My adult daughter's Ambient WS-1400-IP became a victim of a near-by lightning strike a bit over a week ago. Not a direct hit, but it killed the transmitter section on the sensor array. With Ambient's out-of-stock situation on the replacement sensor array and the previous release of the WS-2902 station (Fine Offset WH-2900), I already figured that a replacement to the 5in1 sensor stack was at hand. I liked what I saw in the WS-2902 sensor package (ie the offset of the sensors from one another and the larger anemometer) and the price was nice. On the Fine Offset page, I noted that Fine Offset also offered a version of the Osprey sensor package WITHOUT the display using what Ambient sells as the ObserverIP, which my daughter already owned from the WS-1400-IP. FYI we also have a Meteobridge server between the ObserverIP and the internet so as to serve more than just WU and Ambient's site.
So, we made a decision to gamble a bit by ordering the Ambient WS-2902 station in hopes that it would communicate with her existing ObserverIP. Worst case, the WS-2902 had the ability to send out via WiFi to several hosting sites from its display.
While the WS-2902 sensor array is all plastic, it is nicely executed and an improvement over the older 5in1 array. On power, it immediately connected to the ObserverIP and I thought all was well, until I discovered NO anemometer readings. I rebooted the sensor stack, and the ObserverIP but same, no anemometer, situation. As the anemometer WAS reporting to the supplied display unit, I knew it was not the anemometer itself. FYI, I was running firmware 4.1.9 on the ObserverIP which had been the latest only a few days ago. On a lark, I checked Ambient's site and discovered version 4.2 firmware for the ObserverIP had been released with a number of bug fixes, so it was worth a try. Not sure exactly what was fixed, but with version 4.2 installed and set to WS-1400-IP as the station type, ALL the readings went LIVE! I did discover that the anemometer on the WS-2902 is a 2 pulse / rev vs the older sensor stack's 1 pulse / rev, but that was easily corrected in the ObserverIP calibration (ie factor set to .5). We had never been totally happy with the wind vane and anemometer setup on the WS-1400 sensor stack as the anemometer reacted poorly at low wind speeds and it influenced the wind vane as it spun. The WS-2902 obviously corrected the wind vane issue and I have found that it is WAY more damped than the old wind vane (ie less perturbed by minute variations in wind direction especially at low wind speeds). The WS-2902 anemometer is WAY more sensitive to low wind speeds properly registering even well below 1MPH where the old WS-1400 stack would just stop at around 3-4MPH.
Really happy with the WS-2902 and glad I played my hunch that the ObserverIP would properly receive the sensor signals. This also gave my daughter a nice color display for only $20 more than Ambient wanted for the replacement sensor array for the WS-1400!
I have to admit, the AcuRite Atlas Elite had it been shipping would have been a temptation, but AcuRite's older 5in1 system certainly does not inspire confidence, based on user feedback that the Elite will not have issues. It is obvious that they are aiming at the Davis Vantage Pro2 and I would assume at a lower price point. However, should the Elite live up to expectations, it may well be the unit to own!
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