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Weather Station Hardware => Ambient Weather and Ecowitt and other Fine Offset clones => Topic started by: davefr on October 18, 2018, 11:18:35 AM
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I bought a WS-2000 after returning a problematic Acurite Atlas. So far so good!
What I love about it:
+ Setup was very easy
+ This system is totally wireless except for the power to the console. Sensor to console via RF and console to router via WiFi. Unlike kits from Acurite and Davis that require hard wired Ethernet connections, separate hubs, overpriced WeatherlinkIP dongles, etc.
+ Excellent connectivity experience for far. (110' sensor to console and 30' console to router)
+ Fantastic HD console. (Beautiful display, great viewing angle, well organized information)
+ Time display is direct from NIST servers real time!!
+ Love the sunrise, sunset moving display
+ Tons of special calibration features if needed
+ A real in depth manual written in English (vs a one page cartoon)
+ Share date with WU, Ambientweather.net, PWS (unlike Davis and Acurite)
+ Separate indoor temp/humidity/pressure transmitter can be placed where it's most optimal
+ Ability to add extra sensors and configure alerts
+ Spare parts availability if needed
+ Configuration settings don't go away if console power is lost
+ Temperature readings are very accurate as compared to a Mercury lab grade thermometer.
What I'd like to see:
- A touch screen display would sure make configuration easier and allow for a little larger display area if buttons were eliminated.
- The console really needs a signal strength indicator for the RF signal from Osprey sensor to console. (to optimize product placement).
In summary, Ambient really nailed it with this kit. Davis might have a higher quality outdoor sensor but the rest of their kit is ancient technology (no WiFi, no color HD display). Acurite is fraught with technical problems, shoddy product quality and lack of good customer support infrastructure.
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I too just purchased a WS-2000 and concur with your evaluation.
I am replacing a Acurite 5 in 1.
You mentioned what you would like to see on the display:
I would like to see:
More sharing options
Battery backup (I can connect to my UPS)
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Another plus - Can add up to 8 additional T/H sensors.
You can also connect to WeatherCloud, but you have to use the awnet phone app for that.
I wish the display was bigger.
I switched from the Acurite 5in1 to the WS2902 a year ago at one locations and just purchased a WS2000, when it first was available, for different location. Been pleased with both.
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I'm pleased with my WS-2902A that was released before the WS-2000 (same outdoor sensor array). I'd like to upgrade my display to the 2000 display. Can't wait till it is available separately.
But you may want to update your comparison. Davis has a few WiFi logger options that can be placed in the display console.
I agree with what you would like to see plus I would add the following.
- direct data to PC that does not involve screen scraping the ObserverIP. Sure this could be done with man-in-the-middle advanced networking skills. I'm actually working on a solution for this (more later on this).
- Touch screen you mentioned should have customizable layout options.
- ambientweather.net should add alert for connectivity loss
- additional sensors should include things like soil and leaf wetness
- I'd like to see upgrade of SHT30 sensor to better SHT31 or upcoming SHT85.
- better radiation shield with FARS
- separate anemometer
- RF via selectable channels. This would allow multiple stations at one location.
- increased RF range to 1000 ft.
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But you may want to update your comparison. Davis has a few WiFi logger options that can be placed in the display console.
What are the Davis WiFi options? I'm only aware of 3rd party options like Weatherbridge. Weatherbridge and the Davis Weatherlink USB dongle bring the cost up to around $700 from what I've read.
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But you may want to update your comparison. Davis has a few WiFi logger options that can be placed in the display console.
What are the Davis WiFi options? I'm only aware of 3rd party options like Weatherbridge. Weatherbridge and the Davis Weatherlink USB dongle bring the cost up to around $700 from what I've read.
If you are specifically referring to a Davis branded solution then yes you are correct, there is no WiFi solution. But saying that if you buy a Davis that then there is no WiFi option, because Davis themselves don't provide it, sends a potentially incomplete message to a less informed person.
Besides the WeatherBridge WiFi you mentioned (a Meteobridge Nano) there is also the WiFi Logger:
https://www.scaledinstruments.com/shop/davis-instruments/wifilogger/
The Meteobridge Pro is another WiFi solution.
Yes all of those are 3rd party.
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Is the Anny separate from the Rain and Temp? If not, I'm not interested.
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One more thing I'd like to add is that the outdoor sensor array is very nice looking. I never cared for the previous generation models.
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Is the Anny separate from the Rain and Temp? If not, I'm not interested.
Nope, all one piece.
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so far happy with my ws2000 as well...not convinced my wind speeds are always correct, but I only have it 10' up in the air, so I guess I shouldnt expect it to be 100% correct.
Everything else is right on point though, and, as others have said, its signal is very strong to the console, and it found everything it needed to in minutes..
Maybe they'll offer a working lightning detector some day \:D/
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I'm pleased with my WS-2902A that was released before the WS-2000 (same outdoor sensor array). I'd like to upgrade my display to the 2000 display. Can't wait till it is available separately.
But you may want to update your comparison. Davis has a few WiFi logger options that can be placed in the display console.
I agree with what you would like to see plus I would add the following.
- direct data to PC that does not involve screen scraping the ObserverIP. Sure this could be done with man-in-the-middle advanced networking skills. I'm actually working on a solution for this (more later on this).
- Touch screen you mentioned should have customizable layout options.
- ambientweather.net should add alert for connectivity loss
- additional sensors should include things like soil and leaf wetness
- I'd like to see upgrade of SHT30 sensor to better SHT31 or upcoming SHT85.
- better radiation shield with FARS
- separate anemometer
- RF via selectable channels. This would allow multiple stations at one location.
- increased RF range to 1000 ft.
They do through IFTTT:
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Ambient/IFTTT offers a whole range of notifications/actions, and you can create your own, this has quickly become one of my favorite features of the 2902.
I agree with everything else, a better radiation shield with a fan and soil/leaf sensors would push this system to an “A” for me. A detachable (or additional/separate) anemometer and a heated rain gauge would be amazing to have as well, but those are pipe dreams.
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Ah yes IFTTT. I should have thought of that as I'm currently using it for other things. Thanks!
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AW.net's Dashboard also has an alert for "Device not reporting for 20 minutes" either via email or SMS.
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AW.net's Dashboard also has an alert for "Device not reporting for 20 minutes" either via email or SMS.
Now that is new. I looked for that before there and did not find it. Thanks!
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This would be perfect, i already have a vp2 + but it obviously does not work with alexa, theres shoddy work arounds the mostly do not work so i am after one thats low cost and will work with alexa and IFTTT, but, it looks like this one aint available in the uk :(
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No separate Anny AND feeding Jeff's SpyBox?
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yes nailed it at that price point but still limited to fixed wind,rain sensor positioning and it would definitley need a FARS of some sort in this location through the summer months and early afternoon sun at most times during the year.. one question how thick is the material for those wind cups particularly curious of long UV exposure .previous fine offset hardware always gets baked here .
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I bought a WS-2000 as a second station and agree that it has many good features. But in my case, it hasn’t worked out well, at least yet. I can’t get the display tablet wifi to connect with my router, a 2.4 GHz Actiontec GT784WN provided by my phone company, TDS Telecom. I’ve tried everything, including all the troubleshooting steps recommended by Ambient Weather (AW). Everything else with the WS-2000 works well, with a steady signal from the outdoor sensor array 82 feet away in my yard. The display tablet works fine, but when I call for a wifi scan, my router does not show up on the tablet screen. Ambient Weather offers to provide an ObserverIP free of charge as a work around. That essentially means the tablet would be useful only to view the current information. Instead, data from the sensors would go directly to the ObserverIP, which is connected by an ethernet cable to the router. Uploading to WU, calibrations, and connecting to ambientweather.net would be made through the ObserverIP instead of the tablet. Has anyone else had trouble connecting the display to their router?
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I bought a WS-2000 as a second station and agree that it has many good features. But in my case, it hasn’t worked out well, at least yet. I can’t get the display tablet wifi to connect with my router, a 2.4 GHz Actiontec GT784WN provided by my phone company, TDS Telecom. I’ve tried everything, including all the troubleshooting steps recommended by Ambient Weather (AW). Everything else with the WS-2000 works well, with a steady signal from the outdoor sensor array 82 feet away in my yard. The display tablet works fine, but when I call for a wifi scan, my router does not show up on the tablet screen. Ambient Weather offers to provide an ObserverIP free of charge as a work around. That essentially means the tablet would be useful only to view the current information. Instead, data from the sensors would go directly to the ObserverIP, which is connected by an ethernet cable to the router. Uploading to WU, calibrations, and connecting to ambientweather.net would be made through the ObserverIP instead of the tablet. Has anyone else had trouble connecting the display to their router?
Did you try manual entry vs WiFi scan? I have a different model Actiontec router and the console did not find it with a WiFi scan. However I entered the SSID and PWD manually and it connected right away.
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Did you try manual entry vs WiFi scan? I have a different model Actiontec router and the console did not find it with a WiFi scan. However I entered the SSID and PWD manually and it connected right away.
Thanks. I did enter the SSID manually several times but to no avail.
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look on the bottom or back of the router and there must be the password there..
or just try "password" as the password..
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look on the bottom or back of the router and there must be the password there..
or just try "password" as the password..
Bingo! After a few tries, the display connected. Many thanks to you and davefr for your help.
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Is there a lightning sensor option for integration with either the WS2000 or WS2902a? That was why I was looking at the Acurite as early as 2 years ago. The roll out of the Acurite Atlas after waiting 2 years (and countless requests to become a beta tester - LoL) seems to be abysmal.
I already have 2 WS-1401's with the ObServer IP that came with that. Will the older ObServer IP work with the new sensor array if I upgrade the firmware? Are the Sensor arrays the same for the 1550, 2902 and 2000? So if I already have the ObServer IP I could just upgrade to the new sensor array (as long as I dont want the indoor display)?
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Is there a lightning sensor option for integration with either the WS2000 or WS2902a? That was why I was looking at the Acurite as early as 2 years ago. The roll out of the Acurite Atlas after waiting 2 years (and countless requests to become a beta tester - LoL) seems to be abysmal.
I already have 2 WS-1401's with the ObServer IP that came with that. Will the older ObServer IP work with the new sensor array if I upgrade the firmware? Are the Sensor arrays the same for the 1550, 2902 and 2000? So if I already have the ObServer IP I could just upgrade to the new sensor array (as long as I dont want the indoor display)?
No lightning sensor option available for Ambient Weather hardware. You can invest in a separate lightning detection device is about the best I could say.
Yes the ObserverIP you have will work with the new outdoor sensor array. All you have to do is upgrade the firmware. You keep using your existing WS-1000-BTH indoor sensor also.
Yes the outdoor sensor array for the WS-1550-IP, WS-2902A, and WS-2000 is exactly the same part. The WS-2000 display is very nice. Currently you can buy just about any part separately but the WS-2000 display is not yet for sale separately.
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Is the 2000 display able to be dimmed for use on a nightstand? Does it have a clock and/or alarm on the screen?
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Is the 2000 display able to be dimmed for use on a nightstand? Does it have a clock and/or alarm on the screen?
Yes, it has brightness controls right on the bottom of the display. You notice + and - buttons.
It also has a daily basic alarm function which you can set to any time you want. The alarm setup screen though also has alarms for various weather triggers that you can configure.
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Is the 2000 display able to be dimmed for use on a nightstand? Does it have a clock and/or alarm on the screen?
Yes, you can program the on/off times for the backlight or use automatic settings for backlight and brightness. You can choose your min and max brightness settings
Yes, it has a clock and the clock is synchronized to NIST time servers.
There are multiple alarm settings but I haven't played with them yet.
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Cool. I think I'm going to try the 2000 station and use the display in my bedroom. I have my VP2 display in my living room.
I have a dedicated 6x6 post with a 8' pole attached to it that I have all my VP2 hardware mounted on. But, it's 150 feet from my house. I wonder if the Ambient hardware can reliably get a signal 150 feet and into my house?
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Cool. I think I'm going to try the 2000 station and use the display in my bedroom. I have my VP2 display in my living room.
I have a dedicated 6x6 post with a 8' pole attached to it that I have all my VP2 hardware mounted on. But, it's 150 feet from my house. I wonder if the Ambient hardware can reliably get a signal 150 feet and into my house?
My WS-2000 has been rock solid at 100-110'. However 150' is really pushing the limits of these stations. Unfortunately the WS-2000 doesn't report out the signal strength so YMMV.
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This past weekend I mounted a new WS-2000 alongside my RainWise MK-111. I love the MK-111, but decided to add the WS-2000 because it offers several features my RainWise doesn’t have: 1. solar and UV sensors; 2. the ability to add up to eight additional indoor temp-humidity-barometer sensors; 3. a way to embed graphics showing current conditions in a personal website, and 4. the option to upload to WeatherCloud using the aw.net app. I’ve been pleased with the WS-2000’s performance in the short time I’ve had it up and expect it and the MK-111 will continue to give me lots of enjoyment.
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My array arrives Tuesday. Replacing the older 1400 array.
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You could connect the Rainwise MK-111 to all those things you mentioned if you add the right accessory. Like connecting to your own website, using web templates that give you graphs and other graphics, WeatherCloud and just about every other popular weather reporting web service. And you can do much more like send your data to an SQL database for backup, connect a web cam...etc.
That device is a Meteobridge. It natively supports the Rainwise MK-111. The Meteobridge will support your Rainwise via the mk3cc or the cc-3000.
It is very simple to set up. Just select your station type and connect them together.
mk3cc
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or cc-3000
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Yes that offers a lot of other options. Thanks.
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Price on Amazon shot up today to $279.99. I think that is a bit much and does not make sense. . Still sitting at #38 in Amazon best sellers list. Price is still $219.99 plus shipping on Ambient site.
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But the $279.99 is a prime price so shipping is included. If you buy it from AW you pay a pretty hefty shipping charge, but still ... not worth that much. I bought mine a 10 days ago on Amazon and it was $239.99 with the free ship. Had I bought it from AW direct it would have been more with the shipping charge.
I would guess this is Christmas Pricing.
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Christmas pricing is usually less to entice you to buy. This is a $40 increase that I feel is not worth it. I got word from Ambient that the WS-2000 display will be available separately in March. What is a reasonable price for that display? If you take the new $280 price and you subtract the price of the sensor array plus shipping $83 then you are left with about $200 for the price of the display plus indoor sensor and that is ridiculous. That is the same display as the WS-1002-WiFi (different color and firmware is all) and that cost about $150 with shipping. If you add the indoor sensor you are still $35 to $40 less compared to the new WS-2000 pricing. Which shows that this recent $40 increae makes no sense.
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No Christmas pricing doesn't probably make sense. I have no reasonable explanation.
And right now even with shipping costs, purchasing direct from AW is the much better deal if they are still listing it at $220.
But I do know Amazon tracks what we search and buy and will adjust the price. I've seen it. Bought an item for around $40, and few months later went to buy another and it was now almost $60. Logged out and logged into my daughters account who had never searched saved or bought the item. And it was still $40.
Not saying that is the case here, and is probably not as the AW Weather stations are "sold by AW" and not Amazon, but it happens.
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I was considering getting the WS-2000 because I'm getting impatient waiting for the display alone to be available for sale so that I can upgrade my WS-2902A display. I was also thinking that if I had an extra outdoor sensor array it could be useful to swap out from time to time to do a really good cleaning maintenance on it and not miss out on weather data collection. It might even be useful for spare parts at some point in the future and reduce downtime. So I thought a full WS-2000 could be a good investment. But now that the price has jumped I'm not feeling it.
I've set a camelcamelcamel alert to watch for a price drop. If it stays at this higher price it will be interesting to see if Amazon top seller rank is affected. It is interesting to see that the release of the WS-2000 did not cause a change in the top seller rank of the WS-2902A as it consistently is between #3 to #5. But that is not all. The WS-2902A has also endured the release of the Acurite Atlas, with the top seller rank unaffected. The WS-2902A is certainly incredible value with impressive product review ratings.
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I bought my WS-2000 direct from AW for $219.00 + 20.00 S&H which was identical to Amazon's old $239.00 Prime price.
AW still has it priced at $219.00.
Amazon does whacky things with pricing at times. Just buy it direct unless you have to have Prime delivery. AW offers a 30 day return policy just like Amazon.
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I bought my WS-2000 direct from AW for $219.00 + 20.00 S&H which was identical to Amazon's old $239.00 Prime price..
Well price at Ambient is still $219.99 but shipping is now $32.19 so looks like that went up. Still better than Amazon's new price as you said. A few dollars doesn't break the bank but I like to feel like I'm getting a deal. Since I don't really need this as I have a station I'll just forget it and be happy with my still new WS-2902A. Who knows maybe I'll be able to splurge on Davis VP3 for Christmas by waiting (I don't really believe that though).
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Well price at Ambient is still $219.99 but shipping is now $32.19 so looks like that went up. Still better than Amazon's new price as you said.
When I bought my WS-2000 on Amazon (ordered Oct 31 / delivered Nov 1), the Amazon price was still $239.99. The Ambient Weather direct price was the $219.99 + $20 for shipping, so it was about a wash. So I upped my shipping by $8.99 for overnight delivery and paid $248.98. Bummer to see the price bounce all around like this.
Wonder if Amazon or AW will host "black Friday / Cyber Monday" deals. Would be something to watch for.
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I have one sitting in the cart at Ambient at $219 but getting slammed $32 for shipping. Not satisfied with Acurite but since the Atlas is up and working, I think I’ll wait to see if the price drops again on Amazon.
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I guess I was lucky. I purchased the ws-2000 directly from Ambient for $177.99 plus 18.95 shipping. That was on 8/27/18.
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Exactly one week later today since the WS-2000 huge price jump. The WS-2000 has dropped on Amazon best seller from #38 to #62. So the question is Ambient, are you making up in increased profit what you have lost in sales? The WS-2902A is still hanging on strong to #4, great price, great value.
Maybe this is caused by the recent US tariffs on China. But then you would have expected the price to go up on the WS-2902A also and that price didn't change. I'm just trying to make sense of things, but I guess we just don't have enough insight information.
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Maybe they're marking it up so they can mark it down for BlackFriday/CyberMonday?
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Exactly one week later today since the WS-2000 huge price jump. The WS-2000 has dropped on Amazon best seller from #38 to #62. So the question is Ambient, are you making up in increased profit what you have lost in sales? The WS-2902A is still hanging on strong to #4, great price, great value.
Maybe this is caused by the recent US tariffs on China. But then you would have expected the price to go up on the WS-2902A also and that price didn't change. I'm just trying to make sense of things, but I guess we just don't have enough insight information.
Ambient has nothing to do with what Amazon sells their products for; just like everyone else who sells on Amazon..Amazon determines their own selling prices via some secret proprietary algorithm
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Exactly one week later today since the WS-2000 huge price jump. The WS-2000 has dropped on Amazon best seller from #38 to #62. So the question is Ambient, are you making up in increased profit what you have lost in sales? The WS-2902A is still hanging on strong to #4, great price, great value.
Maybe this is caused by the recent US tariffs on China. But then you would have expected the price to go up on the WS-2902A also and that price didn't change. I'm just trying to make sense of things, but I guess we just don't have enough insight information.
Ambient has nothing to do with what Amazon sells their products for; just like everyone else who sells on Amazon..Amazon determines their own selling prices via some secret proprietary algorithm
The Ambient stations on Amazon are not being sold by Amazon. So Ambient is controlling the price of these stations that they list on Amazon.
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good catch; for some reason, I was thinking about the Acurite Atlas, and that one is sold and shipped by Amazon, but this one isnt..
seems stupid of them to crank their price on Amazon going into the holiday season, but, who knows why they make decisions like that..
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What I'd like to see:
- A touch screen display
Is there any way to connect a Raspberry Pi to the USB socket on the WS-2000 display like you can with an AcuRite display and run WeeWX?
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The USB port on the WS-2000 display does not appear to be setup for this. I attempted to connect mine to my PC and the display is not recognized at all. Normally I would at least get the "New Hardware Added" message even if I don't have the USB driver for the device. My guess is this is used for initial load of the firmware on the device.
It would be nice if they would update the firmware to allow this.
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The USB port on the WS-2000 display does not appear to be setup for this.
It would be nice if they would update the firmware to allow this.
Thanks for the info.
I have another question.
If your network went down, does the data storage feature of the monitor let you send that stored data to WU when your network comes back on line to make up for the missed live data?
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I don't believe so. I had issues with a AP in my home causing my WS-2000 to go offline to the internet intermittently. None of the readings during the times it was offline were sent out later.