Topic: AcuRite weather station failed, looking to replace

[Joe N]

Hi everyone, new here - My 5 year old AcuRite weather 5 in 1 station failed last week, outside temp and humidity PCB must have died and it was not replaceable, so I found this site and have been reading many posts trying to absorb as much info as possible, I am not a hard core weather person but do appreciate correct and dependable weather info, I have been following up leads found here and came across Ambientweather.com, one item of interest to me is model WS-1900 Osprey, favorable reviews and I don't need the connectivity offered with most other weather stations so some questions I have are:

Is this outdoor sensor going to hold up through the brutal winters we have here in the North East, Central New York to be specific
Can any of the parts, internal or external be replaced

If there are any other suggestions, let me know and I will look into them

Thanks

Joe

[galfert]

The display is not so great. You have to look at it just right or it disappears. I would highly recommend the better screen on the WS-2000. You mention not needing Internet connectivity but one added bonus is ability to use extra sensors and add things like air quality sensor and the to soon to be released lightning sensor.

The WS-1900 you are considering is basically a WS-2902 but without Internet connectivity. The WS-1900 is not discussed much at all around here because most people enjoy the Internet connectivity. But you can learn a lot about the WS-1900 by just reading about the WS-2902 and ignoring the Internet stuff. Here is a good place to start:
https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=36379.0

The ability for the Ambient station to perform in the winter will probably be the same as the Acurite 5-in-1 you had. Not bullet proof, but not terrible.

Parts are available directly from Ambient
https://www.ambientweather.com/amwewsrepaan13.html
https://www.ambientweather.com/amwewsrepa5.html

As to what else to consider.... Well there is Ecowitt which is basically the same hardware but with more configuration options.
http://www.ecowitt.com/

[Joe N]

Thanks to "galfert" for the quick reply. Have spent the last few hours reading your suggestions as well as looking at some different weather stations.

WS-2902B Osprey - internet connection I do not need, viewing angle for display not the best but does seem to have all the bells and whistles, in stock at Ambient @ $169.99

WS-1201 Observer - no internet, TFT color display, one pc. outdoor sensor (should be sturdier than the Osprey), in stock @ Ambient @ $199.99

HP-3500B - internet connection (not needed), TFT Color display, two pc. outdoor sensor (should be sturdier than Osprey), not sure if in stock @ Ecowitt @ $199.99

So this is what I have come up with - some thoughts please

[galfert]

Well my first reaction is forget the WS-1201, that is an older model with older sensors (they don't perform as well). I can't believe that they continue to sell old models (they must be left over stock). Yes the WS-1201 has a better display than the WS-2902B but I would prefer the better sensors in the WS-2902B and the in the future you can upgrade it by just getting the WS-2000 display if initial cost is a concern and you don't want to wait to just get the better display right away with the newer generation sensors.

The HP-3500B is a nice display but much smaller than the WS-2000 / HP2551. This is more of a personal preference. The WS-2000 / HP2551 are way more popular many times over. You can start with a HP-3500B and later add just the HP2551 display as a secondary display. They will both work at the same time. So you can have your weather in two rooms.

The HP-3500B is not two piece outdoor sensor. It is just one piece outdoor sensor. That other item you see in an indoor sensor for temperature/humidity and pressure as the display does not have any of these sensors built in. The WS-2902B in contrast does have the indoor temperature/humidity and pressure built in.

There is a reason why some displays have a built-in temperature/humidity and pressure sensor and others require the external part. The TFT displays generate a lot of heat and they would affect the indoor temperature and humidity, hence the need to make it be an external part. The display of the WS-2902B is LED and does not generate heat and it was able to designed to have the built-in indoor temperature/humidity and pressure sensor.

You mentioned not needing Internet connectivity but there is another added bonus of having it connected to the Internet even if you never want to see the data online....Automatic Internet based clock synchronization. Not having to ever set the clock is a big plus in my book. I can't stand those devices in my home with blinking clocks or clocks out of sync.

[Joe N]

Thank you "galfert" for taking your time to give such a detailed explanation, I have to make a decision now

Will post back here when decision is made

Joe

[davefr]

The temp/humidity sensor in the 5 in 1 is very easy to replace.  Cost is <$5.

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=35467.msg363408#msg363408

[Joe N]

@ Davefr - Thank you for the info: I did see that item was available but didn't think I could adapt it to the acurite 01512 I had   , anyways the acurite is long gone and I am ready to move on

@galfert - Just ordered the WS2902B

[galfert]

Sounds good. Enjoy!

[Joe N]

@ galfert - quick update, received and installed WS2902B, everything working as it should, went through all settings and yes I did connect to the internet, so thanks again for taking the time to answer all my questions

Joe

[galfert]

Great. Did you decide to just connect to the Internet and not report to any service? Or are you uploading to Ambientweather.net or Weather Underground or WeatherCloud?

You can upload to Ambientweather.net and WeatherCloud and keep the data private (or not, up to you). If you upload to Weather Underground then it is public. These are all free services.

[Joe N]

Have not yet setup to upload data, maybe later

Joe