Jump to content
Snow?
Local
Radar
Cold?
IGNORED

TFA Nexus Weather Station: Software Compatabiliy


Recommended Posts

Posted
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm sunny summers
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria

I have just purchased my second Nexus Weather Station after the rain gauge and wind vane failed on the old one, it made more sense to buy a whole new station at £150 than a new rain gauge etc at £90 and now I have two consuls around the house reading off one set of instruments....Great!

 

HOWEVER, as ever the software that come with the Nexus has more bugs than a mouldy cheese sandwich so does anyone know of any other Weather Data Recording software I can use from the internet preferably for free?

 

I understand the Nexus is not compatible with several software packages but will it work with any? What about Weather Display?

 

Any answers most welcome.

 

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

It's fine with WeatherDisplay Andy - but it's not free - but you can trial it which must be worth a go see how you get on.
You could have it upload to wunderground which is now a quite decent looking weather page with no need for any webspace or FTP complications.
http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=INORTHYO13
I do still quite like the classic page layout though
http://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=INORTHYO13

The price is reasonable since it's a one off lifetime buy, and your licensed program can be transferred to new computers (yourself) with minimal problems if you follow the guide.
I did find a German free software worked with it but it was little better than the TFA program!

Edited by 4wd
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm sunny summers
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria

It's fine with WeatherDisplay Andy - but it's not free - but you can trial it which must be worth a go see how you get on.

You could have it upload to wunderground which is now a quite decent looking weather page with no need for any webspace or FTP complications.http://www.wunderground.com/personal-weather-station/dashboard?ID=INORTHYO13

I do still quite like the classic page layout thoughhttp://classic.wunderground.com/weatherstation/WXDailyHistory.asp?ID=INORTHYO13

The price is reasonable since it's a one off lifetime buy, and your licensed program can be transferred to new computers (yourself) with minimal problems if you follow the guide.

I did find a German free software worked with it but it was little better than the TFA program!

Thanks that's great I will give it a go.

I am surprised the Nexus isn't more popular as all the units rain, wind, temp etc are separate and wireless. I thought about buying the Davies Vantage Vue but it's expensive and all the units are in one place so either the rain gauge is too high or the thermometer too low!

The manufacturers of these weather stations should read the excellent 'Weather Observers Handbook' which you can still download from the MetO site, clearly the Nexus is one of the very few electronic weather stations that can meet the internationally agreed criteria.

Even the much praised Vantage Pro suffers from the same limitations and it's no good having accurate instruments if they are sited in the wrong place!

Andy

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm sunny summers
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria

I am not computer illiterate but the jargon around these programmes is beyond me, I went on the the Weather Display website and I was totally lost after reading a few minutes!

The TFA software is basic and prone to bugs but at least you don't need a degree in programming to understand it.

Will get one of the kids to have a look again at Weather Display but why oh why is life so complicated.

Grumpy Old Man

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

I know what you mean, however the WD download and install is fairly standard and there's a wizard to run through when you set up your console to communicate with it.
You can go back and change practically everything later. 

The part which is undeniably complicated is getting it to periodically update a website, but you can set it up just running on the PC to start with, then look into making a wunderground account and set up WD with the account details.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Dorset
  • Weather Preferences: warehamwx.co.uk
  • Location: Dorset

I am not computer illiterate but the jargon around these programmes is beyond me, I went on the the Weather Display website and I was totally lost after reading a few minutes!

The TFA software is basic and prone to bugs but at least you don't need a degree in programming to understand it.

Will get one of the kids to have a look again at Weather Display but why oh why is life so complicated.

Grumpy Old Man

I used to use WD a few years ago, while I knew what I was doing, it is still one of the most complicated pieces of software I've come across. lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent

Not a software issue, but I had a Nexus delivered today, its all setup and appears to be functioning, but the wind speed is completely wrong. It is only showing a speed of @4-5 miles PH. yet it is clearly around 3 times that and it is spinning properly?

 

Do I have a faulty unit or am I missing something?

 

Cheers

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire
  • Weather Preferences: Snowy winters, hot, sunny springs and summers.
  • Location: Runcorn, Cheshire

Not a software issue, but I had a Nexus delivered today, its all setup and appears to be functioning, but the wind speed is completely wrong. It is only showing a speed of @4-5 miles PH. yet it is clearly around 3 times that and it is spinning properly?

 

Do I have a faulty unit or am I missing something?

 

Cheers

 

 

Check to see if that's the average, or it's doing a calculation of the mean etc. Also, try setting the software to display gusts?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent

Check to see if that's the average, or it's doing a calculation of the mean etc. Also, try setting the software to display gusts?

Set on Gusts, showing 6mph with gust of 10mph which just doesn't seem right some how?? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Chevening Kent
  • Location: Chevening Kent

I have decided to send the Nexus back, it measured a top wind speed of 7mph last night, we took it in and spun it at hundreds of rpm and could only manage 19mph so clearly something is wrong with it.

 

I have got a budget up to @£300 for a slighly better one if anyone has any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: North York Moors
  • Location: North York Moors

Davis Vue, but you need the logger to link to a computer - will be a little over budget.
There's nothing wrong with the Nexus - they don't all ship with a faulty anemometer!
The console was confusing to set up and check things when I had one though.
In particular it would show last 24 hours rain rather than todays rain .
There's probably a way to change that but it isn't simple to work out without constantly referring to the book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Poole, Dorset 42m ASL
  • Location: Poole, Dorset 42m ASL

Davis Vue, but you need the logger to link to a computer - will be a little over budget.

 

Doesn't the Oregon Scientific range have a built in data logger to avoid that issue?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria
  • Weather Preferences: Cold, snowy winters and warm sunny summers
  • Location: Penrith Cumbria

I considered the vantage Vue but I didn't like the all in one housing, no good in my fairly enclosed garden.

The anemometer on the Nexus isn't the best piece of equipment but I find the thermometer and rain gauge extremely reliable and compare extremely well with the nearby MetO station, indeed, I gave acquired a MetO grade mercury thermometer and the Nexus was only 0.1c out!

Remember when recording wind the vane should be 30 feet above the ground so you can't compare readings taken at 6 feet.

Andy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Posted
  • Location: Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire
  • Location: Skirlaugh, East Yorkshire

I considered the vantage Vue but I didn't like the all in one housing, no good in my fairly enclosed garden.

The anemometer on the Nexus isn't the best piece of equipment but I find the thermometer and rain gauge extremely reliable and compare extremely well with the nearby MetO station, indeed, I gave acquired a MetO grade mercury thermometer and the Nexus was only 0.1c out!

Remember when recording wind the vane should be 30 feet above the ground so you can't compare readings taken at 6 feet.

Andy

One thing to bear in mind is not all temp sensors are created equal. One may be +0.1C out and another -0.5C out and all within spec if the accuracy is +/-0.5C. They will also be out by different amounts at different temperatures, e.g. 0.5C out at 20C but perhaps more than a degree out below 0C. Its a can of worms really but for most people who just want a good guide to outside conditions they are sufficient.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 years later...

Can see discussion of the TFA anemometer (and I believe a Honeywell model sold in the USA is similar). My problem is that I replaced my TFA anerometer unit under warranty in mid-2015, but now again I get very low wind-speeds recorded, maximum 11 kph, in what are very strong winds (in South London). The cups appear to spin freely, and I've recently replaced the batteries. Things otherwise work well. Does anyone know - is it possible to do a repair? Otherwise, I see reconditioned units on sale - would they be a reliable buy?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...