I've long had an interest in having a PWS and am finally getting serious about buying one, mostly for personal interest (as a retired pilot).
I have a 2 story house with a fenced back yard (north side of the house) and recently cleared a lot of trees in the back yard, but there are still many large tall trees. I plan to place the PWS on a fence post about 22 ft from the back of the house and maybe 20-30 ft from the tree line. I know the site is not ideal, but short of putting the PWS in the front yard (which I'm sure won't fly with my wife), this is my best guess for a site.
Do you guys find the lightning sensor useful? I would kinda like to have it, but if it's more or less useless, I could save a few bucks by deleting that option.
I've considered and tossed out the Tempest because it doesn't have a console and has a non replaceable battery. Ecowitt seems to provide limited options here in the USA. So I'm looking at Ambient and Davis. I'm not inclined to spend $1000 on this endeavor (yet). so the Davis VP2 is out of the running.
I have a stash of Amazon gift cards I plan to use, so am considering Ambient WS-2000 storm bundle ($380), WS-5000 storm bundle ($530), or the Davis Vantage Vue ($545). I can save $80 on the Ambients by deleting the lightning sensor. Davis apparently doesn't offer a lightning sensor.
What do you guys think of those options in that price range ($300-$550). I've heard negative things about Ambient customer service. What has been your experience with them? How about Davis?
Attached is a pic of my planned site. Looking at a fence post on the left, maybe halfway between the gate and the back corner.