Frequently Asked Questions

To report to AmbientWeather.net, you must:

1. own an Ambient Weather branded weather station that directly connects to the Internet (models listed below).

2. own a third party weather station that connects to the WeatherBridge:
more info…

3. own a Davis Instruments weather station and nano Wi-Fi data logger:
more info…

Model	Image	MAC Label
ObserverIP (IP series)		printed on the bottom of the IP module more info…
WS-2902 Series		printed on the back of the console more info…
WS-2000		Displayed in the ‘Weather Server’ section of the console more info…
WS-5000		Displayed in the ‘Weather Server’ section of the console more info…
WS-8478A WS-8480		printed on the back of the console more info…
WS-8482		printed on the back of the console more info…
WS-1001-WiFi WS-1002-WiFi		Displayed in the ‘Weather Server’ section of the console more info…
nano		Accessed from the User Interface panel: more info…
Weather Bridge		Accessed from the User Interface panel: more info…
KestrelMet 6000 Weather Station
WS-1965		Accessed from the User Interface panel and console: more info...

IOS:

Ambient Weather Dashboard

• Free.
• The Ambient Weather Network is an ad-free weather platform enhanced by a powerful network of weather stations providing the most accurate hyperlocal conditions for your neighborhood, activity, or business. Connect your compatible Ambient Weather Station to access your data remotely and join one of the fastest-growing weather communities. Personalize your data tiles, set alerts, and share your weather updates with other weather enthusiasts - all for free!

ANDROID:

Ambient Weather

• Free.
• The Ambient Weather Network is an ad-free weather platform enhanced by a powerful network of weather stations providing the most accurate hyperlocal conditions for your neighborhood, activity, or business. Connect your compatible Ambient Weather Station to access your data remotely and join one of the fastest-growing weather communities. Personalize your data tiles, set alerts, and share your weather updates with other weather enthusiasts - all for free!

IOS:

awnet

• Free.
• The awnet app allows you to connect your Ambient Weather Station WS-2000, WS-2902A, WS-2902B, WS-2902C or WS-5000 console to your WiFi router and the internet. The WS-2902As were first sold in 06/2018.

ANDROID:

awnet

• Free.
• Connect your WS-2902A and other Ambient Weather Stations to WiFi, your router and the Internet, allowing you to publish on AmbientWeather.net and Wundeground.com.

IOS:

AmbientTool

• Free.
• The AmbientTool app allows you to connect your Ambient Weather Station WS-2902 console (sold from 12/2016 until 05/2018) to your WiFi router and the internet.

ANDROID:

Ambient Weather Osprey Tool

• Free.
• The Ambient Weather Osprey Tool allows you to communicate to your Osprey display console or internet module's WiFi connection, and program the connection to your wireless router and cloud services, such as Wunderground.

WS-8478/WS-8478A/WS-8480

WS-1900/WS-2902/WS-2902A/WS-2902B

WS-2000/WS-2002/WS-5000

WS-1000/WS-1001/WS-1002

If you changed your network configuration or your WiFi password:

1. Unplug power to modem, router and console (unplug AC adapter and/or remove batteries).
2. Plug power back into the cable Modem and let it sync back up with the network.
3. Plug power back into the Router and let it sync up.
4. Plug AC adapter back into the console.
5. Wait 5 minutes then click corresponding link below and follow the instructions.

If that did not get you connected the below guides for your weather station will help you get connected

WS-2902

Android Device: I Cannot Connect My WS-2902 To WiFi, Android

Iphone: I Cannot Connect My WS-2902 To WiFi, Apple Or IOS

WS-2902A, WS-2902B, WS-2902C: I Cannot Connect The WS-2902A,WS-2902B,WS-2902C Console To WiFi.

WS-2902D: How do I connect my WS-2902D to Wi-Fi.

WS-2000, WS-5000, WS-4000: How Do I Connect The WS-2000/WS-5000 To WiFi And The Internet

WS-1965: Connecting WS-1965 Console to WiFi 

WS-50: How Do I Connect My The WS-50 To WiFi?

WS-100: How To Connect The WS-100 To Wifi And The Internet

WS-7078,WS-7079: How Do I Access The User Interface Panel, WS-7078 And WS-7079

WS-8480: How Do I Access The User Interface Panel, Falcon Series.

WS-8482: How Do I Connect The WS-8482 To WiFi And The Internet?

1. The WS-8478A has a much nicer display console. The WS-2902A uses a color film LCD which has a small viewing angle. The WS-8478A uses a high contrast PMVA display, and is almost twice as large.
2. The WS-8478A supports 7 additional thermo-hygrometer sensors.
3. The WS-2902A includes a UV and solar radiation sensor. The WS-8478A includes a UV sensor only.

You can add or delete a device from the Devices panel:

To add a device, tap the + button next to Connect a New Device:

To delete a device, tap on the Ambient Weather icon to open the drop down menu, and select Delete this device.

1. Connect to the Weather Station and load the user interface panel (below).
2. Make sure the Upload Wundeground.com checkbox is checked.
3. Double check your Station ID and Key are correct.
   If AmbientWeather.net is working fine, but Wunderground.com is not updating, this is usually a typo.

    

   It is easy to confuse the lower case letter l, upper case I and the number 1, as well as the number 0 and the letter O. Also, DO NOT copy and paste your station key into the app, as it will add a lagging space.

To update the firmware, you must have a USB stick with 32 GBytes of memory or less.

To update the firmware for the Model WS-8478, download the latest version of firmware here to your PC or Mac:

Ambient Weather WS-8478 Falcon Download Center

• Extract or unzip the update zip file.
• Copy the extracted update folder to the USB stick. A typical USB stick is shown below (32 GBytes or less).
• Make sure the update folder is in the USB mass storage driver’s root directory and it should be Fat 32 format, as shown below (most come this way). Right click on the SD Drive to view the Properties.  The File System must  be FAT32.
• Disconnect the console’s AC power from the power outlet and remove the backup batteries (you will lose all settings). Plug the USB stick into the USB port on the right side of the console. Note that the USB connector pins will be facing towards you.
• Reconnect the console’s AC power to start the update process (In the meantime, do not remove the USB stick)
• During the update process the LCD will show the update status as shown below:
  
• Once the update completed, the console will restart and return to the normal display screen.
• Remove the USB mass storage driver form the main console.
• Normally, the Wi-fi /server connection and time zone setting is permanently stored in the console. However, if the console is reset to factory default, please re-enter all of the information as described in the User Manual in the “Wi-Fi Setup” section.

To find the MAC address of your console, go to your User Interface Panel and find the MAC address in the ambientweather.net area.

1. Make sure your location is correct (longitude and latitude) by typing your address into Bing Maps:https://www.bing.com/maps
2.  Enter the longitude and latitude into the weather station set up page:

3. Do not enter a negative sign for Longitude or Latitude. For example, -112.0474 is 112.0474 West.

4. Make sure your console’s Time Zone (TZ) and Daylight Savings Time (DST) is set properly, which is done from the console.

The following is an excerpt from the User’s Manual:

5. If the time is incorrect by multiples of an hour, you likely set the incorrect time zone. The most common issue for users in the USA is to set a positive time zone instead of a negative time zone (example, +5 instead of -5).

The following table summarizes time zones around the world.

1. Press and hold the WI-FI / SENSOR button for six seconds in normal mode, the console green LED will flash to signify that it has entered WAP (wireless access point) mode, and is ready to enter for WIFI settings.
2. Use your smart phone, tablet, or computer to connect to the console through WiFi. Note that when the console programming is complete, you will resume your default WiFi connection. Note that you cannot connect two devices at the same time when programming.
   
   3. Once connected, enter the following IP address into any browser’s address bar:
   http://192.168.1.1
3. The Console User Interface Panel will load:

To update the firmware for the WS-8480, WS-8480A: NONE AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME

To update the firmware, From the Setup panel (Figure 47), tap the ADVANCED tab to update the firmware. Browse to the firmware file saved on your computer and tap Upload (Figure 48).

The upload takes approximately 5-10 minutes. While updating, the status will be displayed in the wind direction field(Figure 48)

Product Manual
https://ambientweather.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/468/

Product Page
https://www.ambientweather.com/amws8478.html

To reset the sensor array, press the reset button on the sensor array (#7, Figure below):

To reset the console to factory default, press the RESET button (#19) on the back of the console.

Do not press any buttons for several minutes, until the outdoor sensor is reporting on the console.

To add new sensors or resync existing sensors to your WS-8478 Falcon weather station:

1. If you own a 7 channel remote sensor, set the appropriate channel (make sure each sensor is on a different channel, #3 below) and press the reset button (#4 below):
2. Press (do not hold) the Sensor WiFi button (#14 below):

3. Do not touch any buttons for several minutes as the new and existing sensors sync up with the console.

If the time zone is off by increments of an hour, the time zone or daylight saving time is set incorrectly.

They are the first two clock settings:

The following table provides times zones throughout the world. Locations in the eastern hemisphere are positive, and locations in the western hemisphere are negative.

1. Connect to the Weather Station and load the user interface panel (below).
2. Make sure the Upload ambientweather.net checkbox is checked.
3. Double check your MAC address and make sure the address on your User Interface panel matches the MAC address you registered at AmbientWeather.net. Typos are very common.

1. There is a bug in the firmware for Versions 103 and older. The issue is the software would stop reporting to AmbientWeather.net if the NIST time server goes down. It should continue to update the website, regardless if the time server is working or not. In addition, we will change the default time server.
2. Firmware updates are listed here:
3. https://www.ambientweather.com/amwefawsdoce.html
4. You can manually change the Time Server as a work around. The default is time-a.nist.gov. You can switch to an alternate time server (time-b.nist.gov).

5. Referencing the figure above, make sure the Upload ambientweather.net checkbox is checked.

There was a firmware issue with Versions 1.04 or less. To fix this issue, update to Firmware Version 1.05.

Here is the link to WS-8478 firmware updates:  https://www.ambientweather.com/amwefawsdoce.html

If the rain suddenly jumps to 3936 inches, then the sensor array needs resetting. This is due to a misalignment of rainfall base value between the sensor array and console caused by the reset process.  This is possible when rain gauge are reset/interrupted in middle of operation.

1. Press the RESET button on the sensor array (#7 below):
   
   

    

    

2. Press (do not hold) the SENSOR (#17 below) button on the back of console to establish link with the sensor array (this is optional – the sensor array should automatically sync up:
   
3. After the sensor array has linked to console, press the RESET button (#19, above) on the back of console.  The screen will go blank and the  clock date and time will reset, so the rainfall base value reset.
4. The console will connect back to his WiFi router automatically  (you will see the time and date synchronize correctly).
5. The sensor array will link back to console automatically (if not repeat #2 above).

Latest User Manual:
Download the current User Manual for the WS-8478A Falcon Weather Station.

WS-8478A Falcon User Manual

Latest WS-8478A Firmware Update (Note, the WS-8480 firmware can be found here):

Version 110

Instructions:

• Download the latest firmware linked above.
• Extract the zip file to your computer or laptop. Once extracted,
• Copy the entire update folder to an empty USB stick.
• Power down the console.
• Insert the USB stick
• Power up the console.
• NOTE: Your console will be restored to factory default. You will need to set it up again.
• For more information, please follow the instructions in the WS-8478 Help Guide.

Update History:

Version 110 – February 4, 2019

• Fixed issue with UV resolution at low values.

Version 108 – November 20, 2018

• Fixed daily rain roll over issue at Midnight.
• Fixed bug with rain counter setting rain to 3936 inches.

Version 105 – June 6, 2018

• Fixed issue with barometric pressure calibration for altitudes above about 3000′.

Version 104 – April 23, 2018

• Fixed issue with AmbientWeather.net going offline if time sync was not successful.

Version 103 – March 20, 2018

• Fixed Heat Index bug.
• Fixed issue with AmbientWeather.net DNS changes causing station to go offline.

Version 102 – March 1, 2018

• Fixed issue with rain not resetting at Midnight. Also affected weekly, monthly rain totals.
• Fixed issue with the max gust of the day not resetting at Midnight.
• Fixed Daylight Savings Time bug introduced in Version 101.

Version 101 – February 5, 2018

• Added daily, weekly, monthly and yearly rain.
• Fixed bug if a negative longitude is incorrectly added.

Version 100 – January 30, 2018

• If the temperature was 32 degF, the console would send 0 degF.
• Fixed -158 degF spike.
• Fixed wind speed, direction and rainfall lock up issue.
• Fixed gust vs average wind speed (the wind speed could be larger than gust, which is incorrect).

Version 99 – January 18, 2018

• If the temperature was less than 0 degF, the console was sending 0 degF to AmbientWeather.net and Wunderground.com.

The temperature and humidity sensor fan operates under two conditions:

1. When the sun is shining on the sensor array.
2. The wind speed averages less than 1 m/sec (2.2 mph) for three minutes.

Product Manual
https://ambientweather.com/mwdownloads/download/link/id/468/

Product Page
https://www.ambientweather.com/amws8478.html

How to remove and replace the heat shield for the WS-8478, WS-8478A, WS-8480.

1. Remove the 2 screws with a phillips head screw driver:

2. Remove the 5 heat shield discs.

3. Add the new 5 heat shield discs in the order that they were shipped.

4. Add the screws to the new heat shield and tighten them till snug.