The Restoration of the Home Weather Station.

So for over 20 years, I provided weather station data to many outlets for both my personal interest, for radio amateurs, and for many locals. On moving to my current location, things turned bad and I didn’t get to set my station up due to half of it going missing. Then I was planning a move to the USA which luckily never happened. I am so glad I didn’t go there, I’d rather have gone to Rwanda as it’s safer!

So November 2023, I took the plunge and reached out to contacts and secured a new weather station. I’d never come across EcoWitt weather stations but they are manufactured by “Fine Offset” which although a Chinese company, has a reputation and thousands of stations operational across the world. What made me choose the GW1101 was simple, Seven Sensors, and the capability to expand the sensor array to include other new sensors.

The WS69 Sensor Package.

Before I go further I will explain a couple of bits of word shortening I use, many Radio amateurs will be familiar with WX = Weather, QTH = Home Location, or Location of transmission. QTH often uses a reference called “Maidenhead Grid Locators” Mine is IO75qo.

UNPACKING in the box is the main sensor array, which requires the Wind cups and direction finder attached with a small grub screw each, I suggest doing this on a table as if the screws fall on the floor, you will spend some time looking for them! You also need to insert 2 x AA batteries into the base of the sensor, the manual recommends Lithium batteries which are not included. The only other thing to fit is the pipe attachment for a mast. There is a wrench included to tighten the nuts. However, I would recommend a better tool for the purpose. That concludes the WS69 assembly. For ease of use, a spirit level is included and built into the Sensor array to aid in pointing the sensor in the correct direction. This is a feature that my last station would have benefitted from. There is also a Solar panel to keep rechargeable batteries charged. Replacement parts are also available which if very useful.

Specifications for the WS69 sensor array.

Measurement	Range	Accuracy	Resolution
Wind speed	0m/s to 50m/s	±1 m/s (speed < 10 m/s);± 10% (speed ≥ 10 m/s)	0.1m/s
Wind direction	0° to 359°	± 15°	1°
Temperature	-40°C to 60°C	±0.3°C (± 0.6°F)	0.1°C (± 0.1°F)
Humidity	1% to 99%	±3.5%	0.01
Light	0Klux to 200Klux	±25%	0.1Klux
UVI	1~15	±2	1
Rain	0~9999	± 10%	0.3 mm (for volume < 1,000 mm);1 mm (for volume ≥ 1,000 mm

Sensor (backup): 2 x AA 1.5V battery (not included)

Sensor solar panel (built-in): 6.5V/4mA

Transmission between gateway and sensor

Transmission distance in open field: 100 m (330 ft.)

RF frequency: 433/868/915 MHz depending on the location. The unit I have is 868mhz, which is handy for us radio amateurs, as it is outside our bandplan.

Updates on the gateway: 16s

Parts List

1* WS69 sensor

1* Wind speed cups (to be attached to outdoor sensor body)

1* Wind vane (to be attached to outdoor sensor body)

2* U-Bolts for mounting on a pole

4* Threaded nuts for U-Bolts (M5 size)

1* Metal mounting plate to be used with U-Bolts

1* Wrench for M5 bolts

Packaged information 

Length * Width * Height: 440*165*265mm

Weight: 1800g

The GW1100 Wifi Gateway.

Included in the package is also the GW1100 gateway that acts as a receiver for the Sensor package and also provides a wifi gateway and indoor temperature, humidity and barometric sensor. You can access the Gateway via a webpage or the app. The device comes with a 1m USB cable to power the device. Spec for this is as follows:

Temperature range: -10°C – 60°C (14°F – 140°F); resolution: 0.1°C, or 0.1°F; accuracy: ± 1°C

Humidity range: 1% ~ 99%; resolution: 1%; accuracy: ± 5%

Barometric pressure range: 300 – 1,100 hPa (8.85 – 32.5 inHg); accuracy: ± 5 hPa; 0.1 hPa (0.01 inHg)

WH57 Lightning Detector

The unit claims to have an effective range for detection of 25 miles / 40km. It features High/Medium and Low sensitivity and comes with a pole mounting. The device automatically pairs with the GW1100 gateway.

In Use:

The unit comes with lots of features like apps and links to other platforms to display your sensor outputs. However, I am not going to touch these at all due to the simple reason that I am going to use one application to manage that whole side of the process. That being Weather Display! Weather Display is an application that gives you access to all your data in one place. I will review that separately.

The Sensors all worked well, and no calibration was needed. The lightning detector I can not comment on its effectiveness yet because we have had no storms as of yet. I am also in the process of setting up a website to share all the sensor data. This will be hosted on https://www.mm0zif.radio Once that is live I will post a link here.