Topic: Opinions on two stations

[dehinrichs]

Hello everyone,
I am a newbie to all things weather station, although I've been a weather nerd for most of my life. Anyway, I would like to buy a station for my yard - about $200 to spend. I have it narrowed down to a couple and would like any thoughts or ideas between the two.

These are them: 

Acurite 905WES
ambientweather WS-1400-IP

 The both are about the same price ($150), and from what I can see both are worth contenders.
I'm leaning more toward the WS-1400 if nothing else because my wife would give me grief for 'another weather console' in the house.

Thanks for any input!

[skysummit]

I have the 900WES and am 100% satisfied with it. Mine has been in operation for a little over a month and so far no problems. Using a 3rd party software along with Weather Display, I'm able to get my data on all the most popular websites.

Setup was a breeze.

[Bushman]

Go with the Acurite.  And check Facebook etc. for a discount code.  You should be able to get it for 10-30% off if you hunt around.  Save enough to add a Meteobridge box. 

[skysummit]

^^^True....just registering on the Acurite website should at least get you an email with a 10% off code.

[Arktikos]

I'm new at all this too so take anything I say with a grain or two! That said I got the WS-1400-IP and am very pleased with the ease of setup and the quality of the product. I'm sure there is better out there but for the money it works well at getting the data onto WU. The negatives is that it doesn't come with a console so having a nice dashboard isn't ready available. Now that said I understand that the 1400 will work with Meteobridge which for a bit more money will supposedly open up lots of possibilities. I'm going to try it out once I learn a bit more..
Edit: One other thing I forgot to mention is that the 1400-IP has the ability to transmit indoor temp to WU. So far it takes an app that is only on Apple tablets to read this but is to be on Android sometime soon as well. This was one reason I bought this station, so I can keep an eye out on my house for freeze ups when I am over on the island..

[HaraldS]

I switched to an Ambient WiFi-1001 and am very happy with it. A very relevant fact is that their support is superb. Email response is very quick.

In the case of the Ambient WiFi, firmware development is ongoing with features being added. This was not the case with the previous product I had for years.

[arlowx]

I bought & installed the WS-1400-IP back in February & have been pretty pleased with the purchase & operation.

I had been putting off getting a weather station for years as I wanted a Davis VP2 but the price was right for the Ambient & what it offered.

The station was online within a couple of hours of receiving it, WU records all my data & I can view my conditions from anywhere. I don't find not having a console a real problem & I don't have to have a dedicated computer running for data storage. As Arktikos, mentioned it is supposedly compatible with Meteobridge if/when the time comes.

While I would still like to have the Davis, the extras needed to go online seem pretty clunky/$$, where as the Ambient is turn-key.

Can't comment on the Acurite, though I have noticed that in my area, many of the outlier high temps on WU are from Acurite stations, though it could be caused by how/where they are mounted.

Also, meant to mention that my rain totals are pretty consistent with my CoCorahs data, usually .01 higher.

[DoctorKnow]

Be happy about going with Ambient. The Acurite models have some real issues with their aspiration. I had to take off my new fan because it ran at times 8*F too hot. Luckily I had an old one from a few yrs ago to stick on for better results. The wind speed suffers though using an old bearing as it tends to stick a bit.