WMR100 Oregon Scientific Advanced Wireless Home Weather Stations

WMR100 Advanced Wireless Home Weather Stations, By Oregon Scientific

The WMR100 Oregon Scientific Advanced Home Wireless Weather Stations are advanced, yet cost effective weather stations. The WMR-100A measures indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and rainfall with the included sensors. Calculated values include forecast, dew point, wind chill and heat index. Remote temperature and humidity from up to 9 additional remote locations, and UV light intensity may be measured with optional sensors (not included). All remote sensors are totally wireless with a range of up to 300 feet.

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The WMR100 home weather station console stands about 6 1/2 inches high, and is finished in silver and titanium gray. All commonly used functions are controlled by the black rotary dial.

The WMR100 has five display areas. The first area, the forecast area, displays one of five icons representing the likely weather for the next 12 to 24 hours.

The second display area can display current, minimum and maximum temperatures and relative humidity for indoor and up to 10 remote locations, plus comfort level indicator and trend line, heat index, wind chill and dew point level.

The third display area can display wind speed, gust, maximum and average, and direction. In addition, one of five graphical flag icons is displayed representing wind speed.

The fourth display area displays barometric pressure, plus a bar graph which can display barometric pressure or rainfall rate/history for the last 24 hours, or with the optional sensor, UV index history.

The fifth display area displays time and moon phase. The clock display can display time with seconds, time with day of the week, or date. The moon phase icon displays on of 6 icons representing the phase of the moon. Clock functions are atomic, and include two alarms. The clock can receive WWVB radio signals from the U.S. atomic clock source in Ft. Collins Colorado, allowing it to set itself and maintain split second accuracy, as long as the WWVB radio waves reach the unit. The clock may also be set manually. For additional information, see the note below.

The system features memories, giving the value and time of occurrence for the following conditions:

Indoor and outdoor minimum and maximum temperatures
Indoor and outdoor minimum and maximum humidity
Maximum heat index
Minimum wind chill,
Maximum and Minimum Dew point
High Gust Wind
24 hour accumulated rainfall

Weather alarms may be set to alert you of certain weather conditions. Once activated, the alarm will sound when a certain criterion is met.

Alarms can be set for:

Indoor and outdoor high/low temperatures, dew point and high/low humidity
High Heat Index
High Gust Wind
Low wind chill
High UV
Pressure drop
High rainfall rate

The Oregon Scientific WMR100 comes with two sensor assemblies. The first assembly includes sensors for outdoor temperature and humidity, wind speed (with a cup type anemometer), and wind direction. This sensor comes with a mounting poll, or may be mounted on an existing mast or wall. Please see the manual for mounting details. This sensor is powered by 4 AA batteries. Lithium batteries are recommended for cold weather operation.

The second sender is a self emptying rain bucket, which is to be mounted on a level surface. The rain bucket is powered by 2 AA batteries.

This product can work with up to 10 sensors at any one time to capture outdoor temperature, relative humidity or UV readings in various locations. Optional wireless remote sensors such as those listed below can be purchased separately.

Thermo-hygro THGR800 (3-Ch)
Thermo-hygro THGR810 (10-Ch)
UV UVN800

The weather station is capable of connecting to a PC computer using the USB connection. The “Virtual Weather Station” software can read the latest weather data collected from the base station. Please download the software from the following website: http://www2.oregonscientific.com/assets/software/wmr100.exe

Features:

Rotary dial controls for easy console navigation
Includes five sensors for comprehensive weather information (UV sensor available for purchase separately)
Forecast the weather 12 to 24 hours in advance using graphical icons
Displays temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, wind, rainfall, dew point, windchill, and heat index data
Bar graph shows 24-hour history of barometric, UV Index, and rainfall data
Automatically sets itself to the U.S. Atomic Clock and adjusts for Daylight Saving Time; includes alarm
Wind sensor provides information on wind speed, gust, and direction
PC software available for use with USB connection
Moon phase icon helps gauge moonlight and tides for outdoor activities
Displays three levels of temperature and humidity trends: Rising, Steady, or Falling
Wireless sensors transmit data from up to 300 feet from main unit
Minimum/maximum temperature and humidity memory with time/date stamp
HiGlo™ electro luminescent momentary backlight
Customizable weather alarms
Altitude adjustment for barometric pressure
Minimum System Requirements: Windows 32-bit operating system

PC System requirements

The minimum system requirements for use of the “Virtual Weather Station” software is:

Operating system: Microsoft Windows 98 or above
Processor: Pentium II 166Mhz or above
RAM: Min. 64Mb
Hard disk free space: Min. 30Mb

For additional information, please see the quick start manual and the instruction manual.

Marty's comments: So how does this unit stack up? Here are the pro's and con's.

First the good news, the WMR100 gives a lot of data for a reasonable price. It gives wind chill and heat index data, which many older units don't, as well as UV index, with an optional remote. The WMR100 is totally wireless, with 300 foot range in unobstructed space, no wires need to be run to use this unit, so setup is simple and uncluttered. The WMR100 can monitor temperature and humidity from numerous remote locations, which many stations can't.

The bad news? The remotes are wireless, but not solar powered. That is good from a cost and reliability standpoint, but it means you need to locate the remotes so that you can replace batteries occasionally. To get wind speed readings that match official readings, the wind speed remote needs to be mounted up high, clear of obstructions. That usually makes battery replacement difficult. If you really want to know what the wind speed and wind chill feels like out in the back yard, not up on the roof, then you want to mount it down low anyway, but your wind speed readings may not agree with the National Weather Service.

Another issue is that the thermo-hygro sender is incorporated with the wind speed sensor. Ideally, the wind speed sensor and the rain bucket should be out in the open, fully exposed. It is typically better to have the thermo-hygro sensor in the shade, to avoid having sunlight heat the sensor. If the thermo-hygro is white, and correctly designed with an outer shield and a ventilated inner sensor, the effects of solar heating will be minimized. It appears as though this one is designed that way.

The WMR100 will share one other issue with most wireless systems. In order to prolong battery life, the wireless transmitters send data periodically. If a sudden gust of wind comes along while you are watching the wind speed reading, you will not see the reading change until the sensor transmits.

Specifications:

BASE STATION
Dimensions (L x W x H)	143 x 89 x 165 mm (5.6 x 3.5 x 6.5 inches)
Weight	300g (0.66 lbs) without battery
INDOOR BAROMETER
Barometer unit	mb/hPa, inHg and mmHg
Measuring range	700 – 1050mb/hPa
Accuracy	+/- 10 mb/hPa
Resolution	1mb (0.0 inHg)
Altitude setting	Sea level User setting for compensation
Weather display	Sunny, Partly Cloudy, Cloudy, Rainy and Snowy
Memory	Historical data and bar chart for last 24hrs
INDOOR TEMPERATURE
Temp. unit	°C / °F
Displayed range.	0°C to 50°C (32°F to 122°F)
Operating range.	-30°C to 60°C (-4°F to 140°F)
Accuracy	0°C - 40°C: +/- 1°C (+/- 2.0°F) 40°C - 50°C: +/- 2°C (+/- 4.0°F)
Comfort	20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F)
Memory	Current, min and max temp. Dew Point w/ min and max
Alarm	Hi / Lo
INDOOR RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Displayed range	2% to 98%
Operating range	25% to 90%
Resolution	1%
Accuracy	25% - 40%: +/- 7% 40% - 80%: +/- 5% 80% - 90%: +/- 7%
Comfort	40% to 70%
Memory	Current, min and max
Alarm	Hi / Lo
RADIO-CONTROLLED / ATOMIC CLOCK
Synchronization	Auto or disabled
Clock display	HH:MM:SS
Hour format	12hr AM/PM or24hr
Calendar	DD/MM or MM/DD
Weekday in 5 languages	(E, G, F, I, S)
Battery	4 x UM-3 (AA) 1.5V batteries
AC adapter	6V

REMOTE WIND SENSOR UNIT
Weight	556 g (1.23 lbs) without battery
Wind speed unit	m/s, kph, mph, knots
Speed accuracy	2 m/s ~ 10 m/s (+/- 3 m/s) 10 m/s ~ 56 m/s (+/- 10%)
Direction accuracy	16 positions
Transmission of wind speed signal	Approx. every 14 seconds
Memory	Max speed gust
OUTDOOR TEMPERATURE
Temp. unit	°C / °F
Displayed range.	-50°C to 70°C (-58°F to 158°F)
Operating range.	-30°C to 60°C (-4°F to 140°F)
Accuracy	-20°C – 0°C: +/- 2°C (+/- 4.0°F) 0°C - 40°C: +/- 1°C (+/- 2.0°F) 40°C - 50°C: +/- 2°C (+/- 4.0°F) 50°C - 60°C: +/- 3°C (+/- 6.0°F)
Comfort	20°C to 25°C (68°F to 77°F)
Memory	Current, min and max temp. Dew Point w/ max and min Wind chill temp. and min
RELATIVE HUMIDITY
Displayed range.	2% to 98%
Operating range.	25% to 90%
Resolution	1%
Accuracy	25% - 40%: +/- 7% 40% - 80%: +/- 5% 80% - 90%: +/- 7%
Comfort	40% to 70%
Memory	Current, min and max
RF TRANSMISSION
RF frequency	433MHz
Range	Up to 100 meters (328 feet) with no obstructions
Transmission	Approx. every 60 seconds
No. of Channels	1 for Wind/ Rain/ UV and 10 for Temp. / Humidity
Battery	4 x UM-3 (AA) 1.5V
REMOTE RAIN GAUGE
Dimensions (L x W x H)	107 x 87 x 56 mm (4.2 x 3.4 x 2.2 inches)
Weight	134 g (0.3 lbs) without battery
Rainfall unit	Mm/hr and in/hr
Range	0 mm/hr – 999 mm/hr
Resolution	1 mm/hr
Accuracy	< 15 mm/hr: +/- 1 mm 15 mm to 9999 mm: +/- 7%
Memory	Past 24hrs, hourly and accumulated from last memory reset
Battery	2 x UM-3 (AA) 1.5V