Ambient Weather WS-5050 Ultrasonic Smart Weather Station

Super happy with this weather station. Easy to set up and seems to be very accurate compared with my neighbors. I travel a lot, but I always know what the weather in my back yard is thanks to this weather station.

This unit has been excellent for me. Set up was easy, intuitive. I purchased the Lightning sensor and it works perfectly. I did a little checking and I didn't need to calibrate as it still seemed to be giving me accurate results compared to other trusted sensors near me. The rain gauge lines up perfectly with my analog 24' tube model. I wasn't able to get the Weather Underground system to engage but I give my friends the AWN app and that works. I didn't spend much time trying to get WU going. Indeed, the articles and directions are correct; placement is important for precise readings. I have alot of trees, a tree line and house to deal with. I put it in the most open area but wind readings from the south are reduced by the obstructions. Oh well. The rain gauge stopped after about six months and cleaning it to trouble shooting standards worked in a few minutes. After about a year of use it worked but paused regularly. Another quick look at Troubleshooting and resetting both the sensor and the display (and new batteries) had it going again in a few minutes. To my delight, resetting did not require network/Wifi set up again. That was a win. I love it and use it multiple times daily. My 6 year old grandson got the name "Weatherman" and he engages with it. I'm asking Santa for a heater and a camera. I'm a happy owner.

The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is the setup. Several people talk about the difficulty with setup. I thought this would impact sensor detection or WIFI. The sensors are detected very easily. The difficulty is entering IDs and passwords for WIFI and other setup. I was not sure how to do this from the manual. I found some Ambient produced You Tube videos that were very helpful. The console does not have a touch screen. Everything is done with buttons that control direction or upper/lower case. It is quite tedious. Once you get through that, the system is WONDERFUL! I debated about the WS-5000 or a model with a combined sensor including the mechanical wind sensor. I decided to go top of the line. I am glad I did. The wind sensor works well. I have had a weather station for about 17 years. I replaced a La Crosse Technology setup where I had two consoles, one on a desk in the family room and one in the office. The consoles had built in temperature sensors for indoor temperatures. The WS-5000 comes with one indoor sensor that is separate from the console. I ordered a second sensor - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MG4HW8C?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1 . I also ordered a second console https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08F6PGMJP?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details . Be careful you get the correct sensor. I originally ordered another indoor sensor. You can only have one of those. The one I am using is an indoor/outdoor sensor. The console doesn't list the WS-5000 but it works. I was able to label both of the indoor sensors the way I want on the WS-2000 console. I could only change the name for one of them on the WS-5000 console. I don't know why Ambient doesn't allow a name change on the WS-5000 console. Not a big deal. I never bought a Davis system because I don't like the console. The Ambient consoles aren't as graphically rich as some of the cheaper systems. The screens are very clear and nice to look at. There is a lot of data on the screen. You can have a light or dark background. You switch by pushing a button. You can turn off the screen with a button as will so it won't bother you at night if you have it your bedroom I had the rain sensor for the La Crosse system on bird feeder pole with a cheap plastic cutting board on top. I put the WS-5000 rain sensor on this same platform. Here is the link to the pole https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01J4QGDK6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The WS-5000 temperature/wind sensor needs to be mounted in direct sunlight. I ordered two of these - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08Z72XMP7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 and used poles from them both to get enough height. I only have one place in my yard that stays in direct sunlight. I did not want to do a roof mount because of radiant heat and because at my age, it's not prudent to climb that high. The pole is too small to bolt the sensor to. I taped one of the pole sections to the top and used a small piece of plastic to make it big enough. I would have liked to have used the Ambient pole with the large base. It would have taken too much space in the lawn and would have required weights. This setup has prongs that go into the ground and works great. The manual isn't clear on what app to download. I found the correct one and included a screen shot. The app is great. It has a lot of detail. You can see tiles of your data as well as graphs. It shows other stations in the area and gives a forecast. Data loads very quickly. I think the temperature is more accurate than the La Crosse units. We have some small displays from La Crosse. I have looked at those before going out for a walk and then wished I had a warmer jacket. It turned out to be colder than the unit measured. The Ambient unit has measured colder the the La Crosse (I got this in March 2023. It has been very cold in Utah this year. I don't have much reference for warmer temperatures yet.) I connected to Alexa very easily. I can get an Ambient report by asking for it. You cannot just get temperature or another data element. You get them all. I spent a lot more money on this that any other weather station I have purchased. This is definitely a premium product. If you can afford it, this is the system to choose.

Initial set up is a bit tedious but much easier than my previous Davis Weather Station. The controller is well designed and easy to use. It has a number of add on accessories like soil temperature, lightning detection, air quality, water leak detectors (for wash room or utility room) etc. It has a good range for connections up to 1,000 feet. I have my station about 250 feet from the house and it works fine but your WIFi connection may be a factor for lower performance. You need to put your wind detector in an area free of obstructions to get accurate 360 degree detection of wind speeds and the higher location the better. eg chimney or above a roof line. The web software is easy to use and a good design. Very handy if you want to keep an eye on what's happening when you're away. It has a camera option as well although I don't have this as I have blink cameras. The bird spikes for the rain collector are not worth buying. They are very difficult to attache and you endue using something kludgy to glue it on. I had my son print one that simply attaches to the ridge of the collector which works perfectly. They could do the same thing or better yet incorporate it in the design to begin with. You do not have to mount the rain collector component on the same pole as the wind detector. Or if you prefer you can mount the rain collector lower on the pole to make it easy to clean out and reduce birds roosting on it. Birds do not want their nests too low for predators to get them so if you mound it about 5 feet off the ground they will probably not bother. I have had this for over two years in very severe weather right on the river edge and have had no problems with its performance. I clocked a 58 mph gust yesterday. I have not seen most of the problems that people have cited. I actually have two at our homes and both have performed perfectly.

Hesitated a long time before buying the WS-5000 but it has proven to be a fantastic choice. I love its precision and the amount of information provided out of the box. Without any extra sensors, all the weather information I need is there. The goods 1. Super precise with lots of information collected and reported on screen. 2. When linked to Ambient Weather Network, you can see your own unit weather data on your phone (with their app) or on a web browser. 3. Partly Solar powered. You still need AA batteries but most of the power comes from the solar panel on top of the unit. 4. Can be linked to a global network of similar units, two networks in fact, where the WS-5000 shares data and allows you to read data from others. It makes it more informative than just using your unit. 5. The unit is expandable, allowing you to add Thermo-Hygrometer, temperature reader (for upstairs vs. downstair or tracking wine cellar), soil moisture, wireless Waterproof Floating Pool Thermometer, and more. The hard 1. Although easy to put together, it requires a bit of time to align the wind detection unit with True North. 2. Connecting to the Internet and selecting how you want the display to report information a bit of time. Nothing dramatic but plan for at least 2 hours. If you're interested in weather, this is a fantastic unit. I highly recommend it.

Had another big brand American unit that had few features, cost a pretty penny and chewed through anemometers. Then when it finally died I searched the net for the best replacement weather station. I settled on the Ambient Weather Station and have found it to be an awesome product. Can access the data anywhere with internet and the data it reports seems accurate with the local weather service. The colour display is awesome and it was pretty easy to erect the outdoor unit on a steel pole and set up indoor receiver unit. I’ve had the unit for about three years and I highly recommend the product.

Este es un producto muy exacto, de muy buena calidad, vale la pena la inversión

Received package in great shape but wanted the lightning detector and probe thermometer to monitor lake temperature. Installed the sensors, plugged in the tablet and everything worked immediately. Very user friendly, and easy to set up. I did have an issue with the lightning detector, but it was more about the placement on my part. Everything works great and I can monitor the system anywhere once I linked Weather Underground and ambient weather.net. I would recommend this station to anyone.

Replaced our old weather station with this updated version. Software would no longer run on Windows 11. I like the compactness of this equipment. There are no moving parts, so no noise from the old annenometer whirling cup. Also, the batteries are lasting longer. The assembly was tricky to get the two units to mount on the pole back to back. I had to offset one above the other, and the clamping mechanism was a fiddle to close. The wireless works beautifully, and the visual interface is pleasing. The unit is straightforward to program. The periodic cleaning of the water measurement cup seems excessive. The accuracy of wind and rain statistics is impressive. The price is a bit steep, but you get what you pay for. I was not able to make sense of the one-year free warranty on the website, which asks for payment?