Topic: I'm just wanting a little advice.

[ingeborgdot]

I just joined this forum and wow.  It is very impressive.  The people on here seem so friendly and helpful.  I thought joining the forum would help solve some problems but it has actually created a bigger one.  Too many choices. 
I was thinking to buy one complete system but after reading what many have to say, maybe separate pieces is the answer.  I don't know???  I am so new to this I am hoping one of the friendly people on here would give me a little advice. 
I was actually looking at Ambient WS-2000 but now see that many on here have purchased the Ecowitt brand.  I know from reading that there are good sides to all systems but is the Ecowitt better than Ambient? 
If I chose the separate pieces route, can anyone point me in the direction they know would work? 
I want wind speed, temp, and rain for sure.  I also want a console or tablet or whatever they want to call it because I want quick access to view and not only on a phone.
Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[BKS97]

If uploading your data to the various weather services such as Weather Underground, PWSweather, etc., is important to you, you may want to consider the WS-2000 combined with a GW1000.  This combo, besides being reliable and relatively easy to set up, would allow you to send data not only to ambientweather.net and ecowitt.net but also to WU, PWSweather, WeatherCloud, WOW Met Office, AWEKAS and CWOP — all WITHOUT the need of a Meteobridge (Weatherbridge) or any additional software.

For a total investment of about $300, your data can show up at 8 weather services simply and easily — pretty much “plug and play.”

I use the WS-2000 display to send directly to WU and, of course, ambientweather.net, which in turn I use to send to PWSweather.  Thanks to the development of AmbientCWOP.com, I can send to CWOP.  Through the GW-1000, I upload to ecowitt.net, WeatherCloud and WOW Met Office and, using its “customized“ portal, AWEKAS.

[galfert]

Nice post BKS97! Way to understand how it all works and squeeze out every bit of potential from your gear. And you did it all without a Meteobridge or other software. While all that works as intended, anyone wanting to manage their data and send it to even more places and centralize control, adding a Meteobridge and/or other 3rd party software would give you even more...at a cost of course. But by all means what you have accomplished is very doable by anyone as you just configure the services it their rightful place one at a time.

is the Ecowitt better than Ambient? 

One isn't better than the other. They are made by the same company Fine Offset if you are considering the Ambient WS-2000 and WS-5000 to the Ecowitt options. There are different options is all because of firmware differences and what parts each will sell you. But as BKS97 has stated you can have a hybrid system with parts of both brands. The most common is to have the Ecowitt GW1000 with either Ambient sensors and an Ambient WS-2000 display console, or you can have an Ecowitt GW1000 and Ecowitt HP2551-C with all Ecowitt sensors and then add an Ambient Meteobridge (WeatherBridge) if you still wanted Ambientweather.net.

I think first you need to decide if you want all-in-one sensor array or separate components. If a more limited budget is a concern then the all-in-one is not a bad way to go. Just because separate components improves siting options it also complicates needing to have more than just a pole somewhere. If cost is not a concern then separate components is going to get you slightly better data.

[galfert]

If you want all-in-one then here are some options:

Ambient WS-2000
uploads to: Ambientweather.net, Weather Underground, WeatherCloud, (and PWSweather via Ambientweather.net).

Ecowitt HP2551
uploads to: Ecowitt.net, Weather Underground, WeatherClould, MetOffice WOW, and a "Customized" server upload to one additional place like PWSweather, AWEKAS, your own server (website template, or WeeWX software...etc.).

If you want separate components then here are some options:

Ambient WS-5000 (uses same exact display console as WS-2000)
uploads to: Ambientweather.net, Weather Underground, WeatherCloud, (and PWSweather via Ambientweather.net).

Ecowitt HP2552 (doesn't really exist as a complete kit, as it is not listed, but you can custom order it part by part...more expensive though)
It is the same sensors as the HP3501 but just a different display. Uploads to same places as Ecowitt HP2551 as it is the same display console.
uploads to: Ecowitt.net, Weather Underground, WeatherClould, MetOffice WOW, and a "Customized" server upload to one additional place like PWSweather, AWEKAS, your own server (website template, or WeeWX software...etc.).

Ecowitt HP2553 - this is the same as the Ambient WS-5000 but Ecowitt's version...but if you are in the US you can't order it. Ecowitt will not sell it as they are bound by contract from Fine Offset that in the US only Ambient can sell the ultrasonic wind sensor.

Ecowitt GW1002 (this is the same sensors as the an HP3501 but with the GW1000 instead of a display). I know you want a display...so you can just add it to the GW1002. The display part is called HP2551-C, which is Ecowitt's version of the WS-2000-C.

Hybird options - mix and match sensor brands and console brands
You can mix and match with 2 rules:
1 - Keep the frequency the same (915 MHz in your case for the US).
2 - You can use Ambient sensors with Ecowitt consoles (the GW1000 is a console just as the display types). Any Ecowitt console will see the Ambient sensors or the Ecowitt sensors. BUT you can't do it the other way around and so you can't use an Ecowitt sensor with an Ambient console. The Ambient firmware will not allow you to see Ecowitt branded sensors even if the frequency matches.

It is this hybrid approach that lets you do what BKS97 mentioned. Starting off with a WS-2000 (Ambient sensors) and then add the Ecowitt GW1000 to give you more options for your data.

Sometimes people miss an even more expensive option. You start off with a complete Ecowitt system like the GW1001 or GW1002 or GW1003 and then add the HP2551-C disaplay...but you aren't done yet. Because this gets  you a GW1000 then you can pair it up with a Meteobridge and if you get it with Ambientweather.net license then you can upload to Ambientweather.net, and it lets you do everything else that a Meteobridge does.

[ocala]

What ever unit you get here's a vote for separate sensors. If you can safely mount an anemometer at a high location that's relatively free of obstructions do it. When the wind blows you'll see a more accurate reflection as opposed to a location on the ground that is shielded.
Same goes for temperature and rain. They belong closer to the ground preferably over grass about 5ft high. Periodic maintenance is an issue with a station and having easy access is a plus.   

[ingeborgdot]

Thanks so much for these great replies.  I wish all forums were as helpful as this.  My budget will be around $300 or less, so that is the price range I will be looking at. 
Again, thank you to all for giving me some of your insight.

[FW8379]

@ingeborgdot
just curious what you ended up with, if anything?