Ambient Weather WS-1080

[ambientweather]

We just starting selling this weather station as the WS-1080 here:

http://www.ambientweather.com/amws1180.html

I am very impressed with this station and it is every bit as good as Oregon Scientific, La Crosse Technology and Honeywell, which sell for 2 to 3 times the price of the WS-1080 if you want to publish on Wunderground.com.

Some of the things I really like about it is the excellent long range reception, no AC adaptor required, and the sensor suite includes everything you need to mount it. And of course, the free Cumulus software

Now, some of the things I do not like... the machines screws... oh those little screws! I could not screw in the set screw for the anemometer arm and gave up and removed it from our instructions. With the small nut and bolt, that should be sufficient to hold it.

I did not like the open connectors on the thermo-hygrometer-transmitter (tht). Without a sealed gasket, it may fail in 2-3 years. The rain guard is not really a viable radiation shield on the tht and must be mounted in the shade or with a proper radiation shield.

The 45 second transmission rate is lacking. I will have to contact Fine Offset (FO) to see if they can improve on this and the last couple of points.

Other than that, for $99, it is a winner! Why pay $300 for an equivalent OSI product?

I am interested in your feedback, anything you want me to say to FO?

Regards,

Ed
Ambient Weather Chief Bottle Washer

[steve]

There are quite a few users here with Fine Offset stations, and I'm sure a number of them will have comments and questions for Fine Offset that they would like answers to!

[Charlie]

Hmmm... well...
The console seems to regularly lose contact with the outdoor unit. We've speculated that it may stop sending data while searching for it's time synchronization signal, although some have seen it continue to deteriorate with time. So confirming if this is the case, or finding out other possible reasons to lose contact for a minute or two would be nice. (A solution even nicer!)
Also, the weather vane appears to be improperly damped. It's not unusual (if there's a tree in the area) to have the thing spin like a top, but even in the best cases it wobbles through about 90 - 120 degrees of arc. Suggestions for improving existing product, and a fix for new product would be nice.
The main sensor unit is also quite susceptible to exposure to sunlight, wildly ramping up temperatures when the sun comes out despite the appearance of being shielded. Most folks have made their own screens to improve this, or mounted it in the shade, but it would be good to make the manufacturer aware if they are not already.
You'll find lots of other issues if you read the forum, but in general we are happy with the product.

[ambientweather]

Thanks for the feedback, I will contact Fine Offset with these design changes. No promise they will implement any of them, but I will keep a running list.

Regards,

Ed

[hills]

I think they should pay Steve a percentage and sell it with Cumulus!

The main thing I don't like (other than whats mentioned above) is if you install the sensors with the supplied hardware, the rain gauge trips in a moderate wind. Its easy to fix though.

[Gina]

Yes, I really think they should change their instructions. Users could mount wind sensors on one of the "mast" sections and the other sensors on the other, or at least mount the rain gauge lower down on a rigid post say.

[goldrush]

I have been using a Fine Offste for almost 2 years.
The main "problems" have already been highlighted above, but maybe the quoted battery life should also be changed.
Generally 3 to 6 months with normal "good" alkalines in the transmitter.
I too would like a faster update for my purpose than the 48 seconds which in principle would be easy to change by the manufacturer at minimal cost, but of course battery life would suffer proportionally.
I am actually happy with the damping arrangements on the wind vane.
"Instantaenoeius" wind direction is important for my application so I now have it mounted in open space, at the "standard" level on a 10 metre pole.
Previously when lower, it did act like a Helicopter due to wind turbulence.
I should also point out that prior to the Fine Offset, I had a La Crosse which I found to be a much, much more expensive heap of Horse manure!

[nking]

Agree with all above. Wish List - Increase data logger memory capacity, given the cost of memory it shouldn't add too much to the cost. Allow for firmware updates, assuming they have some. Provide better software which will enable all settings to be done via USB i.e. pick time up from PC. It would be great if they considered accessories i.e. solar power for transmitter unit, solar data transmission.

If FO are not currently monitoring this forum (or others), then they should. It will provide them with excellent customer feedback as it happens.

[apenwith]

Hi
Probably all of the above and a one-stop source of spares would be helpful - some spares can be found but not all and things do break/go wrong and are quite likely to have differing lives.
I made a mains transformer supply using dummy batteries as contacts and that improved the transmission reliability enormously - for those with mains available a professionally made version would be useful.
The ability to reset the maxima via the PC would be nice.
Regards
Alan

[Gina]

Yes, the transmitter power does seem to be a bit of a problem. I've just measured the distance from transmitter to receiver and it's about 15 metres and, even that close, I get occasional loss of signal. I had to move the console to line up a window with the path of the signal. I'm thinking I might power the transmitter from the mains - I already have an aspirating fan nearby, powered (indirectly) by the mains.

[ambientweather]

I am curious about the rain gauge issue. Do you think the issue is with the rain gauge mounting bracket itself? or the hose clamps? According to the instructions, you tighten the weather station pole to another pole with hose clamps. Trying to figure out if the issue is with the pole, hose clamps, the rain gauge mount or something else?

[apenwith]

Hi
There are lots of issues with the raingauge - plenty of forum notes. Two big things - even the best of poles vibrate in the wind and wind also gets into the drain holes underneath - both cause erroneous bucket tipping. It seems the bucket can be set buzzing by the wind adding thousands to the counter.
Offering an optional extension cable so that the gauge can be securely mounted on a level surface away from the pole would be handy (it might need the junction to be waterproofed).
Regards
Alan

[ambientweather]

Thanks for the update on the rain issue. I noticed this item uses standard 4-conductor CAT5 with RJ11 connectors. However, I am not sure how far you can extend the cables.

Has anyone tried this?

Regards,

Ed

[steve]

I believe there is also an 'electronic' problem with the rain gauge. As well as the simple physical disturbance of the tipping mechanism adding to the rain counter, it appears that interference (or something) can also cause the rain counter to increase by large amounts.

[Charlie]

I believe the cable is CAT-3, not CAT-5. (just nit-picking) In either case it should be fine for the application.