Weather Stations Onboard

How many Forum members have a weather station on board? A buddy of mine has a $27 Acurite (pictured) on his sail boat and loves it! I know about getting the forecasts through Sirius, the radio, subscriptions, etc. but I'm asking about these little stand alone weather stations from Cosco.

Sure, who cares if it dies in a year or two, at that price get half a dozen.

I have one and it works, I take the receiver below with me so I can glance at it to check the wind speed during the night.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Sure, who cares if it dies in a year or two, at that price get half a dozen.

I have one and it works, I take the receiver below with me so I can glance at it to check the wind speed during the night.

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I have this same one on my boat. It was inexpensive and works well within its limitations.

Ken

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Sure, who cares if it dies in a year or two, at that price get half a dozen.

I have one and it works, I take the receiver below with me so I can glance at it to check the wind speed during the night.

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Exactly what i have.
Works great.

Though I do have a Maretron WSO100 connected to CE aslo, the the above is great.

I'm thinking that I'll consider this one. Very simple, gives me the info that I want (at a glance) has a barometric history & trend function and could also monitor my ER from time to time. (Easily moved remote sensor)

I have one similar to that Walt and I do the same thing. I move the sensor around as needed....ER, fridge 1, fridge 2, stateroom, etc. I also have another that has a sensor in the shade at the cockpit for outdoor numbers.

I miss the wind speed and direction. If I leave my burgee flying, I can get the direction, but I lack the speed. Am considering the $80 unit shown above that has speed, but no direction. Some of the units with wind direction have very bulky or multiple sensors that would be a challenge to mount. Of course, if I find one I like with wind direction, the direction would be relative wind, not referenced to North.



http://www.costco.com/.product.1001...geHorizontalTop|PersonalizedClickCPInCategory

I have a wx station at home and refer to it a lot. It tracks a lot of data; rain, wind speed and direction, humidity, wind chill trends and history. That's really more than I need on the boat and it's a relatively large display.

I need to decide before I begin my lower helm makeover since I'd like to incorporate a weather station into the panel.

Does anyone know of a compact display with wind speed and direction in a single compact sensor that could be mounted on a radar mast?

Capt.Bill11 said:

R. M. Young Company :: Products :: Wind Tracker - Model 06201

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$1000 for a wind anemometer and display?

FlyWright said:

$1000 for a wind anemometer and display?

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You didn't say you wanted a cheap one, so....

Commercial quality. You see them on large ships and yachts.

I don't sail so apparent wind is not really needed and actual wind direction..well again don't care.

Wind speed is relevant to my interest at 0200h however.

For 1 boat unit I can buy a replacement each year for over 16 years.

FlyWright said:

........Of course, if I find one I like with wind direction, the direction would be relative wind, not referenced to North.

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Oh! I want one with just "North Wind " data!

Both my wind speed and direction gauges were frozen when I bought the boat. I have been wanting to remedy this situation, but has not yet reached a priority level.

Like Al says, if anyone has found a nice sub-$250 unit that is wireless and has an acceptable size monitor, I, and probably others here would be interested.
Most of the units shown here so far are a bit too "busy" for my taste. I would prefer just wind direction and speed, with relatively larger digital readout. I already have a nice temperature and humidity gauge.

Any recommendations?

How do the various units pictured get their forecast and hi/lo (etc.) data? Are these from actual measurement (by the unit) over time? Or...?


-Chris

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

I don't sail so apparent wind is not really needed and actual wind direction..well again don't care.

Wind speed is relevant to my interest at 0200h however.

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We don't sail either... but here on the Chesapeake, wind direction -- relative to tidal currents -- can be a big deal. 25 kts wind with tide, no biggy. 25 kts wind against tide, beat you up.

So for us, wind direction would be a good deal. I could of course install a sensor for display on our MFD... but haven't done that. Yet.

-Chris

We have a Maretron WSO-100 along with DSM-150 instruments and we love it. Great part is that there are no moving parts, so nothing to break.

ranger42c said:

We don't sail either... but here on the Chesapeake, wind direction -- relative to tidal currents -- can be a big deal. 25 kts wind with tide, no biggy. 25 kts wind against tide, beat you up.

So for us, wind direction would be a good deal. I could of course install a sensor for display on our MFD... but haven't done that. Yet.

-Chris

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Yep I can see that, however I can get that information from other sources and for free. I do weather planning from several sources and use the cheap weather station to entertain me and let me know what the wind speed is doing without leaving my birth. That's all I need weather station wise.

Heck in today's world weather is only an app. or several hundred away.

N4712,

Very nice unit, but likely out of my price range.

Delta_JimS said:

N4712,

Very nice unit, but likely out of my price range.

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Yeah that's the only disadvantage. A setup like i stated runs upward of 1k.

We got great service out of the LaCrosse we bought at Sam's Club for <100 bucks. They also had great customer service as I was prone to dropping the main sensor/wireless transmitter when working on the radar arch and other obscure reasons. Having the wind and relative direction and wind chill and Beaufort scale was the most valuable feature by far. The wireless aspect was essential, you could move the display anywhere.

Ours also came with a little secondary station I had by my bedside, though for the big blows i brought the main one down stairs. Yeah, when underway, you had to do some math allowing for boat speed and course, but that's where the current vector training you get when learning to navigate with paper charts (horror!) comes in handy. "North" was defined as the stem of the boat.

Thanks George,

I will go back and check on LaCrosse. The reviews I saw for Acurite and Davis were not flattering; especially the support.

Of course with a small TV set the local weather will include forecasts and the satelite view of the area.

With a short wave and computer you can get the forecast and dozens of other info for free.

Great fun cruising in FL and seeing the 15 METER wave areas in the North Atlantic.

SCOTTEDAVIS said:

Yep I can see that, however I can get that information from other sources and for free. I do weather planning from several sources and use the cheap weather station to entertain me and let me know what the wind speed is doing without leaving my birth. That's all I need weather station wise.

Heck in today's world weather is only an app. or several hundred away.

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Yep, I use apps for that, too. Weather Underground, for example, "tuned" to a reporting station near us. But I have several others, too.

Wondering what the advantage of a weather station is... for those of us with "app range."

-Chris

ranger42c said:

Yep, I use apps for that, too. Weather Underground, for example, "tuned" to a reporting station near us. But I have several others, too.

Wondering what the advantage of a weather station is... for those of us with "app range."

-Chris

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As long as you have internet and can read weather radar and a conditions map, not much except for wind speed, direction and outside temp at your location...they are as inaccurate as all those goofy reading from every weatherman wannabe and improperly installed stations at every local elementary school for true regional weather.

A small wind indicator will give direction...

I had a cheapo one...stopped working every blow over 35 knots or so...

Don't miss it a bit....would LIKE to have another...but at $600+ just to know what I can estimate pretty accurately....not a chance.

Study wind a weather just a tiny bit and you can get pretty good at it too.

If you have internet, try this one out...

https://weatherspark.com/

I have one, sorry no picture but it can be barely seen on the mast in my avatar. All the sensors are wireless and has all the features of high end advanced units but instead of having a dedicated monitor it simply outputs to your television, laptop, or any video screen you like. Because they have eliminated the need for the most expensive part, the monitor, it was cheap. Under $200. My only complaint is the transmitter up on the mast eats batteries and although it can be powered by an AC adapter there is no feasible way in my case to connect one. Often while watching television at night I'll click on my weather channel to see whats going on outside but other than that I rarely use it.

Delta_JimS said:

Thanks George,

I will go back and check on LaCrosse. The reviews I saw for Acurite and Davis were not flattering; especially the support.

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???? I have Acurite Weather stations in my California home, my Sedona residence, on my old boat and my buddy has one on his sail boat. So far no problems.

Codger,

Which Acurite models do you prefer? I was looking at the Wireless ones with PC connection, but reviews were poor on the wireless and firmware issues.

Thanks.

Delta_JimS said:

Codger,

Which Acurite models do you prefer? I was looking at the Wireless ones with PC connection, but reviews were poor on the wireless and firmware issues.

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I have had wireless black & white models (shown) for about three years but my next one will be a color model. I don't hook them up to a computer, rather I'm just interested in the barometer, temp, humidity & forecast. The batteries (remote & receiver) last about two years & the units are so portable you can place them almost anywhere. I monitor my engine room heat once in awhile when I place the remote in there. Instead of reading "outside temps" I'm reading the ER temp. The advantage of the color monitor is that it "looks great!" (Goes with our interior decor which is a priority for my wife.) Notice: I said "wife"....An "admiral" is my close friend. I always use "wife" in my posts so that I don't confuse Flywright. He, (Al) the admiral & I celebrated Al's retirement at SDYC a couple of years ago.

Codger2 said:

Notice: I said "wife"....An "admiral" is my close friend. I always use "wife" in my posts so that I don't confuse Flywright. He, (Al) the admiral & I celebrated Al's retirement at SDYC a couple of years ago.

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Yes, I'm easily confused!!

That was a fun and memorable evening - my last night on the road before my last flight home! Thanks again, Codger, for a great dinner and evening!!

I have an Airmar PB200 which shows all the weather data across my N2Kview. It is great for wind direction. The wind speed does not seem to match what I see and feel. A friends boat 40 feet from mine saw wind last night 15mph faster than mine did. I have talked to Airmar about sending it back to check calibration but that will have to wait until winter.