Latest Site News
Davis 2012 Catalogue
Added 24th December 2011
Davis have just released preliminary details of their 2012 catalogue and product range. The main theme is of range extension and product evolution rather than the introduction of any radically new station. We can therefore be reasonably confident that the existing Vue and VP2 models will continue to be current throughout 2012.
Highlights of the 2012 range include:
- Release of the Davis Vantage Connect remote monitoring products is now scheduled for Summer 2012. We anticipate that these products will be of considerable interest to anyone wishing to monitor live weather at a remote field site. The Connect range is likely to be the most important Davis introduction during 2012 and promises to be a core product into the future.
- Weatherlink v6.0 is scheduled for release in Spring 2012. I think this will be simply a further incremental version rather than a major overhaul but one key new feature is promised: WL v6 will have the capability to upload data to the Davis weatherlink.com network (via a PC of course) and therefore even owners of USB and serial loggers will have the option to join the many thousands of users worldwide who are already uploading live weather data to this network. There will be a small annual subscription payable for this service. Further details when we have them.
- A Weatherlink Android app for viewing data from your site on the weatherlink.com network (i.e. similar to the existing iPhone app) is planned for launch in Spring 2012;
- The 6572 Pest Management Weatherlink add-on module for Apples and Pears will obviously be of specialist interest only but may well be of real value to orchard owners;
Davis prices remain unchanged in general terms, other than for one or two individual items, although we have not yet had confirmation of UK pricing for 2012.
New Specialist Accessories section
Updated 24th December 2011
We've added a new 'Specialist Accessories' section to our main Products menu.
These accessories will all be noteworthy in some way, either as interesting and unusual sensor types or simply as best-in-class
value for more familiar weather accessories.
We're just starting out with this new section and so there are just a couple of new products there as yet, including the fascinating Hydreon RG-11 rain sensor, shown right, and the CoCoRaHS manual rain gauge. But there are more items planned to follow in the very near future, so please keep checking back for further new introductions.
New web shop now online
Added 12th November 2011
Prodata Weather Systems has had an online shop in the background for some time now, but in response to many requests
we've now upgraded the shop and are opening it to all customers. To celebrate the launch we've created some unrepeatable
special offer prices just in time for Christmas and available only on the online shop and while stocks last.
Visit the shop now to see for yourself!
We have always prided ourselves on offering excellent customer service, with expert pre-sales advice readily available by phone or email. This policy is not going to change! If you have any questions or uncertainties about buying a new weather station we still encourage you to contact us first for a chat. But when you're ready to order, you'll find the very best prices by ordering via the online shop.
From the Weather Lab
Added 12th November 2011
There's now an expanded topic in our Resources area called 'From the Weather Lab'. This page is intended as a gateway to a collection of informal notes on products and activities that we currently have under test or development and that may be of wider interest. If you're a weather hobbyist then you're welcome to look in here from time to time to see what we're currently working on by way of background projects.
WOW
Added 6th August2011
WOW is the new UK Met Office's Weather Observations Website - a project that allows private observers to upload weather data measured by their own AWS systems to the Met Office computers and to be displayed on UKMO web pages. Although this isn't quite product news, it is a topic that we're sure will be of interest to many of our customers and so we've added a page here that provides an introduction to WOW.
Vantage Connect
Added 22nd March 2011
A new page describing the latest Vantage Connect product has been added. Although this product is not shipping quite yet, here is some early news on this revolutionary product.
The Vantage Connect allows weather data to be uploaded automatically from a remote field site to a website via the mobile phone network. It now becomes possible for real-time weather data to be measured at a remote site (with no facilities required other than mobile phone reception) and then viewed via a central website from anywhere in the world and with readings updated every few minutes.
Envoy8X
Updated 15th
March 2011 - NOW IN STOCK
The 6318 Envoy8X is a fascinating new addition to the Vantage Pro 2 family that considerably enhances the breadth of data logging that a VP2 system can offer. The key feature of the Envoy8X is that it can listen to and log data from all eight VP2 wireless channels simultaneously, irrespective of the type of VP2 station transmitting on each channel. So, for example, the Envoy8X can log from up to eight VP2 ISS units at the same time.
Unsurprisingly, these greatly expanded logging capabilities have required a step-change in the logging software used. The Envoy8X no longer uses the Weatherlink program (directly at least) but instead logs to software known as the 'Weather Data Transfer Utility for Envoy8X'. This new program - as its name suggests - is primarily a data management tool, storing all of the logged data in an SQL database. There are no data presentation features in the WDTU program - these functions are clearly expected to be handled by other downstream programs,. but this will clearly be facilitated by the SQL data access now possible.
The Envoy8X has some further surprises: logging memory has been expanded by 8X (hence the name of course); an external temperature sensor can be attached directly to the unit to measure 'inside temperature'; and, at long last, in future the Envoy8X system should make it possible to log data from compatible non-Davis sensors (eg a water level sensor) that can interface via a 0-3V input.
The Envoy8X is clearly a more specialist console type and so probably won't be specified by anyone looking for a straightforward standard VP2 station. But the considerable new logging power that this new Envoy type offers suggests that it will play a key part in more advanced VP2 configurations.
We've created a new product page to describe the Envoy8X and its capabilities in more detail.
New web-page demos for advanced presentations of weather data
Updated 20th June 2010
We've launched a new area in our Resources section that provides several example pages of advanced ways in which weather data can be presented on a web page. The examples are listed on an introductory page and cover situations where, for instance, there's a need to provide easy access on one web page to much more weather data than will comfortably fit on that page or a need to links to weather data from markers on a map.
Clickable map of private UK AWS updated
Posted 26th May 2010
Our 'clickable' map showing the location of many privately-owned online weather stations in the UK and Ireland has just been given a complete makeover. You can now zoom down into any area of the UK to see individual stations much more easily and our new mechanism for generating the map should mean that we can make updates to the map much more easily and quickly than was previously the case. You can see the new map on the map page of our Resources section.
Collaborative Projects
Posted 28th November 2009
Please see new sidebar item.
How to stay up-to-date
Check this page regularly for the latest news on Davis weather stations and other makes and products that we sell.
This column also shows the latest software and firmware versions currently available and other continuing topics of interest.
Latest software versions
Weatherlink (Windows): v5.9.3 (Mar 2011)
Weatherlink (Mac): v5.1.0 (Oct 2009)
WDTU (Envoy8X) software v1.1 (Nov 2011)
VP2 Console Firmware: v1.90 (Dec 2010)
Vue Console Firmware: v2.14 (Dec 2010)
WeatherlinkIP Firmware: v1.0.9 (June 2010)
Virtual VP: v1.2.5 (Sept 2010)
Updates downloadable from:
- Davis website
- Softwx website (VVP)
Collaborative Projects
We often have small background development projects that we'd like to pursue but that we don't have time to resource fully. Please email us if you might be interested in collaborating on these - more details on request. We'd like to hear from anyone able to call in (to Ely - near Cambridge) for a chat in person and who might have skills/interests in weather data and/or programming.
These are typically small projects that might be of interest to hobbyists but which are non-commercial in nature. So, in general, we're not in a position to offer employment or substantive payment, but what we can do is to offer ideas, discussion and eg the loan of hardware to anyone who might be interested in collaborating in a worthwhile hobby project. However, there might be the possibility of some modest quid pro quo and if any projects prove unexpectedly successful then we'd be happy to discuss options for further joint development & marketing.