This knowledgebase is intended to be a self-sufficient troubleshooting guide for modern Davis stations. But there are various additional resources available both from Davis and more generally on the web which offer more technical detail on certain specific topics. Listed below are the Davis Support resources, while some links to third-party websites dealing with particular topics can be found on the External Links page.
Instruction manuals
First and foremost, please take the time to read the instruction manuals that are supplied with each new Davis product before you contact support with a question. These are well-written and contain all of the basic information that you need to understand how to install and use your weather station. Don’t overlook the small ‘Quick Reference Guide’ which is an excellent aide-memoire for operating the console buttons and functions. If you’ve mislaid any of the original manuals then please see:
Davis PDF manuals: Copies of all Davis manuals are available for free download from the support section of the Davis website. You simply need to choose which product category you’re searching for and then pick the appropriate manual from the list. The indexing isn’t great, but with a little exploration and perseverance you should be able to track down the exact manual that you’re after.
Weatherlink software support
As with most software, comprehensive instructions and information for using the Weatherlink program is provided by the Help menu which is available from within the program once it has been installed. It is well worth taking the time to review the very detailed information that is available within the Help system – there are very few Weatherlink questions that are not answered here, but do use the Index and Search functions to help locate answers to specific questions. Don’t forget that in addition to full descriptions of all of the menu options there are also important sections on ‘Technical Reference’ and ‘Data Calculation’ which answer many of the more detailed technical questions on how individual weather parameters are defined and calculated.
Davis support website
The support website will be found at: www.davisnet.com/weather-monitoring/#resources and contains several categories of support resource for reading/viewing and for download. The main and more useful categories are linked below:
Application Notes
www.davisnet.com/support/weather/support_docs.asp?dtype=3
Application notes provide additional background and supplementary information on a range of topics. Some notes such as AN28 ‘Derived Variables in Davis Weather Products’ (which explains in detail how the various derived variables displayed by Davis stations are calculated) are a goldmine of information about specific topics, while others relate to much narrower topics. Several of the notes are at least a few years’ old now but still contain relevant information.
Video Instructions
www.davisnet.com/resources/weather-monitoring/#video
There are two videos currently on the Davis site, both relating to maintenance on the VP2 ISS, one covering replacement of the temperature/humidity sensor and the other replacement of the wireless transmitter board. Both procedures are pretty straightforward but it can be very useful to watch someone else doing it first and to pick up one or two practical tips. The videos don’t quite have Hollywood production values but are still worthwhile to view. It may often be better to download each video and then view rather than trying to stream them.
Curiously, there are also some additional Davis videos that are well worth a look, but which are not currently (April 2016) listed on the Davis video support page, including:
These are all viewable via the links given above on the Davis channel on Youtube.
Firmware and software Downloads
www.davisnet.com/support/weather/downloads/index.asp
The link above provides software downloads in four distinct categories – you will need to look carefully for the particular download that you’re seeking. Be especially careful that any firmware download is for the specific console that you have – do not confuse cabled and wireless models, they have different firmware and be sure to read any notes alongside the download before proceeding – some downloads apply only to console types of a particular age or version.
Weatherlink software – full downloads and updates: These are no longer listed on the Davis support website but are still fully available from the weatherlink.com site. For further instructions please see our Weatherlink download topic.
In addition to the above, which covers all the main downloads that should be needed, there is a supplementary download area at:
toolbox.davisnet.com/downloads/
This contains a few extra utilities and drivers to cover old or otherwise unusual configurations and utilities to help with troubleshooting.
Specification and data sheets
Full accuracy, mechanical etc specifications are available for all Davis products in specifiaction documents and data sheets available at:
www.davisnet.com/support/weather/support_docs.asp?dtype=2
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