Topic: Ambient Weather WS-2000 + WeeWX Uploading Data and Power Considerations

[newguy]

Hi Everyone! I'm pretty familiar with electronics but just starting out with weather - The Ambient Weather WS-2000 Kit (https://ambientweather.com/amws2000.html) looks about right for my interests, but what I don't understand is how data gets from the sensor to a weather service.

My feeling is that the display wirelessly queries the sensor array and some displays will also upload data to a weather service for you. I'd prefer to use something like WeeWX on the assumption that I'd be able to better access the raw data from the sensors. So my questions are:

1. With the WS-2000 display connected to WeeWX, is it a correct assumption that I'd leave the WS-2000 display unconfigured to upload, then rely on WeeWX to upload data to a weather service?

2. Is it a good idea to try to buy the sensors and not the display? I would be fine rolling my own SDR+linux system to do this, but I'm curious if others feel its worth the effort. It seems pretty easy to find sensor+display bundles and if it's just usb out from the display to a linux system, maybe its not worth it to roll my own.

3. I plan to mount this on my roof where i have easy access to power and ethernet. Should i pursue finding a non-battery powered and perhaps ethernet-connected sensor array or is that going to be a hassle?

Thanks for reading!

[galfert]

Hi Everyone! I'm pretty familiar with electronics but just starting out with weather - The Ambient Weather WS-2000 Kit (https://ambientweather.com/amws2000.html) looks about right for my interests, but what I don't understand is how data gets from the sensor to a weather service.

My feeling is that the display wirelessly queries the sensor array and some displays will also upload data to a weather service for you. I'd prefer to use something like WeeWX on the assumption that I'd be able to better access the raw data from the sensors. So my questions are:

Nope. That is not how it works. All the sensors are one way transmitters and they don't even know who is nor how many consoles are picking up the signal. Think of them as a radio station that just sends an RF broadcast. The console, in the case of the WS-2000 it is the display tunes into and receives all the sensors. Then it uploads to the supported online services via WiFi.

1. With the WS-2000 display connected to WeeWX, is it a correct assumption that I'd leave the WS-2000 display unconfigured to upload, then rely on WeeWX to upload data to a weather service?

That is up to you what you want WeeWX to do versus what the console does. A better way is to add the Ecowitt GW1000 so that you can use the WeeWX GW1000 API driver which is a much better way to than to have to deal with the WeeWX Interceptor driver. The Ecowitt GW1000 will receive all the Ambient WS-2000 sensors.

2. Is it a good idea to try to buy the sensors and not the display? I would be fine rolling my own SDR+linux system to do this, but I'm curious if others feel its worth the effort. It seems pretty easy to find sensor+display bundles and if it's just usb out from the display to a linux system, maybe its not worth it to roll my own.

I think the GW1000 is more elegant than SDR as it is directly supported by most popular weather applications. But some people around here like or prefer SDR.

3. I plan to mount this on my roof where i have easy access to power and ethernet. Should i pursue finding a non-battery powered and perhaps ethernet-connected sensor array or is that going to be a hassle?

I don't know where you are going with this. I haven't seen that. Sensors that transmit over RF are simple. The batteries lasts years. You should be doing routine maintenance anyway. Clearing debris, spider webs, insects, and checking over the equipment. There is no such thing as a hands off weather station, if you want good results.

[newguy]

Thank you galfert for the quick and thorough response!