, I've seen the following mentioned and would be interested in what folks think about them.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/WATSON-W-8681-WEATHER-STATION--WIRELESS/dp/9792286802/ref=sr_1_17?ie=UTF8&qid=1388228347&sr=8-17&keywords=weather+station

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ventus-W155-Weather-Station-Black/dp/B00142RXI0

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/black-usb-wireless-touchscreen-weather-forecaster-n96gy

Thanks.

kwikbreaks

The Maplin and Watson ones are both rebadged Fine Offset units. The software that comes with them is abysmal but they work with the excellent Cumulus freeware program.

I produced this write up on one version several years ago. I replaced it with a slightly different version later. There are quite a few pages on the site dedicated to these and the sensors as well as the initial review. Maplin sometimes have replacement parts in stock at reasonable prices which is handy.

Maplin often have theirs on special offer which makes the price quite attractive. They also show up on eBay frequently.

spud17

kwikbreaks wrote: »

The Maplin and Watson ones are both rebadged Fine Offset units. The software that comes with them is abysmal but they work with the excellent Cumulus freeware program.

I produced this write up on one version several years ago. I replaced it with a slightly different version later. There are quite a few pages on the site dedicated to these and the sensors as well as the initial review. Maplin sometimes have replacement parts in stock at reasonable prices which is handy.

Maplin often have theirs on special offer which makes the price quite attractive. They also show up on eBay frequently.

Thanks, I knew there were some weather enthusiasts on here, I'll have a read of your write up.

I'd already seen about the re-badging, but not that the software was so bad.

I have a decent Maplin a couple of miles away with that model in stock.
The recent weather has finished off my external thermometer, so was thinking of getting something a bit more sophisticated.

p.s. 122mm rain so far this month, in a 'dry' part of Devon.

kwikbreaks

There are actually some variations between what look pretty much identical units. I don't consider the differences important unless you need replacement parts. The two variations I've had both use 868MHz and have a DCF clock receiver. Some variants have no atomic clock receiver and some run at 433MHz - it may be that those features are paired. Some have slight differences in the sensor connections too.

When I first saw mine I wasn't impressed but they do seem to be reasonably robust considering they are pretty cheap consumer units.

You'll need to use Easyweather for the initial setup but Cumulus is a lot more stable and looks better too imo.

spud17

Thanks kwikbreaks.

Cumulus does look good and will do pretty much everything by the looks of it.

Currently I record rainfall and temps manually on a simple spreadsheet.

The Maplin N96GY is my preferred choice, it's in stock nearby and for the availability of at least some spares.

I think I'm going for the above model unless anyone comes up with a better alternative.

But first I need to sort out random internet access which has suddenly appeared.

Mr_Toad

I'm also a user of the Fine Offset weather station. Mine is several years old now and despite being cheap it continues to function.

I use Weather Display for mine. There are versions for most operating systems but you have to pay for the Windows version. Even so it's excellent software and very well supported.

MoneyMate

I've had the Black USB Wireless Touchscreen Weather Forecaster (well similar Grey) for 2 years or so, nice unit, water measurement unit can get blocked by leaves/insects etc, but would recommend for a basic and reliable unit.

WTFH

A bit over budget, but I bought my wife an Oregon Scientific Anywhere Weather unti from Maplin for £149 (everywhere else was £199 for it. Temp, humidity, pressure, wind and rain, and it all hooks up so you can check the weather on your PC or smartphone from anywhere that you can get an Internet connection. I think it's the LW301

kwikbreaks

I thought I seen a recent Maplin offer on those - they are currently £99.99 - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/oregon-scientific-lw301-anywhere-weather-kit-n05qn and might be worth the extra if you want remote access and don't run a PC 24x7. Worth checking current software ratings though as the one on the Maplin site is a stinker.

spud17

kwikbreaks wrote: »

I thought I seen a recent Maplin offer on those - they are currently £99.99 - http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/oregon-scientific-lw301-anywhere-weather-kit-n05qn and might be worth the extra if you want remote access and don't run a PC 24x7. Worth checking current software ratings though as the one on the Maplin site is a stinker.

That seems to be the one that WTFH bought for his wife.

As you say, not a great review, also found more reviews for the LW301 on Amazon which are not exactly glowing.

I don't require remote access, although do have pc running 24/7.

I'm going for the N96gy from Maplin.

I've just checked and it seems that I could do click/collect via Topcash and get 4.2%, though not guaranteed.

kwikbreaks

I love cashback