Topic: Ambient Weather 1550IP - ObserverIP Module

[portolan]

Good afternoon all - Trying to figure out what to buy for a first-timer is hard work! I stayed up until well after midnight last night going through page after page of options. Late into the night I came across the Ambient Weather 1550IP station on their site. I had not noticed it before. It does not come with a console, which at this point doesn't bother me. It is connected by a small black box called a ObserverIP Module. This module receives the signal from the array and other sensors (up to eight) and transfers the data straight to the router via an ethernet cable. I like the fact it goes straight to the router and uses the cable instead of wifi. Our internet comes through the air and is a bit iffy sometimes. I think (I may be mistaken) that with the data going straight into the router which is on 24/7 I won't have to run the computer 24/7; is that right? I like that. My one concern is that the reviews of the ObserverIP Module are rather spotty. Does anyone on this forum have experience with this little black box module? Are there known and regular issues with it?

Last night I also found out that Ambient Weather is in Arizona. This is a huge plus for me as our mail goes into New Mexico. I am not sure I want to deal with the hassle from China that Ecowitt presents. Amazon has a few Ecowitt models, but not much. Any thoughts on this 1550IP setup and the ObserverIP Module that it uses? Thanks so very much.

[Rover1822]

I frankly, would not use this setup.

Understand you do not need the display, I would not use the Observer IP module. You can get the Ecowitt GW1000  (will do all the data to Internet bit) on Amazon for $36 that would read your array no problem. So all you actually need is the array bit, and there are some  other choices out there that would meet your needs. 

Where do you intend to post to to read your data , back from the Internet? WU etc?
Anymore detail on use and what you want also help

[galfert]

The ObserverIP should be considered outdated technology. It is not a very reliable device, especially when you try to expand it with the likes of Meteobridge.

The WS-1550IP is is not without a console....the little black box is a console. It just a console without a display. Semantics and interpretation as I know we are saying the same thing and I know you understand it well. I just wanted to say that the ObserverIP is similar is basically doing the same thing as what is built into the display console models.

Your preference for Ethernet over WiFi seems odd. The WiFi display consoles have the flexibility of being placed anywhere within WiFi coverage. Besides WiFi coverage should be easier to resolve then that to run Ethernet cabling to the router in many situations. I personally don't see the advantage of the ObserverIP being an Ethernet connected device. I see it the other way around, that the WiFi connected display console is the one with the advantage...so that you can have that display where it can be most visible to you. The ObserverIP has no display and that right there makes it less useful.

If you truly have no need for a display then I would recommend the Ecowitt GW1001 or GW1002 or GW1003 instead. These come with the GW1000 and are far superior to the ObserverIP.

As for Ecowitt and dealing with China...their support has been incredible. They are very responsive with their support. Ambient's support is also exemplary.

There are reasons to choose Ambient and there are reasons to choose Ecowitt.

Here is my take on not the similarities but the differences...

Ambient:
Choose them if you want access to the Ambientweather.net over Ecowitt.net.  The basic differences between them are that Ambientweather.net has support for Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, IFTTT and an open Internet API for other purposes. They also have a new map interface with forecasting and they are working on even more future features that are not yet announced.

Ecowitt:
Choose them if you want access to Ecowitt.net instead of Ambientweather.net. Although they don't yet have the features that Ambient has developed they do have more sensors that they support.
But the biggest reason for choosing Ecowitt over Ambient is to be able to configure exactly the station that you want with more sensor and console choices. Ecowitt is basically the direct sales arm of Fine Offset. With Ambient you are basically limited to only the parts that they choose to carry. With Ambient you are going to be limited with firmware that is purposely restricted from using other sensors that they don't carry. With an Ecowitt console you can use any sensor even sensors from Ambient.

*** But ultimately there is a way to have access to both Ecowitt.net and Ambientweather.net. I have access to both with my station configuration. This is something that with the correct parts is available to anyone. This is how that is accomplished.

If you start with an Ambient branded console that only reports to Ambientweather.net, you can add Ecowitt.net support by simply adding an Ecowitt GW1000 as that console will pick up any of your Ambient sensors. The GW1000 will send all of your Ambient sensor data to Ecowitt.net

If you start with an Ecowitt branded console that only reports to Ecowitt.net, you can use the Ecowitt GW1000 with a Meteobridge (with the added Ambientweather.net license) or a Ambient WeatherBridge and then you can upload to Ambientweather.net. All your Ecowitt sensors will then be picked up by the GW1000 which will be sent to the Meteobridge/WeatherBridge and then get uploaded to Ambientweather.net.

Out of those two configurations the best one is the second one, where you use the Meteobridge/WeatherBridge to upload to Ambientweather.net because your entire station has the capability to use more sensors that Ambient doesn't carry and to see them on the HP2551-C display console.....because they won't all show up on the Ambient WS-2000-C display console.

[portolan]

Thank you very much for your replies. Perhaps I could add a few points of information for your consideration as you help me. I live in northwest Chihuahua in Mexico. Our internet is very weak. The windier it gets the weaker it is. We have no monthly limits on usage or data as we use T-Mobile whose owner also owns Telcel. We have an unlimited plan for both service and data. Our problem is purely very slow outdated internet service. As I type this right now it is a sunny windy Sunday afternoon and I have 5.2 Mbps down and .83 Mbps up. It will get slower as the day progresses. We get our internet via the air from a transmitter some miles away to a dish on our roof. I find that ethernet holds the limited signal in our house better than wireless. For example, we can't livestream TV or movies via wireless. We have to use ethernet cables to run the data from router to device. I hope that helps. That is why I was attracted to the ethernet portion of the ObserverIP. It is outdated, but so is our internet. There is nothing we can do to speed it up. We pay for the fastest package available to us. I think the data will be sent to the router more reliably with ethernet than wireless, but am certainly willing to try anything. Do any wireless consoles/displays also have ethernet so I would have a choice?

I was thinking of reading our live data via the browser and/or cellphones instead of relying on a display. I thought about using a tablet with a weather app as the read out. I have several older tablets sitting around. Our weather is very moody as we are in the high Chihuahuan desert. Our little town has a great pottery tradition and in better times we have lots of tourists. I am constantly getting emails from folks wanting to know what the weather is like here prior to them coming here. There are no weather stations online in our town. The closest one is about 25 miles away in a very different topographical setting. We are at 5000 feet. I would love to be able to have a station show up on Weather Underground. That would be great for the tourists who come visit us for our pottery, archaeology and anthropology.

It is four hours to the nearest post office where we get our packages and mail in a small New Mexico town. We only get mail once a month in the best of times. There is no shipping to our home or town here in Mexico. I hope this additional information will help you help me. I really appreciate the help. I enjoy the techie part of things, but would prefer a set it up and let it rip option! Our technological options are limited as explained. Thanks so much. Does what I have said make any difference in your recommendations?

[Rover1822]

Hello again.

With your problematic Internet , I would suggest you do get a display/console as the display/console does need the internet, not at all for displaying data from your sensors.

And you are upset with your Internet service, but the numbers you provided are actually quite OK for the limited amount of data that a weather system of this type would use, based on the numbers you have provided , you would never notice it.


Best of luck

[galfert]

I live in northwest Chihuahua in Mexico. Our internet is very weak. The windier it gets the weaker it is. We have no monthly limits on usage or data as we use T-Mobile whose owner also owns Telcel. We have an unlimited plan for both service and data. Our problem is purely very slow outdated internet service. As I type this right now it is a sunny windy Sunday afternoon and I have 5.2 Mbps down and .83 Mbps up. It will get slower as the day progresses. We get our internet via the air from a transmitter some miles away to a dish on our roof. I find that ethernet holds the limited signal in our house better than wireless. For example, we can't livestream TV or movies via wireless. We have to use ethernet cables to run the data from router to device. I hope that helps. That is why I was attracted to the ethernet portion of the ObserverIP. It is outdated, but so is our internet. There is nothing we can do to speed it up. We pay for the fastest package available to us. I think the data will be sent to the router more reliably with ethernet than wireless, but am certainly willing to try anything.

The fact that your Ethernet connected devices work better is because there are a number of factors that get amplified and are more noticeable when your Internet is as slow as yours. But for a weather station I think it will not matter. That said I think you should look at ways to improve your local WiFi. How fast your Internet is and how you get it, is irrelevant. I always say get rid of the ISP issued router for WiFi. Always put in your own WiFi. If you do this then you should really notice differences between wired Ethernet and WiFi. But again, I don't think this matters. I would definitely not recommend the ObserverIP.

Do any wireless consoles/displays also have ethernet so I would have a choice?

No, none of them do. Only the ObserverIP has Ethernet.

I was thinking of reading our live data via the browser and/or cellphones instead of relying on a display. I thought about using a tablet with a weather app as the read out. I have several older tablets sitting around. Our weather is very moody as we are in the high Chihuahuan desert. Our little town has a great pottery tradition and in better times we have lots of tourists. I am constantly getting emails from folks wanting to know what the weather is like here prior to them coming here. There are no weather stations online in our town. The closest one is about 25 miles away in a very different topographical setting. We are at 5000 feet. I would love to be able to have a station show up on Weather Underground. That would be great for the tourists who come visit us for our pottery, archaeology and anthropology.

It is four hours to the nearest post office where we get our packages and mail in a small New Mexico town. We only get mail once a month in the best of times. There is no shipping to our home or town here in Mexico. I hope this additional information will help you help me. I really appreciate the help. I enjoy the techie part of things, but would prefer a set it up and let it rip option! Our technological options are limited as explained. Thanks so much. Does what I have said make any difference in your recommendations?

I don't think that makes a difference, other than waiting to longer delivery. Support for the product with Ambient or Ecowitt is excellent and all you need is email for that. Ambient does have phone support. But they only provide support for US customers. I don't know what would happen if they found out you were not in the US. Perhaps since your mailing address is in New Mexico then that is the only thing that matters...if that is what you tell them.