Ecowitt GW1100 Wi-Fi Weather Station Sensor Gateway with Temperature, Humidity and Atmospheric Pressure 3-in-1 Probe Sensor(1X GW1100 WiFi Gateway)

I've had a few weather monitoring systems over the many years, LaCrosse, Acurite, and lastly, a WeatherFlow Tempest I was never happy with. I was looking for a new system that was dependable, accurate, would work with WeeWx and wouldn't break my bank account. Was recommended to check out Ecowitt's collection of weather stations, gateways, displays and sensors. What a great system! Choose a display/gateway or a headless gateway, mix and match a variety of sensors, and off you go! The GW3000 is perfect for my needs, a small, capable device that collects data from my new WS90, a WH40BH, and a couple WH51 soil sensors. I did have to order the extension cord for the WS90 directly from Ecowitt because it doesn't seem to be available here. I got the entire system up and running within minutes! Sensors were automatically picked up by the GW3000 and added to collection.There's a phone app, and a basic built-in web site to the GW3000. The app isn't pretty, but it's functional and I have a better web page set up with WeeWx and a custom theme. The GW3000 can also upload your data directly to a number of public weather sites as well as log data to a SD card you supply.Overall I'm happy with the flexibility, variety of sensors, ease of setup, and features available in this system. I plan on getting a few more sensors over time and look forward to new ones they may release in the future. I definitely can recommend this system to anyone just getting into weather monitoring or considering replacing their existing setup.

This system sets up very quickly, and the 915MHz radio has substantial range and ability to penetrate walls. I find my readings on Weather Underground to be aligned with those around me, so it seems to be quite accurate. I like the fact that it's got battery backup for rainy days, and that all the sensors use common AA batteries. The base unit has a great deal of expandability for additional sensors, almost ridiculously so, and adding the sensors literally couldn't be any easier. The only annoyance I found was the relative scarcity of 1" mounting options, and I ended up printing an adapter, though I hear that a chain link fence top rail will work easily. We're in the dry season here, so I can't comment on the rain gauge, but in all other respects, overall, seems like a great unit at a very reasonable price.

I actually have two of these units because of the shape and size of our lot. The first was attached to the network via Ethernet and was immediatley available for pairing accessories. Initial setup on the other unit using WiFi was a bit convoluted but if you follow the instructions precisely, and I do mean exactly and in order, you will - eventually - get WiFi working. Once paired this device sets up accessory sensors more simply than any device I have ever used. Range seems very good and the built-in Web interface is easy to use. I have this paired with multiple soil sensors and the Wittboy WS90 Weather Station. I chose this version specifically over the other Ecowitt gateway options because it allows up to 16 soil sensors where the smaller units only offer 8.

I was able to connect the GW1100 gateway after some difficulty using an iPhone 11 and a Nighthawk R7000P router setup with 2.4G and 5G Wi-Fi channels/connections. I initially followed the “recommended” (Method B) from the quick start GW1100 guide: downloaded the ecowitt app to iPhone and established an account using email and a password. Followed the startup instructions from the app and I could see the gateway under the iPhone Settings/Wi-Fi panel but couldn’t get the gateway to connect to our wirelesss network. I plugged the gateway into a USB powered multi-hub using the ecowitt supplied USB cable to the hub and a second USB lightening cable from the hub to the iPhone and was able to click and connect with the gateway in the iPhone Settings/Wi-Fi panel. Went back to the ecowitt app and it was able to advance to next steps- entered name of my local 2.4G network and password. The app screen began downloading data from a WH51 soil moisture sensor that I had installed a battery into. It also downloaded some of the data from our Ambient WS-2000 Weather station: Outdoor Temp & Humidity, Solar and UV, Wind, Barometric Pressure, and Temp and Humidity from a primary and secondary Ambient probe. The ecowitt app did not download rain data from the Ambient RS-2000. I then sequentially installed batteries into three additional ecowitt WH51 watering probes (positive pole towards bottom, red light comes on and then flashes) and they automatically connected with the gateway with no additional setup. Each one measured 0% humidity in air, and between 98-100% humidity when placed in a glass of water. We used a second iPhone and downloaded the ecowitt app and after logging in with the previously established account name and password, it connected with the gateway and provided realtime data. I couldn’t get Ambient WS-2000 display to connect and show the humidity data from the ecowitt WH51 probes.The reason I purchased the ecowitt GW1100 gateway and WH51 humidity probes is because the Ambient watering probes have such terrible reviews- complaints of slowness and inaccuracy. I did a quick check of the four WH51 probes using two different clay pots containing a fast draining cactus soil mix and freshly watered. The probes were inserted completely into the soil (to the green housing) and allowed to come to equilibrium for 40 minutes in pot 1 before measurements were recorded. The 4 probes were then transferred to pot 2 for 5 minutes before taking additional readings. The readings in pot 2 at 5 minutes were stable for an additional 45 minutes. The probes seem to be doing what I wanted and look fairly consistent- the small differences between probes are probably due to inconsistences in the soil humidity or composition in different areas of the pots. The app data is very easy to read (compared to the setup instructions). So I give this product 4 stars minus 1 star for difficulty in connecting the gateway to our internet. And the ecowitt instructions really suck so hopefully those listed here will help a few folks. And maybe Ecowitt will send me 4 additional WH51 probes for assisting them?Humidity in pot 1 after 40 minutes:CH1. 40%CH2. 36%CH3. 40%CH4. 32%Humidity in pot 2 after 5 and 45 minutes:CH1. 26CH2. 29CH3. 26CH4. 30

I purchased two of these units, one to keep upstairs and one for the basement. My upstairs is over our garage so it's always warmer in the summer, colder in the winter. Now we can have an idea of how much different the climate will be, same for the basement. Connectivity was a breeze, just have to change the dip switch if using multiples for the different channels.