Davis Vantage Vue Weather Station - Review of Features

Weather stations are devices used by weather enthusiasts, farmers, construction companies, tourist operators and the like to obtain hyperlocal weather information. They have become increasingly well-equipped with many becoming wireless, having greater range and having smarter integrated sensors. 

With such a huge variety of weather stations on the market, all with different features and capabilities, it's difficult to know what features each station offers. For this reason, Instrument Choice regularly reviews new and popular models of weather stations so customers can make more informed choices.

The Davis Vantage Vue, is one of the most popular weather stations you can buy in Australia and New Zealand.This article puts the Davis Vantage Vue through its paces, assessing its huge range of features for both the outdoor sensor suite and the indoor console. We also touch on some of the options available for increased connectivity.

About Davis Instruments

Before running a magnifying glass over the Vantage Vue its worth giving a moment’s attention to the credentials of the manufacturer, Davis Instruments. The company has been manufacturing market-leading weather stations and related instrumentation for over 50 years. In this time, Davis Instruments has earned a reputation for designing weather stations that are renowned for durability and accuracy. The Davis Vantage Vue is no exception.

Introducing the Davis Vantage Vue

The Vantage Vue is the base model of the Davis range and is great for both in-home and professional applications. The weather station measures 10 key weather parameters including temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, rainfall, rain rate, heat index, dew point as well as wind chill, speed and direction. In addition to this wide range of parameters, the Davis Vantage Vue boasts an impressive transmission range of up to 300m (line of sight) thanks to its frequency hopping radio transmission capabilities. The station is supplied with an indoor console featuring a backlight LCD screen, a fully-integrated corrosion-proof outdoor sensor suite and a large range of add-ons to enhance your weather data collection capabilities.

The Outdoor Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS)

Sleek yet tough, the wireless outdoor sensor suite is built to withstand whatever weather conditions come your way.Built with a small profile, the Vantage Vue minimises the visual impact on your yard or roof. The Vantage Vue is also easy to install. Within minutes of removing it from the box you can have the station set up and start receiving weather data wirelessly from the unit’s high-tech sensors.

The Outdoor Integrated Sensor Suite (ISS) – Features at a Glance

Here’s 10 stand-out features of the Davis Vantage Vue’s outdoor sensor suite:

1. Anemometer – Records win speeds as low as 3km/h and has been wind tunnel tested to speeds of up to 290km/h
2. Temperature and relative humidity sensors covered by radiation shield – The radiation shield protects from solar and other radiated or reflected sources of heat to increase accuracy. Measures temperature from -40°c to 65°c. Measures relative humidity from 1 to 100%.
3. Wind Vane – Measures wind direction and displays on the console in degrees or compass points.
4. Rain Collector – Funnels rain into tipping spoon system below. Includes debris screen to stop foreign objects entering the spoon system.
5. Solar Panel – 0.5-watt solar panel energises the station during the day. Powered by onboard capacitor overnight.
6. Rain tipping spoon system - self-emptying tipping spoon system measures rain in 0.2mm increments.
7. Transmitter – Transmits wirelessly up to 300m line of sight every 2.5 seconds (Typically 100-120m through obstructions).
8. Weatherproof housing – Assembled from tough UV resistant ABS and ASA plastic.
9. Battery operated – Lithium battery provides backup power when needed. Providing up to 8 months without sunlight and up to two years depending on solar charging.
10. Easy assembly – Sets up and ready to use in minutes
11. Kit for mounting – Quick and easy install with included hardware. (Note: the pole is not included.) Can be mounted on poles 2.54cm to 4.45cm in diameter. The mounting pole can be purchased here
12. Level – Built-in bubble level to allow for more accurate installation and better data collection.

The Indoor Sensor Suite – Features at a Glance

With a bright backlight LCD screen, ergonomic design and glow-in-the-dark buttons, the indoor console will give you all the information you could need at the touch of a button.

Here’s a summary of the important design features and functionality of the Davis Vantage Vue’s indoor sensor suite:

1. Time and date. View the current time and date and the sunrise/ sunset time.
2. Moon phase – See the current phase of the moon.
3. Forecast – Weather forecast displayed in an icon. Will let you know to expect sun, rain, partly cloudy, cloudy or snow
4. Temperature and humidity – Shows inside and outside temperature and humidity. Updates outside temperature every 10 seconds and outside humidity every 50 seconds. Inside temperature and humidity are updated every minute.
5. Antenna – Able to retransmit from the main console up to an additional 300m.
6. Barometric pressure – trend arrow shows whether barometric pressure is rising, falling or stable.
7. Rain – Console updates the rain rate and totals every 20 seconds. View totals for the last 25 hours, days or months.
8. Variable option – Can show values for heat index, dew point or wind chill. Updates every 10 seconds.
9. Weather centre – This provides information for each weather variable. For example, daily high and low temperatures and barometric values changes. Also provides other information such as astronomical information.
10. Keypad – Easy to use domed glow in the dark buttons.
11. Graphs and ‘This time yesterday’ function – Graph the last 25 hours, days or months. View up to 50 different graphs including rain, rain rate, barometric pressure and temperature.
12. Alarms – Easily set 22 different, simultaneous alarms to warn of dangerous weather conditions. These include dangers such as high winds, heat index and flood warnings.
13. Wind speed and direction – See the wind speed in the centre of the compass. The direction is indicated on the compass. Windspeed updates every 2.5 seconds.Displayed in miles per hour, meters per second, kilometres per hour or knots. Also provides the average and high wind speed for two- and ten-minute intervals.
14. Ergonomic design – Kickstand for flat surface operation or keyholes for wall mounting.
15. AC adaptor or 3x C-cell battery operation 

Do like what you see so far? But wait.. there’s more 

Other Features and Add-ins for the Davis Vantage Vue

There are add-ons for the Davis Vantage Vue weather station designed to enhance the instrument’s data collection, storage and data sharing capabilities of this station. These include Internet connectivity via Weatherlink Live and data logging capabilities

Weatherlink Live

Weatherlink Live enables you to easily stream real-time data from the Vantage Vue weather station to the Weatherlink cloud. This negates the need for a console or PC connection. You can get your hyperlocal data free from the Weatherlink website or mobile app for viewing, sharing and analysing.

Further, Weatherlink Live can connect-up the rest of your smart home. Configure over 80 extra sensors to collect data from around your home, such as weather conditions besides your pool, in the garden or the wine cellar! Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and third-party services like Weather Underground, the Weatherlink live is the perfect partner to link up your Vantage Vue to your smart home.

Weatherlink USB Data Logger

The Weatherlink USB data logger and software is a great option for weather enthusiasts to track, graph, store and share weather data.

The data logger dongle fits into a built-in port on the rear of the Vantage Vue indoor console. You can simply adjust the logging intervals choosing between 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60 or 120 minutes. Depending on the logging frequency you can store up to 6 months of data before needing to connect to a computer and download the data.

The Verdict

The Davis Vantage Vue is a compact yet powerful weather station. It’s feature-rich with professional precision and it all comes at an affordable price. Instrument Choice recommends this weather station for both home weather watchers and professional users.

Click here to watch one of our scientists set-up the Davis Vantage Vue indoor console. It’s really easy!

Want to know more about the Davis Vantage Vue weather station? Do you have a question about weather stations generally? Contact one of our friendly scientists on 1300 737 971 or email [email protected].