Wireless Anemometer with Wind Speed and Direction Sensor – Wind Gauge for Netatmo Weather Station

I waited for several months for this to arrive. They have been in very short supply. It finally came and I soon found myself frustrated that I could not get it to link to my weather station after multiple attempts. I was about to give up when I found a "module manager" on Netatmo's website that would run on my Mac. Using this manager, I was able to link the two on my first attempt. Why is this information not included in the directions that come with the wind gauge? Shame on Netatmo for not including this info AND making it readily available on their website.Once linked, it seems to function flawlessly. I used a flexible mount that I found on Amazon to mount it to my roof, so that it sits above the roofline. This allows me to go around the edge of the roof ( Spanish tile) and still get the wind gauge above the roof and level. So far, it seems to be very accurate and sensitive to even the smallest breezes. With the exception of the problems I experienced with linking it to my main module, I am pleased with it.UPDATE: It's been up and running without issue for almost a year. I used lithium batteries so that I would not have to climb up and change batteries as often and I still have an estimated 1/2 power left.If anyone is looking for the link to the management module, you can find both the Windows and Mac versions here; https://www.netatmo.com/helpcenter/weather/1/installation-and-prerequisites/4/how-do-i-add-a-module-to-my-weather-station/32. You may need to sign in.

I recently purchased my third one of these wind gauges. I maintain two, and one failed after 5 years of operation on a windy mountain ridge. That was an impressive enough performance that I decided to replace it with another of the same kind. The replacement was faulty, registering a wind speed up to 15 mph while closed inside a cupboard. I contacted the company, and after a couple rounds of emails they determined it was indeed faulty and made it easy for me to acquire a new one without cost. The new one arrived today. It loses a star because, when you replace one of the sensors in a Netatmo weather station, you lose all the data that was accumulated on it. I hated losing that information, the record of weather at that location, which I would happily have paid the company to release to me. They make it virtually impossible to retain your weather data when you replace a sensor.Added later: The third gauge worked for a couple of months and then failed. I communicated with the Netatmo support on line, going through all the tests they asked me to perform. Once I had done that, they sent me a followup email in which they asked me to repeat all the tests again, at which point I gave up. (The email communication process took several months.). The picture is of my 3 failed attempts to get a functioning wind gauge, waiting to be recycled. The rest of this weather station has worked very well over about 6 years, but the wind gauge is a lemon!

To set it up, I placed the anemometer near my main weather station, and my iPad (with Bluetooth active) quickly connected to the anemometer. Installation went very easily. Next was placing the anemometer outside. I wanted a flexible solution so went with the Amada Webcam Stand which using a clamp is allowing me to try different positions for the anemometer. The results have been great. It displays the current wind speed as well as the maximum wind speed plus any wind gusts that have occurred. It also indicates the direction of the air flow. It works as I hoped it would, and having no moving parts I believe will take little maintenance to keep it going. This was a cinch to award the five stars.

So first impressions weren’t great (see below), but it’s going better with my replacement unit (which Amazon got to me right away). I’m still worried about the weak receptacles for the screw that must be removed for battery replacement, but I managed to set it up without breaking it the second time. The weather sealing actually looks better than I initially thought. There are gaskets for each screw and the removable base. No connection issues and the range is pretty good. I have it quite far from the base unit. I have no way to check calibration, but seems to be measuring appropriately. Overall I’m pleased with the system. I do really like that I can have the temp, rain, and wind gauges all in different locations.———————Initial review:Not a good start. This thing is flimsy and instructions aren't good.Removed from the box. Looked at the included wordless instructions. As the first picture seemed to indicate to do, took out the 4 screws that must be removed to access the battery compartment and removed the plastic strip to activate the batteries. Put the screws back in. Fired up the app to pair to my existing base station. Then it told me I had to remove the batteries again and replace them to start the pairing. Wish I had understood that was going to be the next step before I put the screws back in. Maybe it's me and I didn't interpret the picture right and they were telling me to start by taking them out but not replace them. In any event, during the removal, replacement, and re-removal of the screws, one of the cylinders and surrounding plastic where the screw anchors snapped off.I used a minimal amount of force so I really think this is poorly made. I am boxing it up to send it back. Will try another and will be extra light with the torque, I guess. I'll update my review if the next one survives more than 5 minutes past the unboxing.From the brief look I got at the insides, I'm skeptical that this is going to last outside for an extended period of time. It didn't seem like there was much weather sealing present.