Davis Instruments Vantage Pro, WeatherLink, WeatherLink 6520C, WeatherLink 7855, WeatherLink 7855SR Getting Started Manual

WeatherLink

Macintosh OS X Version

For Vantage Pro, Monitor II, Wizard III and Perception II Weather Stations

®

Getting Started

Guide

Product # 6520C, 7855 & 7855SR

FCC Part 15 Class B Registration Warning

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device,
pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions,
may cause harmful interference t o radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful inter­ference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment on
and off, the user is encouraged to try to corr ect the interfe rence by one or m o re of t he following
measures:

•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

•Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver

•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected

•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved in writing by Davis Instruments may void the
user’s authority to operate this equipment.

Product Number: 6520C, 7855, 7855SR
Davis Instruments Part Number: 7395.180

®

WeatherLink

Mac OS X Version
Rev. B Getting Started Guide (August 19, 2002)
© Davis Instruments Corp. 2002. All rights reserved.

Vantage Pro, WeatherLink, Weather Monitor II, and Weather Wizard III are registered trade­marks of Davis Instruments Corp. Hayes is a registered trademark of Hayes Microcomputer
Products, Inc. Macintosh is a trademark of Apple Computer Corporation.

WELCOME TO WEATHERLINK!

Contents of Package

Welcome to WeatherLink!

Welcome to Davis Instruments’ WeatherLink for Macintosh OS X. The Weather­link software and data logger allow you to connect your Apple Macintosh com­puter running OS X to a Davis weather sta tion so yo u can stor e, view, plot,
analyze, export, print, and put on the Internet the weather data collected by your
station.

Contents of Package

Before continuing, please make sure your WeatherLink package contains the fol­lowing listed items:

WeatherLink for Vantage Pro, Mac OS X (6 520C)

• Data Logge r for Vantage Pro

• 8’ (2.4 m) cable with connector to link your station to your computer.

•9-pin DIN connector

• WeatherLink software CD ROM

•Loopback test connector

WeatherLink fo r Mac OS X (7855 )

• Data Logger for the origin al Davis We ather Stations: Wizard III, Monitor II,
and Perception II. Includes 8’ (2.4 m) cable to link your station to your com­puter.

•9-pin DIN connector

• WeatherLink software CD ROM

•Loopback test connector

DIN Connector

Original

Weather Station

Data Logger

Vantage Pro

Weather Station

Data Logger

Loopback Test

Connector

1

HARDWARE INSTALL ATION

Required Accessories

Required Accessories

You will need to install a third-party serial port adapter on your Macintosh com­puter in order to run WeatherLink for Mac OS X. The Keyspan USB Twin Serial
adapter has been tested with WeatherLink, but other serial adapters should also
work:

• USB-to-serial po rt adapt er

Optional Accessories

The following optional acc essories , designed for use with WeatherL ink, are avail­able from your dealer or may be ordered directly from Davis.

• Telephone Modem Adapter
Connects the data logger to a modem.

• Use adapter #6533 with Vantage Pro Stations.

• Use adapter #7870 with Wizard III, Monitor II, an d Perception II stations.

• Standard 4-Conductor Extens ion Cab le
Use one 40’ (12 m) extension cable (#7876-040) to extend the distance betw een

your station and the computer. (48’ (14.4 m) maximum)

Hardware Installation

You can connect a computer directly to your weather station using the Weather­Link data logger (local connection), or you can connect a computer to a remote
weather station using a phone modem (remote connection). Requirements and
installation for each type of connect ion differ, and are explained separa te ly below.

Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for local and remote connections are listed below.

Local Connect ion Hardware Re quirements

In addition to the provided hardware, the following are required for a direct con­nection.

• Macintosh computer running OS X v1 0.01 or newer with at least 5 MB of free
disk space

The amount of space necessary for the data files depends on the archive inter­val. Database files containing data stored at a 30 minute archive interval
require approximately 36K of disk space per month of data. The file size
changes in a linear fashion depending on the archive interval. For example,
data stored at a 1–min ute int erv a l r equ ires approximat ely 1 MB/mon th while
the data stored at a 2–hour interval requ ires approximately 9K/month.

• A serial port adapter connec ted to a Macintosh USB port.

2

HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Connecting Vantage Pro Weather Stations

Remote Connection Hardware Requirements

In addition to the provided hardware and the computer equipment listed above,
the following hardware is required for a phone modem connection.

• One external modem to connect to the data logger at the remote site.

• One internal or external modem connected to your Macintosh computer

• Modems must be Hayes

®

–compatible and able to send data at 9600 baud for
use with Vantage Pro stat ions or at 1200 or 2400 baud for use with a Monitor
II, Wizard II, or Perception II weather s tation..

• Telephone Modem Adapter
The Telephone Modem Adapter is specially wired to provide the connection

between the data logger and the modem.

• Use a #6533 ad apter with Vantage Pro Stations.

• Use a #7870 adapter with Wizard III, Monitor II, and Perception stations.

Connecting Vantage Pro Weather Stations

The instructions below explain how to connect your Vantage Pro weather station
directly to your computer. Note that if you extend the cable run beyond 48'
(14.4 m), the computer may have difficulty communic ating with the station.

Local Connection for Vantage Pro Weather Stations

1. Enter the console’s Setup Mode by pressing and holding the [DONE] key,
then pressing the [-] key.

Entering Setup Mode ensures that the station is not writing any data and
saves the current daily tota ls, highs, and lows to memory.

2. Remove the battery cover from the console back and remove all power by
removing the batteries and AC-power adapter, if present.

Failure to remove power to the console before installing the data logger may
cause damage to the data logger or console.

3. Carefully insert the data logger into the large receptacle jack marked
EXPANSION inside the battery compartment

Guide the data logger cable through the square slot below the receptacle.

Note: Make sure that whenever you connect or disconnect the logger from the

console that the console is NOT powered up. Plugging or unplugging the
data logger while power is applied can lock up or damage the logger.

4. Restore power to the weather station by reinstalling the batteries and reat­taching the power adapter, if present.

The weather station should beep three times; each beep should occur within
about one second of the others.

5. Replace the battery cover, ensuring that the data logger cable exits through
the square slot.

6. Connect the serial port adapter to a USB port on your Macintosh computer
and install it according to the manufacture’s instructions.

Note: You must install the serial port adapter before you connect the data logger to the

adapter.

3

HARDWARE INSTALL ATION

Connecting Vantage P ro Weath er Statio ns

USB

port

USB/Serial Port

Adapter

40 feet (12 m)

4-conductor

Extension Cable

Macintosh
Computer

DIN

Connector

Coupler

Logger

Option

Data

Vantage Pro Console

Battery Cover

8 feet (2.5 m)

Data Logger Cable

(standard)

T y pical Local Connection for Vantage Pro Weather Stations

7. Connect the 9-pin DIN connector to the serial port adapter.

8. Insert the cable plug at the end of the short cable coming from the data log­ger into the receptacle on the end of the 8’ cable. Then insert the cable plug
on the end of the 8’ cable into the DIN connector.

The cable connecting the data logger to the computer is 8’ (2.4 m) long. If you
need to place the station cons ole more than 8’ fr om the computer, use a 40’ (12
m) standard 4-conductor extension cable. Do not attempt to use more than 40’
of extension cable, or the data logger may have difficulty communicating with
the computer.

9. Check the serial Baud rate settings on the console.

• Enter the console Setup Mode by pressing and holding the [DONE] key,

then pressing the [-] key on your console.

• Use the [DONE] and [BAR] keys to scroll to the Baud Rate screen. The

Baud Rate setting here on the console must be same as that set in the
WeatherLink software.

• Use the [+] an d [-] keys to change the baud r ate setting, i f needed.

• Press and hold the [DONE] key to exit Setup Mode.

• The default setting is 19200 Baud.

4