Looking for recommendations to replace an OS WMR-968 Weather station

gellenb · 29 December 2015 20:19

I currently have a WMR-968 wireless weather station that I need to look at replacing. I’ve had it since 2006, and have dealt with it’s problems. Now I’m tired of repairing it and I’m looking for a replacement. Now the outdoor temperature is no longer accurate all the time, and if it wasn’t for having to repair the humidity sensor every two years or so, it would be exactly what I would want. I’ve looked around at a few, including Davis, but none seem to meet what I am looking for.

Here is what I am trying to find:

Wireless, preferably solar.
Not a “All In One” station. I prefer separate sensors that I can replace and mount separately.
Multiple additional temperature sensors, at least two. (I use those with Weather Display to monitor and notify me if there are temperature issues in my greenhouse, and storage freezer.)
Must work with Weather Display!
Must be reliable with good customer service when needed. Unlike Oregon Scientific where service and quality stops before you buy it.

So any recommendations on the perfect, or close to perfect replacement station would be appreciated. I probably won’t replace it till spring comes back, so if you know of something new coming to market, let me know. Thanks in advance!

ALITTLEweird1 · 29 December 2015 20:39

Not sure what your budget is, but what about a Davis VP2 Wireless Vantage Pro2 Weather Station with Standard Radiation Shield and WeatherLink Console by Davis Instruments

They come wireless or wired and the sensors can be mounted separately.

windy2 · 29 December 2015 21:59

I always recommend Davis

nikoshepherd · 29 December 2015 22:14

@gellenb: Why don’t you think Davis meets the criteria?

gellenb · 29 December 2015 23:31

When I was looking at the Davis, they all appeared to be what I call “All in One” units, and when I look at the sensors listed, there were no additional temp sensors. They listed a couple like soil, UV, and the anemometer. I’m guessing the listed anemometer under sensors was for a replacement if that got broke. But then there were no listings for say the temp/humidity, rain. So in a '“all in one”, I’d have to replace the whole thing if the temp sensor goes bad. I just went back to the last one I looked at, and it was the Vantage Pro. No additional temp sensors listed there, or under installation options.

nikoshepherd · 29 December 2015 23:56

The Vantage Vue is a one piece with very limited expansion possibilities, but the Vantage Pro 2 is very easily expanded.

It’s misleading that they always show the Vantage Pro 2 anemometer mounted together with the raingauge/temp/hum (ISS) unit, it actually comes with a 40’ (?) cable and can be extended to 100’, so you can mount the ISS at the optimum height and the anemometer much higher. If you need the anemometer even further separated you can use the anemometer transmitter module to remote it. Also it’s confusing that the davisnet.com site lists the accessory temp units separately as “Stations” under Wireless Temp Station, Wireless Temp/Hum, and (best value IMHO) Wireless Leaf & Soil Moisture/Temperature Station.

Don’t ever pay Davis retail prices, there are plenty of reliable online sources selling below retail

gellenb · 3 January 2016 00:23

Thanks for the info, and especially on the “Stations”. That makes a difference, as every time I saw “station” …thought that is not what I want, I want sensors. And yes, I’ve seen the prices from one extreme to another, so I will shop around.

From what I figured out so far, I would need the Wireless Vantage Pro2

nikoshepherd · 3 January 2016 01:41

Unfortunately you do need to purchase the datalogger which is also the PC interface. Davis only bundles it with their weatherlink software, so consider the software as a freebie Alternatively there are some 3rd party manufactured loggers which are less expensive. Since you are buying a whole new system I guess I would pay the extra for the Davis weatherlink package, since the software is convenient for initial setup and it will be easier to deal with Davis if you have any support issues/questions.

I think the combination you suggest is OK, but I’ll check it out later.

Skywatch · 4 January 2016 15:11

Here’s a good source, https://www.scaledinstruments.com/discount-price-list/

gellenb · 16 January 2016 16:29

Thanks for the information on the Davis. I think I have everything worked out, and will buy from the link provided above. They seem to have the best pricing, but then I didn’t take a lot of time looking around.
Just two more questions.
Is the changeover in WeatherDisplay as simple as changing the station type? I’m assuming I would have to redefine my extra temp sensors, but would all the basics stay?
Can I setup an Alarm on the console if one of the additional temp sensors reports a temp to hi or low? (Greenhouse). I know I can setup messages in WeatherDisplay, and I have those now. Just like the Alarm from the console to wake me if if say the heat doesn’t come on in the greenhouse and the temp start to drop too low.

Thanks

windy2 · 16 January 2016 20:04

yes, the change in station type in WD should be relatively straight forward
(restart afterwards maybe)
note the barometer offset…if you had one…remove that

gellenb · 24 April 2016 16:42

First, let me say thanks to all that provided information on this change. I did purchase the Davis Vantage Pro 2 unit, and it’s been running by itself for probably for about 2

gellenb · 24 April 2016 17:48

Update…
Just went and reinstalled WD, and now data appears. Data is coming up now. So it’s running, just need to go and check everything out, but it appears to be fine.

windy2 · 24 April 2016 19:06

Hi
when you say you re installed, what steps did you take?
one thing that often happens is people have a baro offset set with the WMR968 station that is not needed with the Davis station

gellenb · 24 April 2016 23:25

All I did was run the last update wdisplay32.exe that I had downloaded at the end of the year (26 December)…maybe version 10.37 - r- something. Then when I started it up again, data started to appear like it should. Prior to that doing that, the data received indicator in WD was flashing green, however all the fields stayed blank, no weather data.

Since that I’ve updated to the most current version, all still working, looks mostly fine now. I’ve just noticed that my TED data on the screen is all 0’s. The xml file from the TED device does show updating values, so I’ll have to look into that. That’s not something I look at every day, so that may have been broken before I started. Otherwise, the only thing I have left to do is update my custom screen with the extra sensors, removing the old %wmr918/68extratemp3%…etc and set the new ones for the Davis.

gellenb · 25 April 2016 20:17

A few more transition issues have come up. The first is with The Energy Detective (TED). I have checked TED, and the xml file does come across with values, however they show as “0”'s. I had used the %tedkwh% and %teddollars% for my custom labels, which came from the tagslist.txt When I look at the settings in WD, under Setup, Advanced/Misc settings, and then the tab Energy Detective (TED) Current Cost, it states to use extra temp 7, 8, & 9. Which ones are correct? TED is enabled, port 80, and the url is correct, and updated data is coming back. When I click on Test, all values stay at “0”. In the programerrorlog.txt it records an error: TED access error 151: HTTP protocol error. 404 Not Found. From the log, these errors started after the change over. I’ve also copied/pasted the url from WD over to Firefox, and the file comes up. What should I check next.

The second issue is that my reporting to Weatherunderground is now showing a value for Soil Moisture. I’m using the Vantage Pro 2, and didn’t order that sensor. In WD, under Control Panel, Station Type and Settings, under the Davis tab, I have the Davis Vantage Pro/Plus/6161/50/vp2/Vue selected as the station. In the section Davis VP/VP2/Vue settings, there is no checkmark in the “I have Soil Moisture” Only items checked are the “Rev B data logger (default)”, “I have extra temperature sensors”, and “Force barometer update every minutes (default)”. All other checkboxes are clear.

And the last issue I have is with my additional temp sensors, and this gets a bit confusing.
On the Davis display, my temp only sensor shows as #2. When I use 2 in the label, it shows the temp from my other sensor. If I change the label to use “1” (%extratemp1%) it shows the correct temp/sensor. So this works, just not sure if that was the way it should be.

My other sensor is a temp/humidity sensor. On the Davis display, it shows as Temp & Humidity #3. Same issue as above. If I, substitute the “3” with a “2” I can get my temp, but not my humidity. Humidity is being reported at 27% on the Davis console, but in WD it shows 255. If I use either %VPextrahum2% or %VPextrahum3% they both show as 255.

I’ll continue to work at this, and I’ll update if I find anything. Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

windy2 · 25 April 2016 20:57

re the TED
you should see under view, debug info, what url its trying to access
do you have ticked the 5000 type?
the extra temp 7 8 9 means for each of the 3 different values returned, thats the extra data they get assigend to…its not a choice you make

re wunderground, if no soil moisture then the raw data should be 255 and then WD will not send soil moisture
what is your raw data value?
(eg under view,davis extra sensor info)

gellenb · 25 April 2016 23:56

OK, here is the TED url from the debug:
TED power accessing http://172.16.0.20/api/LiveData.xml:80/api/LiveData.xml
You will see that doesn’t match what the setup screen shows… I’ve taken the url and changed it to the ip address alone in the setup, and it now works again. I hit test, data appears, and then it updates on the WD screen now also as %tedkwh% and %teddollars%. Take a look at the screen I sent. I’m on version 10.37S8. Is that the way it should look where it shows to use the url, not just the ip address? I can’t help but wonder if something over all these years didn’t update properly, and that’s why I’m having these issues.

On the View-Davis-Extra sensors, (image attached) it shows —. Is there a place to set that raw data number or reset it?