Topic: WS-1400-IP repair questions

[dow]

My ws-1000 sensor array took some hail damage last weekend, and the anemometer cups got shattered (along with four of the six windows along the back of our house).  A call to Ambient Weather's support folks informed me that this part is not replaceable.  Have any of you ever tried replacing this part?  A new sensor array is $102, and I'm hoping to find a less expensive fix.

Barring that, is there any way that a sensor array from a 2080 could be made to work with my ObserverIP box?  I'm thinking that having the ability to separate the sensors from each other, along with the ability to replace any single element that fails, would be worth looking into.

Thanks for your thoughts and ideas,
Dow

[boldblue737]

perhaps someone will have a better idea but looking into this same issue when i made my purchase decision for the ws-1400-ip and seeing that others had broken cups etc. it seems no one was able to find a better solution than buying the entire $102 unit again. i still went forward because if you look into weather stations have separate elements like the Davis Vantage Pro 2 doesn't really save money either, because for example a replacement anemometer (the wind cups) alone would be $173 because the whole station itself is $500-1000. The way I figure is even if I have to replace the station every few years I still come out ahead of replacing an entire Davis Vantage Pro 2 every 10 years.

for me as long as I'm not replacing the ambient every year constantly i think the price still beats the competitors even if it leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth.

[George Richardson]

Just to clarify this post.
"if you look into weather stations have separate elements like the Davis Vantage Pro 2 doesn't really save money either, because for example a replacement anemometer (the wind cups) alone would be $173"

From Scaled Instruments:
"Davis 7905L Vantage Pro2 Wind Cups (for anemometers 2003 and later) – $13.50  ($10.95)"

[nincehelser]

perhaps someone will have a better idea but looking into this same issue when i made my purchase decision for the ws-1400-ip and seeing that others had broken cups etc. it seems no one was able to find a better solution than buying the entire $102 unit again. i still went forward because if you look into weather stations have separate elements like the Davis Vantage Pro 2 doesn't really save money either, because for example a replacement anemometer (the wind cups) alone would be $173 because the whole station itself is $500-1000. The way I figure is even if I have to replace the station every few years I still come out ahead of replacing an entire Davis Vantage Pro 2 every 10 years.

for me as long as I'm not replacing the ambient every year constantly i think the price still beats the competitors even if it leaves a bit of a bad taste in your mouth.

In general, I'd agree with you, but I've purchased wind cups for Davis before and they were less than $20.

The issue of the WS-1400 not having replacement wind cups available seems to be the real problem.  I've owned many brands of weather stations over the years, and all have lost wind cups due to hail or other storm damage at some point.   I've never owned a station where the wind cups couldn't be replaced.

Is the arrangement of the cups so complex on the WS-1400 that replacement is impractical?

[dow]

Thanks for all of the great responses and suggestions. 

BoldBlue737: I've decided that your course of action is the correct one, at least for the time being.  When I get the new array, maybe I'll tear the existing one down and see if I can locate a maker's stamp or barcode or something like that on the wind cup assembly.  Also, maybe I can figure out how one would replce the cup assembly if it were available.

nincehelser:  The issue is that the cups are put in place at the factory, and then a mast is installed above the wind cups and then the windvane above that, so that the wind cups are effectively captured in the assembly.


At this time, I don't know if that tower housing is removable or not.  As things sit now, if I want to keep using the observerIP unit to report my conditions to WU, then I'll have to replace the entire sensor array.  Ambient doesn't have the cups listed as a separate item on their website or in the owner's manual.

[dow]

Well, my replacement sensor array arrived today.  It's installed and working, but something's weird w/ WU.  See this thread for more info:
http://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=29451.0