Topic: Ecowitt Component Station ~ Research / Purchase / Setup / Expansion

[MrM1]

Edit: I see you say 9 feet above ground , that is all that matters. Since most of these pipes are sold in 10' lengths , and you really need about 1.5 foot of that , in the ground. Tell us a bit more on the pipes.

UPDATE:

It is 1 3/8" galvanized chain link Fence Top Rail.  17 Gauge.

I have it 3 ft in the ground.  Then 2 ft above ground with a connection point.  Then the mast goes up another 7 ft from  the connection.  For a total of 9 ft above ground

I built it so i could easily disconnect the upper part of the mast for quick removal and or repair

[Rover1822]

Then it all comes down to the connection point, as that is your point of failure if there is an issue. The weather unit weighs next to nothing.  But pipe couplers as you describer are a point of usual failure. I have not used fencing pipe as you describe, but I think it has about the same thickness and diameter rating as EMT. I hate using guys if I can avoid it.

If it were me, I would erect what you have and see if you need them. I do hate couplers on anything going vertical, but that also depends on the coupler. The good news is you are not going that high, the weather unit weighs nothing, in fact the biggest thing is to make the pipe stable. If I would have used your approach, I would sunk the  longer length into the ground , and have the coupler on top. That way the "mast" is rigid to the ground without the coupler, and the coupler resides higher with less stress on it.

Or I would have sleeved the unit.

But frankly , you can over think these things for the next year LOL. Just get it up

Edit: I used terms that are known in the US ,such as EMT or schedule 40 , these may not apply to EU or other nations

[MrM1]

But frankly , you can over think these things for the next year LOL. Just get it up

Thanks

It's Up ... I just don't have any pics yet.  Rain today

Nice Personal Site Pic.  Do those Solar Panels take a lot of shade?

[Rover1822]

But frankly , you can over think these things for the next year LOL. Just get it up

Thanks

Nice Personal Site Pic.  Do those Solar Panels take a lot of shade?

LOL, 20 years ago, they got  a lot more sun.  Word of advice if putting up a small solar, trees grow.
But, they still get enough sun for what I use them for.

Edit: Also note time of day as the background is a webcam and the image changes every minute

On your situation... like I said, just get it up 

[MrM1]

Well I got the WH57 Lightning Sensor (3/7/25).  Put it up and started getting strikes almost immediately ... in clear blue skies.

Started testing different locations around the house.  By the end of the first day I had over 70 strikes, over 100 on Friday, and so far 205 today.  Read the Wiki, found the Ecowitt FAQ page, read as much as I could, reached out to Ecowitt 2x's (and they told me to Read the FAQ).   

With counts that hi,  I started messing with Dip Switches, each time removing the batteries, changing the switches, reinstalling the batteries.  Then putting it out with the  new setting. Some settings made it better than others.  But at best I was getting 1-3 hits per hour.

Wondering if I had a bad WH57,  I ordered a replacement and it arrived this afternoon.   The replacement has been up since 5 pm today ... and ...

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NO STRIKES at all in the last 3 hours with the New Sensor in clear conditions.  Is this how the chart should look with no activity at all?  It is showing nothing from 5pm to 8:30pm today.

All I did was put in batteries.  All Switches are Default.  Unregistered the 1st WH57 and Register the new WH57 in the gateway. After 3 hours,  I checked it on some "noise" in the house and it is sensing.  So it seems to be working.   Now to wait for Real Lightning and see if it actually detects, but so far so good the 2nd time around.

So my first WH57 might have been defective.  Maybe?

[Dirk27]

Yes, maybe.
The WH57 dip switch settings are described a bit confusing in the manual.
Perhaps better: https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=beginners#ecowitt_wh57
... ?

[Gyvate]

Good luck   
The  La Crosse Technology 925-1418 alias TFA 98.1114 doesn't provide sufficient aeration/airflow  - space is a necessary but not sufficient condition mathematically speaking

It falls into the same league like the Ecowitt RS0001.

Results of many user tests are summarised in the WiKi.

[Paulcheffus]

Hi

I’ve had mine a few weeks now and so far have only had one strike which was nearly two weeks ago. I did originally have a gravity lightning detector attached to a raspberry pi and it was recording strikes on clear blue skies. I changed that one to only start registering strikes when there had been five or more in a fifteen minute period. That seemed to stop the false ones and I received a couple of actual strikes back in January.

On the Ecowitt WH57 I’ve left all the dip switches at the default down position and the detector is mounted outside around 12m from the house.

Cheers

Paul

[MrM1]

Good luck   
The  La Crosse Technology 925-1418 alias TFA 98.1114 doesn't provide sufficient aeration/airflow  - space is a necessary but not sufficient condition mathematically speaking

It falls into the same league like the Ecowitt RS0001.

Results of many user tests are summarised in the WiKi.

Yes saw that. Ended up with a reinforced AW SRS100LX

[MrM1]

So after reading all I could find and messing around with various Shields (see signature) I ended up with the Ambient Weather SRS100LX for my WH32.

But as many  have said, that shield seems OK, but the plastic mounting bracket leaves a lot to be desire.  I heard AW has a metal bracket for an up charge, but heard of it too late.

After seeing the bracket couldn't hardly support the weight of the Radiation Shield, I did  some mods to reenforce it, especially since I read it doesn't stand up to 30 mph winds and I was on a lake more or less in the open.

Below are my modifications. I think it is much better, with 2 points that would have to fail  before the whole sensor ended up in the lake.

But honestly AW should really rethink that bracket for this shield.

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[MrM1]

Here is the install as it stands on this day (details in signature).  I set up the masts so they are easily detachable in case of hurricanes.

Thanks to the forum for the help.

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[MrM1]

On the Ecowitt WH57 I’ve left all the dip switches at the default down position and the detector is mounted outside around 12m from the house.

Cheers
Paul

Thx Paul
I have done the same with my 2nd sensor, all 4 Dips down (in default). And it has been almost 24 hrs now, and not 1 false positive. No strikes at all.

So now I'm waiting for a storm. Hopefully this one will record correctly. The first one racked up nearly 400 false positive strikes in 2.5 days in clear skies.

Are you seeing nothing on the graph when there has been  no activity in a 24 hour window?

[Paulcheffus]

Hi

Yes exactly the same nothing on the graph with no activity.

Cheers

Paul

[Platokidd]

But honestly AW should really rethink that bracket for this shield.

They sell an upgraded metal bracket that works and looks good. https://ambientweather.com/amwesrsrmere.html

[Gyvate]

But honestly AW should really rethink that bracket for this shield.

They sell an upgraded metal bracket that works and looks good. https://ambientweather.com/amwesrsrmere.html

I suppose you would find a functional metal bracket like this in +/- any hardware store for 1/10 of the price ....
it's 50% of the price of the whole shield 

[MrM1]

They sell an upgraded metal bracket that works and looks good. https://ambientweather.com/amwesrsrmere.html

I saw this too late.  Had already built up my reinforced one

[MrM1]

So I have the WH32 in the AM Larger shield (above)

But I would rather have had the WH32-EP.   Problem is, Ecowitt says they are out of stock until around mid April.   

I seemed to have found a few on AliExpress.   Any chance it is a fake?   Says it is from the Ecowitt store.  Would you be concerned getting one from AliEpress?

https://tinyurl.com/ycyk3x4s

[Gyvate]

So I have the WH32 in the AM Larger shield (above)

But I would rather have had the WH32-EP.   Problem is, Ecowitt says they are out of stock until around mid April.   

I seemed to have found a few on AliExpress.   Any chance it is a fake?   Says it is from the Ecowitt store.  Would you be concerned getting one from AliEpress?

https://tinyurl.com/ycyk3x4s

read the WiKi 
Ecowitt is selling via their own shop and marketplaces like Amazon or AliExpress - the seller is always Ecowitt themselves.
The seller has their own market place store - here the Ecowitt Store on Amazon or AliExpress.
The sensor availability in Shenzhen (company seat and production place) may be different from the marketplaces for which different storage locations exist.
So, no problem buying from AliExpress .. - just make sure you get the right frequency model (915 MHz in your case)

[MrM1]

read the WiKi 
Ecowitt is selling via their own shop and marketplaces like Amazon or AliExpress - the seller is always Ecowitt themselves.

So even info about the Stores and who-is-who is in the WiKi ?  I did not know this.     There is a lot of info in that-there Wiki. 

And I am assuming ... if they list it as "In Stock" at the AliExpress store ... it really is "In Stock" ??

Thanks Again.

[MrM1]

Never Mind ... They're All Gone ... LoL

 

[MrM1]

OK so I have a WH32 and it is doing fine,  but I still am waiting for Ecowitt to start offering the WH32-EP again.  They say sometime in April.

But today,  this popped into my Amazon feed ~ the WN32BS.  It was not there a few weeks ago.   It looks like a WH32-EP,  But the only info I can find on it in the amazon listing is WN32BS.  Would this be a WH32-EP mislabeled on Amazon?  Is it an outdoor sensor that would replace the WH32 in the sensor ID List in my GW1200?  Would is serve as the Primary Outdoor Temp and Humidity Sensor?

https://tinyurl.com/vjv5h988

I am not seeing this specific unit in the Wiki.  Is this old stock?  Is this the newest to be released version?  What is the B?  Barometric Pressure?

[Gyvate]

the WN32xS (x=A, B, C) is obviously a new name for the WH32-EP. Another one is WN39xS which was used on the boxes they are shipped with.
I assume the "S" stands for "special"
Ecowitt have started renaming "old" gear.
I've been fighting with them for years to streamline their acronyms. The result is not always for the better, especially with station kit names.

[Platokidd]

From the link provided, It reads and looks like in the picture WN31-EP. It also states it's the indoor-outdoor sensor.

Although it says 915 MHz in the title, the information in the "about this item" says 868 MHz.

Not uncommon for Ecowitt to have poorly posted misleading or confusing ad's on Amazon in the USA.

My guess, this would also ship from Ecowitt (China) going by the lead-time.

I'm not sure if this is a WN31-EP or a WN32-EP which is the one you need.

Worth taking a try on purchasing. If it's not the right one, Ecowitt is top notch, they will make it right.

[Gyvate]

they are only selling 915 MHz pieces on amazon.com - the 868 MHz is most likely a typo/copy-paste mistake  from their  amazon.co.uk text.
Also they used the wrong picture - but "single channel transmission" makes it likely to be a WN32/WH32-EP - assuming WN32BS is correct, it'll be a WH32-EP

[MrM1]

From the link provided, It reads and looks like in the picture WN31-EP.

I'm not sure if this is a WN31-EP or a WN32-EP which is the one you need.

Worth taking a try on purchasing. If it's not the right one, Ecowitt is top notch, they will make it right.

I am needing a 32,  but Agreed ... can always send it back.  The one thing that has me thinking it is indeed a 32 though is in the description it says it is "Single Channel" which is characteristic of the 32 as the 31 is multi channel.

I'll probably try it an see.