I am a weather nerd. Always have been. I always have liked to know what the weather is going to do, especially the wind to see if waves are being generated. I have 9 different weather apps on my phone, though, two I rarely use and one is strictly for hurricanes. I’ve had an indoor/outdoor station for a long time, the last one being a little better than the previous (outside receiver died), which was much better than the previous. I’ve wanted one that tells the wind, rain, other conditions, plus, doesn’t overheat from the Sun like the older one.
I’ve tried three different ones. The first was the Acurite Irs (5 in 1), which works very well. However, the display was very hard to read unless you were standing over it. I couldn’t see the numbers from the couch. Plus, it only registers in whole numbers. Instead of 78.7 you get 79. Also, even it the screen’s lowest setting it was like having the tv on it was so bright. That went back.
The second was this one, which looked pretty good. It told UV and it connected to the Internet, so, I could nerd out and see the weather conditions at home when not home. From the start it told me the batteries in the outside unit were low, despite being brand new. Same when I put different brand new ones in. Then just dead within 4 hours. Toast. Going back.
Finally, this Logia 7 in 1 that was on sale for $127 from it’s $159.99 for prime day (it’s down to $143, still worth it). The display is wonderful. Easy to read, and I can see it despite my eyes being about a foot below it while sitting on the couch. Some say that the rain gauge is off, but, I haven’t tested in comparison to a manual gauge. Not that I care that much. The temperature doesn’t seem to spike high when exposed to direct sunlight. Since it is on the back deck, the wind meter is probably not perfect, but, that’s OK. So far it is all working excellent, and it was very easy to hook up. You do need to purchase a bracket or something to put it on, as it does not come with one.
Also, you can hook it up to Weather Underground, and I did. I can see my weather station wherever I am. So, if you are looking for one and do not want to spend hundreds (I’m not that much of a weather nerd), this one is perfect. Of course, we’ll see what happens when the weather gets extreme and when it gets cold.
Helpful post
It would interest me to know how you calibrate various readings to determine if they are as accurate and precise as they claim. Measurement is after all an exact science of describing inexact observations. For most thing I use the “close enough” standard. But if you are wanting to track the global rise in average temperatures, over a few decades, a precision of 1/2 degree is likely not good enough.
For some of my chemistry trials, very precice measurements were required so I would use 4 different scales to settle on consistency against a known weight. Most commercial available scales, thermometers, Tachometers, barometers only measure “good enough”.
For me, it’s pretty much “close enough”. I used a manual rain gauge, and for Monday overnight through the afternoon, when the rains ended, and it was almost exactly what the unit recorded. Winds and temperatures have been mostly the same as those at other private stations near me. And it is not spiking like my old unit. I do have to wait for a hot, cloudless day to see what happens.