Topic: WS3900 Update Interval After GW2000 Firmware Update and Interval Adjustment

[Anthony in Derbyshire]

Summary:
After updating the firmware on my Ecowitt GW2000 gateway, I was able to set the “Custom Server” upload interval to 8 seconds (down from the previously enforced 16-second minimum). Following this change, I observed that my WS3900 console, which had consistently displayed wind updates at 16-second intervals, began updating wind speed and direction every 8 seconds – in direct synchrony with the new interval.

This was unexpected, as the WS3900 is a passive RF-only display device that has no knowledge of or connection to the GW2000. It receives RF broadcasts directly from the WS90 sensor array.

System Setup:
- WS90: Ultrasonic sensor array (wind, temp, humidity, pressure, UV, rain)
- GW2000: Ethernet-connected gateway; updated via its embedded web page
- WS3900: LCD display console; RF-only, no network or configuration interface
- Raspberry Pi 3B: Home Assistant server receiving data via HTTP POST from the GW2000

Observed Behaviour (Post-Firmware Update):
- The GW2000 allowed configuration of a custom upload interval as low as 8 seconds (previously 16s minimum).
- After setting this value, the WS3900 console began updating wind speed/direction every 8 seconds, consistently.
- No other changes were made to the WS3900 or WS90.
- This interval change is reflected in Home Assistant's reporting (via my Raspberry Pi 3b)

Interpretation:
This suggests that:
1. The WS90 dynamically adjusted its RF broadcast cadence, likely for wind data, in response to the GW2000’s more frequent polling or upload cycle.
2. The WS3900, being a passive listener, began receiving more frequent usable RF packets, hence the observed update increase.
3. This is likely a firmware-enabled capability in either the GW2000 or WS90 (or both), not previously documented.

Key Takeaways:
- Users running WS90/GW2000 systems may benefit from faster display updates on passive consoles like the WS3900, even though those devices are not configurable.
- Behavioural changes can be induced via the GW2000’s interval settings after firmware update – possibly affecting real-time responsiveness for wind-based automations as well.
- Ecowitt documentation does not yet reflect this flexibility, so user observation is key.

[Wooks61]

Try reading :

https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start#sensor_array_transmission_timings_reporting_intervals
https://meshka.eu/Ecowitt/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=start#ws3800_ws3820_and_ws3900_ws3910

"Another interesting observation:
the display was originally updated every eight seconds only (therefore every second transmission of a WS80 would get lost) - meanwhile it can be updated every second provided a sensor update arrives."

[Anthony in Derbyshire]

Thanks for the link – that’s a very useful resource, and I hadn’t come across it before. I can see now that the WS3900’s ability to update more frequently, provided sensor updates arrive, has been noted elsewhere – which certainly helps frame what I’ve been observing.

My post wasn’t intended as a discovery in isolation, but rather as a documentation of what appeared to be a direct and repeatable change in display behaviour following a GW2000 firmware update and a reduction in its upload interval to 8 seconds. It was striking that the WS3900, which doesn’t interface with the GW2000 at all, began updating wind data at the same rhythm.

Useful to have this corroborated in a more formal source. I thought it worth posting for others who might notice similar behaviour but be unsure of the cause.