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This is the place where we can expect reviews in the future. Reviews of stations, consoles, sensors and other weather (station) related material.

(based on posts from https://www.wxforum.net/index.php?topic=46615.0 by user olicat)
[user commentaries not directly referring to the topic have been omitted]

The new WS3800C is the white version of the two console sisters WS38xxC/WS39xxC presented at the beginning of 2024. It is a comparatively large console that supports all sensors and IoT devices available at the time of testing (March 2024). It is not intended to replace the flagship model - the HP2551C or HP2560C - but rather represents a kind of successor to the WS2910.

The design of the console is a matter of taste. Anyone hoping - like me - for a beautiful white and blue Bavarian colour scheme will unfortunately be disappointed - the blue is more of a baby blue and therefore perhaps fits better in the children's room or kitchen instead of the office or living area. Perhaps there will soon be a pink colour variant for a girl's nursery? But as already mentioned: a matter of taste.

In any case, the feel is impeccable - nothing rattles or wobbles - it feels high-quality. Perhaps also due to the weight (just under 370g without and 440g with batteries). According to the manual, Ecowitt has chosen ABS as the material, which promises durability and robustness. And this is exactly how the console looks overall: high-quality and stable. The integrated stand is pleasantly heavy-duty and gives hope for eternal stamina. It can be infinitely adjusted. Wall mounting is also possible - either with a single nail in the centre or in two positions on the left and right - appropriate fixing points are provided.

With external dimensions of 209mm × 142.5mm x 28.5mm (WD), the WS3800C is slightly larger than the HP2551C or the WS2910. With the stand fully folded out, the console requires a total depth of 8cm.

In contrast to the last consoles of the WN19xx series, the T/H/P sensors are no longer installed as a fold-out “antenna” but internally. In my opinion, this helps the look a lot. The extent to which self-heating influences the values of these internal sensors remains to be seen. At least you can correct the internal sensor with a (negative) offset or use a WH32B (aka WH32 indoor) instead of the internal sensors.

The screen frames are - for today's world - very wide. The increased self-confidence in the company's own brand is made clear - for the first time on a console with a display - by the striking ecowitt lettering on the front.

There are 8 buttons on the top for local operation, which are pleasantly large and well labelled (SET, TEMP, RAIN, PRE, WIND, +, -, LIGHT) and have a good pressure point. Here too: a high-quality impression. There are brief instructions for each button on the back of the console. Unfortunately, the MAC address is not noted on the device - so it can only be seen when the device is started or in the WebUI or app.

The built-in display is a monochrome LCD and not a TFT - some things are therefore predefined and CANNOT be changed. A German translation of the displayed strings (such as OUTDOOR, FEELSLIKE, DEW, FORECAST, INDOOR, RAIN, RATE/H, EVENT, DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY, YEARLY, GUST, DIRECTION, 10 Minutes, PRESSURE, DATE, TIME, weekdays and month names) is therefore not possible.

The screen diagonal is 7.5“ - measured at 19.1cm (for comparison: HP2551C: 17.6cm - but only 17cm usable due to the key labelling). As this is a monochrome display, there are neither colours nor colour gradations - a segment is either filled with black and therefore visible or not. In addition, some elements are permanently visible because they are printed directly onto the glass (such as the compass rose or the vertical and horizontal boundaries of the individual tiles as well as the outline of the moon).

Compared to the other consoles such as HP25xxC, WS2910, WN19xx, the display of values is quite large - the pre-decimal point of the outdoor temperature has a height of approx. 2.5 cm - this is easily recognisable even from a great distance. But the other values are also displayed in a larger font than on my comparison consoles (HP35xxC, HP2551C, WS2910C, WN19xxC). These values are relatively easy to see even when the backlight is deactivated. The LED backlight can be adjusted in several stages at the touch of a button (“LIGHT” button on the far right) when operated via an external power supply: off - extremely bright - very bright - bright - dark.

There is also no flickering of the backlight. It is a pity that no mode has been integrated that only activates the backlight occasionally - when a button is pressed. This mode is (of necessity) available in battery mode. With an external power supply, however, the backlight setting unfortunately remains fixed in the set mode. I will suggest to Ecowitt that they change the firmware so that the set mode only remains active for 15 seconds when the “LIGHT” button is pressed for a longer period and the backlight is then deactivated again. Unfortunately, there is no automatic function for switching the display (i.e. the backlight) on and off, as is the case with the HP25xxC. As this is technically easy to implement, I would like to see this in future firmware versions. I will also make this a request to Ecowitt.

The viewing angle stability in the X-axis is excellent. There is a massive weakness in the Y-axis if you look at the console from below. However, this is not a problem in my eyes - the console is normally always below the eye line. And at this viewing angle, the display is always very good to read.

The arrangement of the individual displayed fields (tiles) is fixed and cannot be changed by the user. In the top left-hand field, the outdoor temperature and humidity, outdoor feelslike temperature, outdoor dew point, a defined WH31 channel or all these values are displayed in rotation (4 seconds) as required (selection via the “TEMP” button).

The weather forecast is displayed - relatively large - at the top centre. This is based solely on changes in air pressure and is therefore only of limited use. I would like to see the integration of a real forecast service - Ecowitt makes a contract with a forecast provider and provides the forecast data for the corresponding coordinates. The console retrieves this as part of the usual cloud communication via Ecowitt.net and displays it in this tile. Users who do not use the (really useful!) optional Ecowitt.net cloud solution will see the usual - air pressure-based - “forecast”.

Other providers of weather stations (CCL) (apparently) already use such technology. The wind data is displayed at the top right using a wind rose. Optionally (“WIND” button), the current speed and direction for wind or gusts or the number of degrees for the current wind direction or the last 10 minutes are displayed.

The second row displays the temperature and humidity of the indoor sensor on the left and the combined air pressure/rain field in the centre (selection via the “PRE” or “RAIN” button). Depending on the mode (rain or air pressure), a further selection of the display is possible. Pressing the “RAIN” button changes the display of the rain quantity shown for event, day, week, month, year and total or the current rain rate.

The “PRE” button switches between displaying the relative or absolute air pressure. This means that rain and air pressure cannot be displayed at the same time. The right-hand part of the 2nd and 3rd row is a combo box that is controlled via the ”-“ button. Either UVI and solar radiation or sunrise and sunset are displayed.

In the 3rd row on the left, the date or the values of a WH45/WH46 can be displayed by pressing the ”+“ button. By pressing the ”+“ button again, you can choose the display between CO2, PM1, PM10 and AQI. I personally like the rather large display of the CO₂ value. In the centre of the 3rd row, the WIFI status and the current moon phase are displayed alongside the time (without seconds). The “white” colour corresponds to the actual moon. Battery symbols are displayed in the top right-hand corner of each tile when the respective sensor is at a critical level.

This means that not all supported sensors are displayed - soil moisture values or the data from a lightning sensor, leaf wetness (WN35) or the WN34 series, the water leak detector WH55, etc. - all these values are not displayed on this console. However, they are received, processed and sent to the weather services that support these sensors. All data can also be displayed via the WebUI or the Ecowitt or WSView Plus app.

The console supports all known weather services of the previous consoles (Ecowitt.net, Wunderground, WeatherCloud, WOW and of course sending data to a user-defined server (custom server). In addition, all current protocols and interfaces of the Ecowitt devices such as GW1000-API, http/JSON-API and WebUI. Alongside the WN1980C, the WS3xx0C is the only console with a display to date that offers support for Ecowitt's IoT devices (currently the irrigation valve WFC01 and the smart plug AC1100).

Power is supplied via an angled hollow plug (outside: 3.5mm; inside: 1.35mm) on the very thin, white cable, which “disappears” perfectly into the console. The other end of the cable is a USB-A plug, which should be plugged into a power supply unit (5V, 1A), which is not included in the scope of delivery. However, everyone probably has at least one suitable power adapter from their old smartphone lying around. The electrical consumption varies depending on the brightness level set for the backlight:

without: 0.262W - backlight off max: 1,180W - extremely bright -1: 0.940W - very bright -2: 0.715W - bright -3: 0.365W - dark

There is also the option of inserting backup batteries (3xAA; 1.5V). These bridge any power failures or the need to plug into a different power supply unit. According to the manual, Ecowitt guarantees operation for 24 hours in battery mode.

Interesting: even in battery mode, data is sent to the configured weather services (even with a set interval of 30 seconds) and the device can be reached via WLAN. Here, the LED lighting flickered noticeably during battery operation, but it only switches on at the touch of a button and switches off automatically after 15 seconds.

Speaking of interval: This console apparently adheres to the transmission interval set for the custom server. It is true that the set interval time - about 30 seconds - is still not the time between 2 data transmissions but the pause between these transmissions. However, if an interval of 29 seconds is configured, data is sent to the corresponding destination quite precisely (in the millisecond range!) every 30 seconds. I have now tested this for 6 hours and am delighted. The number of sensors doesn't seem to matter - in my test installation, WH65, WS90, WH40, 8xWH31, 8xWH51, WH41, WH45, WH57, 4xWH55, 5xWH34, and a WH35 were processed in parallel.

The WS3800C console has no SD slot and therefore no option for local data recording in the device. However, there are min/max values.

The supplied manual (in paper form!) deserves this description, has A5 size and 50 pages, on which everything is explained in readable size and in understandable English (!) - well illustrated - even the sensor priority or the creation of CSV files via the Ecowitt.net service. I have never seen a better manual from Ecowitt!

The WS3800C was delivered with firmware v1.2.6. Thanks to the WebUI, configuration is conveniently possible in the web browser or via app. The less popular on-screen keyboard as on the HP2551C is therefore not necessary. The initial setup via the WSView Plus app was very quick: Start WSView Plus - add a new console - select the console as an image - follow the instructions - done. The procedure takes less than 2 minutes. The firmware update to v1.2.8 was also offered and installed straight away. Since the other settings - such as the calibration (air pressure, UVI) - can also be made via the app, the complete setup is done within 5 minutes.

Apart from perhaps the colour scheme or the design of the console, I see absolutely no reason for a price-conscious buyer with a need for a console with a display to buy the WS2910 now. Personally, I even assume that this outdated console with its limited expandability will be discontinued and withdrawn from sale. However, I do not have an official statement on this. In terms of price, the WS2910 and WS3800C are identical - around 70 dollars. But the extra size, performance, supported sensors, query options (API), WebUI and support for IoT devices clearly speak in favour of the new console.

However, it is difficult to choose between the WS3800C and an HP25xxC because the two consoles are not really comparable. Technically, the WS3800C is clearly superior to the HP25xxC in all respects. However, it does not display all the sensors, has no local data storage, no graphs, no automatic switching on/off of the display, no multi-language capability, etc. For those who can do without it: WS3800C. For others who consider one of the features to be essential, the only option is to use it in parallel (this is no problem!) or wait. For a successor model to the HP25xxC, hopefully coming soon (it really is about time!), I would like to see an even larger display with reduced margins.

As usual, I have put a few high-resolution pictures here. If you have any questions, please ask.

The black WS3910 is expected to arrive here in 2-3 weeks. I will then compare it with the WS3800C and try to find out the differences. I'm already very excited about one major difference: the integrated CO₂ sensor.
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by user Gyvate

After its “little sister”, the WS3800 console, has already been presented earlier,
(see WS3800 Review)
and it is of course also described in WiKi under consoles, it is now the turn of the WS3910 console, the flagship of the new Ecowitt LCD console series.

Much has already been said/described about the WS3800, which are both quite similar. Size, weight, finish, lighting settings etc. are identical - even the battery backup for about a day in the event of a power failure.

The most noticeable difference is the display, which comes with coloured numbers on a black background.
The colours used are: white, light blue, light green and ochre yellow. I have not yet come across red.
- it appears that the red colour only occurs in the rain and UVI scaling bars -
And when connected to a mobile phone charger, the WS3910 console responds with the frequency and then its MAC address.

By the way, the MAC address can also be displayed during operation. The console does not have to be restarted as initially assumed. Simply press the SET button five times. You can of course see it in WS View Plus and in the WebUI.

After about 20 seconds the main display is automatically shown.

As the trained eye immediately recognises, the console is not yet connected to the WLAN (the WiFi symbol flashes - at the bottom, left-centre above the half-moon, although the flashing cannot be seen in the photo :lol: ). The time also shows 00:03, as no time server synchronisation has yet taken place.
And you can see - it's a WS3910 - with a built-in CO₂ sensor. Tile bottom left. And you can recognise that it is the built-in CO₂ sensor by the fact that there is no sensor reception symbol in the top right of the tile. If you saw this, a WH45/WH46 would be registered.

The WS3910 can display both. By pressing the (+) button. This can be used to display the internal CO2 sensor value alternating with the data, which in turn alternates between month and weekday. If it is a WH45/46, you can scroll through CO₂ internal, CO₂ external, particulate matter PM2.5 external, particulate matter PM10 external and AQI until you reach the date.

As you can see from the time display, the “pairing” with the router has now been carried out and the correct time is displayed. The base sensors were also registered automatically - some sensors still had to be deactivated, the rainfall entered and the air pressure and UVI calibration carried out until everything was correct.

The button bar on the top of the console is slightly different from that of the WS3800. The number of buttons (eight) is the same, but as this console is more focused on the rain display, there are also two buttons for rain: one for the upper part of the tile (rain rate/rain event) and one for the lower part (day, week, month, year, total), whereby the display of rain total cannot (yet ?) be set - or I haven't found out yet how to do it.
I haven't found anything about this in the otherwise excellent 50-page manual (the best I've seen from Ecowitt so far - as with the WS3800). An enquiry with Ecowitt is in progress.

There are coloured bar indicators for UVI and rain, but I have not yet been able to observe them for rain. Tthis display only takes place during a rain event (definition Ecowitt –> WH40), alternating (manually) depending on the setting of the upper half of the tile for the rain rate and the event.

I would have thought and wished that a bar would also be visible for weekly and monthly values when switching, but this is not the case. However, the explanations in the manual, which are somewhat narrow-lipped here, suggest that it is limited to rain rate and rain event.

This is already “complaining at a high level”, but it would still be nice ….

What I find excellent is that you can see the rain rate and rainfall at the same time. This was previously not possible on any console (except for the HP25x0 consoles where you rather need a magnifying glass to read the rainrate - here it's all big and clear) - only in the ecowitt.net dashboard or in the apps or the WebUI.

When I clicked on the device list in WS View Plus (Device list), a firmware upgrade from 1.2.6 to 1.2.8 was also immediately requested.

I also had to calibrate the CO₂ sensor - a somewhat more time-consuming endeavour if you want to do it in the WS3910. It's described in detail in the manual, but time consuming as the adjustment takes about 5 minutes per process (had to do it four times until it was right).

I had noticed a considerable discrepancy between my WH45 and the WS3910 - and decided to adapt the CO2 sensor of the WS3910 to the WH45. Of course, it could have been done the other way round …

Now it's running diligently for the time being …

These are my first impressions for now.

Meanwhile there have been some live events where the rainfall and uv bars can be seen … Also notice the difference between the internal CO₂ readings and those of WH45/WH46 displayed …
(top showing WH45-CO₂, 2 and 3 the internal CO₂ readings)

Here the WS3900/WS3910 manual ws3900_ws3910_manual.pdf

Another observation made recently:
the display is only updated every eight seconds - in contrast to an HP25x0 console, where the display also changes immediately when a change occurs (this can be every second, as the sensors that are not combined in a sensor array do not transmit in a synchronised manner, but at their interval, which can arrive in the receiver console one second later than the change of another sensor).

So while an HP25x0 can update every second, the WS3800/WS3900 can only update every 8 seconds, regardless of when a changed sensor signal is present within the eight seconds. This means that every second measurement of a WS80, for example, is lost.

This has been changed meanwhile with firmware upgrades. The display is realtime - whenever a changed sensor value arrives, it is displayed.
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by user @Gyvate

Until today (April 2024) the HP25x0 consoles are the flagships of the Ecowitt display console collection.

The differences between a HP2550 and a HP2560 are minimal - the screen size for display is the same, even though the display of a HP2560 itself is bigger, but only because the push buttons of the HP2550 have been replaced by touch buttons in the bottom portion of the HP2560. The HP2560 has inbuilt T&HP sensors and the HP2550 needs an extra external T&HP sensor which is advantageous as indoor temperature and humidity can be measured at the location of one's choice rather than at the console position. Meanwhile Ecowitt have provided that choice for a HP2560 too - since device firmware 1.9.5 ownwers of a HP2560 can choose between inbuilt or external T&HP sensors. (BTW a good example that Ecowitt listen to the requests of their users).

The newer HP2550 and all HP2560 consoles have a new, stronger WiFi modem and have an improved RF antenna.
The new WiFi modem only shows its strength with many sensors and short network/internet posting intervals.

In principle all possible sensors (with the exception of the IoT devices) can be displayed on the main display of a HP25x0 console. However, due to the limited available space especially the WN34, WN35 and WH51 sensors are displayed in very small letters. Min/max values of the outdoor T&H sensor and the extra T/RH sensors can only be viewed by changing the display page, and there only the min/max values ever reached are visible, not the min/max values of the day, which can be a very useful piece of information.

When the WN1820 console first appeared I have to admit that I wondered why someone would want to buy a console which would not show outdoor T&H, solar, rain, wind and pressure. Meanwhile, after a firmware upgrade, outdoor T&H can be viewed on the WN1820 display.

Looking a bit more deeply into the functionality of the WN1820, I discovered that it can become a very useful “side-kick” to the HP25x0 consoles.
For the WN1820 is not only able to display all the eight possible extra T&H sensors (WH31 family) in big size numbers but also their daily min and max values - via manual switch or in cycling mode together with the outdoor T&H sensor.

In addition, it can display the indoor T&H values, the WN34 user temperature sensors (max 8), the WN35 leaf wetness sensors (max 8) and the WH51 soil moisture sensors (max 8) in rather big numbers - four times the size as with a HP25x0 console. And also, by manual switching or in cycle mode.

the WN1820 cannot display the T&H readings of the WH45/WH46 5/7-in-one indoor air quality sensor.
a WN1821 console would come with an inbuilt CO2 sensor cycling with the date in the top right corner.

see below the HP2550 aside a WN1820 in cycling mode for the WN1820. On the HP2550 display only the WH45/WN46 and WH41/WH43 air quality sensors cycle (and the WN34/“NN35/WH51 with very small letters under the week day).

In this combination all sensor values are covered - and in a nicely visible and well readable manner.
Of course, the WH31 family sensors and the indoor T&H sensor could also cycle with a HP2550, but, in my opinion, the setup with the WH45/WH45 T&H sensors fixed on the HP25x0 and the extra, user, soil moisture and leaf wetness sensors on the WN1820 are the optimal distribution and visibility.

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by user @gszlag

David Burch is the director of Starpath School of Navigation in Seattle, WA, This is an interesting company that focuses on marine navigation courses, navigational instruments and is the U.S distributor of the highly regarded Fischer line of weather instruments including their notable precision barometers. Starpath also has a calibration lab and provides calibration services for barometers. David Burch is a prolific writer and blogger. David wrote the book on barometers; “The Barometer Handbook” which is a required read for anyone who has an interest in atmospheric pressure and barometers.

I was on the Starpath website recently and discovered that Starpath was offering a brand new digital barometer aptly named the USB baro whose name describes what it is. It looks identical to a USB flash drive.­

What caught my eye immediately was the stated accuracy of the barometer of +/- 1.5 mb or better and the price of only $49 USD,

I decided to buy one. Mr. Burch saw my original query, so I had the opportunity to ask him some technical questions about his new barometer. I asked if these new barometers were checked by Starpath.

I was very pleased to find out that every barometer leaving the door at Starpath has been read and set to the correct pressure. Samples of ten units are taken from each shipment from the factory and thoroughly checked. Also pleased to hear that accuracy could be as good as +/- 0.3 hPa; far better than the stated manufacturer absolute accuracy of 1.5 hPa.

Features:

- USB barometer: just plug it in to a USB port on a Windows or Mac computer and run the software. - live graphing (barograph) with trend indicator and data export capabilities. - for marine use, the barometer output can be sent to navigation software. - barometer outputs QFE pressure (station pressure) or QNH (user inputs their elevation). - one or two point calibration option (user can re-calibrate the USB baro if necessary). - pressure is set by Starpath in reference to two on-site NIST traceable sources.

As Mr. Burch runs a calibration lab, he pointed out that at this modest price point, setting and checking is, of course, not the same as generating a certified calibration curve for a barometer. He said that a full calibration involves checking the actual pressure over the full range of the sensor at multiple pressure steps. Full calibration of any barometer can be done at Starpath at an additional cost.

What’s in the box?

Interestingly, the USB Baro comes packaged in a sturdy metal tin nestled in high density foam. A shipper would have to make a concerted effort to damage it. Although maybe overkill, Starpath also thoughtfully sandwiched the tin with two layers of cardboard for extra protection. As a thank you, Starpath also enclosed a laminated “Polaris” star chart for navigation purposes.

Inside the tin box you will find the USB baro device and a card containing a QR code and a website to obtain further help, instructions, video tutorials and download links for the software.

Setting up the USB baro

(1) Install the software (PC or Mac) and plug the USB Baro into a USB port.

(2) On the settings page (gear icon) set your preferred units, i.e. time zone, date format, etc. Next, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on CONNECTION SETTINGS.

(3) Turn on the Serial NMEA input.

For Mac computers:
(4) Choose the correct COMM port. In the dropdown menu, choose tty.usbmodem_1 Starpath USB. (Other settings can be left as default values: 9600 / no parity, 8 bits / 1 bit, No Control. )

For PC computers:
(4) Choose the correct COM port. You will need to find out the COM port the USB device is on. In the dropdown menu, choose the COM port associated with the USB port you used. Each USB port on the computer has a different com port number. If there are more than one com ports showing in the dropdown, note which ones are there, then remove the USB Baro, restart the app, and look again. The missing com number is the one you want. Plug the USB Baro back into the same port, and the right one will appear again, and choose that one.
(Other settings can be left as default values: 9600 / no parity, 8 bits / 1 bit, No Control. )

Note: In my case, I didn’t have to remove and reinsert the USB device to find the correct COM port. On my computer, there were only two com ports available to choose from. When the first port in the dropdown didn’t work (no pressure reading), I just chose the second COM port, and it started working immediately.

(5) Click the graph icon bottom of the page, to display the current pressure and graph. Full installation and usage information is available within the app and is also available on the starpath website. For detailed instructions on the USB Baro, click on the “?” icon on the bottom of the page.

The instructions were well written - clear and concise and in plain language.

First use

As mentioned above, there are some initial settings to enter. Most are self-explanatory. Of special interest are the settings for Precision display, Position format, Pressure Display Level and Elevation.

Precision display settings indicate the “extra precision” (digits) you want to display. For hPa (my preferred units setting), you can choose to see your hPa in one or two decimals, i.e 1013.2 or 1013.25. Pick the precision setting that you prefer.

Position format is used in conjunction with navigation software. The USB baro can be tied in with GPS and plot pressure along your course. If you don’t use navigation software, you can leave this setting as is.

Pressure Display Level You can choose the type of pressure you want displayed. You can choose QFE or QNH. In weather station terminology, this would be equivalent to Absolute pressure/station pressure or Altimeter (setting) respectively.

Note: Elevation is required in order for the program to calculate QNH (Altimeter). Enter the elevation in feet or meters above sea level.

As a first test, I set the Starpath USB baro to display QFE (station pressure) so I could compare my Ecowitt WS3900 ABS reading with the reference Starpath barometer. I am happy to report that the two barometers had virtually the same reading. It was clear that the lower cost Ecowitt barometer had much more noise than the Starpath so you have to accomodate the zigs and zags of the Ecowitt sensor in order to compare with the Starpath.

Note: I have since adjusted the barometer of my Ecowitt WS3900 console by – 0.1 hPa to help “centre” the noise level around the reference Starpath barometer. Over the years, I've noticed that there is always some random jumps present in all the Ambient and Ecowitt barometric sensors that I've tried – usually +/- 0.2 with the odd outlier of 0.3 hPa or more.

After testing the WS3900 barometer, it was dead simple to re-calibrate a Ecowitt GW1000, 1100 and a Ambient WS-2000 console to adjust and match their ABS readings to the Starpath reference barometer.'s QFE reading.

Summary

The Starpath USB baro barometer is a high accuracy, low cost instrument that represents outstanding value. Highly recommended. Cost: $49 USD. See https://starpath.com/usbbaro for more information.

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in fact, the sensor name is WS85 - Essence3 is the WS3802 station consisting of a WS3800 console, the WS85 Rain & Wind sensor and a WH32 outdoor T/RH sensor

still you can combine the WS85 with any console of your choice which supports the WS85 as per the compatibility matrix and maximum number per console matrix - (just don't forget the WH32 outdoor sensor - or combine it with a WS69 array for outdoor temperature/humidity, traditional rain and solar readings or with a WS80/WS90 for outdoor T/RH and solar readings - many options )

when the sensor arrived I expected another white box with the WS85 inside. But surprise - surprise. Not only a new sensor, but also a new box design: brown with write printing.
The sides are covered with a mounting example (left) and the package content (right).

Inside is the sensor body, the mounting piece, a small leaflet - the manual - and the mounting accessories.

The WS85 can be mounted in two ways - as a side-mount or vertically, standing. The mounting bracket is the same. The connector from the sensor underside can be put into the bracket in two different ways resulting in the standing or side position.

The short screw is meant to be used to fix the sensor to the bracket in standing position, the long screw is for side-mounting.

It comes with the silicone sleeve which covers/protects the USB port to avoid water entry. This was first introduced with the WS90. The WS80 still comes “naked”.

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installation was quickly done. Just put in the batteries, the blue LED started burning steadily before moving into a 8.8 second blinking rhythm. I connected it to my WS3800 console so I would have a WS3802 station using an otherwise rarel used WH32 outdoor in my MetSpec Rad 02 radiation shield. The console had found the serveralready when I started WS View Plus - and its sensor ID could be seen along with the wind speed display. My display continued showing solar radiation which obvious came from one of the other outdoor array (WS69, WS68, WS80, WS90) - which one was not clear at first glance as for the solar radiation no sensor ID is shown. We'll come back to this later.

The WS85 shows in the battery section of the ecowitt.net dashboard …


My WS85 was delivered with firmware 1.0.7 - obviously the release version.


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the mounting is not fully a textbook mounting.
This is due due my local situation.
1. it is mounted on the same pole as my WS80 which points West.
2. it is rectangular to the WS80 mount pointing South (the tiny North arrow sits above the battery compartment, so the proposed Northern position can be easily seen also from a position farther away ) - at least it is mounted at the end of the pole not having the pole itself as an obstancle .

The reason for the WS80 pointing West and the WS85 pointing South are the following: Topologically the pole stands in a long sort of trough built by a line of high buildings and the hillside. Like this a sort of air channel is created within which the only occurring direction are West –> East or East –> West. Now the setup makes more sense as the E-W (and W-E) direction is obstacle free for both sensors.

The angular aberration has been compensated in the respective console (wind direction calibration) by entering -90° respectively 180°.


The manual which comes with the sensor array describes the mounting options clearly with respective pictures - how to mount the sensor vertically or horizontally (side-mount).


Another observation:
when you have more than one console/gateway which support the WS85, make sure you go through the registered sensor IDs for all of them and disable the WS85 where you want to have the readings from another anemomter or piezo rain readings from another WS90. The cosnoles will pick up the WS85 signal otherwise and replace the other wind/piezo rain readings by the WS85 readings !

I have meanwhile set up an observation cockpit for both sensors including the rain aspect in HomeAssistant.

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haptic (piezo) rain sensor design change

the delivery firmware version is 1.0.7 (see also WS View Plus SensorsID below)

what first hit my eye is the different shape and position of the water detection sensors (see picture below). While the WS90 started with one, then added one more both opposite to each other, one smaller than the other.
Bow they have both the same size and have come closer to each other.








the second observation is the verification of the increased curvature of the top piece - to avoid the retention of water and the thereby caused underreading. I have put both a WS90 and the WS85 next to each other and the WS85 (right) seems to be slightly more curved than the WS90 (left).

sensor hierachy

The WS85 brings changes / additions to the so far existing hierarchy for wind and piezo rain.
As tests with the WS View Plus app have shown, the WS85 has become highest in the pezo rain and wind section - what of course makes sense - otherwise a WS85 could never be run together with a WS80 or WS90 for wind or with a WS90 for piezo rain. The consoles with the latest firmware prefer the WS85 reading over any other wind or piezo rain reading from connected WS80 or WS90 arrays. The sensor hierarchy section in the main WiKi has been updated accordingly.

when a WS85 is connected to a console, the solar readings of another registered array (WS68, WS69, WS80, and WS90) are taken. The sensor hierarchy for solar readings applies.

Several tests with all arrays being connected and then selectively switched off in WS View Plus brought this result to light.
Examples for a WS80 and WS90 both connected see below.

wind measurements
(WS80 top - WS85 bottom)





rain measurements
(to be provided after sufficient samples collected)

first observations with WS85 gain tiers below

- to be continued -
15-May-2024

16-May-2024

17-May-2024 (> 16 h uninterrupted rainfall mainly > 4 mm/h < 10 mm/h)


17-June-2024 (intermittent downpours with rain rates > 1 mm/h < 30 mm/h)

obviously tier3 of my WS90 needs to be adjusted - so far there was no occurrence yet in that rain rate range ….
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TFA Dostmann have been offering a passive radiation shield for T/RH sensors and temperature probe sensors in the past years. Especially for sensors they sell together with their KlimaLoggPro solution consisting of a console which can manage and display up to eight T/RH sensor or temperature probe sensors with a RF of originally 433 MHz. In the past five years only 868 MHz models have been sold. While the usualy use case of the T/RH sensors lies in the indoor area with temperature/humidity control and surveillance, they could of course also be used outdoors.
That's where the passive shelter came into play.

That shelter in a price range from 9 - 15 EUR is a very simple shield which when exposed to direct or indirect solar irradiation will heat up fast and provide significant deviations from the real ambient temperature. It has only been useful as a protection against, wind, rain and debris.
(The same shield is sold by LaCrosse under the LaCrosse brand).

It appears that TFA have learnt from experience and complaints from their customers and have now released a new solar driven aspirated model - the 98.1111.02 model.

While the former (and still sold) 98.1114.02 model is rather small (inner dimensions: Ø 60mm x 160mm), the 98.1111.02 comes with an inner space of Ø 80 x 170mm and outer dimensions of 139 x 150 x 227 mm and a weight of 444 g.

Details from the user manual see below

The staggered elements can be disassembled by opening the Phillips (cross-head) screws. This may become important to improve the shield performance by colouring the inner portion of each element with black colour and the outer, direct exposed portion with bright white colour.

test setup

a WH32 inside the TFA next to a WH31-EP in a MetSpec Rad02


product evaluations from Amazon state that the fan only starts running when the sun is directly shining on the top. Also remarks from the TFA customer support go into the same direction. The wide interior space and the distance of the sections should allow for airflow when the air is moving - we'll see what the readings in sunlight will show. Right now there is a constant difference of 0.2 °C without sunshine which could be systematic between the WN32 and the WH31-EP.

Under stress i.e. direct solar irradiation, the too-late start of the fan shows its effect: too much heat accumulates inside the shield body and temperature deviations of up to 3° C occur.
With the Ecowitt console temperature compensation switched on this gets reduce to ~2° C but still not enough.
The bigger distance between the plates has its cveat - at lower sun positions direct and otherwise indirect solar irradiation enters the shield and adds heat. Black coating of the plate underside might remedy this so some extent but hasn't been tested yet.
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review in progress

The pacel arrived from China after a 10 day trip. With about 1.8 kg weight the heaviest piece so far from Ecowitt - which is mainly due to the 8 rechargeable batteries.
It comes with a vanilla cardboard packing - not (yet I suppose as it's part of the pre-sales shipments) with the usual shiny Ecowitt wrapping. Apart from the gateway with already installed batteries, it comes the above visible mounting part plus screws - and a comprehensive A6 format manual which explains all you need to know to get the gateway up and running - be it via WLAN or be it using a 4G mobile data network.
The SIM card needed for the 4G communication with prepaid 300 MB data volume and a 8 GB micro SD card are pre-installed.

First the gateway will be connected to a USB charging port to charge the batteries and to have enough energy to start the setup procedure. Open WS View Plus, find the WS6210 and start the pairing process - works like a charm - connect to the WS6210A-WIFIxxxx SSID, select the local WLAN SSID and pass on the WLAN router password - and the connection is established.


Then take the IP address from the WS View Plus device list and connect to the WebUI.


And one can clearly see the different battery status in the three pictures:
1. charging via USB port
2. charging via Solar Panel (already late at the day and not enough sunlight available)
3. running on batteries only
once the battery charge of 5 V is reached, the ”!” in front of the battery symbol disappears. It is either replaced by a lightning bolt (when charging) or no symbol appears in front of the battery symbol when no charging takes place.

And after automatic the sensor selection has been completed and the manual correction applied (and all not used sensors disabled !) the WebUI already looks much more populated.


the comprehensive manual is attached here: WS6210 manual

for a 4G setup, the usage of data for the modem may be important for certain users. Here comes the calculation:

the calculation is rather simply done: number of bytes sent per post x post/hour x 24 = data usage for the posting payload

the number of bytes depends on the number of sensors connected to the console as each sensor needs its name, a “=” sign and a value + an “&” to connect with the next sensor in the posting string

example: PASSKEY=xxxxxxxxxxxxxx&stationtype=WS6210A_V1.0.4&runtime=1984&heap=8157320&imei=860549070038984&iccid=89852240400023790496&imsi=454030227340888&msisdn=&wifimode=1&up_mtd=WLAN&dateutc=2024-09-18 13:01:51&tempinf=73.04&humidityin=54&baromrelin=29.908&baromabsin=29.214&tempf=73.40&humidity=56&winddir=101&windspeedmph=0.00&windgustmph=6.04&maxdailygust=17.22&solarradiation=444.59&uv=4&rainratein=0.000&eventrainin=0.000&hourlyrainin=0.000&dailyrainin=0.000&weeklyrainin=0.000&monthlyrainin=0.000&yearlyrainin=0.000&totalrainin=0.000&rrain_piezo=0.000&erain_piezo=0.000&hrain_piezo=0.000&drain_piezo=0.000&wrain_piezo=0.000&mrain_piezo=0.000&yrain_piezo=0.000&ws85cap_volt=5.4&ws85_ver=107&srain_piezo=0&temp1f=74.30&humidity1=57&temp2f=84.92&humidity2=47&temp3f=75.02&humidity3=54&temp4f=73.40&humidity4=70&temp5f=0.14&temp6f=95.36&humidity6=45&temp7f=43.16&humidity7=47&soilmoisture1=69&soilad1=330&soilmoisture2=50&soilad2=254&soilmoisture3=79&soilad3=359&soilmoisture4=49&soilad4=259&soilmoisture5=44&soilad5=232&soilmoisture6=51&soilad6=255&pm25_ch1=18.0&pm25_avg_24h_ch1=17.7&pm25_ch2=15.0&pm25_avg_24h_ch2=16.6&tf_co2=68.36&humi_co2=66&pm25_co2=11.1&pm25_24h_co2=12.3&pm10_co2=11.6&pm10_24h_co2=13.3&co2=449&co2_24h=459&lightning_num=0&lightning=&lightning_time=&leak_ch2=0&tf_ch1=52.88&tf_ch2=62.60&tf_ch3=75.38&leafwetness_ch1=20&console_batt=5.77&ext_volt=4.83&wh65batt=0&wh68batt=1.60&wh25batt=0&wh26batt=0&batt1=0&batt2=0&batt3=0&batt4=0&batt5=0&batt6=0&batt7=0&soilbatt1=1.4&soilbatt2=1.4&soilbatt3=1.6&soilbatt4=1.4&soilbatt5=1.4&soilbatt6=1.5&pm25batt1=5&pm25batt2=5&wh57batt=3&leakbatt2=4&tf_batt1=1.48&tf_batt2=1.36&tf_batt3=1.58&co2_batt=6&leaf_batt1=1.52&wh85batt=2.94&freq=868M&model=WS6210A&interval=60

this posting string has 1722 bytes ⇒ it uses ~1,800 bytes or 1.76 KB per minute x 60 x 24 = ~ 2.5 MB per day

with the help of above string you can calculate your own posting string (or you can have your console post to ear.phantasoft.de) - you decide how often you post
the smallest interval is zero (=no post), then one minute etc. (see manual)

@mauro63

English translation (by @gyvate):

Arrived today (03-Oct-2024), this is a new gateway from Ecowitt that uses a 4g SIM for cloud connection and data transmission while also maintaining a wifi connection

The gateway is powered by an internal battery pack consisting of 8 rechargeable AA NI-MH batteries, recharging is provided by a solar panel already included, as is the hardware required for installation.

It is therefore a product designed for various possible scenarios, but first and foremost for installations in remote locations or where it is necessary to manage several sensors, perhaps at considerable distances, thus greatly reducing signal range problems.

The gateway arrives in an excellently industrialised package, where each component has its own separate packaging, everything appears neat and tidy, and inside is a rather comprehensive English manual and a quick guide

box.jpgmanual.jpgquick.jpg

The gateway is housed in a sturdy container-box, watertight, with 6 screws to remove for access to the inside, the arrow in red indicates the area where there are, although not visible in the photo, some LEDs relating to the state of operation, in the right side are the large antenna dedicated to the 4G signal and a pressure relief valve to prevent the formation of condensation inside

At the bottom are the power connection and the power button

frontws.jpg leftws.jpg

Removing the screws of the front panel we access the internal part, half of which is occupied by a pack of 4 batteries, the other 4 are in the main board, where the sim slot (white arrow) and the sd slot (red arrow) for a capacity in standard mode of up to 32 gb with Fat32 formatting are visible

internal.jpginternal2.jpg

Obviously included is the solar panel for recharging the internal batteries complete with cable and connector to connect to the power-port socket under the gateway, the connectors used are of excellent quality and obviously watertight

solarfront.jpgsolarback.jpg

a USB cable to connect to the power-port for the first recharge and some small packaging with the necessary hardware complete the package

powercord.jpgbracket.jpg

the gateway allows full access via the web for management, configuration, settings, and offers the possibility of managing the internal sd card, allowing the download of stored data from remote, also remotely it is possible to carry out firmware updates.

voltage drop over 25 hours with a posting interval of one minute matching the battery life values in the manual

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today, 01-Feb-2025, my LDS01 sensor arrived…

this is how the box containing the sensor looks like from outside


and here after starting unboxing:
the laser sensor, the external battery compartment, the display (WN34 housing type), the mounting aid


now with the battery compartment opened
the compartment can take up to eight (8) AA batteries - four on each side - the slots for the other four batteries are on the reverse side of the holder.

a closer look at the four battery slots - plus a side view revealing the other four battery slots




a minimum of two AA batteries is needed for the sensor to power up and readings to appear on the display



a peep into the “lion's den” or “dragon's cave” - into the opening through which the pulse laser beam runs



on my HP2500 console the live readings can be viewed on the extra sensor page

in the WebUI of a console with the local Ecowitt API, the LDS01 is displayed at the end of the live data page
here registered to a GW3000

in the WS View Plus app the LDS sensors have an own tab on the live data page like the extra temperature sensors (WH31), soil moisture sensors (WH51), user temperature sensors (WN34) and leaf wetness sensors (WN35) - named “Multi-CH-…”

data for “Depth” is only shown when a Total Height > 0 and < Air (distance between sensor and to be measured location) has been set in the sensor calibration tab / page.

Attention: (05-Feb-2025)
the calibration, setting the total height - in WS View Plus has still a bug - the entered alue is either not saved or reset to zero when revisiting the tab/page - bug reported to Ecowitt support - should be solved with WS View Plus version 2.0.54

with a Total Height of 2048 mm set: (ecowitt.net dashboard view)

a first plausibility and sanity check (distance to the ceiling) provides sensible data


on the rectangualr reverse side of the sensor base is a little level to facilitate the vertical mounting.

There are of course several ways how to mount the sensor for e.g. measuring the water level of a water tank.
1. one could cut a hole with the sensor cone diameter into the barrel top and fix it with the mounting aid
2. one could, especially for preliminary test, only drill a hole or slit in a plank for the cable to pass through and fix the sensor head with the mounting aid and a few longer screws - in this approach the level wouldn't be visible. This approach, however, could make the use of the sensor at different location easier and more flexible.
For first tests approach #2 will be chosen. This will be one of the next endeavours to report back.

below a mounting example for snow height measuring in Alberta, Canada (courtesy @Autofill, wxforum.net)


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