rapid fire weather station model recommendations

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

I was wondering if people had any advice on good rapid fire weather stations. Mine is old and not working properly anymore. It's laways read too hot and too cold because it doesn't have a good radiation shield. It's a known issue with this cheap station, and it's time to upgrade.

If anyone has good suggestions for models to look at, that would be great. I am looking to spend about $500. Apparently anything less is pretty much junk.

[spockvr6]

Axel-

Ive had a number of weather stations, and hands down, the Davis Scientific units are the best. They are definitely more $ than many of the other consumer grade stations, but they are far better. I havent had a single problem with mine, whereas the Oregon Scientific, etc units were constant trouble and their lifespans were short.

[Mauna Kea Cloudforest]

Axel-

Ive had a number of weather stations, and hands down, the Davis Scientific units are the best. They are definitely more $ than many of the other consumer grade stations, but they are far better. I havent had a single problem with mine, whereas the Oregon Scientific, etc units were constant trouble and their lifespans were short.

Thanks, Davis was the one I was considering. The last one was some Chinese no-name from Wunderground that only cost $99 and it's always read too cold and too hot, but this year, it's even worse. When all the other stations in the neighborhood and my other sensors all indicate 48F, this thing reads 41F, absurdly off the scale. It might be low on batteries, but overall I have not been happy with the lack of precision and the fact that the rain gauge part of it just doesn't work.

I have a Meteohub Linux appliance to collect data and put it up on the various weather sites, I will need at least something compatible with it.

[spockvr6]

I would wholeheartedly recommend the Davis. They have various models, but the one I have experience with is the Vantage Pro (cabled version). Mine is a few years old now, so they have a Vantage Pro 2 in various iterations, and apparently also a new Vantage Vue model. (I personally would not buy that model as it looks like all of the sensors are on one pole and one large device. It would be a rare occurence that the ideal spot for the wind reading to be taken would be the same location as the temp/humidity. So, a system like this, for a location as would be typical for a normal residence, means the whole kit and kaboodle goes on the roof (so your temp readings will be way off). A setup like the Vantage Vue seems appropriate for big wide open areas.

As far as collecting data and posting to websites (if thats all you want to do), you might be able to make your life very simple just by using Weatherlink software from Davis. Its what I use and its a piece of cake.

[spockvr6]

Whoa! I just looked up the Weatherlink software and it looks like they raised the price significantly. I bought mine a numnber of years ago and I think it was around $40.

http://davisnet.com/weather/products/weather_product.asp?pnum=06510USB