With the new transistorized miniature weather stations on the market, you can predict tomorrow's weather like a pro.

We all know what effect the weather has on doing anything outdoors, stuff like boating, fishing and hunting, camping, farming, and even simple things like planning a picnic, so the more we know about what's-to-come weather-wise, the better off we are. What will it be like tomorrow and how will it affect our plans? How about wind, rain, barometers jumping up and down, temperature drops, and other critical factors? When the outside temperature drops and the wind picks up, things can get real uncomfortable, so knowing what tomorrow might bring is certainly an advantage.

You can now be your own forecasters by using any one of a series of miniature weather stations available and inexpensive (under-$20) weather radios that monitor the conditions in local areas. These weather monitoring devices, jammed with tiny transistors and digital readouts, let users know the barometric pressure, speed and wind direction, the outside air temperature and windchill factor, the altitude at your location, the interior temperature, the date and time, and the high and low temperatures of the past 24-hours. At a cost of $100-and-up for a good weather stations and under-$20 for the weather radios, they're neat accessories for anyone interested in knowing what’s going on outside.

I’ve experimented with a variety of weather stations and choose the Vantage Pro by Davis Instruments. Since installing one in my house, I've been impressed with its unique capabilities and I use it all time when I'm planning a trip on my boat or just thinking about going to the beach (I live on Florida’s Gulf Coast). My brother owns a 600-acre vineyard in California and I give him one for Christmas. He uses his to monitor the outside temp and wind speeds which could, under certain conditions, have a drastic effect on his crops. With the VP, the outside temperature is monitored continuously and gives him ample warning when there might be a drastic change in the weather. Not much bigger than a paperback book with quick view icons flashing across the display, the unit shows conditions like sunny, partly sunny, cloudy, rain and a moving ticker-tape display giving more details. The station can be mounted almost anywhere and runs on batteries, DC external power, or 110-volt AC power with an adapter.

What’s unique about the Vantage Pro is its wireless outdoor sensor which transmits to the base station up to 800-feet line of sight with a typical range of up to 500-feet. That means no wires dangling out the window or holes drilled in the wall to feed a cable through to an outdoor temperature probe or anemometer. The remote sensor includes all that; an anemometer, temperature, humidity sensors, and rain collector with self-emptying tipping bucket. The sensor runs on solar power and functions with as little as one hour or sunlight a day.

In addition to providing weather information, the VP contains a timer that counts elapsed time up to 60 hours and an alarm that can be set to warn of low or high temperatures, time, and wind speeds. I can set the outside temperature alarm to sound if the temperature drops drastically so I can turn on the pool pump (it froze one night). The wind alarm went off at 3 a.m. one morning when the wind speed hit 35 miles an hour, so I jumped out of bed and cranked up the awning.

I have two Vantage weather stations, one in the house, one on my boat, so I wired the boat station right into the electrical system. The unit must be installed out of the sun because the interior temperature sensor is inside the unit and checks ambient cabin temperature. Once the station is in scan mode, it can review any combinations of functions, thereby providing an ever-changing digital display of weather conditions.

Anemometers are not designed to be used in a moving vehicle, so a few modifications were called for. With a little ingenuity-input from some local boaters, we came up with a solution. The senor unit was attached to a mast and when I'm underway and to keep the anemometer from spinning around wildly, I slip a soft chamois bag (my wife made it) over the cups and tie the drawstring. When I dock, I can orientate the sensor and anemometer using the boat's compass to indicate the correct wind conditions and direction. This will work if you’re installing a weather station in a motorhome or any moving vehicle.

Installing the unit is simple. It can go anywhere, on the wall, on the kitchen countertop, wherever. Once you've decided where to mount the unit, you plug it in and attach to its power source and that’s it. The batteries are there for backup in case of power failure. For additional weather updates on rain possibilities, freeze warnings and everything from incoming hurricanes to tornadoes, I have a Radio Shack battery-power weather station with built-in alert (catalog no. 12-143). It continuously monitors the weather stations around the country and when severe weather warnings are transmitted, the unit sounds an alarm.

If you’re an outdoor person, knowing what’s to come weather-wise is nice information to have if you’re into skiing, boating, hiking, hunting, and fishing. If you have outdoor stuff that needs protection (like my brothers vineyard), this is a great way to keep up on what’s about to happen weather-wise. With the addition of a weather station like the Vantage Pro and a weather radio, you can keep tabs on Mother Nature's changing moods. With the VP flashing weather updates and my Radio Shack $29.95 weather radio monitoring the National Weather Service, I’m on top of the weather all of the time.

You can get a free catalog of weather instruments from Davis Instruments (3465 Diablo Avenue, Hayward, CA 94545), by calling 800-678 3669, or by checking their web page at http://www.davisnet.com/weather/

For the scientific-minded, here are the specifications on the Davis Vantage Pro unit I use.

• Inside Temperature Range: -50F to 140F
• Outside Temperature Range: -50F to 140F
• Wind Direction Display 16 points (22.5W on compass rose, 1W in digital display)
• Wind Speed 2 to 175 mph
• Rainfall Daily 0 to 40.95"
• Accumulated 0 to 99.99"
• Barometric Pressure 26.00 to 32.00
• Inside Humidity 0 to 100% RH
• Time Accuracy: 115 sec/month