Some of the nicer stations come with a fan that blows on the thermometer to prevent high false readings in direct sunlight. I believe the one you linked to might. That unit was available on amazon prime day for about $90 I believe.
My Ambient records the correct temp in direct sunlight. I do not believe it has a fan.
It does not have a heated precipitation gauge ($$$$). Some day I want to build a laser snow depth measuring device for winter, but as of now I just use a snow board (https://www.weather.gov/media/ffc/snow_measurement_guidelines.pdf)
One annoying thing about the Ambient that I forgot is that it doesn’t have a local buffer for observations. So if the internet goes out for a couple of hours and then comes back on… I lose those observations and have blank spots on the graph.
AcuRite has a solar powered fan that circulates air over the temperature sensor, as I understand it.
I got this one.
So it does tend to read a bit high in full sun, despite the fan. It always seems to give a reading about 2 to 4° higher than what it probably actually is.
Here’s what’s weird… In the lower right corner of the display you can toggle between an indoor temperature, or the temperature at an add-on sensor.
It will pick up an add-on sensor, with what seems to be accurate info, although not identical to the main sensor.
However, I don’t actually HAVE an add-on sensor!!! What is going on?
Maybe you are gathering data from a neighbor’s sensor?
The other thing I’ve noticed is I seem to get very low wind readings. We have definitely had wind stronger than 16 mph, but that’s the highest reading it’s ever had. I think my house blocks some of the wind, and unfortunately there’s nowhere else to put it. I can’t put it on a 33 foot pole, because, First off I don’t have such a pole, and secondly, I don’t know I would get up there to install it.
I’m not aware that any of my neighbors have one.
Interesting! Is the base station internet connected? if it is, perhaps it’s getting information over the net.
Get a hawk to perch up there
1 Like
I got the weather station installed and functioning yesterday. Had to build a bracket for the ladder to keep it from rocking side to side (you can see it in one of the photos), and despite that there was still some slight wobble of the pole and bounce to the ladder. I had to climb the ladder about 5 times to get the nerve to work above the bracket! Did I mention I hate heights? A remote battery pack at the bottom of the pole feeds power to the unit though a line run up the pole to the sensor. This way I can change out batteries from the ground. Lithium AA’s are supposed to function to -40F. Signal to the display seems quite good, I know some people have had issues with that on this model (AcuRite 5-in-1 Pro). I’m only at about 1/3 of their max distance of 330 feet. I got the Smart Hub so I can access my info remotely through myAcurite.com and I’ll probably use Weather Underground as well. I hope to feed my data to an IPM program through Cornell for use in my developing apple and pear orchard. I have to study up on that a lot more.
3 Likes
Is anyone using the AcuRite smartHUB to feed their data to Wunderground? I got an email stating they’re abandoning support of the smartHUB as of Feb 28 and offering 20% off their new $130 AcuRite Access. Rather than be forced to put another $100 toward this AcuRite system to have it continue doing what I bought it for, I’m thinking of putting the money toward another system, possibly Davis which is a better Agriculture system anyway. AcuRite has really turned me off with this.
Usually when a vendor stops supporting a system (End of Life), it just means that they will not provide any updates and stop making parts for the system. It should still work fine and feed the Wunderground - at least until something breaks.
So you shouldn’t need to get a new one until your current one breaks.
1 Like
It will be interesting to see. The email they sent states they will discontinue “support and service”. Their Facebook page is littered with customer complaints about this. They claim they sent out notices offering replacement for $39.99, and as time has gone on the price keeps rising. At the time I purchased my system they already knew they were abandoning the smartHUB, but they never disclosed that (I bought direct from AcuRite). There are also reviews online of the replacement, AcuRite Access, which are quite poor. We have been thinking of another station to place in the orchard anyway. That location is 1/2 mile from the house so we’ll need something that can store data until it can be downloaded, or transfer data via cell. A system like that is going to be expensive and won’t happen for some time, but I’m sure it won’t be any product from AcuRite/Chaney Instrument Co/Klockit/PrimeX.
2 Likes
I was just thinking about getting an Acurite… you may have made my decision easy.
Just convert from Windows to Linux, and all your problems will go away. 
I use an Ambient Weather WS-2095 Wireless Home Weather Station. It’s hooked to my PC with weeWX software, which runs in a Linux environment and handles the data caching from cheap weather stations like mine. Also, weeWX uploads to various clearing houses for private weather readings, and you can even build and post your own Web pages with it ostensibly. I use it to track cumulative growing degree-days for scheduling codling moth treatment.
2 Likes
Huh, I was under the impression that AccuRite was actually (or had already) going to completely brick the smartHUB with an over-the-air firmware “update” so they could push their new product on its users.
I have an AccuRite 5-in-1 station and had the SmartHUB, but never installed the smartHUB when we moved because I was under the impression it was completely dead already.
@CRhode I’ve been kicking around the idea to setup a Rasberry Pi Zero box to take the data from my display unit and put it on the web/Weather Underground. WeeWX supports my particular make of data-saving display unit. Is weeWX easy to work with? (Are you a programmer/IT person by trade?) These things “scare” me in that I can always get through about 75% of the software setup and one stupid thing breaks in the *%#$ unix install and I can’t get it to work and then I’ve spent 50 bucks down the drain.
They’d leave themselves open to lawsuits if they did this. From what @AndySmith has said, I would definitely steer clear of them.
Here’s the email, so people can make their own judgement on AcuRites business practices. For the record, I have received NO prior email or notice of any kind from AcuRite about the smartHUB, and I certainly never received an email offering the replacement for $40. I likely would not have chosen to do so anyway considering I purchased the smartHUB just 18 months ago for the same price. The current offer is 20% off $129.99, and people posting to AcuRite’s Facebook page are being asked for their email. Parties who have provided their email report an offer of 35% off. So they want $90 to continue providing the service I originally purchased for $40 with the smartHUB:
Dear Valued Customer,
On Thursday, February 28, 2019 support and service will end for the smartHUB. If you haven’t already, this is your last chance to upgrade to AcuRite Access, and still receive a 20% discount using promo code: 211SH19.
AcuRite Access has:
• enhanced power and storage capabilities
• compatibility with Amazon Alexa and new AcuRite Atlas
• improved stability on the back end
• seamless data recovery after a power outage
20% off AcuRite Access ends March 14, 2019. Use coupon code: 211SH19 to receive the discount.
Our product development team is continually working on ways to improve the user experience. We have extensively tested AcuRite Access, and expect your switchover will be smooth.
Our entire AcuRite team sincerely appreciates the trust you have placed in us and in our products to help you plan your day with confidence.
Sincerely,
The AcuRite Team
Primex, Inc. 965 S Wells St Lake Geneva, WI, 53147, US
© 2019 AcuRite®
211SH19 coupon code valid through 3/14/2019. Valid on AcuRite Access only. Add the item to your cart and apply discount code at checkout.
PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE
This email message was sent from a notification-only address that cannot accept incoming email.
Click here for AcuRite Support.