Portable Weather Station

Reviews

Since we lost our weather sensor with our move to our new house, it was time for a replacement. I was impressed that this Ambient Weather device had so much at $30. However, I wasn't as "wowed" as I thought I would be. It is nice to have the Humidity readings both inside and out. (Compared to weather internet readings, I find all wx readings reasonable accurate.) But to get Dew Point, you must hit two buttons; then Dew Point replaces Outside Temperature. With the large screen, I thought Temperature, Humidity AND Dew Point would all be displayed at the same time. (What I would really like is to have the aforementioned three readings plus Heat Index.) For $30 I think it is a very good deal. However, if all you really want is outdoor and indoor Temperature, then I would consider something less expensive.

Overall the unit is very nice and the inside display unit has a reasonably accurate hygrometer which is within the +/- 5% error range. But the hygrometer in the outside monitor is extremely inaccurate being over 20% low and well outside of the +/- 5% specifications. The accuracy of, or I should say the lack thereof, the external unit was tested using a standard lab approved hygrometer calibration kit. The internal monitor's hygrometer was reasonably accurate being only 3% points low. I used another calibrated hygrometer to test the accuracy of the internal unit. Temperature and barometric pressure readings are pretty accurate as gauged by local weather station information provided over the web. The unit is fairly easy to program and the atomic clock function works very well as long as the base unit is near a window. It only took about 10 minutes to get it all set up. I think this is a good unit for the price. It may be that I got a bad external unit but you should certainly use a proper calibration kit to check the accuracy of the external sensor. Once that's calibrated, you can use it to check the accuracy of the hygrometer in the base unit.

Has all the features the previous reviewer noted, so good purchase for the price. Had some issues with the instructions, but the manufacturer corrected those almost immediately! A very nice feature is that the "Radio-Controlled Clock (RCC)" receiver is in the remote sensor, which in turn sends time info to the main display unit. Since the remote sensor is usually mounted outside and relatively high, it has an optimum reception opportunity, and the main display can be located anywhere within the remote's transmission range. Shipped promptly, great support.

There are many different weather stations to choose from on Amazon, so I reviewed all of the features versus price. This item is packed with features at a very good price. It includes an indoor temperature and humidity sensor (inside the console), and an outdoor temperature and humidity sensor with a 300' wireless range. I was not able to get the full 300' wireless range, but did get about 200' through several walls. I had to mount the sensor on the north side of the house (under an eve) because if the sensor is placed in direct sunlight, it will absorb solar energy and read too high. The temperature and humidity sensors were very accurate and within specifications. I used a sling psychrometer (a device that determines relative humidity based on evaporation rates with a dry bulb and wet bulb thermometer). It was within 2%, which is extremely accurate for a digital measurement device. Most digital hygrometer are accurate to 5%, since humidity is very difficult to measure, especially at low and high humidity levels. The WS-1170 also includes a barometer with barograph, and allows you to calibrate pressure to sea-level. The icon provides an approximate 2-3 day forecast, and is based on rate of change of barometric pressure, so may not be accurate as a 5 day forecaster from Accuweather of the National Weather Service. It includes an atomic clock and allows you to set alarms based on time and weather conditions, such as dew point (which is very important for my application). My advice is to use lithium batteries to extend the battery life of the thermo-hygrometer, which they claim is 2 years. Lithium batteries are ideal for cold weather conditions. All in all, the WS-1170 provides the most features for the price in this category. A word of note - the manual has a few typos but have been resolved by downloading the latest manual from their website. Of particular note is the mention in the procedure for resetting minimum and maximum values, which is not clear until you review the updated manual, and minor typos (the barometer graph fills right to left and not left to right).

Reviews

This is exactly what I have been looking for. Very pleased with this station.

Reviews

I received in the mail today and am very disappointed. It is pretty cheap. Note the weight of the item. It is less than four ounces. Also, the barometic needle is stuck at the very bottom of the dial. While looking for a nice gift, this is not it, and if it is broken or not, it is not distinctive in any way.