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ranked #43,880 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★★★★
Great all in one weather station, especially for the price
I've had a weather station for about 6 years now, and it has slowly been failing, much of the problem with the cables between sensor units due to animals chewing the wires, as well as the humidity sensor reading too low. In addition, the temperature sensor always read too high in direct sunlight, due to inadequate solar shielding. After several months of looking at what is on the market, I decided I wanted an all in one sensor, to avoid the problem with cables. I also wanted one that was solar powered. I had to replace the batteries in the outdoor sensor once or twice a year, invariably when it was raining or snowing. I decided on the Ambient Weather WS-1400-IP because it was significantly less expensive than a Davis station, and while this is a fun hobby, I didn't want to sink a fortune into a new weather station. Another thing that appealed to me about this model is that it automatically sends readings to Weather Underground, which I was doing with my old station, but that required software on a computer, which had to be left on 24/7. There is no indoor display console for this station, you need to look at the Weather Underground site, or use the free iPad/Android app to view your station's readings. Assembly of the station was straightforward, three supplied AA rechargeable batteries had to be installed, a protective sticker removed from the solar panel, and the wind vane attached. That was really it. The next step was setting up the ObserverIP module, which is the receiver that sits inside, and is connected to your router via a supplied ethernet cable. There's a mini CD with Windows software for configuring it, I have a Mac, so I went to their website and downloaded an app. It locates the ObserverIP module and reports the IP address, I then used a web browser to access it. There's a page where you enter in your Weather Underground account information, in my case I assigned it as a new weather station, so I could keep my old one online as well and compare readings. The ObserverIP module configured itself with an IP address via DCHP, however I was not getting any data sent to Weather Underground. Checking the network settings, I noticed that while the IP address was valid, the gateway address was not - it used 192.168.0.1 rather than my router's actual IP address. While I know many people use that as their router address, the module should have obtained the correct address via DCHP. So I changed to a Static IP address, fixed the gateway IP, and also changed the DNS address to Google's 8.8.8.8. I then started to get data on the Weather Underground site. There is an indoor sensor (two AAA batteries required, and unfortunately not supplied) that transmits temperature and humidity, as well as pressure, to the ObserverIP module. While I am not sure how important the first two are to me, I could see it being useful if your station is at a vacation home, and you want to check that the HVAC is working. The manual notes that it should be kept inside in a location where the temperature does not vary too much, so as to not affect the pressure sensor. I assume this is to built into the ObserverIP module as that gets slightly warm from the power supply. The next step was installation of the sensor outside. The instructions suggest the sensor should be installed four times the distance to the tallest obstruction (buildings, trees, etc) assuming it will be close to ground level. I have many tall trees on and around my lot, so it would be impossible to do that. I had previous issues with my old weather station displaying low wind readings, it was mounted on the rood of a shed. Instead I opted to install this one on top of a 20 ft mast. The downsides are that I am not reading 2 meter (6 ft) temperatures, and it will require me lowering the mast to periodically clean out the rain gauge. The station came with two short mounting poles that attach to the sensor, one designed to attach to the side of your mast with clamps, the other slides inside the mast, I used the former, as that gave me locations to tie ropes. I am using four ropes as guy wires to stabilize the mast during winds. They also allowed me to make sure the mast was vertical. The sensor needs to be level, otherwise the wind vane tends to rotate one way, providing invalid wind direction data. There is a small bubble level sensor built into the top of unit, which is great for leveling it if you are at ground level. Less useful when it is 20 feet up in the air. I used a long carpenters level to eyeball the mast from two directions, and adjusted the rope tension to make it vertical. It seems to be working correctly. I'm quite pleased to see that the temperature readings appear valid. We had a bright sunny day yesterday, and while my old station ready about 10 degrees too high, this one read the same as another temperature only sensor I have in a shaded area outside, as well as within a degree or two of two local airport stations. The dew point readings are also quite reasonable. Wind speed seems comparable to my other sensor, and direction has more resolution which is nice. This sensor also reports solar radiation and UV index, which my old one did not. Now I just need some rain! (I did test the tipping bucket manually before installation to make sure it records data) If you find my review helpful, please consider clicking the Yes button. I don't get anything out of it, other than knowing that someone found it useful. Thanks, I appreciate it!
April 2016 · Patio Lawn and Garden · verified purchase
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