next-gen WeatherFlow kickstarter

[vince]

For those with interest in Weather Flow gear - https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weatherflow/tempest-a-revolutionary-personal-weather-system?ref=8jfaer

Notable changes:

• one unit now to mount, not the current two (Air+Sky)
  
• some physical look'n'feel changes - love the slick solar panels !
• better vibration isolation - guessing they'll up the sensitivity on the rain sensor to make that read better
• cellular option available (wow)

Might be worth a look.  Price point is pretty low.

[Greg Troxel]

vince <vince...@gmail.com> writes:

> For those with interest in Weather Flow gear -
> https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/weatherflow/tempest-a-revolutionary-personal-weather-system?ref=8jfaer
>
> Notable changes:
>

> - one unit now to mount, not the current two (Air+Sky)
> - some physical look'n'feel changes - love the slick solar panels !
> - better vibration isolation - guessing they'll up the sensitivity on

> the rain sensor to make that read better

> - cellular option available (wow)

>
> Might be worth a look. Price point is pretty low.

Thanks for posting; that does look interesting.

It looks like a notable non-change is "needs cloud to really work".
They don't really address standalone observations, but the diagrams
decline to imply that they are useful.

Interesting also that the list of "most popular smarthome systems"
didn't include Home Assistant, especially given that there seems to be a
published integration:

https://github.com/briis/smartweather

[Xant]

Bought WeatherFlow not long ago, so too early to replace it. Still, glad with the system (in comparison to others in the low-mid cost range) and a supporter of WeatherFlow.

Thank you for posting and let us know.

[Xant]

...(addendum)

Understand WeatherFlow now evolving to single "do it all unit". But to mentioned that original splitted in two (Sky and Air) has also advantages.

For one, the Out Temp might be more accurate due to be in shade and not under direct solar radiation.

[vince]

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 10:28:01 AM UTC-8, Greg Troxel wrote:

It looks like a notable non-change is "needs cloud to really work".

I would agree.  They seem to be all in on their 'continuous learning' methodology.

 

They don't really address standalone observations, but the diagrams
decline to imply that they are useful.

Depends on what use for whom I guess..

 

Interesting also that the list of "most popular smarthome systems"
didn't include Home Assistant, especially given that there seems to be a
published integration:

I wouldn't worry too much about a backward move in functionality or integrations.

Remember it's just a kickstarter marketing blurb.  It can't include everything.

 

[vince]

On Tuesday, November 5, 2019 at 2:00:24 PM UTC-8, Xant wrote:

 the Out Temp might be more accurate due to be in shade and not under direct solar radiation.

Possibly, but hopefully not if their sun shade that the new unit comes with works correctly.   Guess we'll all see. 

[Xant]

Just to post my positive feedback for WF here.

1) Cost/Performance

Mid-range system that provides Temperature, Humidity, Barometric Pressure, Wind speed/direction, Rainfall, Illuminance, UV, Lightning count/distance.

Most competitors does not provide all those features at this price range.

2) Extra notable features

No moving parts! Sonic wind sensor and haptic rain sensor (those features by itself, only available at high-end cost systems).

Sure, there is debate regarding the Haptic rain sensor, especially for those that requires much accuracy in this variable. So, this to be considered.

Reporting interval: "sonic anemometer actually samples wind every 1sec, then reports the 3sec average to the hub. The hub makes the 3sec data immediately available to the app, via UDP multicast, and via BLE spec". That is of upmost importance regarding MQTT updates (most systems have much longer interval; Davis Instruments average 2.5sec).

3) Current vs New Model

Interesting enough, as posted in their own website: "Why did you separate a weather station into two devices? Better siting, better data. In order to accurately measure wind, rain, and UV you need to place the SKY in an open area with a clear view of the sky above (like on your roof). As you can imagine, placing a temperature sensor in the full sun presents issues. That’s why we made the AIR a separate device to be placed in the shade — more accurate data."

Not too longer afterwards, they "changing their minds and design".

Sure new is new, and the new system may provide updated features. But yet, I'm still stand for the 2 units systems (as posted in their own words), and the embedded solar "round window" seems not in line with the clean looking of the original model.

4) Support

Just recently, my couple of months unit was not been charged by the solar panel. Their is no live chat in WF support, but they were very responsive through email and after some quick external monitoring, they immediately replaced the battery/solar panel unit (no questions ask).

 

 X

[jerry.si...@gmail.com]

I've had my Tempest up for about 6 weeks ago and loving it. Is there a way to get the data into WEEWX ?

Jerry

[Xant]

https://github.com/captain-coredump/weatherflow-udp

[vince]

On Thursday, August 20, 2020 at 8:13:47 AM UTC-7, jerry.si...@gmail.com wrote:

I've had my Tempest up for about 6 weeks ago and loving it. Is there a way to get the data into WEEWX ?

I'd try to google "WeatherFlow weewx" and see what it returns.

[Xant]

WeatherFlow/Tempest Weewx driver link already provided in my previous post (github by Captain-Coredump).

No need to search...