I've recently had problems with the data logger and was intending to replace it, but it got me thinking about whether it would be better to look at some of the alternatives now on the market. Some manufacturers appear to offer much better software than WeatherLink, which I'm currently using, as well as smartphone app integration. They also seem to be much cheaper than Davis.

My main concerns are the accuracy of the sensors and the robustness of the cheaper units. Does anyone have any views or recommendations?

From looking at their website they look cheap'n'cheerful - very plasticky, not very rugged and (dare I say it) with a rather small shield for the thermometer. I can't imagine it'd be as accurate as a Davis VP2 with its industrial shield and solid build (especially if you have one with a fan), but perhaps the low cost and accessible options (soil moisture etc) will make up for it. I'll be interested in your thoughts, anyway!

I'd like to have a lightning detector and soil moisture/temperature readouts. New stations largely seem concerned with connecting to your wifi and trying to get you to pay a subscription to access your own data. I'm not sure I'm up for that, so I'm looking for something which will work with CumulusMX.

After about a week of testing, I'm finding the temperature reading to be significantly more accurate than the VP2. I think the reason is that it adjusts dynamically using an algorithm that takes into account solar radiation and wind speed. My manually aspirated VP2 over reports temperatures in strong summer sunshine and light winds.

Unfortunately, the layout of my garden makes it very difficult to measure wind speed accurately, regardless of the weather station. Also, we haven't had a drop of rain yet, so I can't assess the haptic rain sensor. Likewise, there hasn't been any lightning to detect.

TBH, I'm loving the convenience of the WittBoy Pro, particularly the app. With the Davis, I'm still using WeatherLink and the data logger (128 KB, I think?), and there's no app. On the WittBoy Pro console, I've installed a 32 GB microSD card!

TBH that's a proper turn-off, the meteorological version of "AI" adjusting photos taken with the Google camera app. There's a massive difference between a photo of something "AI" struggles with (i.e a wolf's fur) taken with a 5x optical zoom on my phone vs the same taken with my bridge camera - it goes all mushy and ill-defined with Google's app as the optical accuracy isn't there.

And so it is with the VP2 versus the WittBoy. TBH if you're relying on algorithms to "correct" the reading you may as well not bother at all, just interpolate from the official stations! 

FWIW my VP2 used to overread by a fair bit too, unsurprising considering the shield, good though it is, won't be a patch on a proper Stevenson screen. I bought a fan kit for mine and it is more accurate as a result. It still won't be as good as a properly screened thermometer, but hey-ho.

EDIT: I have a PC running Cumulus for my VP2 - it also runs the wolf centre website (old-school, I know). Cumulus uploads to Wunderground and WOW, so I have access to data "on the go" and more detailed logs via Cumulus.

Spent a good part of yesterday evening cleaning out my Davis weather station in preperation for the coming autumn & winter, which is a monumental task in itself. The screen consists of muliple plates that is nearly impossible to line up the screws with when connecting it back onto the raingauge. And then, changing the battery. Took me about 20 mins just to pry the front cover off, then another 10 mins to find the right alignment to put it back on! It really is a nasty weather station to deal with. 

The last sensor I bought still works, but given the lifespan of these hugely expensive things (usually about 3 years in my screen, which I think the constantly humid climate greatly affects) I won't be replacing it when it does eventually go. I have a small Govee thermo in the screen also for the last couple of years and it works just great. It is wifi/bluetooth connected as well so can always see the data live on my phone. The Govee thermo also picks up on smaller & larger sudden temp changes far more rapidly than the stock Davis one. 

I pay something like 45e per year to use 'Weatherlink Live'. This is a subscription I will be cancelling before the next payment in December. Do I really need 5 mins updates when 15 min updates are free? It was a nice idea at the time when I purchased the WLL console, but I only really check the app less than a handful of times a day... if at all.

I think, in fairness, if you live in a built up area, as I do, readings from the VP2 will always be that be higher nearby official stations. But even if they are, those higher temps are still accurate for the location you have the VP2 placed in. If you station is reading 32c, then it is 32c in than spot! 

I had a look at the ECOWITT Brian mentioned there, and I like the idea.. but, the 'Haptic rainfall sensor' would be of concern to me. What if insects used it as a landing spot, or a mouse or bird perched themselves on top if it or a leaf landed on it? You'd most likely get huge rainfall readings when no rain was falling at all. 

The console is great - very bright and colourful with a wealth of information and linking the data for free to weather underground was ridiculously simple. I had a terrible faff before with the Davis Vantage Vue using the datalogger and a raspberry pi. It can also upload for free to another 3 or 4 weather sites.

Also, with the Ecowitt I can do this apparently:

• Read JSON directly over your LAN.
• Push data to MQTT.
• Feed Home Assistant.
• Feed Grafana.
• Store everything in InfluxDB.
• Upload simultaneously to Weather Underground, WOW, CWOP, WeatherCloud, Ecowitt.net, and your own scripts.

It's incredibly open compared to Davis.

I'm only one day in - so still in the honeymoon period, but absolutely loving it so far !

What I'm able to do with a local set-up is:

1. Insert FAT32 SD card into the console 

2. Remove the SD card, plug into my PC and copy the .csv files. 

I'm not sure if there is an option to record in json format locally, or downloaded from the cloud.

https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/twoother/twocontent.aspx?type=equiprev&id=7978 

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Davis: 21.3mm.

Manual rain gauge: 27.5mm.

That is a pretty significant difference even at this low volume, and just confirms my long held suspicion that the Davis VP2 under reports the actual amount of rain that falls over any given period of time. 

I will post more results during and at the end of the month just to see how much of a 'drift' there is between the two methods. 

.

Just to add, this is the manual rain gauge I have been using. I purchased it a few years ago and only really used it occasionally. I think it is time to start using it more permanently.  

https://www.climemet.com/products/cm1016-professional-manual-rain-gauge 

Thank you for that write up, seems like a fair summary. I am becoming very, very tempted.... 

Edit: Brian, you mentioned that there is an app associated with this weather station. Does this negate the need to buy the seperate console for viewing live data etc? 

I can only be categorical about the kit I have tested. However, the console I reviewed has a Wi-Fi gateway built in, but I think you can use one of the standalone Wi-Fi gateways. See:

https://smartout.net/ecowitt-gateways-compared-gw1100-gw1200-gw2000-gw3000/ 

That's where I've been at, more or less since I started up in 2007, good old Maplins being my source as well. I inherited poor old Ron Button's ones when he passed away so if ever you need a console - I have a few! I have given up on my wind direction and speed as it is not in the most appropriate position. I like the fact you can easily calibrate the readings via Cumulus and have found them astonishingly accurate in my home made Stevenson's screen. Everything is looking very delapidated now although I still have spares and you can still get them on ebay last time I looked. Alot of my website needs redoing as well as some of the links no longer exist. For me the best thing about these and Cumulus is the ease of uploading to Wunderground, Wow and your own website if you are not a data IT expert! Plus the graphs, the stats that are easy to use. 

www.laindonweather.co.uk (ignore records tab, a few rogue days has wrecked them in  that format!)

I agree with what you are saying especially on the photography front with wildlife. Totally different with landscapes or most other photography that can be deemed a work of art and then it is entirely up to the user (artist) to do what they like with it. With weather stats it is more complicated. I want my data (and I suspect Brian does from what he has said) to be as close as possible to represent that which would have been produced by Met Office standard spec for my site. So I have a Stevenson's style screen 1.25m above ground in a reasonable location and have calibrated the temperature to be very close to my nearest official one. Then I left it alone, so from the start all of my readings, records etc. will relate to my own exact location. I can't see the point in putting , say the temperature probe, in a poor shield and quoting data that might be 5C above reality. I don't really see what the difference is if AI does it compared to bunging an artificial device like a fan it to cool it down so long as the interference is always the same so data is consistent one day or one year to the next. If you are not trying to pretend it is an official station and you are happy with it I don't see it as a problem

I find by far the most accurate way to measure rainfall in a standard rain gauge is to rely on straightforward maths and physics rather than your eye judgement of a volume scale after pouring into a cylinder. As volume =area x length.  length= Vol/Area

Just tare the collecting container on your kitchen scales, then after rain weigh it again giving you the weight of water in gms. Assuming a density of 1 mass in g =vol in ml. You know the diameter of the standard funnel (13cm?) so area is (0.5xd)² x pi. 

so mm of rain = weight/area. (You will have to put in the factor for going from millilitres and grams to mm but that factor of 10 will be obvious). Just bung that formula in a spreadsheet and thereafter just enter the weight of water and it will give you the most accurate value for mm of rain.