| W9NLP |
Rating:     |
2004-11-08 | |
| Works good |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
Once the defective ISS board was replaced and installed, everything has worked fine. Unit is mounted at 40', and has handled Wisconsin winters for 4 years now without a problem.
Used an earlier Peet Brothers station, but got tired of replacing reed switches and anemometer cups. The Davis unit is far superior. |
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| ITZJUSTME |
Rating:     |
2004-10-17 | |
| Almost Perfect |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I just got my weather station, plan on getting the Weatherlink soon, and the system is ALMOST perfect. The sensors seem very accurate, it has a nice looking console, very up-to-date looking, but the problem lies with the wireless connection. I couldn't say the console and ISS are even more than 75 feet apart, but the connection is, nicely said, just not very good. Sometimes it can be perfect, then other times it won't work at all! My house has concrete outer walls which might lie as part of the problem, but it should still go further than it is going. Other than this, I am very pleased with the station. |
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| ROB_MD |
Rating:      |
2004-05-15 | |
| Great Product |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| The product has worked smoothly since installation 6 months ago. The only downside (a minor one) is the lengthly assembly process. Have also added Weatherlink and a Soil Temp/Moisture station. I would recommend the product without hesitation. |
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| KC8TEP |
Rating:      |
2004-05-06 | |
| Totally satisfied |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I have had my Vantage Pro Wireless for a little over a year now, have not had any problems and the system works great.
I have a house with aluminum siding; the transmitter is near ground level, on the opposite side of the house from the receiver. No problems with reception.
The anemometer is on a chimney-mounted mast along with my VHF antenna, the rain gauge/sensors/transmitter unit is on a mailbox post in the back yard. It's easy to extend the wire connecting the two, it's just regular RJ-11 flat phone cord.
I did a lot of homework before choosing this model and still think I made the best choice.
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| WE8Q |
Rating:      |
2004-02-28 | |
| Great Product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have had the Davis Vantage Pro (wireless) for two months now. The remote is mounted on my second story roof about 40 feet from the inside unit which is in the shack sitting next to my Drake L-75 amplifier. I operate 160-2 meters. My dipoles run within ten feet of the remote sensor. I have had no problems with RF getting into the Davis and have not had any RFI from the Davis. I highly recommend this unit for the weather enthusiast. |
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| W2MSK |
Rating:    |
2003-12-10 | |
| Weak wireless signal |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I purchased a Vantage Pro Wireless station and had a great deal of trouble receiving a signal approximately 40 feet from the transmitter. After spending much time with Davis tech support, who were helpfull, they suggested a repeater accessory. I ordered that and no effect! After further discussions I was told that the signal will not penetrate aluminum sided houses. Well, a good number of homes in the northeast are sided and I thought that was a poor excuse. The signal strength spec is less than 1 mw at 916.5mhz. Not sure what is the maximum allowed by the FCC (100mw?) at that freq. but it needs way more power. I guess if you have direct line of sight close to the transmitter you may be ok but if you need to place the receiver inside a sided home and above the transmitter, regardless of distance, think twice and purchase the cabled unit. I returned the wireless for the cabled version and all is now 100%. In addition, I did have a failure of the temp/barometer module within the first 20 days and Davis replaced that without question. Good customer support but a poor and anemic wireless design. |
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| W4KRR |
Rating:      |
2003-07-12 | |
| Works well, good customer support |
Time Owned: more than 12 months. |
I purchased the Vantage Pro wireless station in late 2001. A little over a year later, It started to act strange, like constantly losing the signal, showing very high amounts of rainfall even on rainless days. Then the ISS battery went dead. I contacted Davis, and after explaining all the problems I was having, they said there was a retrofit kit for the ISS. They said after I install it, just return the old one in the shipping box. They even sent me a free replacement battery. All this and my unit wasn't even under warranty anymore!
The new ISS kit includes new temp. and humidity sensors and circuit board assembly. It is a different design than the old one; when re assembled you only have to remove the hinged bottom cover to access the battery, no disassembely needed.
It now works great again, no problems. All it cost me was the price to ship the old parts back to them, a small price to pay considering it was out of warranty, and, in essance, I got a new ISS unit along with new temp and humidity sensors. However, I see that some others have not had a good experience with Davis like I did. |
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| PHANTOM |
Rating:      |
2003-06-28 | |
| excellent product |
Time Owned: 0 to 3 months. |
| I have found this station to be excellent in every respect. Easy-to-follow instructions, quick installation, and the console is easy to read and operate. I have checked the accuracy of the unit with other instruments in my home (barometer, rain gauge, etc.), and with local weather instruments, and have found it to be extremely accurate. I am also impressed that the unit receives wind speed and direction signals every 2 1/2 seconds (as compared to other lower cost units)--this allows me to track wind gusts and wind variations easily. I also purchased the Weatherlink software and am impressed with how easy it is to install and use. I have thought about getting this unit for quite some time and have not regretted the decision. |
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| ZPAK |
Rating:     |
2003-04-16 | |
| Mediocre, Part 1 |
Time Owned: 6 to 12 months. |
Bought the vantage wireless pro for xmas in 2001. Had it for one year and the battery needed replacement. They told me to replace 3.5v battery and it costs $8.50. Lasted three days and the signal still lost. Called Davis and they said there is a retrofit for that unit. $275.00 or otherwise send the old sim back. Received retrofit..followed directions and on pg 7, sect.5 pt.4 , says to snip off the solar connector..called Davis after I did what it said
the tech support said I shouldn't have snipped off the end. Come to find out, after 1/2 hr. on the phone..there was an error in the direction, and it SHOULD NOT have said to cut off connector. Now he says send the entire retrofit back with the ISS and everything to the repair dept. I asked about the $30.00 shipping and boxing and insur. and he said to put a slip in the box requesting that the customer service reimburse me. Well, the unit went out today. Will let y'all know what happens..Look for mediocre part 2. |
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| CW0879 |
Rating:      |
2003-04-11 | |
| GREAT PRODUCT! |
Time Owned: 3 to 6 months. |
| I have nothing but great things to say about my Vantage Pro!! I selected it because it contains much more functionality/features than other stations that sell for twice as much (Texas Instruments, etc.). They didn't sacrifice quality to do this; my station has performed very well against other control instruments I've brought in from time to time and Davis is able to offer NIS certification. The display console is clear, well organized, intuitive to operate, and gives you full parameters (high, low, graph) for just about every variable. I use my station (a Vantage Pro Plus with an fan aspirated radiation shield) with a Weather Envoy and Weatherlink software (crappy Win 95' era graphics but infinitely customizable display/output) to upload APRS packets to APRSWXnet. The Vantage Pro has a very rugged look and feel compared to many other products (Oregon Scientific for example) and is clearly designed for a long life. Although you do have to disassemble the integrated sensor suite (ISS) to install the rechargeable batteries, its a relatively straightforward operation (from box to fencepost in a couple hours time). I've had no problems or issues in the four months I've owned my station. My experience with Davis' service department have been very positive. When I first bought my unit the console had a dud barometer circuit, not a good first impression. But, I called Davis and they immediately overnighted a new unit without requiring the defective unit be returned first. The unit has functioned perfectly since. In my other interactions with Davis staff (including a visit to their Hayward facility) it's clear that they believe in the product they are selling. Quite frankly, I'm very baffled by two of the other reviewers experiences described on this page. In my opinion this is the best home weather station that's out there, and its very competitive with other "professional" grade commercial or research stations. You won't regret this purchase! |
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