Topic: Any users reviews for Ambient Weather WS-5000-IP3

[rrajarajan]

Hi I was looking to buy a weatherstation and came upon the WS-5000-IP3. The difference I see from a regular WS-5000 is that there is no display unit instead of that there is an access point that talks to the sensors and uploads data to the net.

Does anyone here have that specific model and have any info to share.

Pros and cons.

Right now I have a very basic LaCross weather station - essentially just an indoor/outdoor temperature sensor with display. This is going to be a big upgrade for me.

[R.Sidetrack]

I don't have any Ambient equipment.

But ... you can avoid Ambient poor support and buy a similar product from Ecowitt, with good support, likely at a better price too.

For instance, this is similar: https://shop.ecowitt.com/collections/weather-station/products/hp2553... but it includes a display. While that price may look lower, after "shipping" it may not be.

I suggest pricing individual Ecowitt components, leaving out the display. Depending on the features you want, a GW1100 gateway is entry level, or a GW3000 is fully featured. In the USA some Ecowitt items are available on Amazon at good pricing, but some are not.

For more suggestions, tell us more about what you are looking for.  For instance, how do you want to review / see / store /display the resulting data?

[Wooks61]

Take a look at:

https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start

[rrajarajan]

I don't have any Ambient equipment.

But ... you can avoid Ambient poor support and buy a similar product from Ecowitt, with good support, likely at a better price too.

.......

For more suggestions, tell us more about what you are looking for.  For instance, how do you want to review / see / store /display the resulting data?

Thanks for your reply. I spent the past few days looking/reading/educating myself.
As for what I am looking for - to start with the basics and be in a position to expand if and when I get deeper into it.
So a good starting place in my mind would be an all in one unit that posts to the net so that I can remotely view the data. A tablet display would be nice but not essential.

The observation I had with the current display products is that they all needed a power supply (via a cable) and where not totally battery operated.

I have seen some DIY e-paper display + Raspberry PI type of projects to show it on a kindle like display - That would make a good summer project for me - I have a background in DIY electronics as a hobby and software programming (I'm a SW Engineer).

Now the Ecowitt WS90 with GW-2000 is a potential candidate for me. Amazon (USA) has it for $199, which is a reasonable price to start with and have the ability to expand.

There is another kit with WS90 and the WS3900 display for $40 more - which is tempting. I need to google the WS3901 and read more about it to find out if that supports expansion by adding more sensors and has web connectivity (I'd assume so).

[R.Sidetrack]

You could have the (no display) gateway [say the GW2000] post data to ecowitt.net (for free), then use a spare/under-used tablet to display the data. Or display a PC browser page etc.

If you are interested in local data storage / manipulation beyond what is available at ecowitt.net, CumulusMX is very easy to set up to retrieve data from Ecowitt.

My personal preference is to have separate sensors (no 7-in-1 etc) so that if there is a problem with a component just that item can be easily replaced. So I use WS40 (rain), WS68 (wind & solar) and a WS30 (temperature & humidity), plus a gateway. Only my WS68 is mounted up high, which minimizes maintenance hassle. I actually have 2 complete stations about 700 ft apart, my primary station uses a GW3000, the backup uses a GW2000.  But the combination units are certainly popular.

There is a compatibility chart at Ecowitt that shows all the devices that can work with any given gateway. You should take a look here: https://shop.ecowitt.com/products/ecowitt-gw3001

Scroll down to almost the bottom of the page and look for the greenish chart.

[rrajarajan]

........
My personal preference is to have separate sensors (no 7-in-1 etc) so that if there is a problem with a component just that item can be easily replaced. So I use WS40 (rain), WS68 (wind & solar) and a WS30 (temperature & humidity), plus a gateway. Only my WS68 is mounted up high, which minimizes maintenance hassle. I actually have 2 complete stations about 700 ft apart, my primary station uses a GW3000, the backup uses a GW2000.  But the combination units are certainly popular.
.....

Thanks for your reply. I do see a point in your preference on not getting an all in one. (I have a similar complaint about all in one scanner/copier/printers). Separate sensors is less of a hassle changing units when one sensor goes bad.

Coming to the rain sensor - what is your take on a traditional funnel sensor vs the newer haptic ones. Similarly the pros and cons of a wind vane sensor vs the new ultrasonic ones.
I read a lot of comments about the haptic rain sensors being off when there is very light drizzle.
Though on the other hand I havent read users pointing out issues with the ultrasonic  wind speed/direction sensors.

[R.Sidetrack]

There are plenty of threads on this forum where the various wind technologies and rain technologies are discussed (to no end? ).    

My personal position is that I'm not that interested recording the 'nth degree' of precision.  I want to know when it rained and how much.  Getting  beyond a 1/20 of an inch doesn't have any practical use for me.

As far as measuring wind goes, probably 99% of the members posting here have an improper site to accurately measure wind.  I certainly do!  There are buildings disrupting a perfect airflow, and yes, I like trees.  Even if I had an open plain with no trees or buildings, I'm not going up 30 feet to mount an anemometer. So given those obstacles, what is the point of 'nth degree' of accuracy?

I can say that NONE of my sensors have 'updatable' firmware.  The firmware is in the gateway, indoors. But if you buy a haptic sensor, odds are there is some updateable firmware somewhere.  And I see threads here about members bemoaning the release of new firmware -- which means (at least for some of those haptic devices) that the sensor needs to be removed from its lofty outdoor mount to do a firmware update!     

[Wooks61]

I have found the WS80 more registers lower wind speeds than the mechanical type.

Sometimes the WS80 registers small breezes when the mechanical wind cups do not.
However my mechanical one is now 6 years old and maybe is a little "Stiff" with age. 

[rrajarajan]

My shortlist now is the following
GW3000 gateway with ethernet + sd card
WS80 wind/temp/humidity
WH40H rain gauge.

The issue I am now facing is that the ecowitt wont let you buy a WS80 to be shipped to the USA. The page for WS80 says contact customer service - I have emailed them to see if there is some other way!

I have started another thread in the ecowitt section about getting a WS80 into the US - in case someone else overcame the same problem.
If I can't get the WS80 and alternative would be the WS65 mechanical anemometer + WN32 for outdoor temp/humidity.

[R.Sidetrack]

... alternative would be the WS65 mechanical anemometer

I'm guessing you mean WS68?

[rrajarajan]

... alternative would be the WS65 mechanical anemometer

I'm guessing you mean WS68?

Yes, you are correct!

[deltaT]

saying that Ambient has poor service is being incredibly gracious

[rrajarajan]

Just an update to this thread, I did buy the following:

GW3000 gateway,WS80 for wind/temp/humidity, a WH40H rain gauge and a couple of WN31s to get indoor data.

The system is up - minus the WS80 as I am still waiting for it in the mail.