Topic: Apps or programs that can read WS-1550-IP data directly (no cloud)

[train_wreck]

Hey folks. Can anyone recommend an app that can read data directly from the Ambient Weather WS-1550-IP weather station? I'm tired of their stupid "cloud" going down and not even letting me view the basic info from the station. I've only had the weather station for about 3 months, and already there's been 7 or 8 times that I haven't been able to even login to the app; it always gives me some different weird error message, like "string does not match the expected input" or "error fetching resource". I googled these errors and they look like basic coding errors, so it seems like the AMbient Weather company isn't writing very good code. I can login to the ObserverIP box and can see the raw data coming from the station, so there should be an app that can read it directly, without needing cloud access.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

[galfert]

The problem is probably not totally an Ambientweather.net cloud issue, but part of the problem could just be the ObserverIP that is part of that kit. The ObserverIP is just terrible. There is a few things you can do...

- Buy a WS-2000-C display console (uploads to Ambientweather.net)
- Buy an HP2551-C display console (uploads to Ecowitt.net)
- Buy a GW1000 (uploads to Ecowitt.net)

But the best thing about the GW1000 is that it is the most flexible in allowing you to then interface with numerous other software so that you don't have to rely on any cloud service. With the GW1000 you'll be able to run; Cumulus MX, Meteobridge (WeatherBridge), Weather-Display, and WeeWX. Any of these software gives your station a ton of more possibilities of where to see and send your data, from locally to yet more cloud services, to your own mSQL database or to your own weather website running numerous popular weather templates.

All of the mentioned options will pick up your Ambient outdoor sensor array.

[train_wreck]

Curious, why do you say the ObserverIP box is "terrible"? It seems to me like the most reliable part of the operation. Whenever I can't login to the app (like today), I can still browse to the IP of the box in a browser and the realtime data is there.... Like, I'm almost thinking of making a small local website on a Raspberry Pi that polls the box for data, then displays it in an easy-to-read format....

I'd like to avoid having to buy more equipment. I tend to prefer to make what I have work, not just buy more accessories and create more e-waste, you know? 👍

[galfert]

The built in web server on the ObserverIP is just underpowered to consistently and reliably provide data to another source. The ObserverIP does better if you never look at its Live Data browser page. So configure the ObserverIP and then leave it alone and never look at Live Data but maybe just to take a quick glance. If you build a script to constantly hammer away at this live data page you will strain and overwhelm the ObserverIP. The ObserverIP also does not have full TCP/IP network stack. It is poorly implemented network stack that does not adhere to network standards. For example it does not renew DHCP leases correctly at the half life of the lease and then even at the expiration of the lease it just keeps using the IP address that it had and doesn't bother telling the DHCP server that it is still there. The ObserverIP just does too much with the limited chipset that it has. The fimmware has grown to trying to accommodate more sensors and this just further depletes its resources. These are just some of the problems with the ObserverIP.

I'm not saying that 100% your problem is the ObserverIP....as the problem could be Ambientweather.net or it could be your Internet connection or some other networking equipment that you are using. Maybe it is a combination of all of these things.

I think the best thing to do is to get the GW1000 as it is only $36 and then you can do so much more with your station and the data. Just look up the hundreds of posts on this forum discussing the GW1000. It is what everyone gets so that they can do so much more with their Fine Offset clone station. The GW1000 is like a newer more powerful version of the ObserverIP with some differences....like it uses WiFi instead of Ethernet.

If you got the GW1000 you can still keep using the ObserverIP and just let it upload only to Ambientweather.net. Then do everything else with the GW1000. The ObserverIP will then be much more reliable. Just never keep the ObserverIP Live Data page open for prolonged periods.

[Rover1822]

I'm going to 2nd the recommendation on the GW-1000. It allows so many more avenues to get your own data.

I use it to provide data to my own site (programming required, but not much)

 

[galfert]

By the way today there was an outage issue with Ambientweather.net. These seem to occur sporadically. So the cause in this case today is likely not your ObserverIP. But if you decided to build a script to tax the ObserverIP then you will overwhelm it. Just get the GW1000 and you'll be able to do so much more.

[WA4OPQ]

I'll chime in and recommend the GW1000, too
And while I'm spending your money I'd recommend a raspberry pi running weewx. The GW1000 sends the data to weewx and it's very reliable. You'll be amazed what you can do with your data.

I've had good luck with ObserverIP, but I now use it only for ambientweather.net. It's CPU has just enough horsepower for one process and is overloaded easily. I've kept it lightly loaded and it's been reliable.

[Steve F]

If you want to do something with the data then you can use the GW1000 custom connection to send data directly to Hubitat via a community driver (Home automation hub https://hubitat.com/ ) and use the data for whatever you like, Hubitat doesn't need the cloud to run either so I use the GW1000 data for things like turning on and off my under floor ventilation (based on humidity and time of day etc) and checking wind gusts and automating the awnings etc.  Lots of other stuff could be done and no reliance on an internet connection or cloud site being up.

Cheers
Steve