Just Taken Delivery Of A Peet Bros Ultimeter

[skifreak]

This afternoon I just took delivery of a Peet Bros Ultimeter 2100 with optional screened thermo/hygro sensor and pro-anemometer. These unfortunately aren't to easy to come by in the UK, there is one Ham Radio specialist who supplies the basic Peet Bros stations, but not any of the optional sensors. Thus I ordered direct from Peet Bros in the USA, which obviously incurred fairly hefty shipping charges and UK Vat bill from HMRC.

My reason for wanting a Peet Bros station over a Davis Vantage Pro, is the capacity to hook a Peet Bros AWS either through the console or the sensor junction box directly to a PC without the need for a separate (and usually expensive) data logger. Peet Bros also freely provide a complete description of the various serial output modes the Ultimeter is capable off (including the human readable 'weather text' format). This suits my needs perfectly in that it enables me to write scripts to interface the AWS without use of propriety AWS software as is the case with the Vantage Pro. Another factor is the option to add a Peet Bros Weather Picture display board at a later date.

Despite the shipping and VAT, the station still cost £150 less than prices I was quoted online for a Vantage Pro II cabled model with data logger and software.

The Ultimeters ultimate destination is 3000ft up CairnGorm Mountain on an exposed flank of the hill-side between Coire Cas and the M1 Poma where I'm hoping we'll see some impressive wind speeds...

First impressions are fantastic. It's clearly in a different league to the technoline/la crosse range of stations, it looks the part, the build quality seems fantastic and each individual part of the wind sensor is replaceable (which will no doubt prove useful with a weather station on CairnGorm!). The very large cups of the pro-anemometer rotate in the slightest of breezes, showing speeds on the console of just 0.5mph.

For now though it's in much more hospitable surroundings, temporarily lashed to the side of a fence in Inverness while I play about with it a bit. Unfortunately I forgot to order the serial output cable, so will be off to Maplin in the morning to look for the right adaptor or bits or cables!

Edited August 21, 2009 by skifreak