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
KK4FLI Rating: 2014-08-11
Humidity Senor failed twice in under 1.5 years. Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Had a Davis Vantage Vue for 1.5 years. In 7-8 months the Humidity sensor failed. It was fixed under warranty. 7-8 months later it happened again, so I contacted them and 4 hours of phone tag, they said they don't know what is happening and blamed me for it. I can't pay $125 every 7-8 months to get this thing fix.
K3ICH Rating: 2014-07-28
Super Cap NOT the Battery Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've had a few years experience with this unit. As I understand it, the "battery" problem is not a battery problem at all, but the failure of an internal Super-Capacitor and/or corrosion on the PC board near it. This info is prolific on the internet as well as step-by-step How-To fixes. The cap can be ordered from Mouser at under ten bucks.
WB9KPT Rating: 2014-07-26
Good System and Service Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I have had my system for just less than a year and it has worked well. I'm located at 7200 feet elevation in Evergreen, CO - so we get some cold and snowy winter weather.

The only issue with the system was the LED did not light up on the ISS when it was supposed to - but the system worked fine anyway. About 2 months ago, I had the dreaded "low battery" message problem (many owners are familiar with this issue). I replaced the battery, waited a day and still got the message. So I called their service line and after explaining the two problems, they agreed to send me a replacement unit under warranty. Of course, the next day my original unit decided that the new battery was fine.. so I didn't really need the replacement unit after all.

When the replacement unit arrive I installed it anyway, since the LED worked properly. Everything has been fine since...
N5CSU Rating: 2014-01-22
Battery Problems Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I liked this unit but had consistent problems with the lithium battery in the wireless unit running down every few weeks. Firmware upgrades and hardware changeouts from Davis did not help. I'm not the only one that has reported this (Google Davis Vantage battery problems).
I ended up giving this to a friend to play with, and went back to my Davis Vantage Pro Wireless, which has given me over 10 years of flawless performance.
AE5X Rating: 2013-12-06
Couldn't be happier Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I've owned my VV for 11 months now and love it.

I had 2 initial concerns that turned out to be non-issues:

First, that there would be a trade-off in either temperature or wind accuracy since the entire sensor suite is in one package. Ideally, the wind sensors would be mounted in an open area and the temp sensor would be in a shady location. With the VV, they are necessarily in the same location. Accuracy is not a problem as measured and compared by MESONET - in fact, accuracy of all the sensors is absolutely stellar.

Second - did I mention that my VV is mounted high and in the clear - only 3 feet from the driven element of my HF Yagi way up on the tower. Three feet from a kilowatt and absolutely no issues whatsoever. That was a big concern initially - that there was no way this thing could function so close to so much RF. Wrong!

Battery life...after 11 months, I'm still on the original battery though I plan to replace it next month at the one-year point.

As the title says, I couldn't be happier with it. Money well spent.
N5GE Rating: 2013-09-30
RF Sensitive, Battery lasts only a week Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I purchased a Vantage View in June of 2013.

1. The first thing I found wrong with it was it's sensitivity to RF. When transmitting SSB or CW on frequencies below 5 MHz the wind speed would be reported as something between 50 and 130 MPH.

I tried all sorts of remedies to alleviate the RF problem including Ferrite beads and tin-foil, but nothing worked.

2. The 3V battery that came with it lasted 3 weeks, so I purchased another, thinking the supplied battery may have suffered from storage weakness, but the new battery lasted about the same length of time.

I tried using rechargeable batteries, but they would only last one day. An email to Davis revealed that unlike my previous WX station the solar panel on the unit will not charge batteries.

3. The software (WeatherLink) performs poorly when used on a Windows 7 system, but improved some when I set it to run in XP mode.

4. I have spent too much time trying to improve it's performance and the warranty has run out, so I can't return it.

Summary:

If you are a ham and have antennae on your property, don't get one of these units.
KG4RUL Rating: 2013-09-19
100% satisfied Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
My Wife picked this unit as a replacement for a Lacrosse station that had it's humidity senor fail.
WX4AR Rating: 2013-08-14
Fantastic Work Horse Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have owned my Davis Vantage Vue for just shy of three years. I am very happy to say I have had zero problems with it and it’s still going strong. This month I finally had to replace the three-volt battery in the ISS. I can’t complain about changing a battery every thirty-four months. I highly recommend this weather station if you’re in the market. Oh bye the way, the ISS stood up to Super Storm Sandy working flawlessly through the storm with winds of eighty MPH plus.
WE8Q Rating: 2013-05-12
Working great for me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had my unit installed for about two years now with no problems. My outside unit is about 100 feet from my ham antennas and I operate HF and VHF. I have two inside units and one of them is in the basement. I have never had a reception problem.
WD5ENH Rating: 2013-05-12
Very accurate Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I just upgraded to the Davis Vantage VUE. The system I replace was the Davis weather monitor II in which I had for nearly 20 years and of course it was not wireless. The downfall of the Davis weather monitor II for me was that RF was getting into the system every time I talk on the radio and it did not matter what band I was on. With the weather monitor II I have there grounded junction box and that did not help at all. So when I upgraded to the Vantage VUE I was hoping that I would not have that problem, when the Vantage VUE came in I read the manual and did what suggested to do, is to test the system before you put it up. And I testing everything in the system came up as per the manual. So I place the unit in its permanent site and let it run for 24 hours before I put the software weatherlink ip in. The next day I put the software in (weatherlink ip) and it was easy to put in also. With the system up and running I am now on the Davis Weatherlink web site and that was pretty straightforward to. In the town that I live in there are two other sites that is also running the Davis Weather systems and when I look at them I am very close to what they are displayed as far as temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure. As far as operating the radio no problems with RF getting inside the weather system. It doesn't matter if I am on HF or VHF. As far as the radio equipment I do not have amplifiers. I have been quite pleased with the accuracy and reliability of this unit and I really like the display of the base unit. I'm hoping to get many years of good service of this unit. My recommendation if you decide to get a unit like this is read the manual and do exactly what they suggest and take your time and setting it up, and I think you will be very pleased.