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Old 17-06-2009, 14:50   #1
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Cheap Weather Station Recommendation

Hi all,

I was not quite sure where to put this post but this seemed like the right place. I am looking for a home weather station. I've been reading quite a bit about weather and forecasting lately and I'd like to toy around a bit. I'm sure everyone would agree that having a good intuitive feel for weather is an important cruising safety skill.

Anyway, what I am looking for is a simple digital weather station that, at a minimum, has temperature, hygrometer and barometer (preferably with the thermometer and hygrometer on a remote sensor). I'd also like to have a logging feature to keep track of trends in barometric pressure and relative humidity. I've found a few models that look good but they're all well over a hundred dollars and I was hoping to keep is somewhere below a hundred.

If anyone has something like that that they use either at home or on the boat, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks,
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Old 17-06-2009, 16:00   #2
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Ok, so I found one that looks good for under $50. Here is the LINK. Looks like this could be a nice little unit for the money. If anyone has this, I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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Old 17-06-2009, 18:54   #3
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Not digital, but cheap.

Texas "Rope" thermometer handcrafted weather station - eBay (item 300160553550 end time Jul-02-09 16:40:07 PDT)

Steve B.
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Old 17-06-2009, 21:40   #4
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Old 17-06-2009, 21:47   #5
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LaCrosse has some nice ones. I have two in my house. The boat I usually teach on has one. They have the features you want, but they do cost.

On the other hand, what is your boat worth?

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Old 18-06-2009, 09:46   #6
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Thanks Friends,

There sure are a bunch of choices out there. Jackdale, you are right about the La Crosse units, they are super nice but a bit expensive if you want all the features. The Honeywell unit I posted above seems to have all the same features at about half the price though. It is true that you usually get what you pay for but for under $50 bucks I think I'll give it a try. I just ordered one off Amazon and I'll let you all know what I think when it gets here.
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Old 18-06-2009, 12:26   #7
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Honeywell portable generator

I noticed you bought a Honeywell Generator portable 2000. They are $499 for the 2000 model and the Honda is over double.. How do you like the Honeywell. Thanks
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Old 18-06-2009, 13:54   #8
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Originally Posted by Panamajames View Post
I noticed you bought a Honeywell Generator portable 2000. They are $499 for the 2000 model and the Honda is over double.. How do you like the Honeywell. Thanks
Not sure if this is directed at me. I actually don't have that generator, but it looks good for the price. I bought a Honeywell weather station and was just saying that I'll post my comments when I get it. Sorry for the confusion.
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Old 18-06-2009, 14:14   #9
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Originally Posted by fmooy View Post
Anyway, what I am looking for is a simple digital weather station that, at a minimum, has temperature, hygrometer and barometer (preferably with the thermometer and hygrometer on a remote sensor). I'd also like to have a logging feature to keep track of trends in barometric pressure and relative humidity. I've found a few models that look good but they're all well over a hundred dollars and I was hoping to keep is somewhere below a hundred.
This is a link to an Arduino based sensor packager from the online store of one of our more technologically savvy members, Microship. You might also like the GPS logger
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Old 18-06-2009, 14:55   #10
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weather sta

foomoy
i have been using a honeywell sta for about 75 bucks
baro press last 24 hrs anemometer gives wind speeds and gusts temp pred of weather
great unit for the money has workesd flawlessly for two years comeswith asec remote
go on line honeywell
good luck
BonnElaine
greg
oak orchard ny
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Old 18-06-2009, 17:08   #11
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We use a La Crosse wireless model # WS 2308...I forget what it costs but I think it was around a hundred bucks at the time of purchase. It's actually semi-wireless but works great and does everything including hook up to Internet weather stations through the PC. The only problem is, it's made in China so all the numbers are in Chinese
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Old 19-06-2009, 09:11   #12
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Gord do they make a marine version?
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Old 30-06-2009, 12:27   #13
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Ok So I said I would post a review once I got the Honeywell weather station. For those who might be looking, it is a great little unit for $40. It displays both indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity and has a built in barometer. All that is pretty standard, but what I really like is history function. You can scroll through and see what the temp, pressure and relative humidity was going back for several days. It also automatically logs record highs and lows for all three sensors.

Probably the best feature, however is the bar graph plot of barometric pressure for the last 36 hours. That makes it very easy to get a sense for what the trend is (which, after all, is the important information).

Now for what I don't like. The instructions were somewhat tough to follow and the setup isn't that intuitive. If you want to adjust the barometer for altitute, you must step through a somewhat cumbersom multi step process within seconds of putting the batteries in. Once you know what to do, it isn't that bad but the instructions don't say anything about it (I had to go online to find the information).

I also don't like one aspect of the back light. It is an indiglo type setup and highly readable / visible when turned on but it only stays on for a few seconds. In order to read all the information off the face of the station I have to push the button 2-3 times and there is no way (that I know of) to change the default timing.

All and all, those are pretty minor problems that don't really detract from the usefulness of the weather station that much. For $40 (on AMAZON) it represents a real bargin compared to the other weather stations with similar features that I looked at (mostly in the $80 - $100 range).

Hope that helps someone, I am really enjoying learning more about weather with this little guy.

fmooy
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