Topic: Just got a new HP2550 clone (Watson W8686)

[etaf]

i thought i might provide some info / update on the new Weather station i have just received

I spent a few days doing a lot of research and had some great advice and links to information from members here.
And certainly was seriously considering the Davis Plus Pro2 but various reason stopped that
So i decided on the Watson W8686 , a clone of the HP 2550 from Fine-offset / Ecowitt
Ordered the Watson W8686 from nevada Thursday 28th May around 10pm
https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/product/watson-w-8686/
And it arrived today around 2pm (although expectations were set it may take 2-3 days given covid situation.

Wiped down, and cleaned all the box/weather station and took out the weather station

I will be honest first impressions, were not that great as it seemed a bit cheap and plastically with a screen, smaller than i had expected. BUT that's because i had been looking at £1500 worth of kit on youtube etc, i had watched a youtube video on the HP2550 and for some reason had an impression the screen was larger

The unit went together verywell, once i got a magnify glass out to make sure i got the wind direction vane aligned.
The mounting bracket is inserted into some small plastic lugs, pointed out on the youtube video.
I also added some nylon locking nuts and also used tie-wraps so if the thing does break away it tithed to the pole.

Added the batteries & immediately got the flashing LED and then pulsing every 16 secs, the indoor sensor gives 3 readings on its own display and worked immediately
The console display I thought had battery backup , but it does not.

powered up the console and immediately started to get a reading from the outside array and then a few minutes later received the indoor sensor.
All worked straight away, I have NOT tested the rain sensor yet, will do that tomorrow.

Went into setup and started entering the parameters I wanted , longitude/latitude had difficulty setting that as every website seemed to quote a - number, but sorted out in the end with help from google.
connected to the wifi straight away, internet time etc , so very easy to setup.

looking at the manual, i can also add additional sensors , Soil moisture WH51, air quality PM2.5 WH41 & additional Temp/humidity sensors WH31
and shows where on the display those items would appear, However, those extra sensors do not appear to be available in UK and shipping to UK is very expensive at the moment according to Ecowitt. Hopefully, Navada will get some in on their next shipment.

really pleased with setup now its all up and running,
Put the inside sensor in the garden in the shade and the difference in temp was 0.1C between it and the sensor 4.5M in the sky.

Wind direction is great and also shows a 10min average pointer and reading.

Not sure what timescale the Hpa weather forecast differeence reads, its seems to be the difference from a maximum and was making sense compared to the MAX for the day , but now its changed , so will have to look into that further

I will have a play over the coming days and see how it all works and then connect the unti to some websites and see how that all goes

I have attached a couple of images, one where it is now on a pole in centre of garden for testing
and then hopefully attached to a 6' 4x4 post about 2m above the conservator, should be rigid and the pole is in parts so i can remove for maintenance

I may put some pins around the rain trap to stop birds sitting on it

Hopefully these re the images
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Thanks

[Rover1822]

"I may put some pins around the rain trap to stop birds sitting on it"

There is a product available to that has that purpose. Not sure if it is available from your vendor.

Enjoy

[etaf]

thanks Rover1822
I was thinking of taping some tooth picks around the removable funnel
But, I will look into that, although i suspect those accessories will be difficult to get, I have accepted the fact that its not really expanabel with lots of vendors making patent parts

Maybe some cable ties or fishing wire /
I have loads of cable ties and old streamer wire
https://www.campbellsci.co.uk/blog/protect-weather-station-from-birds

[galfert]

Check this out for zip tie DIY solution:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=35387.0

Went into setup and started entering the parameters I wanted , longitude/latitude had difficulty setting that as every website seemed to quote a - number, but sorted out in the end with help from google.

The negative number you saw on some websites is because they are on the other half of the Earth. You are to the East (right) of the Prime Meridian so your Longitude is positive.

looking at the manual, i can also add additional sensors , Soil moisture WH51, air quality PM2.5 WH41 & additional Temp/humidity sensors WH31
and shows where on the display those items would appear, However, those extra sensors do not appear to be available in UK and shipping to UK is very expensive at the moment according to Ecowitt. Hopefully, Navada will get some in on their next shipment.

Yeah, don't bank on it. Most resellers just carry what they carry and they probably will not bring in additional extra stuff. I suppose anything is possible but from my observance over the years of Froggit, Maplin, Misol, Conrad, Nevada, Aercus....and more....they just seldom expand their catalog of parts. Every few years they will start to carry the newer consoles and sensors is all. None of them have ever carried a full catalog. Ambient recently has impressed me in that they have stared to carry more than they used to but even still they have passed up on many sensors (for various reasons). My contention is...if you want an extra sensor, then order it directly from Ecowitt. Sure you'll pay more than if Nevada had it but if you keep waiting you could be waiting forever. That is unless you are an Ambient customer, because then you are SOL because Ambient consoles only work with Ambient sensors. Just putting in that last bit of detail for others that may read this, as I would not want anyone with an Ambient to learn the hard way and dare to order something incompatible.

[etaf]

Thanks for that info, useful to know
Figures for Long/Lat seem to alter a bit as well, used google maps to pinpoint the exact location. checked the sunrise/set times on other websites and they match mine, so thats good news

The tie-wraps seems like a good way to go, i'll look into further

Navada did mention they planned to get some sensors in on the next shipment, so i may be lucky.
meanwhile i did write to Ecowitt, who said cost for delivery at the moment is very high
Quote

The shipping cost is really high in this special time.

But now i have the correct part numbers, I have written again for a standard delivery price

[etaf]

I will probably move the Sensor unit later today to its final position.
I have connected to the Ecowitt.net site, and that ws very very easy , simply created an account on ecowitt.net, added a device with the MAC ID and in the console went to weather servers and setup to Ecowitt.net
Immediately started to update the site
https://www.ecowitt.net/home/index?id=19787
You will need to register an account on the site to see the info , even though set to public

I'm still playing, will try out the rain sensor, once i work out the water calibration, so i put a set amount through and see readings,
try out a bird deterrent ,
Indoor sensor in fridge and will move to the garage freezer later to see how that all works
The indoor sensor is quite slow in response been in fridge 20mins and still going down

Once setup , i will add the other weather services
But I like ecowitt.net and exports all the data to excel in one button push - Export.

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[souldrifter798]

Hi
I have ordered one too from Nevada, you did well to get it delivered that quick. I placed my order on Wednesday and still waiting for delivery lol.

I'm going to purchase the lightning detector from ecowitt too once i have received it. What frequency is it 433mhz or 868mhz?

Cheers.

[etaf]

Mine has 868MHz on the back
yes, my expectations had been set to expect delivery the following week as late as Wednesday, they also said it would only take any driver sickness to delay that timescale, so really impressed I got it the next day. They do say, they ship 1-2 days if ordered before 3pm on the navada Site (Under normal circumstances)

I ordered around 10am on thursday , and got a text from the courier at 17:00 that Express24 would deliver 29th

I had a few email exchanges before I ordered, and Mike is planning on getting some sensors in on his next containing, no timescale for that, Also Lucy at Ecowitt did email to say courier costs are very high at the moment. Plus you may get a bill later form HRMC re VAT & Import Duty bill , as mentioned on the forums.

[souldrifter798]

Thanks, i will wait a while then and see what they bring in first. I currently have the maplin N23DQ which still works but is looking old now outside.

Its a shame they ship the 868mhz version, as i believe my maplin console would of picked up the outdoor sensor if it had been 433mhz and i would have two displays. Nevermind though.

Cheers.

[etaf]

Shame, not sure they have different units available , 433 would make more sense, as thats legal in Europe & Asia given more customer base, whereas the 868 is just Europe

@galfert thanks for the link
I just made a bird deterrent out of cable ties, may possibly impact the rain figures now , as mentioned on the thread you linked to
anyway
thought I would share

Just about to try the rain test as mentioned in a new thread here
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=39587

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[Mandrake]

You will find that Froggit in Germany (www.froggit.de) carries many of the sensors and spare parts that you may use and operates at 868Mhz.
They have a English button to translate and will happily ship to the UK.
They don't carry everything yet and may never carry all options but they are a useful source that's more local than Ecowitt for now.

[etaf]

Thanks Mandrake, I will go and have a look

The Unit is now in position, not as high as i planned as the post moved a lot as did the pole, so i need rethink that , about 2m lower than planned.

I cleared all the history / max-min settings
Deleted the device from ecowitt.net
and reset all up

https://www.ecowitt.net/home/index?id=19826

will now play and add the other web services for fun

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[etaf]

with the help of galfert
i now have weathercloud site working, missed typed the key, checked it quite a few times but had 3 entered twice

anywhay here are the sites
PWS
Ecowitt.net https://tinyurl.com/ydhbdqhv
Weathercloud https://tinyurl.com/yatfdmx7

Weathercloud, you can just see the info , whereas on ecowitt you need an account to view the public info

[olicat]

Hi!

whereas on ecowitt you need an account to view the public info

Will there ever be a way to see "public" values without logging in? Are there any plans at Ecowitt?
Anybody knows?

Regards, Oliver

[galfert]

Ambientweather.net is built on the same source code as Ecowitt.net. The two sites share some similarities but as time has progressed they have evolved a bit differently. Ambientweather.net does not require an account but Ecowitt.net does. Ambientweather.net has made their map a center focus, and Ecowitt.net hasn't. I suppose anything is possible as to what happens next. But by Ambient not requiring an account there are some features missing. You get a better experience with Ambientweather.net if you used an account. Perhaps it is Ecowitt's mentality that everyone get the full experience hence they require the account creation.

I don't see Ecowitt.net requiring a free account creation as too much trouble (no station ownership required). It is the same thing with Davis Weatherlink.com where anyone can have a free account. You can always send Ecowitt an email with your thoughts and ideas.

[etaf]

Amongst some DIY , I also played around with the weather servers

The console has settings for 4 servers

• Wunderground
• Weathercloud
• Ecowitt
• Met Office WOW

of which I have setup and have working, see tinyurl links in signature , PWS name ID = E-Witt-W8686-ETAF

• Ecowitt
• Weathercloud
• Met Office WOW

Set up and waiting to see just

• Wunderground - which reports as Offline, see if another 24 hours makes any difference
• The WOW site keeps reporting issues, so not that impressed

[galfert]

WU should work pretty much instantaneously or within a few hours. If it isn't working then you should revisit and make sure both ID and key are correct. Remember you don't use your password as you need the key instead. Also check for case as that matters and check for stray spaces before or after your entry.

You can also send data to PWSweather or AWEKAS using the "Customized" server feature. But you need to pick one as "Customized" server upload can only accept one destination.

[Rover1822]

WU should work pretty much instantaneously or within a few hours. If it isn't working then you should revisit and make sure both ID and key are correct. Remember you don't use your password as you need the key instead. Also check for case as that matters and check for stray spaces before or after your entry.

You can also send data to PWSweather or AWEKAS using the "Customized" server feature. But you need to pick one as "Customized" server upload can only accept one destination.

One of the biggest issues I've had in the past is recognizing Zeroes, from O's in your station ID, Other words make sure that the value is either a 0 or O. Especially in the last digits.

For instance my WU ID is KVANORFO42 , if yours is similar, you might assume that the O42, is zero four two. In my case its not , its "O" , four two

[galfert]

When I hand write serial numbers or other alphanumeric series of characters I always put a slash through my zeros. I put a slash through my sevens to not confuse with ones because my ones have a top tick mark that needs to be there so that I don't confuse ones and lower case L. On a computer screen I've never had difficulty distinguishing zero from letter O because the letter O is noticeably fat to me and the zero is always tall and skinny. I don't even need to see them side by side as at least to me they are very different. Maybe I'm just more attentive to this detail than others. I think the problem for most people occurs as they transcribe what they see on the screen and then they don't decipher their own handwriting.

[Rover1822]

When I hand write serial numbers or other alphanumeric series of characters I always put a slash through my zeros. I put a slash through my sevens to not confuse with ones because my ones have a top tick mark that needs to be there so that I don't confuse ones and lower case L. On a computer screen I've never had difficulty distinguishing zero from letter O because the letter O is noticeably fat to me and the zero is always skinny. I don't even need to see them side by side as at least to me they are very different. Maybe I'm just more attentive to this detail than others. I think the problem for most people occurs as they transcribe what they see on the screen and then they don't decipher their own handwriting.

I do the same, but when presented with a 0 or O depending on the receiving font (browser/email) , might not look so different. Also , one just make an assumption that is should be a zero.  I do the same on strike through on 0's and cross on 7's , as my handwriting needs every advantage it can get for someone to understand

[etaf]

Thanks ,
The ID was ICHICH49 and no O oe 0 in the Key
I setup another device and that had an ID of ICHICH50
Which i took to be a zero
and relooked again at all the codes , as i have made mistakes a few times so far in setting this up

I did not know the custom feature was there for another service , interesting, i may look into that tomorrow , thanks so much

Wunderground
ID & Key looks OK for Wunderground

I do the same with 0's having been brought up in the 70's with electroncs & Computers got used to seeing the zero with a slash
Although I usually can see the difference on screens

So not the ID / Key issue - will have to see what else i may need to do

PWS

Ecowitt.net: https://www.ecowitt.net/home/index?id=19826
Weathercloud: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/ICHICH51
WOW: https://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/observations/details?site_id=feda8d77-15a3-ea11-8b71-0003ff59b0d7
Wunderground: https://app.weathercloud.net/d3476715338

[etaf]

Thanks to all
i managed to get it to work
re-created a new device
check the settings, also the Interval changed to 5mins, I had read or was a post here about the interval time
Which i thought was setup correctly at 5 mins

PWS

Ecowitt.net: https://www.ecowitt.net/home/index?id=19826
Weathercloud: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/ICHICH51
WOW: https://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/observations/details?site_id=feda8d77-15a3-ea11-8b71-0003ff59b0d7
Wunderground: https://app.weathercloud.net/d3476715338

[etaf]

i thought a little update here again
With a lot of help from galfert i have now setup the Pressure Calibration
ABS = pressure at location
REL = converted to sea-level based on elevation, which allows comparsions between stations regardless of location.

I used 2 sites to calculate my pressure offset based on my elevation , and for a bit a fun worked out the elevation based on the pressures.

https://www.mide.com/air-pressure-at-altitude-calculator
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1224585971
https://keisan.casio.com/exec/system/1224579725

My location has an elevation of 6m (the sensor is at console level , and not in the tri sensors, as i thought)

which means my offset is 0.72 hpa

i then went into the calibration screen on the console and changed the REL reading to be 0.7 above current reading (Note at this point ABS & REL are the same)

I then found my local airfield information METAR METeorological Aerodrome Reports (METARs) which happens to be at Goodwood airfield
they happen to report both current pressure and adjusted for Sea level
QNH is sea-level pressure.
QFE is air pressure at the current ground level.

Then using the QNH figure given by the airfield - I adjusted the ABS calibration, so that my REL result matched the QNH figure from Goodwood
(As the reading compensated to sea-level should be the same  - sea-level at 15C = 1013.25)

Goodwood is reported at an Elevation of 34M , so i was able to have a play with the calculators and using the 2 pressures on my device work out the Elevation , same for goodwood

I just thought that may help anyone with a HP2550 clone (Watson W8686) setup correctly, having spent a lot of today working on it and misunderstanding quite a few things.

[etaf]

Now got the customise server to also work for
PWSweather
now on
Services
Ecowitt.net: https://www.ecowitt.net/home/index?id=19826
Weathercloud: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/ICHICH51
WOW: https://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/observations/details?site_id=feda8d77-15a3-ea11-8b71-0003ff59b0d7
Wunderground: https://app.weathercloud.net/d3476715338
PWSweather: https://www.pwsweather.com/station/pws/EWITTW8686ETAF - showing inactive for some reason

I setup an account on PWSweather.com
Setup the Device, it used my login email as the URL for the setting
Also on the Long/Lat it used the - setting for my Longitude
Your station's longitude. For locations in the western hemisphere, this value should be negative. (decimal): *
I gave the Unit an ID , but could only use alphaNumeric characters not - etc

Then on the Device I went to weather server setup
Customized
Enabled
Set to same as ecowitt.com, to get the display of a ID & Key
in IP/HOST , i entered
https://www.pwsweather.com
because i read it needed the full URL address
then in ID
i put the Unit ID created on PWSweather.com , note case sensitive
Key - i used the actual account  password
and set an interval of 300 seconds
and after a couple of hours it saw the unit and displayed some figures

Just as i found info all across the internet, i thought i would add here as a review of the Watson W8686

update I did not add the negative for position and ended up in moddle of channel
So i could edit, but did not seem to update - suggested that i create another device with correct position settings
Which i have done

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[galfert]

You should use more precision with your Station ID creation on the various services. I like to use 5 or 6 decimal places for both Latitude and Longitude. Your PWSstation is in the middle of the English Channel. You can't edit it. But since you just created it just delete it and create a new ID.

UPDATE: You can update your Latitude and Longitude. I tried doing this before and it wasn't available. Interesting.