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Re: Weather station recomendations? Date: April 08, 2016 05:34AM |
Small Dog's Kibbles & Bytes #958 reviewed this one I've been considering.
[www.smalldog.com]
Fody Personal Weather Station: A Review By Scott Markoski
When I saw that we had started to carry the Fody Tempus Pro Bluetooth weather station, I was immediately interested. At my apartment, I had a really old, pretty cheap, wireless thermometer I was using to help me figure out how to dress myself for the conditions outside. You know, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, full Antarctica-grade parka…it is Vermont after all. The problem I always had with it was that the remote sensor couldn’t get wet, and there just weren’t many places I could put it. Last year I got a slightly better thermometer base station that used a wired thermocouple that could easily be passed out a closed window. The thermocouple is sealed and can get as wet as you want. That worked a lot better, but the base station features weren’t as good. I didn’t like the way it recorded min/max temperature.
So when I saw the Tempus Pro, I thought it might be able to solve all of my problems. In addition to indoor/outdoor temperature and indoor humidity, it also records outdoor humidity, rainfall, barometric pressure, windspeed and wind direction. Instead of all that data going to a limited base station, it goes to my iPad, where I can quickly see trends, share it with friends on Twitter or Facebook or just email myself the raw data.
I had a few concerns such as whether or not the radiation shield on the outdoor temperature sensor would work. You have to install the Tempus Pro in an open location so that wind and rain can be recorded, but this most likely means it’ll be in the sun too, which would completely mess up the temperature reading. The radiation shield actually does an amazing job at preventing that. I haven’t seen any excessively high temperatures recorded even when the station was baking in the sun.
Setup was very easy for a device that’s actually doing a lot of complicated things. The outdoor station transmits its data to the indoor base station that is plugged into the wall for power. This transmission is probably very basic radio since the range is quite a bit more than is possible with Bluetooth and the outdoor station only uses three included AA batteries. The indoor station uses low-energy Bluetooth to relay indoor and outdoor sensor data with your iOS or Android device.
Once everything is paired and running (which is easy to do if you follow the order indicated by the instructions), you will see real-time data being displayed on your iOS or Android device via the Fody app. It also builds graphs of historical data so you can watch trends. One of the things I liked most about the app was the alerts feature. I can set high/low alert thresholds for any of the sensors. I set up an alert for when the outdoor temperature falls below freezing. A few times this past week, I was sitting on my couch and heard my iPad chime. It was an alert letting me know it had fallen below freezing outside. Very cool! You could also set other useful alerts for things like excessive rain, or high winds.
Overall I think the Tempus Pro is a pretty neat device and the simple use and setup belies the actual complexity of having your own personal weather station. If you’ve ever been curious about setting up a personal weather station at home, or just want something a bit more than temperature readings like I did, you won’t be disappointed with the Fody Tempus Pro.
Central VA
[www.smalldog.com]
Fody Personal Weather Station: A Review By Scott Markoski
When I saw that we had started to carry the Fody Tempus Pro Bluetooth weather station, I was immediately interested. At my apartment, I had a really old, pretty cheap, wireless thermometer I was using to help me figure out how to dress myself for the conditions outside. You know, t-shirt, sweater, jacket, full Antarctica-grade parka…it is Vermont after all. The problem I always had with it was that the remote sensor couldn’t get wet, and there just weren’t many places I could put it. Last year I got a slightly better thermometer base station that used a wired thermocouple that could easily be passed out a closed window. The thermocouple is sealed and can get as wet as you want. That worked a lot better, but the base station features weren’t as good. I didn’t like the way it recorded min/max temperature.
So when I saw the Tempus Pro, I thought it might be able to solve all of my problems. In addition to indoor/outdoor temperature and indoor humidity, it also records outdoor humidity, rainfall, barometric pressure, windspeed and wind direction. Instead of all that data going to a limited base station, it goes to my iPad, where I can quickly see trends, share it with friends on Twitter or Facebook or just email myself the raw data.
I had a few concerns such as whether or not the radiation shield on the outdoor temperature sensor would work. You have to install the Tempus Pro in an open location so that wind and rain can be recorded, but this most likely means it’ll be in the sun too, which would completely mess up the temperature reading. The radiation shield actually does an amazing job at preventing that. I haven’t seen any excessively high temperatures recorded even when the station was baking in the sun.
Setup was very easy for a device that’s actually doing a lot of complicated things. The outdoor station transmits its data to the indoor base station that is plugged into the wall for power. This transmission is probably very basic radio since the range is quite a bit more than is possible with Bluetooth and the outdoor station only uses three included AA batteries. The indoor station uses low-energy Bluetooth to relay indoor and outdoor sensor data with your iOS or Android device.
Once everything is paired and running (which is easy to do if you follow the order indicated by the instructions), you will see real-time data being displayed on your iOS or Android device via the Fody app. It also builds graphs of historical data so you can watch trends. One of the things I liked most about the app was the alerts feature. I can set high/low alert thresholds for any of the sensors. I set up an alert for when the outdoor temperature falls below freezing. A few times this past week, I was sitting on my couch and heard my iPad chime. It was an alert letting me know it had fallen below freezing outside. Very cool! You could also set other useful alerts for things like excessive rain, or high winds.
Overall I think the Tempus Pro is a pretty neat device and the simple use and setup belies the actual complexity of having your own personal weather station. If you’ve ever been curious about setting up a personal weather station at home, or just want something a bit more than temperature readings like I did, you won’t be disappointed with the Fody Tempus Pro.
Central VA
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I just want an electronic weather vane. Date: April 08, 2016 07:49AM |
I'd like a wind electronic direction indicator. Windspeed would be nice, but not mandatory.
This is my all-time favorite weather station, but I never got one:
Heathkit ID 4001 Weather Computer
But all I *really* want is the speed and direction display in the middle.
I don't care for the LCD displays that are popular, though there is a La Crosse color display that would do in a pinch, sans wind information.
I am that Masked Man.
Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.
Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.
I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.
We are a government of laws, not men.
Everybody counts or nobody counts.
When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.
You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.
There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.
We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive
An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.
You make me pull, I'll put you down.
I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.
This is my all-time favorite weather station, but I never got one:
Heathkit ID 4001 Weather Computer
But all I *really* want is the speed and direction display in the middle.
I don't care for the LCD displays that are popular, though there is a La Crosse color display that would do in a pinch, sans wind information.
I am that Masked Man.
Your boos mean nothing to me, I've seen what you cheer for.
Insisting on your rights without acknowledging your responsibilities isn’t freedom, it’s adolescence.
I've been to the edge of the map, and there be monsters.
We are a government of laws, not men.
Everybody counts or nobody counts.
When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.
You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.
There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.
We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive
An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.
You make me pull, I'll put you down.
I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.
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Re: Weather station recomendations? Date: April 08, 2016 09:24PM |
Stay away from AcuRite. I have two of them and both outdoor units have given me trouble and are not very durable.
Grateful11
Grateful11
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