New weather station UK

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

I think it might be time to replace my weather station as a number of sensors are not working as they should, and replacements are now expensive.

I'm looking for a FineOffset as I'm currently using an old Maplins as a WH1080, one that uses the same sensors would do me another 10 years.

Or....

Would this do the trick?

MISOL 1 set of Spare part (outdoor unit) for Professional Wireless Weather Station: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors 

 

[Steve Woodford]

Be aware that WH-1080 and its ilk have had several incompatible on-air protocol changes over the years. You’d be gambling with your £75.69...

Steve

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[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Thanks that what I needed to know.

So what weather station would you suggest?

[Steve Woodford]

I’m the wrong person to ask about off-the-shelf recommendations; I built my own: https://www.mctavish.co.uk/weather/about/

Steve

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[Auchtermuchty Weather]

So any suggestions?

Lots of Bresser &  Youshiko  stations on the Internet, but I've no idea if any work with WeeWx - in other words if any of them are FineOffset clones. 

[Big OB]

Have a look at this setup available in the UK: 

https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/product/watson-w-8686/

Works well, and supports extra sensors and updates (HP 2551) available from Ecowitt/ws View app.

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Which driver would this use?  And sorry I have no idea what HP2551 and Ecowitt are about.  

[Big OB]

Ecowitt is the trading arm of Fine Offset and the Watson W8686 appears to be a rebadged/clone of their HP2551.

I used Weewx Interceptor in Ecowitt mode to receive the information from the unit:-https://github.com/matthewwall/weewx-interceptor which worked well.

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Hmmm....  I wonder if this will work?  Looks like a FineOffset WS2085 clone, same enough as a WS2083?

Aercus Instruments WS2085 Wireless Weather Station with USB Upload + Free Beginner's Guide (eBook): Amazon.co.uk: Kitchen & Home 

[Big OB]

Sorry, I can't offer any advice on that system.

For a bit more money you can get a unit which is known to work with Weewx, offers a better display and is compatible with the latest sensors.

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

At some point these newer clones with the newer sensors are going to have to be tried.  A lot of Googling using the makes mentioned in the documentation failed to reveal any clones of the older stations - they were all 'unavailable'.  Whether I am the person to do that is a different question!

[Bob Atchley]

CCL Electronics is another company that makes Weather stations that are sold as rebadged clones by the likes of Bresser, Youshiko, Garni, Ventus, Logia and probably others.  The WS6in1 driver for weewx supports these that are connected to the PC connected console.  The WiFi versions of these are probably supported by the interceptor or SDR drivers.

See https://github.com/BobAtchley/weewx-ws6in1 for a list of the PC connected ones I know about.  The advantage of the PC connected console is it gives a reliable data logger in case of server/power failure.

[galfert]

Newer Fine Offset clones from the various resellers have all been tested. I recommend that you reference this product matrix to learn what works with what.

https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=40730.0

My recommendation between the Fine Offset clones and the CCL and UCTECH clones is to stick to the Fine Offset clones. I think they offer better displays and better sensors and more options and better compatibility with WeeWX with new drivers that pick up all these optional sensors. The WeeWX driver to use is the GW1000 API driver. Which means that no matter which display console you get, or maybe you don't get a display at all, then all that matters is that you also include the GW1000 are part of the hardware set of parts. It doesn't matter if you get the Watson WS8686 or the Froggit HP1000SE PRO or whatever other Fine Offset clone...the only thing that matters is that you also include the GW1000 (or its sibling WH2650 which also support the same GW1000 API protocol).

Whatever you decide, the old WH1080 has been surpassed by 4 generations of hardware with many improvements. If you are still sporting a WH1080 it is well due to upgrade it for a much better experience.

[galfert]

Oh and I forgot to mention that you can get the GW1000 from Ecowitt if the FO Clone brand of the station and display do not offer it. It will work as long as the frequency is the same. Your choices of frequency are 433, 868, and 915 MHz.

For example if you buy the Watson and they don't offer the GW1000 (or the WH2650) then you can just get this added part from Ecowitt.

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Thanks Bob, very useful.  But I'm getting lost when you mention needing a GW1000 as well as a weather station with console?  Have I misunderstood?  As you can tell since my current station is a WH1080 I've not kept my eye on new stations at all.  I started running with WeeWx in Oct 2012 which is a long time ago!

I think my problem is I have no idea how the new stuff hangs together, it certainly seems that plugging the console into the USB port on a Pi isn't what happens these days.

[George Alfert]

There is Bob and then there me George. I'm the one that brought up the GW1000. 

The newest Fine Offset clones no longer have USB connections. They have all been upgraded to network connectivity. Just like printers have all gone from USB to network connectivity. The Fine Offset display consoles though do not have the same API protocol that the GW1000 / WH2650 have. The display consoles can only send HTTP (push data) to one Customized device destination with a different protocol. The GW1000 / WH2650 has a proper API (pull data) protocol which allows many devices to query for live data. So you can have a display or not, that is up to you, but it won't be used if you have a GW1000 /WH2650. The GW1000 / WH2650 get sensor data directly from the sensors, so they don't need the display. 

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Hi

Sorry about the name!

Been for a walk and a think, and worked out what you are telling me.  The consoles no longer have USB, and the station in the garden can connect to a console and/or a GW1000. I can plug a G1000 into my Pi and use a driver in the way I'm used to.

I'm not interested in a console, the current one is completely hidden.

So it's off to shop.  The GW1000 - presumably exclusive to FineOffset clones.

[galfert]

Yes, seems like you understand it now. 

Here are some added tidbits to understand though....

The GW1000 has a USB plug but that is only used for power. You can certainly power it by the Pi, but you don't have to. You can plug the GW1000 to any USB power source. Do though consider that some power sources are less than adequate because some have been known to cause electronic interference with the sensor RF reception. I've tested the GW1000 with my Pi and it has no problems. But that could also be a function of the power supply I'm using with the Pi (I don't know). So just be aware that finding the adequate power source for the GW1000 is sometimes a concern. I don' t really want you to worry about that too much, because the majority of users do not have this problem. It is just good to be aware of it. Therefore realize that the GW1000 only sends data via the network to whatever application or device talks to it....that can be WeeWX with the GW1000 API driver or the mobile app WS View which you'll need to initially configure the GW1000 or any other software you may decide to run (Cumulus MX, Meteobridge, Weather-Display...etc.).

To recap...no data over USB on GW1000...The USB is only used for power. Use a good clean USB power source.

Since you don't really want a display console then you should consider looking into the following Ecowitt complete kit models.

GW1001 - all-in-one sensor array

GW1002 - separate sensor components with spinning anemometer

GW1003 - separate sensor components with ultrasonic anemometer

All three of those complete kits come with the same GW1000. The complete station is referred to by those model names...but the GW1000 part is still just a regular GW1000. The GW1000 is also available separately if you wanted to add it to an existing station that came with a display console.

Your question about the GW1000 being exclusive to Fine Offset is an odd question. The GW1000 is a Fine Offset part and it only works with other compatible Fine Offset sensors. You will not be able to use a GW1000 with any other manufacture's sensors. That said realize that Fine Offset is the manufacture and there are reseller brands that slap their brand name on Fine Offset hardware. There are some resellers like Froggit, Ambient, Conrad, Misol, Watson, etc....that likely sell not just FIne Offset clones but they sell stations manufactured by other companies. These weather stations by other manufactures cannot share parts. Therefore when buying a weather station from say Watson or any other reseller it is important to know if the model you are looking at is a Fine Offset clone or some station from a different manufacture. If you become familiar with the Fine Offset catalog you will be able to recognize sensors and display consoles just by looking at them. If it is a Fine Offset clone then it will look like a Fine Offset clone. There is no way to confuse a CCL clone or UCTECH clone for a Fine Offset. The Ecowitt brand is special and they are not like the other resellers. This is because Ecowitt only sells FIne Offset as they are owned and operated by Fine Offset....they are essentially the same company and they share employees. The way to consider it is that Ecowitt is the retail subsidiary of Fine Offset. You can't buy directly from Fine Offset (unless you are a reseller). So you can familiarize yourself with the Fine Offset catalog and the Ecowitt catalog (same thing but different websites), so that you can become familiar with what all these models look like and what they offer. Then you can more easily window shop and look at Watson, Conrad, Misol, Froggit and not be confused with what is and what isn't a Fine Offset clone.

www.foshk.com

www.ecowitt.com

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

I wasn't quite there, I'm suspecting the GW1000 is set up with a customized feed to the Pi.

[galfert]

There are two ways to move data from the GW1000 to WeeWX. 

- HTTP push: This method is where you go into the GW1000 configuration and you set up it up to give it the IP address of the WeeWX system. This is done under the "Customized" server upload feature of the GW1000. This method requires WeeWX to be configured with the Interceptor driver. All of the networked display consoles can also do this method. You don't need a GW1000 for this. But I feel it is better to opt for the other method which is unique to the GW1000 (and WH2650).

- API pull: This method doesn't require any configuration on the part of the GW1000. Rather what you do is give your software the IP address of the GW1000 and then it just asks the GW1000 for live data. This method allows for you to have even other software running on the same system as WeeWX or on a different system that is simultaneously asking the GW1000 for live data. You can even benefit from having two WeeWX systems both getting live data. Then you can have a production system and a test system. Then you try WeeWx customizations on test system and if you mess something up no big deal because your production system is untouched. Then when you figure it out you can then implement those finalizations to the production system. Only the GW100 and its sibling WH2650 have this API capability. You'll need the GW1000 API driver extension for WeeWX.

https://github.com/gjr80/weewx-gw1000

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Brilliant, thanks, I finally thing I might know what I am doing1

And on reading your description I agree that #2 is a better option.  I've ordered a WH2650 clone.

[Auchtermuchty Weather]

Fantastic, got it working on the test system.  Now I'm using it all is clear - that the base station becomes a device in it's own right on the network, with it's own IP number.

Now I turned off the previous weather station yesterday, and have only just got the new one working so I have some ugly straight lines on the output.

What might be the best way of filling those in, or isn't it worth doing?  There is a weather station just down the road that might be happy to pass their data for the relevant  few hours.

[George Alfert]

Congrats! Glad to hear. 

You have a New issue. I suggest opening a new thread with a good title so that more people can notice and help out. 

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