Frequently Asked Questions

Simply moving your display console (or receiver) to a different location may easily fix the communication issue.

We recommend the following best practices for trouble free wireless communication.

1. Fresh Batteries. If applicable, make sure there are fresh batteries in both the console and remote. Remember to power up the console last when changing batteries. Do not use rechargeable batteries. They have a lower voltage and lower range than non-rechargeable batteries.
2. Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI). Keep the console several feet away from computers, TVs and electronic cables.
3. Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). If you have other 433/915 MHz devices and communication is intermittent, try turning off these other devices for troubleshooting purposes. You may need to relocate the transmitters or receivers to avoid intermittent communication.
4. Cold Weather. If the temperature is below < 10 degF, use e2 energizer batteries (Lithium), available in most stores batteries are sold (blue in color). Alkaline and NMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries do not operate below 10 degF.
5. Sensor orientation.  To insure proper communication, mount the remote sensor on a vertical surface, such as a wall.  Do not lay the sensor flat if this is a small remote sensor.
6. Line of Sight Rating. This device is rated at 300 feet line of sight (no interference, barriers or walls) but typically you will get 100 feet maximum under most real-world installations, which include passing through barriers or walls.
7. Metal Barriers. Radio frequency will not pass through metal barriers such as aluminum siding. If you have metal siding, align the remote and console through a window to get a clear line of sight.
8. Defective Sensor. It is possible the remote sensor is defective. If you have not done so already, to replace under one year warranty, please visit AmbientWeather.com/rma.html

The following is a table of reception loss vs. the transmission medium. Each “wall” or obstruction decreases the transmission range by the factor shown below.

Your weather station may only display some of the following increments of rain. Please refer to your User Manual for details. Here are how increments of rain are defined:

• Rain Rate is defined as the rainfall in the last 10 minutes, multiplied by 6  (10 minutes x 6 = 1 hour). This is also referred to as instantaneous rain per hour.
• Hourly Rain is defined as the rainfall in the last hour.
• Rain event is defined as continuous rain, and resets to zero if accumulated rainfall is less than 1 mm (0.039 in) in a 24 hour period.  Some weather stations may calculate this slightly differently and the customer should reference the User Manual.
• Daily Rain is defined as the rainfall since midnight (00:00).
• 24 Hour Rain is defined as the rainfall in the last 24 hours. For example, if it is currently 5:00 pm, 24 hour rain would be the amount of rain that has fallen since 5:00 pm yesterday.
• Weekly Rain is defined as the calendar week total, and resets on Sunday morning at midnight (Sunday thru Saturday).
• Monthly Rain is defined as the calendar month total, and resets on the first day of the Month.
• Yearly Rain is defined as the calendar year total, and resets on the first day of the Year. The WS-1000 series weather stations allow you to change the month rain is reset to 0.00 (referred to as Rainfall Season).
• Total Rain is defined as the running total since station was powered up.

Most weather stations use self-emptying rain gauges, which do not count snow and will not operate when frozen.

It requires the snow melt before the precipitation is “counted”.

The saturated salt solution test is an easy method for testing the accuracy of your humidity sensor. Most electronic sensors are accurate from +/- 3 to 5% humidity, and some weather stations or weather centers can be calibrated from the display console by applying a bias.

1. Mix common table salt with tap water until you have a completely saturated solution with no standing water.
2. Place about 1 inch of the saturated salt solution in an open container or bowl that is approximately 4 inches high. The 3 inches above the solution will contain air with a predictable humidity value. You can use a cut away container as shown in the figure below. One edge of the container is cut slightly lower to rest the sensor on the lip.
3. Place this container and the sensors in a waterproof zip lock plastic bag, as shown in the figure below. Leave one of the corners open and remove all of the remaining air with a straw. Close the air tight bag.
4. Leave the sensor in the bag for four days or 96 hours to completely stabilize.
5. The sensor should read 75% plus or minus the sensors rated margin of error. For example, if the sensor is rated at +/- 5%, the display should read between 70 and 80% relative humidity.
6. If the sensor is adjustable or calibrateable, set the humidity on the display to 75%.
7. Repeat this procedure once per year to account for electronic drift (sensor contamination).

   
   The images above show a table salt slurry of 1″ height mixed in a container about 3″ tall. This solution is then placed in a plastic bag with the sensor.

Your relative pressure likely does not match the official source because you have not calibrated it properly. You will need to reference your User Manual for correcting relative pressure.

You can locate an official source for your area to cailbrate by visiting https://ambientweather.net/baro

Discussion:

To compare pressure conditions from one location to another, meteorologists correct pressure to sea-level conditions. Because the air pressure decreases as you rise in altitude, the sea-level corrected pressure (the pressure your location would be at if located at sea-level) is generally higher than your measured pressure.

Thus, your pressure may read 28.62 inHg (969 mb) at an altitude of 1000 feet (305 m), but the corrected pressure is 30.00 inHg (1016 mb).

The standard sea-level pressure is 29.92 in Hg (1013 mb). Pressure conditions greater than 29.92 inHg (1013 mb) are considered high pressure and less than are considered low pressure.

Most weather stations instruct you to find a reporting station near your location to identify the corrected pressure.

1. Place the sensor inside next to the indoor console sensor. Wait about 24 hours for stabilization. The sensors should agree within the accuracy specifications. Most digital capacitive hygrometer sensors are accurate within +/- 5%. Thus, the sensors should agree within 10% when considering full tolerance stack up.Note that humidity accuracy, like most other measurement parameters, are a percentage of full scale, and not a percentage of point.
2. Sling psychrometers are very accurate. Perform a formal calibration. The humidity should agree within 5% of the  rating. You can also make your own calibration kit. For details, visit:

Testing The Accuracy Of A Hygrometer - Saturated Salt Test?

3.   Place the sensor in a shaded area on the north side of the structure to avoid direct and radiant heat.

4.  Humidity is significantly impacted by external factors like location and water (grass, lakes, rivers, etc). Insure proper installation. You cannot use a source like the National Weather Service. There are several reasons:

• The NWS may update once per hour.
• The NWS has strict installation guidelines (no unnatural structures, bodies of water, or unnatural vegetation nearby).

5.  If the problem persists, we have a one year warranty. Visit: www.AmbientWeather.com/rma.html

If the weather station is showing the wrong day of the week:

1. Make sure the year is correct.
2. Make sure the month-day format is MM-DD and DD-MM (day/month vs month/day).
3. Make sure the time zone is set correctly if the console time is radio controlled or obtained over the Internet.
4. Make sure AM/PM is correct. If the clock is 12 hours ahead or behind, it can show the wrong day half of time.

In general, when following the regular maintenance schedule in the user manual a user can expect a 3 to 10 year life before fully replacing the sensor array. A weather station’s life expectancy is greatly impacted by it’s environment see examples below:

1. Coastal, Marsh or Wetland environments. Salt air, salt spray and acidification are the most difficult environments for weather stations to have a long life. The salt air, salt spray and acidification corrode bearings, sensor boards (temperature, humidity, etc.), mounting hardware and other moving parts. Expect a 1-3 year product life span in this type of environment. Ambient Weather's sensors boards are all conformal coated to prevent this corrosion. The nature of digital thermometer and hygrometer sensors relying on electrical resistance of metal changes allows the corrosion to occur more quickly
2. Long term high humidity environments. Prolonged exposure to high levels of humidity, whether salt, acidic or not, predisposes metal parts to fail prematurely. In a hot and dry environment weather stations are known to last 7-10 years.
3. Hurricanes and tropical storms can also reduce the life of a weather station.

Ambient Weather’s weather stations carry a one year warranty.

None of the Ambient Weather Stations support repeaters or boosters at this point in time.

If the sensor(s) have stopped communicating to your console,  it may be as simple as placing the remote(s) (powered up) about 10 feet away from the console, power down and up the console by removing one or more batteries, disconnecting from AC power (if applicable), wait 30 seconds, and put the batteries back in, then wait several minutes to resync.

DO NOT TOUCH ANY BUTTONS and look for the search icon. Wait until the search icon turns off before pressing any buttons.

If you have more than one sensor, make sure they are programmed to transmit on different channels.

If the problem persists, we have a one year warranty. To replace under warranty, please visit: www.AmbientWeather.com/rma.html

1. If the display is on rain rate, and it has not updated in the last 10 minutes, the rain will read 0.00 in. Change the display to read daily, weekly, monthly or yearly rain by pressing the rain key. Does the rain stay at 0.00?
2. Check the funnel for any debris. Clean the funnel.
3. Remove the funnel and check for any debris that may be affecting the tipping mechanism. Tip the mechanism back and forth. Does the rain update on the console? Check for any bugs or dirt. Clean with a damp, soft cloth.
   
4. If the problem persists, we have a one year warranty. Please visit www.AmbientWeather.com/rma.html
5. If out of warranty, our apologies, this product was discontinued and replacement rain gauges are no longer available.

1. While in the Normal mode, press the SET key to enter the Quick Set Mode. Press the SET key again two more times to display the Rain Increments of Measure.  Press the + button to change the increments of measure to total rain (the rain can only be reset if total rain is showing on the display).
2. Press SET again to select Total Rain Reset. Press and hold the SET key for three seconds.

The steps are summarized below from the User Manual:

If the console no longer powers up:

1. Replace the batteries in the console with fresh batteries. If the problem persists:
2. Remove the batteries for one minute and re-insert them. If the problem persists, the console will need replacing.
3. We have a one year warranty. For details, please visit: www.AmbientWeather.com/rma.html
4. For out of warranty replacement, please visit: https://www.ambientweather.com/amws1075c.html

Product Manual
https://ambientweather.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/523/

Product Page
https://www.ambientweather.com/amws1075.html

1. Replace the batteries. We recommend the following batteries:
   My Rechargeable Batteries No Longer Work. Which Batteries Are Recommended For My Weather Station?
2. Clean any corrosion around and on the battery terminals.
3. If the problem persists, the sensor array must be replaced. We have a one year warranty. To replace under warranty, please visit: www.AmbienetWeather.com/rma.html
4. If out of warranty, a replacement array can be purchased here:https://www.ambientweather.com/amws1075thr.html

Product Manual
https://ambientweather.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/523/

Product Page
https://www.ambientweather.com/amws1075.html