6357 Vantage Vue Wireless Sensor Suite

Davis Instruments is the premier consumer weather station brand. If you are serious about accurate weather conditions, but cannot afford the Vantage Pro2, this is the next-best thing. My previous station was a LaCrosse 2813 model. For an $80 station, it put out very good numbers, but I did the best I could to make it as accurate as possible. With three separate sensors, you could site accordingly (wind on the roof, temperature in a radiation shield on the north part of the property, and rain bucket on the fence). You do not have this luxury with the Vantage Vue, as it is an all-in-one unit, but since installing, I have noticed that the numbers are very good. In fact, there is a Vantage Pro2 station within a mile from my home, and I am always comparing my numbers to that station. The temperature is always within a degree. The rain data is usually exact or within .01-02." The wind is usually within 2-3 MPH (usually less), but it is subjective to where you are able to mount your instrument. I have mine on a mast, attached to my wood-framed chimney. My neighbor has a two-story home, so wind from the northwest may not be as accurate as it could because of this. In a tract neighborhood, you will have to make some compromises. The National Weather Service states that an anemometer should be 33 feet above ground in open space, but a temperature gauge should be 4-6 feet above ground, with grass below or another natural landscape. So, you have to pick and choose here. You do not need a console to stream your data online, but you will need to purchase the Wireless Weather Envoy 6316 separately to make this happen. I just happened to find a vendor who was trying to get rid of their consoles for a deeply discounted price, which is why I bought this separately. I do not own a wireless data device, so I cannot speak from experience. I am looking forward to years of reliability and accuracy from this station.

I've had Davis and other stations over the years and always come back to Davis. This unit is very well made, easy to set up, easy to maintain like cleaning the rain sensor etc. The wireless connectivity is excellent and the update frequency is 3-4 seconds which I love for wind speed and direction. I paired this station with the VantagePro2 base for larger display plus added web access. This gives me access to all that I need from anywhere, very happy. My only suggestion for improvement is bird perching prevention. I checked the station after 4 weeks up on the roof, the rain collector bucket was about 1/2 full of bird droppings! Fortunately the unit is easy to clean. After cleaning up, I made up a "Crown of thorns" for the rain collector bucket. I purchased a stainless steel band hose clamp 5-7" size from Home Depot, I cut 2" lengths if 1/16" carbon fiber rods and hot glued them at 1" spacing around the inside the band. I used a dremmel tool to trim off the excess band (the bucket is about 5 1/2" dia with the rods in place), and cut a notch in the band to allow it to slip over the bucket lip. Once tightened, the band holds the rods nicely and should weather for many years outdoors. The higher end Davis station has this type protection and now mine is bird proof as well. Davis should make a slip-on crown as a standard feature as this station is a natural bird perch. Edit, after many weeks a quick check shows zero debris in the rain cup, the anti-bird prongs are working perfectly!

I bought this Davis Vantage Vue ISS to replace my original Vantage Vue ISS that I have had for about seven years and which recently quit functioning correctly. Amazon shipped the ISS ahead of schedule which was a pleasant surprise. After unboxing and assembling the ISS, I linked it to my exisiting Vantage Vue Console, verified its operation, and then installed it on a 10 ft tall furniture grade PVC pole behind my house. The new ISS worked well for two days, then began to quit transmitting after the sun went down. Since I had registered the new ISS with Davis to get the one year warranty coverage I called Davis Technical Support which was very responsive. They then walked me though some troubleshooting steps that determined that the super capacitor, which is charged by the solar cell and powers the ISS during a 24 hour cycle, was defective. Per their excellent warranty Davis is shipping me a new ISS and when received I will ship the defective ISS back to them. I am giving Davis four stars because of their excellent customer service and warranty even though my ISS was virtually defective right out of the box. Update: The replacement Davis ISS took one week to arrive after being shipped by Davis. I assembled the replacement ISS and mounted it on my outdoor pole. It has been running a week and a half now without issues. If you do have to send an ISS back to Davis under warranty you will be responsible for the shipping the defective ISS back to them once you have received the replacement ISS. It was unfortunate that the ISS fulfilled by Amazon failed virtually right out of the box, but the quick Davis replacement response turned a downer experience into an upper experience!

It was a replacement old one quit working new one works great

This is my second vantage vue. The first one lasted about 9 years. Through Florida rain, sun, high humidity, hurricanes, heavy wind, more rain, hail and more...... It just wore out. Started looking beat up and worn through all the weather. Always accurate, Always working, Always sending info. I could have kept it going but I decided to buy a new one. Starting replace parts that were worn out and chose not to. Though not the most expensive weather station, but the most reliable. And why spend all the money for some fancy one that does what the Vantage Vue does. I hooked the new one up and in 15 minutes it was sending to the control panel that came with the first one. And I love the app for my Samsung cell phone. PERFECT!!!!! Down the road, I will buy another vantage vue. Oh...and now I use my old one for parts if needed.

Purchased this to replace a Vantage Pro 2 ISS that has been having electrical issues (drains the batteries in about 7 - 10 days, even with solar working fine). Replacing the board on the VP2 was more expensive than I wanted, and the VP2 is 8 years old. I prefer Davis for weather equipment having started with a VP1 13 - 14 years ago, then progressed to a VP2. I did look at other brands, especially those that had wifi integration to update weather websites. But, after looking around, the specs on the Vantage Vue, the fact that it works with my existing VP2 consoles and a decent price point led me to the Vantage Vue. Packaging was spartan, but secure. Installation instructions were clear, and addressed specifically using it with a VP2 console. I installed it on an 8' high section of 1.5" metal electrical conduit. I painted the conduit with metal primer and a top coat for long-term protection. Very low cost way of installing. The location is about 90' from my console, through two walls (some with windows) and the signal is good and strong. For the first few days, I compared the readings with that of my VP2 and found them nearly identical. In fact, because the Vantage Vue is better positioned, my wind readings on the VV are more accurate than the VP2. I do believe that the smaller shielding on the temperature sensor may lead to higher temp readings during extended hot spells, but from what I can tell, it might amount to tenths of a degree. Not a problem for my purposes. Note: like all current David products, the Vantage Vue is NOT backward compatible with the VantagePro1 console. VP1 uses different frequencies.

So the indoor console is rock solid and works as it should. (Which is a separate purchase) The issue is the outdoor sensor suite. The first one lasted about 2 years then the temp and humidity readings failed. The internal power cap failed as well. Now my second unit which is only 2 years old lost its wind direction reading and kept saying low battery. Replaced the battery, still said low battery, and now has gone completely dead. The unit is at the top of an 80-foot tower and it cost me 200 bucks to have someone climb the tower for nothing. AND the wind speed indicator ALWAYS read at least 20 mph low on both units and yes I checked the cup size setting and no there were no obstructions at 80' in the air...

I've had a Vue for 5-6 years. The solar cells finally got to where they wouldn't charge the battery and I had to rig up an auxiliary battery pack. Recently, I had the roof re-done following hail damage and had to take down the Vue. I used that as an excuse to replace the outside sensor part. The new one connected quickly to my console and has been functioning normally. I'm still in an observation and calibration phase (if needed), but I doubt it will need any. I have the console connected to the PC and send data to WeatherUnderground, APRS and CWOP. We have 5 or 6 of these around the area (local hams) and all work well. One fellow has three at remote locations on a ranch running off solar panels and storage batteries for the console and radio (to get in to APRS). They have been running for three years with no maintenance. All in all, a good product. The only thing I don't like is having to buy the separate data connection dongle to connect to the PC. It's expensive.