WXforum.net
Weather Station Hardware => Ambient Weather and Ecowitt and other Fine Offset clones => Topic started by: dow on June 22, 2015, 11:59:57 PM
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How long have you had your ws-1400-ip weather system, or any of the other systems that use the same sensor array? Have you had any problems with inaccurate readings or weird behavior? Would you buy it again, knowing what you know now? I'm trying to decide between the ws-1400-ip and the AcuRite 01057RM, and would appreciate all of the info that you'd care to share about your system. Both of these systems fit my budget, but I have yet to find any decent comparisons between the two systems.
Thanks for your help and opinions.
Dow
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I have had a WS-1400IP since February & I am pretty happy with it. It was an easy set-up, didn't need any extras to get it online & seems to fairly accurate; rain gauge is usually within .01" of my CocoRahs measurements, temps, pressure & wind are always close to the Davis stations nearby.
I had it up & online within an hour & it's pretty cool to be able to check the weather at home when we are traveling. The data storage on WU is searchable & you can download it for an Excel spreadsheet. I don't mind not having a console
The wind speeds recorded by WU are frustrating in that they seem to rounded off to several of the same values used over & over. And you don't really get the max wind gust recorded. There are a few threads about this in the Ambient sub-forum.
The only other issue I have is due to heavy snow (I don't know if this would be an issue for you) as it collects on the top of the sensor suite & blocks the anemometer from spinning. I have to clear it manually. I am thinking about removing the wind instruments from the top & mounting them on a separate pole, hard wired with a tether, but I haven't done this yet.
How long it lasts would be the question, but so far. so good.
I don't have any experience with any Acurite equipment but I have noticed that several of the local Acurite station often report abnormally high temps depending on the time of day, which is also mentioned in a few threads.
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Thanks for the reply, Arlowx. No, snow wouldn't be an issue for me other than once or possibly twice a year. We're far enough south that winter weather is usually either freezing rain or sleet. Very seldom do we get actual snow here.
Thanks again for the great info.
dow
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I've also had my 1400IP since Feb of this year and pretty much agree with arlowx's review of his 1400. The wind gust is frustrating but I do find if I look at the raw "Live Data" during a particularly big gust of wind it will give a good indication of wind strength even if it is rounded off a bit. The problem I think lies in the upload to WU which seems to update less than what the 1400 IP is capable of delivering. What I wish for would be just a virtual console (either a Windows program or Android app) that would take the Live Data directly from Observer without going onto the net and use that data stream to show a truer picture of the wind. I find WU's "dashboard" to be clunky, and in constant need of being reloaded as it stops working after a few minutes. However had I wanted to spend around $125 or $150 more I could have got pretty much the same station with a separate console, but I really would simply prefer an app that tied into the Live Data directly.
As for the rest of the 1400's sensors, all seem very accurate and the passive temp sensor (without fan) seems very accurate, whether in sun or cloud. The fan that some stations use can be problematic because of battery drain. I would most definitely buy the 1400 again!