New Station Review

After a lightning strike in the last severe thunderstorm, I lost my main and back-up weather stations. I also lost the dedicated computer that stored the data for the stations so this years weather history will be corrupted.
I hate gaposis*. I guess I need a back-up to the back-up and another back-up for the dedicated computer.

  My main station was the" Davis Weather Monitor II" I had thousands of dollars over the years wrapped up in that station and parts for older models are hard and expensive when you find them. Support for the station from the manufacturer is almost non existent. The Back-Up station was at the other end of the spectrum low end ,but it out lasted many of the main stations sensors. The back-up was a Fine Offset station sold by Ambient Weather as a data logger. The station was wireless BUT if the sensor mast gets hit sometimes the transmitter gets smoked (my case). The transmitter is also the temp/hygrometer sensor ,meaning you lose a lot of data and that data is used in algorithms to figure heat index,wind chill,and dew points. The Ambient WS1090 is repairable,I have ordered the inexpensive replacement part. The Davis Station will not be repaired as over 80% of the system got fried by the strike,it's cheaper to replace it.

That is when the dilemma  started . Do I spend thousands on a new Davis wireless system or try a different route? I finally decided a different route could be refreshing. So I inventoried all the digital style weather stuff I have bought over the last 25 years and one station stood out. Most of them are beyond dead and have sensors that can't be read and are hard to find to replace. The one that stood out was made by AcuRite. It stood out because everything still worked.The LaCrosse no longer reports wind or temperature.The Taylor is still operative but has lost the temperature sensor.That left the Acu-Rite. The station is model number 00593W and here is a picture:  
" />

The 00593W is the oldest working digital station I have. I believe it is over 10 years old. I remember I liked it so much ,I gave a few as gifts for Christmas. The station is also an Atomic Clock and a forecaster. It is a simple station meaning it gives a lot of data but does not record rain,wind or wind direction. The more I played with it the easier my dilemma was solved.

I went to the Acu-Rite web site and started looking. I noticed they have came a long way so I bought one of their newer color stations to try as my main. This is the Station I bought and will use this blog as an open review .
The Acu-Rite 001036:


In Action above my house:
" />

I have owned the station for almost 1 week now . The first thing I noticed is this station is feature loaded and puts a lot of weather data at your finger tips. I will say this the system was easy to install but will require a bit more effort than the instructions to secure it for hurricane force winds which we can get here on the North Gulf Coast. The fan aspirated temperature system seem to provide an accurate reading even in the long summer days in the Southeast U.S. I really like the barometer and forecasting features. The Barometer actually records and learns from it's trends to provide a more accurate forecast by your specific elevation and location . Today we got measurable rainfall and it was dead on. I like the idea that you can calibrate the rainfall. rather than go through all the features ,I will let you read and study them for yourself. Here is a link to Acu-Rite and this particular station:
http://www.acurite.com/8-pro-digital-weather-station-with-pc-connect-01036.html

This station also downloads to Acu-Link software so you can track your data. The station also has the ability to upload to Weather Underground. You don't have to purchase extra software and hardware to link this station. There is also other weather station software you can buy that will support this station one of the is the feature rich Weather Display that will allow you to post data to a web site . This software also does graphs and has many features. Here is a link to it Weather Display :
http://www.weather-display.com/index.php
Weather Display:

Acu-Rite has a great site to download your data in widget form meaning you can view your data from a PC or from an IPhone. here is a picture I took of my screen with my station and data at "My Backyard Weather"
" />

Now I can get back to watching the weather and evaluating this new station!!! This blog will be continued as I progress along the learning curve of the Acu-Rite 001036 weather station!!


* Poetic license:)

OOOH.... Nice new station! Bummer about the other one. I'll have to see if I can get a widget for it, to put on the page

I think you can by joining "My Backyard Weather" you can register without owning a station and view others and I believe you can create that widget

3rd! Nice PWS gomey. I'm too skeered to wrap up too much money investing in one. I'll live vicariously though you.

aug you can't take it with you....and IF you don't spend it on yourself ,I am sure someone else will find a way to spend it for ya!!...LOL Live a little!