Am I allowed to sound off here - sorry if not.

Sorry about the title - a bit of a mouth full really. But I am really
shocked with what I found out tonight regarding David costing for there add
on accessories.

Example 1
I currently run the Day time Fan assisted Radiation (DFARS) shield for my
Davis Pro weather station. This is solar powered and therefore only drives
the fan during the day when sufficient light (and therefore solar heat)
falls on the solar panel to power the fan - the DRARS costs about £90. The
Full 24/7 FARS costs about £200.

Now I have just seen the full 24/7 FARS kit and the only difference between
this and the DFARS is two C cell NiCad battery (£4 for the both) and a
simple overcharge regulator circuit (say £2) I could build one for less than
£1 - cost difference - £110 !!! The same fixtures and fitting are on the £90
DFARS - only you don't get the batteries and cables - which seems a very
high price hike IMO, why is this so..

Example 2
The sensor chip inside the Davis UV sensor (£330) can be purchased from RS
components for £0.49 pence and that is it !! - I guess that we pay the other
£329.51 for the plastic housing and the connection cable - yes good value
over all.

I do sometimes feel that we are being ripped of by the weather station
manufactures (think of BMW cars at the cost of accessories) - sure I want to
see them and there supply chain make a profit in order to stay in business.

So are we being ripped off - I think so.

cheers

Stuart Robinson
http://www.ukweatherworld.co.uk

On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 23:50:47 +0000, Stu wrote:

Am I allowed to sound off here - sorry if not.

Sorry about the title - a bit of a mouth full really. But I am really
shocked with what I found out tonight regarding David costing for there add
on accessories.

Its not just the accessories, look at the price of that stations US / vs
UK
Anyone would think that the exchange rate was about 75p to the dollar not
nearly two dollars to the pound. And davis make it very difficult for
anyone to sell to the UK as the have an 'exclusive' deal with ICS.
Just buy a UK from the US and have it sent to France save lots of money.
example davis vantage pro wireless from US $535 (approx £300 at most)
Ok you need to add vat shipiing and duty I reckon £400 tops.
Uk price ohh about £600
UV sensor from US £399
Complete atation with UV etc etc #6160 WIRELESS VANTAGE PRO PLUS w/STD.
RADIATION SHIELD INCLUDES FREE SNOW GAUGE $895.00

Talk about rip off britain.

very simple answer is DONT BUY IT

Abraham


"Stu" wrote in message
...
Am I allowed to sound off here - sorry if not.

Sorry about the title - a bit of a mouth full really. But I am really
shocked with what I found out tonight regarding David costing for there
add on accessories.

Example 1
I currently run the Day time Fan assisted Radiation (DFARS) shield for my
Davis Pro weather station. This is solar powered and therefore only drives
the fan during the day when sufficient light (and therefore solar heat)
falls on the solar panel to power the fan - the DRARS costs about £90. The
Full 24/7 FARS costs about £200.

Now I have just seen the full 24/7 FARS kit and the only difference
between this and the DFARS is two C cell NiCad battery (£4 for the both)
and a simple overcharge regulator circuit (say £2) I could build one for
less than £1 - cost difference - £110 !!! The same fixtures and fitting
are on the £90 DFARS - only you don't get the batteries and cables - which
seems a very high price hike IMO, why is this so..

Example 2
The sensor chip inside the Davis UV sensor (£330) can be purchased from RS
components for £0.49 pence and that is it !! - I guess that we pay the
other £329.51 for the plastic housing and the connection cable - yes good
value over all.

I do sometimes feel that we are being ripped of by the weather station
manufactures (think of BMW cars at the cost of accessories) - sure I want
to see them and there supply chain make a profit in order to stay in
business.

So are we being ripped off - I think so.

cheers

Stuart Robinson
http://www.ukweatherworld.co.uk