I went through a major flooding rain event last Friday thanks to the remnants of Ivan.
I had this problem once before (during the remnants of Charlie or Frances) where WD was not keeping up with the console (WS-2310) during heavy rainfall. The temperatures and all other parameters keep up very nicely. I am now running the station wired, and also have WD set to being used wired.
I have quite a few people watching my station in an event like this - also the local emergency management watch my station closely. We had a major flooding event in our County (5.8" rain in 18 hours). As the rain event progressed, my rain total reading in WD progressively got behind. For example, when the WS-2310 console was showing 4.2", WD was around 3.4". As the night went on, WD fell more and more behind. It stopped raining around 3:00am while I was sleeping. When I first looked early the next morning, WD had finally caught up. During this event, it was very important that my web page be kept up to date with rainfall amounts so people know how to react.
So…my dilemma. I am seriously considering upgrading to the Vantage Pro. It is quite a major purchase for me right now, but am willing to do it to get a good station.
My question - will the data polling for the Vantage Pro be improved with WD? Will I see the Vantage Pro rainfall rate and totals reflect right away in WD?
My question - will the data polling for the Vantage Pro be improved with WD? Will I see the Vantage Pro rainfall rate and totals reflect right away in WD?
yes
(although the VP is not the fastest station for reporting rain tips, but it wil be much better)
but, also, though, i could increase the polling rate for the rain in wd for the ws2310
(which should be every 30 second or so, which does not explain why it takes hours for the rain to catch up!)
now that you are wired, did you untick wireless in the weather station setup?
i checked the code in WD
and wd should be polling the rain data every 30 secconds or so
i dont know why your rain readings in wd fall so far behind
i have a ws2310 users not far from me
and i have not seen problems with the rain in wd, and he has not reported any problems
maybe its something in the console? (i.e a hardware thing…i.e for the slow data updating)?
who knows
I suppose it very well could be a hardware issue - the Lacrosse units have had their problems so I’ve heard.
Please don’t change anything in WD on my account - especially if others aren’t reporting these problems.
I just want to be sure that I won’t have this issue with a Vantage Pro - a lot of money and want to be sure I won’t have these issues!
you had to ask. Being wireless, it has its advantage. You can put it almost anywhere and with luck it works just fine.
now “luck” you have to deal with RF interference. The output of the ISS transmitter is about 1mw. not much . Alsothe location of the console is a bear to find the optimum location, but you do get an advantage. You can add external units, like if your main unit is on the ground , and you want to put the anemometer up on the roof, tree, etc, you do have 40 feet of cable, but if it is farther than 40 feet, there is a wireless anenometer transmitter for that issue. Then ifyou want soil or leaf wetness information, the wireless unit is the way to go. The wired doen’t provide any of that.
Wired, no interference question, but you do have to run wire from where your console is to the outside unit. If that is not a problem then that is the way to go. You won’t be able to use the other above sensors, but that isn’t too bad of an issue. You do get 40 feet of anenometer cable with the unit.
AND you have with both units to decide ifyou want solar/uv sensors and of course the FARS kit if you are particular about your outside temperature readings.
Either way, you do get Davis backing. They are a good company who wants you to be happy. Good support is important here.
So which one? If cable isn’t an issue , then go with that. You get better reception , IF you need a wireless unit go with that.
ENJOY ! and of course with either unit you will need the extra datalogger which is optional, but costs about 165$US. You can’t work around it . IF you expect to use the computer and WD.
WD is the best software to use. The Davis Datalogger for the VP comes with Weatherlink and its nice to have it on board , but not necessary. I use it to set my console at times , generates some things WD doesn’t but Brian has always tried to add those things I want. Go with the WD.
Have I confused you yet :?:
Thanks for the run down.
I’ve been reading everything I can find about this subject for months. I did buy the WS-2310 a couple months ago, and kind of knew better when I did it…Now I do know better.
I am leaning toward the cabled unit. I have a nice conduit run going outside already (2 satellite dishes with extra LNB’s - total of 5 cables so far). I have a place in mind for the ISS already - about 60’ to 70’ from my computer room - also one exterior and one interior wall to go through. Makes me a little leary going wireless this way. I definitely don’t want to fiddle with the wireless reception.
I’m not really interested in adding any other sensors at this time.
Also, being that our rainfall is so important here, I am probably going to opt for the rain collector heater. With the heater, I’ll have to run a line to the ISS anyway.
One question does come to mind about the cabled version -
Usually with weather events here in the boonies, the power goes out - will the cabled version run for a long time on the console batteries?
Davis claims it will. I added one of those UPS units like I have on my computer to the power for my Console and it gives me some more time.
a reference is http://www.davisnet.com/product_documents/weather/manuals/iss2_manual.pdf
a lot of the above is for the wireless, but no mention of batteries. The batteries are for the ocnsole and last for me at least 6 or so months. I use the aC Adapter. I think the use of the UPS would work out in a powr outage, depending on how long it will run.
I would write or call Davis and ask for tech support. They are Pacific time (california) and are nice. :roll:
The maximum rainfall a Davis will record is 385.1mm / hour. This gets back to wd with no problems.
Wireless is very quick to install, but can sometimes be troubled by radio interference.
In real situations, don’t expect to get the quoted operational range. Walls soon reduce the range, but should this be a problem, you can always add a repeater.
I’ve only owned a Davis, so I can’t comment on the others, but mine has been bullet proof (apart from spiders tying up the rain collector!)
