Manager


Manager - NA4M
Manager Notes

Reviews For: Davis Vantage VUE

Category: Weather Stations

eMail Subscription

Registered users are allowed to subscribe to specific review topics and receive eMail notifications when new reviews are posted.
Review Summary For : Davis Vantage VUE
Reviews: 40MSRP: $350
Description:
Davis' wireless Vantage Vue weather station combines Davis' accuracy and durability into a compact station that's easy to set up and use. Perfect for home, school, or business.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.davisnet.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00404
K6AAI Rating: 2020-04-23
Poor software engineering Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The weather station console was blinking at me with a 'low battery" message because there were no C batteries in it even though I was running it on AC (wall/mains) power?

I called the Davis company (they are in Hayward, CA) and they apologized and said there is no way to turn this blinking off. ("Brilliant software engineering, you dummies," I thought to myself, but I didn't say anything.)

I had two C batteries but the thing requires three of them.

I went online and looked for a hack (because that is what hams do!) and sure enough I found several videos on how to turn a AA battery into a C. The batteries are actually the same length, (and voltage) but the C is simply much wider in diameter.

It took maybe five minutes to do the 'conversion.'

If you are interested, here is how to do it:

https://www.google.com/search?q=alternative+for+c+battery&oq=alternative+for+c+battery&aqs=chrome..69i57.6772j0j1&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Of course it would not last as long as a C but since I'm not running on battery power, it should work for quite a long time... or at least until I can get to the store to buy another C battery!

Other than that, the unit runs ok and its data is very close to or congruent with other sources of weather info in my area.

Personally, for what this unit cost, it should have a more interactive screen, perhaps by touch and in color (if running on mains power.) As a software engineer I know this is old technology... it reminds me more to the old Palm Pilot devices than modern cell phone technology. I think they need to up their game for the price they charge.
WA9AFM Rating: 2019-03-11
A Real Trooper Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had my Vantage Vue since 2007. It's not a professional level weather instrument and I had no expectations of it being one. I use it to feed weather conditions to the CWOP and APRS.

About every two years, I change out the 3v lithium battery and clean off the solar panel window. Otherwise, no maintenance required.

This past spring, we had a line of severe thunderstorms go through east Oklahoma County. The tripod the ISS is mounted on blew over in the high winds and the ISS went underwater for about 45 minutes in a drainage flume.

I recovered the ISS, opened the case to let it dry a bit and reinstalled the battery; the display came up on the console absent the humidity reading.

I called Davis tech support. They were amazed it was producing any data. Their suggestion was to leave the ISS out of its' case for about 24-36 hours and see what happens. I followed that advice and the next morning, the humidity reading was back on the console!

The only physical damage to the ISS was the anemometer cup. Ordered a new one, replace the broken one and the unit is back in business.


----------------------
Earlier 0-star review posted by WA9AFM on 2013-04-19

The APRS weather interface has apparently failed. Can't get squat out of 'customer service'. Tried new cable, moved USB ports, nada!
Avoid!
KG5WY Rating: 2019-03-11
This system is not quite as advertised. Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought the system and put it through the tests using known accurate standards.
I compared temperatures, humidity, rain accumulations, etc.
I could not measure the wind velocity because of not having another standard.
Relative humidity varies from location to location and is always changing so it wasn’t important to me.
Temperature was compared with a known standard and I had to adjust the console slightly to agree with my standard.
Rain accumulation was a real problem. I used a very accurate standard (The Stratus professional rain gauge) as recommended by as Davis Instruments support person. I kept recalibrating the console to agree with the Stratus rain gauge. The gauge was put directly next to the Vantage Vue ISS and readings were taken only with straight down periods of (no wind) rain. For a long while I believed the console was giving me bad readings. However, this could not be true because once set with a particular calibration number, it could not change. I then considered the method of rain collection in the Vantage Vue. It uses a mechanical tipping spoon. When a certain amount of rain fills the spoon, it tips and dumps the rain, then comes back level for more water. I wondered how fast the tipping spoon could react to a heavy downpour? I sent my last email to Davis Support and received the reply I suspected. “Under heavy rain it will under report”. The mechanical tipping spoon cannot react fast enough to fast water through the funnel.
When I thought it was not reporting enough rain, I would adjust the console. Then when the rain was light, the console would over report, because I had compensated for the heavy rain on the last rainfall.
Back and forth until gave up on believing the Vantage Vue was accurate.
KD8BQN Rating: 2019-02-03
Dependable with some issues Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this at my house in CO for about 2 years now. It has been a very reliable weather station, recording temperatures that are very accurate, usually within reason compared to the airport. For me, wind speed has been a struggle. I cannot easily get the ISS high enough to register winds from all directions, so I only get accurate speeds with northerly or southerly winds. The other directions are blocked by trees. Frustrating, but not a flaw with the equipment.

However, I have been expanding my shack and have been running in to some RFI issues with the sensor suite. The issue I've had repeatedly is that the unit will register outrageous wind speeds when subjected to an RF field. I'm talking over 200MPH readings from a 100W transmitter. Granted, I'm feeding a 2 element beam within 15 ft of the ISS, and have had no problems with my inverted L that is much farther away.

However, I believe that I have fixed the issue. After removing the white cover (4 phillips screws) and covering all wires and electronic components with aluminum foil and by lining the white cover (except antenna area) with aluminum foil, I have been unable to repeat the problem. I have tried over and over again to duplicate the issue after the tin foil modification and think I've got it licked. It only took about 20 minutes total, and most of that was me fiddling around to get it off the roof.

It is a little frustrating to spend so much $ on something an then have to modify it, but I recently helped a friend install a "similar" unit by LaCrosse. It felt flimsy, cheap and was a bit of a pain to set up. It was not set up for installation on a mast, and I have a feeling that the 4 AA alkaline batteries it uses will die quickly. Just a feeling. For the record, I'm still using the original battery 2 years later.

Food for thought. Works well, minimal effort to set up, but I ran in to RFI issues. Seemed to be more sensitive on 10m than 20m, and really didn't like when I blasted it with a 6m carrier.
W3HKK Rating: 2018-01-16
still ticking 8 yrs later Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Well its still working, some 3 years after my last review and nearly 7 yrs since purchase.

Took it down to clean it and broke off one of the three anemometer cups- nearly $30 for three new cups Not sure how much the wind speed accuracy is affected by just two cups.

The display unit (receiver) still looks good and works 100%.
WA7AXT Rating: 2017-02-02
Davis Vantage VUE weather station Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This weather station has been set up here for 3 years. It works exactly as described in the manual. Hooking it up to the computer required purchasing an interface for about 50 dollars. The computer hook up is easy the instructions are clear and easy to follow. The cable from the console to the computer needed 2 toroids to keep rf out of the system. The lithium battery has been changed twice in 3 years, most recently today, Feb. 2, 2017.

Maintenance is a must on this weather station. Clean it out at least twice a year (depending on your location). We are deep in the forest and must clean it out every month or so, but most people will not have this issue.

We are hooked up to Weatherunderground through the internet:
https://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=KWASNOHO107#history

That hookup was relatively easy also.

If you are going to put this up on a tower, be prepared to climb up and service it periodically.
Know that when you change the lithium battery, the "low battery transmitter" message will go away on its own in 24 to 48 hours, providing your equipment is functioning properly. The battery in this unit was at 2.70 volts when it triggered the low battery message.

Dave
WA7AXT
KC9LGS Rating: 2016-02-13
Hidden cost. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Want to connect to your computer? Well Davis charges a premium. To get a USB "hook up" 6510 USB module they want an additional 120.00 to 130.00 on the web. It's living back in the yesteryear mentality to keep such a basic component out of the box. This is the era of IoT not back in the day of 1970's DEC, IBM and Wang computers. I can't fathom any modern day vendor leaving out the basic computer interface.
K7AAT Rating: 2016-02-02
Fntastic customer service Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have not posted a review of my VantageVue weather station in over 5 1/2 years, so here is my follow up. It is still going strong - albeit with a couple repairs along the way. I live on the Oregon coast and the Winter Weather along with constant salt spray are hard on outside electronics. I did have to send my station off to Davis last year - for $112. they did a complete refurbish, which in my case apparently included replacing 'most' of the internal sensor boards. Just a few days ago my station did go off line. A quick call to customer support revealed I probably had my sensor transmitter package 'lock up' due to my ham radio transmissions..... first time ever that this has happened. I am really glad to see K1FSY's previous report on this issue. I have a can of RFI shield spray paint on order.
I cannot say enough positives about Davis customer support. They are superb.... often helping me diagnose various issues and even sending me needed parts.... pro gratis.
Very much appreciated. This is probably the finest consumer rated weather station available - along with the company backing it.
N2NJY Rating: 2016-01-05
Disappointing Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After having my Davis Vantage Pro for over 10 years before it failed, I decide to replace it with a new Vantage Vue. After just one year I began to have issues with the outdoor temperature and humidity not registering on the console. This is apparently an issue some ISS units exhibit after time. I replaced the ISS and now I'm having issues with the dreaded "LOW TRANSMITTER BATTERY". I replaced the battery with a new one only to have the message re-appear after just 4 months. So it's either the solar panel not functioning, or a failure of the "SUPER CAP". Also, if you're transmitting on HF, the wind speed will jump to anywhere between 50 and 100mph. Another annoyance I never experienced with my VP. I think it's time for a different type of weather station.
W6LBV Rating: 2015-01-23
ADDENDUM Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is an addendum to my original review, below.

In the seven months since I installed my Vantage VUE, I’ve had one small failure and it has occurred at least twice.

After noticing on the display console that the anemometer had not registered any wind speed reading greater than “zero knots” for several days, I visually checked the anemometer cups from the ground. Even in a moderate breeze they were not rotating. However, there was no problem with the separate directional wind vane below the cups, which was rotating and indicating on the console normally.

For me access to the roof is not difficult, and I went up to examine the transducer package. Tapping the cups very lightly with a broom handle, I found that they were indeed frozen. Then I pushed on them slightly harder with the handle and they “broke free” and began rotating normally in the breeze. After that, the anemometer was problem-free again for several months.

Apparently something is causing the rotating anemometer shaft to bind. This might be a small insect trying to make a home inside the bearings, or dust and grit falling from the air into the bearings. Or it may just be a zero-time defect in these particular bearings. More time will be needed to discover the cause.

Consider this failure mode possibility when you pick a location to mount a Vantage VUE transducer package.