Home Weather Station?

[jyl]

I am interested in one of those home weather stations that shows the temp, humidity, barometric rising/falling, windspeed, rainfall, dew point, etc. No real reason, just seems like might be a fun/interesting thing. Don't want to spend more than $100-200 on what is probably just going to be a diversion.

Was browsing website of OregonScientific who sell such things.

Anyone ever have one? Do they work? Are they actually interesting? Recommend a model?

[Moneyguy1]

I saw this in a novelty shop years ago:

A rock attached to a string.

"Instructions: Hang in an open area of your yard.

If the rock is warm, it is sunny

If the rock is wet, it is raining

If the rock is swaying, it is breezy

If the rock is missing.....head for the storm cellar"

[Joeaksa]

John,

Like you I have thought for years about getting one of these. In the end the ones I wanted were just a tad bit expensive and these days you can get the same information off of the internet for free.

Still, everytime I walk by the section in Fry's with the weather stations I stop and take a look...

[M.D. Holloway]

I gave one of those to my Dad one year. It sits on his counter. He never activated it. He just likes the look of it I think.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by LubeMaster77

I gave one of those to my Dad one year. It sits on his counter. He never activated it. He just likes the look of it I think.

As long as he is happy with it, thats just fine in my book. Next time you go by the house at least you could plug it in and try to set it up.

[M.D. Holloway]

I did that once at his other place. He moved to new digs and put it out. I'm not sosure he really cares that it works or not. Impossable man to buy for. My brother get him all kinds of things that never really find there way out of a box. We learned long ago that he likes college sweatshirts and ball caps. His neighbors must think he has a zillion kids and grand kids that attended all sorts of schools!

[Porsche virgin]

I have one. Well, OK, I have three. I admit it, I'm a weather geek. I have one large receiver and two small ones, with three sender stations (outside, in our all-window sunroom, and in the basement). They work well, but if you want one with wind speed and direction, and rainfall, you are going to have to pony up way more than $100. Also, I think dew point is a little to challenging for a home device to calculate (although it is a WAY more useful number than relative humidity, IMHO).

[stomachmonkey]

Have one. It's interesting. Wife checks it before dressing the kids, me, I just open the door and step outside.

The kids seem to like it. They check it every day as well.

[alf]

Get one of these. It actually gives you a real 3 day weather forecast, atomic time and all that good stuff...

http://www2.oregonscientific.com/shop/product.asp?cid=2&scid=130&pid=603

[jyl]

Hmm, tell me more?

What's interesting/useful in the info? What brand/model do you have. Features that you find more important?

I see there is also the Davis brand, which seems to be higher-end than the ORSci I initially found.

[alf]

I have the OSI one with the SPOT data. Use it daily to check weather and time, my kids love it too. Check out the link for more info, particularly if you are a weather geek, it has more info than I care to know.

I had a hand in making it so I am a little bit biased

[Porsche virgin]

I use it to check the temp in the morning before I leave the house.
I keep an eye on the low temps, so I know when to leave the faucet in the basement dripping.
I check the humidity in the house in the winter (awfully dry with forced hot air).
I can tell which rooms in the house are notably colder than the rest.
I use the atomic clock to set my watch and for the clocks in the house when the power goes out.

I have a La Crosse: http://www.lacrossetechnology.com/7391ud/index.php

[dhoward]

Have had one of these for 5 years...
http://www.weatherbuffs.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=l-ws-2310twc&Click=2&gclid=CNi437X-5pACFQp7PAodBxe-YA

Spits out to a web page...

[stevepaa]

I got one for my dad some 20 years ago. He loved it.

[fuelie600]

I have the WMR-968.

Worked fine for a year or so. Then the wind speed quit working. I thought it was the sensor and/or transmitter on the anemometer at first. Eventually, I did a full reset of the base station and the wind speed worked for about 3-4 hours. I'm guessing something else in the house is interfering with it. Now, 2 of the 3 cups are missing on the anemometer. Not worth the money to replace at oregon scientific prices. occasionally they show up on ebay.

Other minor complaints:
The rain gauge is slightly off when compared to an old fashioned cup type.
The back light on the touch screen can't be set to stay on. You have to touch it to read the screen.

[jyl]

Cool - I mentioned this idea to my wife and she thinks knowing the humidity and etc trends would help her know when is a good day for baking. Ha ha ha! She bakes maybe twice a year, but I'm not going to remind her of that.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by dhoward

Have had one of these for 5 years...
La Crosse WS-2310TWC Official Weather Station of The Weather Channel- Includes All Indoor & Outdoor Sensors

Spits out to a web page...

I'm finally getting more sensors for my system and I'm starting to get Weather Display setup the way I want. I still want to set it up to spit out a web page and set it up to log to a database.

Here's what I look at to get data.



I'm slowly building a 1-wire station. Part of the appeal for me is the project aspect. The ability to add a little extra over time, learn new stuff, tinker, etc....

I've currently got 3 temp sensors and a spare. I've got a humidity sensor and rain gauge on order. I want another humidity sensor, barometer and wind gauge (anemometer). There are other sensors that you can add/make after that. There are sensors that can tell you when a cloud passes overhead (day or night), there are solar radiation sensors, leaf wetness, ground moisture, snow depth, etc....

Just about anything you can imagine, folks have managed to build.

[Joeaksa]

Very nice. If I could find one that I could afford would get it. Have lusted after a weather station for years.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Joeaksa

Very nice. If I could find one that I could afford would get it. Have lusted after a weather station for years.

4 very popular models

$99
AAG01

$149
Oregon Scientific WMR100 (WMR100N) Professional Wireless Weather Station w/ Free Virtual Weather Station Software

$199
Oregon Scientific WMR968 Wireless Weather Station with Free Virtual Weather Station

$299
Oregon Scientific WMR200A Wireless Solar Powered Professional Weather Station w/ Free Virtual Weather Station Software

$360
Davis Instruments 6250 Vantage Vue Wireless Weather Station

[Tim Walsh]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm finally getting more sensors for my system and I'm starting to get Weather Display setup the way I want. I still want to set it up to spit out a web page and set it up to log to a database.

Here's what I look at to get data.



I'm slowly building a 1-wire station. Part of the appeal for me is the project aspect. The ability to add a little extra over time, learn new stuff, tinker, etc....

I've currently got 3 temp sensors and a spare. I've got a humidity sensor and rain gauge on order. I want another humidity sensor, barometer and wind gauge (anemometer). There are other sensors that you can add/make after that. There are sensors that can tell you when a cloud passes overhead (day or night), there are solar radiation sensors, leaf wetness, ground moisture, snow depth, etc....

Just about anything you can imagine, folks have managed to build.

I'm looking to do the same thing, and for the project aspect as much as the final result. I take it you're looking at this: Hobby Boards : Complete 1wire Solutions ??

Also look at sparkfun.com They've got lots of goodies as well for nearly any electronics project.