Topic: Can you 'hardcode' sensor names?

[bigalpha]

Curious if it's possible to assign a custom name to a sensor that will then be shown automatically in the console and/or the gateway?

For example, can I name a temp sensor "Garage" and that name automatically is associated with that sensor in all places?  Or do I have to edit the name in all places it's displayed (e.g. console and gateway)?

Thanks.

[Rover1822]

I am going to tackle this on a technical level.

With the data received by the sites, and the enormous work they already do to store information, graph it, and show pertinent data for the type of sensor. It is not impossible, but would be very difficult. Let's say you change a name of a sensor before it is sent to a site, currently there are few mechanisms available to address it properly.

Now, If you decide one day to change a name , what happens to the stored data? .

[bigalpha]

Sure, but there's also a difference between the actual sensor name (soil moisture 1) and the friendly name (Citrus Trees). 

With that said, I'm clearly lacking in my knowledge of the technical operation of these devices. I was hoping that I could give a name to a sensor that then is propagated to all the display devices. Without having to rename that sensor at the console and at the gateway.

[Gyvate]

The answer is yes and no - depending on where you want to display the sensors and their (changed) names.
I guess that by "hardcode" you mean that you can change the default display(ed) name(s) of sensors

Fine Offset /Ecowitt universe:
If you have an Ecowitt (or clone) console and want to change the display name and show the changed name on the console display (HP2551 console, HP350x console) or on ecowitt.net, this is possible without issues.
The manual tells where to do this.
The GW1100/1000 and WH2650 (and clone) consoles can only do this on ecowitt.net as they don't have a display on their own.
If you use the Android PWT app as a console display on an Android tablet (for a display-less console but also for the HP2551/350x consoles), you can again change many of the extra sensor names in the app.

Ambient universe:
It appears that you can also change the display names of most sensors with an Ambient console (WS-2000/WS-5000 console), but there have been issues reported here in the forum that the posting to Ambientweather.net no longer works properly if you do so. If you don't use ambientweather.net as a Fine Offset Ambient clone user, no issues known.

[galfert]

... Or do I have to edit the name in all places it's displayed (e.g. console and gateway)?

Yes you have to name the sensor on the device/place that receives the sensor, or like you said everywhere the data is displayed. If you get a second display it has no knowledge of the existing display. Every device that receives a sensor's data is doing so independently. Therefore you must name the sensor at each endpoint of where the data shows.

[bigalpha]

Thank you, this is what I was looking for.  Kinda unfortunate we cannot name the device itself to then have that name pushed to all endpoints. 

I am going to be integrating this into my Home Assistant instance, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something that could make life a bit easier.

Therefore you must name the sensor at each endpoint of where the data shows.

[alanb]

Custom names on ambientweather.net web site and apps seem to be tied to your user login. Once you get the names  set, you can log in on a different browser or a different device and the custom names will show. And the app doesn't seem to let you set custom names unless you are logged in. This is true even if you have allowed your indoor sensors to be publicly visible. The app or web site won't let you enter the custom name as an anonymous (not logged in) user.

[Rover1822]

Sorry Alan, the question was if you set custom names to the sensors, to the console itself , would those names be used on remote sites, like ambientweather.net, ecowitt.net, etc.
Other words, can you set your sensor name in something like WSView or on the console directly and have that be replicated for all the sites you upload to. The purpose being, you would not have to go to each individual website and rename the sensor to what you wanted it to be.

[alanb]

Sorry Alan, the question was if you set custom names to the sensors, to the console itself , would those names be used on remote sites, like ambientweather.net, ecowitt.net, etc.
Other words, can you set your sensor name in something like WSView or on the console directly and have that be replicated for all the sites you upload to. The purpose being, you would not have to go to each individual website and rename the sensor to what you wanted it to be.

Yes, I understand the intent of your original post ... sorry if my response isn't relevant to that. I was simply stating my observation of where it seems that the ambientweather.net web site and apps get their custom names from ... definitely not propagated from the console. I do find it interesting that the Alexa skill uses the custom names I put in the console when asked "Alexa, ask Ambient Weather for an indoor report".

[bigalpha]

I def appreciate all the information here!  I was hoping to reduce possible naming errors, but alas.