I'm also running a Maplin branded Fine Offset (WH1080) with a Raspberry Pi. 
Have also had spiders (and spider's egg sacs) in the rain gauge but I 
unplug it (lesson learned the first time) and give it a clean every few 
months. Presume you're in the UK, and that you get enough rain that a few 
mms either way isn't all that critical<grin>. 

I haven't needed to replace anything so far but I'd quite like to upgrade 
to a station that recorded solar radiation and UV. Wouldn't mind having a 
cheap backup too, because what's the point of collecting data and having 
holes in it? I've lost data a couple of times in c.3 yrs due to the 
WH1080's USB port locking up. I plan to use a Yepkit YKUSH to have the Pi 
reset it automatically if it happens again. A 2nd console on batteries 
would provide some insurance against data gaps. But if I upgrade to a 
station recording radiation and UV I'd lose the redundancy. (I'm assuming 
that a 2nd console could receive the same data and that the comms are one 
way, but I'm not sure of that. Comments welcome if anyone knows.) I'd also 
like to get a UPS for the Pi to tide it over a power outage of a few hours 
at least.

A "neighbour" (about 20km away) runs a Davis Vantage and has certified 
meteo station on his land, with every conceivable kind of instrument (the 
crystal ball thing, thermometers at several different soil depths etc.). I 
have occasionally checked my live data against his out of curiosity. It's 
sometimes surprisingly different in some respects but a lot of this is 
undoubtedly a function of local variation, topography etc. I considered 
buying a Davis but decided that the FineOffsett was good enough and, for my 
needs, better value. For now I care more about avoiding gaps than higher 
resolution and accuracy. It would certainly be interesting to see 
side-by-side data. 

I'd be happy to pay for better hardware at the garden end of things, 
especially if I could buy open source hardware. Davis's proprietary 
interface is something I'd prefer to avoid, both philosophically 
(especially in the context of weewx and the pi) and operationally 
(expensive and not quickly replaceable). That was actually the real 
deciding factor.

If I can piggyback on your post, I'd love to hear what people have upgraded 
to OTHER than a Davis.

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