Golf Broadcasts Use Wireless Weather Technology to Provide Real-Time Conditions on the Green


May 10, 2007. Communications Concepts Inc. (CCI) has teamed with Davis Instruments to provide real-time weather data during live golf broadcasts and other sporting events. CCI uses the portable, solar-powered wireless Vantage Pro2 weather station.

"It's a way to put the viewer on the green with the golfer, and to know the real-time conditions while the athlete is taking swing," said Jim Lewis, Vice President of Production for Communications Concepts, a Florida-based sports and space broadcasting company. "With the small package and portability of the wireless, solar-powered, professional-grade weather stations coming down to consumer-level pricing, we can put stations just off the green for our remote broadcasts and monitor current and changing conditions throughout the course. The broadcast commentator can hold the wireless weather console in his hands and communicate the weather conditions as often as he likes."

"It's important to remember that every green has its own microclimate," said Joan Peterson, Davis Instruments. "The wind speed and direction at Hole 3 may not be the same as Hole 9. Knowing current weather conditions at each site can help you manage your game. For broadcasters, it can give them insight into what each golfer has to deal with at any given moment. It's fun to see how the golfers handle the challenging of the game from a weather perspective."

CCI uses the portable, solar-powered wireless Vantage Pro2 weather station on the Duramed Futures Tour, which is aired on Sun Sports. Sun Sports is delivered to approximately five and half million homes on cable in Florida and another half-million homes on nationwide on Direct TV.

The Vantage Pro2 is one of the most sophisticated, affordable personal weather stations available to-day. Not only does it wirelessly transmit weather data from its sensors to a portable console every 2.5 seconds, it collects historical data and even does forecasting. It tracks a number of weather variables: temperature (indoor and outdoor), barometric pressure, indoor and outdoor humidity, rainfall, wind speed and direction, wind chill, and dew point. The Vantage Pro2 wireless weather station is the first and only station in its consumer price range to use frequency-hopping spread-spectrum radio technology for achieving transmission distances of up to 1,000 feet of the line of sight.

Wireless weather stations by Davis Instruments are also used by golf courses around the nation as they provide extra services for their customers. Using Davis Instruments’ WeatherLink data logger and software package, they can post local weather forecasts as well as real-time UV levels - on the greens and on the Web. The value to golfers is that with information from the Vantage Pro2 and WeatherLink, they no longer have to worry about the weather - only their golf games.

For more information, contact Davis Instruments at 800/678 3669 or 510/732 9229, or visit www.davisnet.com. For more information about CCI, call Jim Lewis at 321-783-5232, or visit www.cciflorida.com.